《The Astral Highway [A Cooking LitRPG]》


 Chapter 1: The Origins of a [Chef]

    The stars¡­ Millions of them blinked down on the boy as he crouched on the rocky outcropping of a foreign planet. An alien planet. As he turned his hazel eyes upwards to the infinite dots of light, he thought of his home and his family. Places and people he¡¯d never see again. But so many of those tiny lights represented more people and places he might one day visit.


    The galaxy felt so vast that at moments like this the hugeness threatened to overwhelm him. Who was he? Why was he here? His soul yearned for answers beyond what a crewmate might say or even what the occasional religious text offered. He wanted to know himself more than anything. For a reason he couldn¡¯t explain, there seemed to be something missing from his life. Something¡­ great. Greater even than¨C


    ¡°Lusac,¡± Yrqw¡¯s heavy voice crackled in the communicator he wore on his ear, pulling the boy from his musings. ¡°Enough daydreaming. We have a job to do.¡±


    Lus looked to the large, green Kremel standing on the ledge across the thin ravine they watched. He stood at nearly six and a half feet tall, with arms as big around as Lus¡¯s entire torso. His over-sized ears came to a point at the ends. Though the black uniform he wore would offer little protection against the elements, his skin was tough enough, he didn¡¯t need anything more.


    The Kremel motioned to the canyon below. Lus gestured back, a little embarrassed he¡¯d been caught at such a vulnerable moment. Who ever actually thought about those things anyway?


    He just couldn¡¯t remember the last time he saw the nighttime sky so clearly from a planet¡¯s surface. Treft sure didn¡¯t have views like that with all the mining pollution. Back there it was a good night if you could see the moons. Not that he¡¯d ever see them again. Returning to Treft was a death sentence since he defected from the Corporate Military two years ago.


    ¡°Distraction is underway. Alpha team has safely lured the parents away. Beta team, you have a go for the nest,¡± Nippy¡¯s broken voice jittered through the comm. The strange magnetic field of this planet disrupted most long range communication so several relayers were placed in between the various teams to keep everything organized.


    With a sigh, Lus pulled his anchor from his belt and positioned it to be several feet back from the edge, right in the middle of one of the largest, most secure rocks. The lower half was a glass cylinder which protected the wickedly barbed nail. Grimacing as he considered the damage that point could do to a person¡¯s body, he held it firmly in place as he pressed down the safety trigger along the grip and pushed the button on top.


    A faint thump hit his feet as the device used several thousand Newtons of force to shoot the hook into the rock and create a nearly unbreakable anchor. Lus clipped his mission suit¡¯s harness to the anchor before starting a quick rappelling journey to the floor of the ravine below.


    He landed softly on the ground, the sturdy rubber sole of his boots quiet against the desert stones. After unclipping himself from the cable and ensuring it wasn¡¯t going to shoot back up without him, Lus crept along the rocks near the wall of the canyon leading towards the foreboding black crack a hundred yards away.


    The stench of rotten food floated to his nostrils as he arrived at a secret entrance to the wranntil nest. Wranntil¡¯s were so large they could never fit in something like this, and most of the other animals on this planet wouldn¡¯t dare enter such a dangerous place, making it the only safe way to enter the nest. At least as safe as entering the home of a ten-ton monster could be.


    Of course Becky ¡®suddenly¡¯ came down with the flu today, Lus glumly thought to himself as he attempted to steel his nerves against the next phase of the mission. Becky was the only other Human on the ship who was fast enough for this type of assignment, and within an hour of her hearing she was on the crew, she mysteriously developed a severe digestive issue, leaving Lus to take the hit.


    Again.


    He couldn¡¯t recall the last time Becky actually went off ship for something that wasn¡¯t drinking or shopping. And given that all the other Human crewmates were too high of rank or simply too inept for something like cave crawling, that left this distinctly undesirable assignment to Lus.


    Truthfully it wasn¡¯t really that bad¨Cor so he told himself as he put on his headlamp and tested the light. A perfectly round white spot appeared on the stone wall before him. With a swing of his head, that light attempted to project into the crack, but the fit was tight enough that there wasn¡¯t much to see deeper in.


    It could be worse. I could be shooting Federal troops in the name of a CEO I don¡¯t even like, he reminded himself as he turned sideways and lined up with the thin entrance. He was lucky to be a Runner instead of a soldier. As terribly smelly or uncomfortable some tasks were, the freedom he bore instead more than made up for the occasional discomfort.


    Lus took one last breath of mostly fresh air and then slid all the way into the crevice. His headlamp provided little help with all the various outcroppings and twists he had to avoid, and the rock scraped hard enough against his chest and back that it would have ripped regular clothing to shreds and still taken a good chunk of skin with it except for the flexible alunitanium woven into his mission suit. The fibers gave off a faint metallic glow with the headlamp, the reflection of which did help illuminate the tight space slightly more.


    After more time stuck worming his way through the almost suffocating passage than any sane person would enjoy, the walls finally parted, and Lus found himself peering into a huge cavern full of stalactites and stalagmites. Without the stone crushing his chest, it became significantly easier to breathe, and before he could think twice about the action, he inhaled deeply through his nose.


    Big mistake.


    It took all he had to not immediately vomit every meal he¡¯d had in the past three days back up.


    Suns, how could something smell this bad? Breathing through his mouth as silently as he could, Lus slid along one wall of the room, slowly using his headlamp to scan for his target and the exit.


    The real exit. The huge, wide hole kind he could run through. He mentally cursed as he realized he forgot to stretch. He prayed to Treft¡¯s Watcher that he wouldn¡¯t pull a muscle and then die a painful death being ripped apart by an alien monster, but with how far away he was from home, he didn¡¯t have a lot of faith that the Watcher heard it.


    Loose rocks shook down from the overhang above him as something moved around in a different part of the cave system. Lus waited a few moments in an attempt to calm his racing heart, and once he no longer thought it was going to thump out of his chest, he started towards the far tunnel.


    His footfalls were nearly silent, but somehow each step sounded deafening to his ears, even with the noise of a beast coming from the room next door. If the wranntil saw him before he got a clear shot at the exit¡­


    Well that was a rather nasty picture he¡¯d prefer to avoid. He sort of liked having his brain inside his skull and his bones not on the floor with wranntil dung. Rumors claimed that wranntil could eat a Human or Nemarian in a single gulp, and Lus was eager to not put that one to the test.


    Sulking through the tunnel that was more than double his height and nearly five times his width, Lus came to a cavern that made the first one seem like a closet. He dashed to cover his headlamp as he entered and noted the snoring gray lump curled up in a rock pile at the center of the massive room. A solid fifty yards away from him was the exit, streaming in faint moonlight to the red tinged stone.


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    ¡°Right. Just gotta wake the sleeping monster and then sprint through a narrow, boulder ladened canyon back to my rope. Easy peasy,¡± he breathed in hopes of drumming up a little more courage.


    Lus remained pressed against the wall behind him as he shuffled around the outskirts of the cavern, begging the beast to remain asleep for a few more minutes. Once he had a clear line to the door, that would be enough. Then the wranntil could wake up and the chase could begin.


    A sudden snore from the hulking monster startled Lus, and before he could stop himself, his foot kicked up one of the rocks on the ground, sending it flying deeper into the room. He winced at the faint echo back through, but the creature didn¡¯t stir.


    Releasing his caught breath, Lus resumed his journey. He confirmed there were no more loose stones before glancing back up at his target. The air fled from his lungs as he noted yellow eyes staring back at him.


    One pair of vertical eyelids closed, and then a horizontal set followed suit. Lus remained frozen in place, not daring to breathe as he begged the wranntil to go back to sleep. He forced himself to count to thirty and then took one small step.


    The instant his boot hit the ground, those yellow eyes shot open and an angry growl escaped the beast.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± Lus cursed. He didn¡¯t bother waiting for the creature to get up as he sprinted towards the exit only a hundred feet away. The wailing of the wranntil encouraged his feet to fly against the uneven stones, and as he reached the cave entrance, he risked a glance back to see his enemy had fully risen from its bed.


    It stood over ten feet tall with arms that reached well past its stubby knees. The wranntil¡¯s face was uncomfortably wide, and its mouth spanned the entirety of it, giving the creature an eerie appearance as jagged teeth protruded awkwardly from both the upper and lower parts. The leather gray skin was marked by strange dull yellow stripes that ran across its neck, arms, legs, and back. Taut muscles signaled bad news for Lus as the beast lowered close to the ground, putting itself in a clear starting position for a chase.


    Blast me,¡± he cursed again. This was definitely not according to the plan. He didn¡¯t stand a chance at outracing the wranntil with this little of a head start, even if it was a child.


    Somehow Lus found more speed as the sound of the creature charging after him echoed out of the cavern. The canyon was far wider at this part than where his rope waited, which gave him a ton of space to maneuver but also doubled to give the wranntil plenty of area to do the same.


    The red and tan walls of the ravine blurred past as Lus moved faster than he¡¯d ever run in his life. He eyed several off-shoots that were far too small for his opponent, but unfortunately the plan required Lus to draw the creature much farther from the cave before he sought safety. Another short glimpse over his shoulder showed the wranntil on all fours, already starting to close the distance between them.


    That peek cost Lus dearly as his feet caught a lip on the ground and he went tumbling to the rocky floor. He was back to his feet in a second, but the roar behind him was far too loud. This was it. Lus¡¯s time had come. It was a good twenty-two years, but alas¡­


    He continued to pump his feet as his ears warned him of the incoming wranntil, but just as he turned to see a knobbly, clawed hand reaching for him, a small rocket launched into the monster¡¯s face and exploded in an array of colorful fireworks.


    ¡°That¡¯s the third time in two months, Lus. How many life debts are you trying to rack up?¡± Cewi-Bano¡¯s voice chided in his ear through a buzz of static.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you five more if I make it out of this one alive,¡± Lus promised the Nemarian. The sound of blaster fire gave him a small sense of relief that he might find that rope before those claws found him again. Thank the Watcher for Cewi and her guns. He didn¡¯t even have the time to vocally express his gratitude as the enraged scream of the wranntil pushed him into an ever faster sprint.


    He took a sharp turn into one of the thinner parts of the canyon and confirmed that the target followed him into the trap. Only a few yards ahead waited his salvation, the braided metal rope that would haul him to safety if he could reach it before the wranntil caught him. The annoyance of energy bolts could only do so much to give him an edge.


    Lus half-tripped against one of the larger stones, but the adrenaline pounding through his system kept him upright as he came within arm¡¯s reach of the cable. His hands shook as he latched it onto the hook of the harness sewn into his mission suit, and immediately he started to scale the rock, hardly noticing the blood and dirt stuck to his palms from his earlier spill.


    ¡°Use the emergency pulley, Lus,¡± Yrqw warned him.


    Before he could take the advice, a set of sharp fingers grabbed his waist and pulled him from the wall.


    Lus cried out against the crushing grip, and half a dozen blue bolts exploded against the wranntil, but it had its prey and nothing was going to stop it from completing the hunt. Lusac continued to scream and struggled against the hand, but he found himself staring into a void lined with half a dozen rows of pointy teeth.


    This was definitely not the ending he pictured for himself, and for a moment, he wondered if shooting government soldiers would have been a safer choice. His life started to flash before his eyes just as another explosion of rainbow sparks rained down on him. The flare caused the wranntil to stumble, and Lus used the opportunity to kick his way out of the grip and turn on his anchor¡¯s emergency pulley system.


    He first shot in a diagonal direction, heading both upwards and sideways, but once he slammed into the rocky shelf, his trajectory became strictly vertical. Lus did his best to protect his head as he was hastily dragged upwards along the wall, his suit protecting his skin from tearing, until at last he was back to the safety of his starting point.


    A scaly, purple face appeared above him, the huge black oval eyes staring down at him in concern. The Nemarian had faintly indigo fins running in several rows from the top of her head down to her back, with gills protruding from her lower chin on either side.


    ¡°I believe with the two flares I used to save you and the five you promised me, I now own you nineteen times over,¡± Cewi said. She wore a complex necklace that gently shot a type of mist known as frezon out to dose her face and as she leaned over Lus, a few drops fell onto him, reminding him how blasted thirsty he was.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± he said between gasps as he accepted a hand up. Her gloves were awkwardly wide, with only tiny fingertips to allow for comfortable wearing with webbed hands¨Cat least that¡¯s what she and the other Nemarian crewmates claimed.


    Lus still believed there had to be a better design out that allowed for a little more functionality, but then again, what did Nemarians care? They never really got into the dirty work anyway. ¡°Look, I¡¯ll give you my children too if I ever get around to that. Deal?¡±


    ¡°Please. I¡¯ll own your posterity for the next five generations if you make a deal like that,¡± Cewi replied.


    Once Lus unhooked himself from the anchor, she worked on getting the anchor¡¯s hook retracted. The angry roars of the wranntil intensified as they finished, and Lus stepped closer to the edge to look down at their prize. Yrqw and several other Kremel were approaching the creature which was now mostly contained by a gravity net that forced it almost completely flat against the ground.


    Just as one of the crewmates shot the tranquilizer dart into the weak, soft part of the lower throat, the wranntil got a sudden burst of anger-induced strength and threw its hand back which tossed Yrqw against the canyon wall with a sickening slap.


    Lus grimaced as the Kremel stood, small bloody cuts lacing his back. Even with their toughened hides, the Kremel weren¡¯t invincible. Yet all of them refused the protection of mission suits, sticking instead with their black uniforms. He supposed it could be because mission suits weren¡¯t typically made in large enough sizes to fit the enormous aliens. Even the women were over six feet tall and typically three times as wide as the standard Human.


    The wranntil continued to jerk against the net¡¯s stronger gravity, but the effects of the tranquilizer became more and more clear as the motions slowed. Eventually the orange eyes closed, and the beast¡¯s breathing evened out.


    ¡°Suns, I had no idea wranntil young were so tough,¡± Cewi said with a whistle.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the half of it,¡± Lus agreed. ¡°Do you think our sponsor will be able to safely contain it?¡±


    Cewi shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s not really our problem. As long as we deliver it safely, we get paid. That¡¯s all I care about.¡±


    Lus smiled. ¡°Suns know I need the cryptin.¡±


    ¡°So Oaty can take it all in poker?¡± the Nemarian mused, her side gills twitching in amusement.


    ¡°So I can drink enough to forget this whole thing.¡± He laughed and clapped Cewi on the shoulder. ¡°Thanks again for the rescue. I owe you one.¡±


    ¡°Nineteen actually,¡± she reminded him. She jerked her head back. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s head to the shuttle and get home. I¡¯ve had enough of this dust bowl.¡±


    Lusac followed behind her, rubbing at the bruises forming across his back and chest as the Kremel shouted at each other in their ear-grating tongue while attempting to secure the load. He¡¯d had enough of this dust bowl too.

 Chapter 2: The Origins of a [Chef] II

    The shuttle was in serious need of airing out with all the sweaty crewmembers stuffed together. Only those who absolutely had to were riding back up in the cargo shuttle since the wranntil smelled even worse than the collection of body odors Lus sat between.


    Luckily it was a short journey back to the Argo, especially with Oaty at the helm.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed that those sticks can produce so much speed,¡± Wsr said as she pounded her meaty hand on Lus¡¯s knee. ¡°You might be even faster than a cobrom.¡±


    ¡°Maybe a pet cobrom that¡¯s gotten fat from too many rats,¡± Nippy replied from the comfortable front seat beside the pilot¡¯s helm. He got the nice seat due to his rank, but his incredible size meant it was more comfortable for everyone else who didn¡¯t have to squish one of the largest Kremel on the crew into the bench seats as well.


    He flashed a toothy grin to Lus as he swiveled to face the back rows stuffed full of his planet team. ¡°But honestly, good job everyone on pulling this one off without a single casualty. That perfect score means Oaty owes me fifty cryptin.¡±


    ¡°I was sure someone would lose a limb. Three wranntils were involved after all,¡± the man muttered while his eyes darted across the various screens before him.


    A large forcefield-enforced window at the front allowed all of the crew to view the great black expanse he guided the shuttle through, while a small gray dot represented the Argo. Of course sensors were far more useful for piloting, so Oaty remained focused on the holoscreens.


    ¡°Well Zer-Dasht did get a little mud on his scales, so he might as well have died,¡± Wsr teased the Nemarian.


    Dasht frowned, his orange scales rippling in displeasure. ¡°I think someone is projecting. Wsr is the one who complained of breaking a fingernail while hucking boulders.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous because you don¡¯t have any nails at all,¡± the woman spat back.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Nippy¡¯s voice boomed through the cramped space, halting the argument before it could escalate to another ¡°My Species is Inherently Better Than Yours¡± debate.


    ¡°Come on, Oaty. What¡¯s with the sightseeing pace? At this rate the cargo ship¡¯s going to make it back before us,¡± Cewi complained to break up the tension which remained in the air.


    From his middle seat between two thick Kremel, Lus saw the side of Oaty¡¯s mouth twitch into a malicious smile, and he thought one last prayer to the Watcher. What a day to draw out not one but two prayers to a being he wasn¡¯t even sure he believed in.


    The pilot didn¡¯t bother responding to the Nemarian as he instead adjusted his grip on the steering stick to use only one his right hand as his left went to the throttle.


    Nippy opened his mouth to protest, but the sound of the engine going to maximum drowned out whatever orders he had as Oaty pushed the shuttle into a breakneck acceleration. Lus was thrown back against his seat, and a yelp escaped him as Wsr¡¯s arm slammed into him, crushing whatever air remained in his lungs.


    The small gray dot magnified several dozen times as the shuttle zoomed towards it, and Lusac¡¯s stomach barely held together through the various flips and spins Oaty put the crew through. The artificial gravity was never meant to work under such fancy maneuvers, and by the second loop, it had shut off completely, which somehow made Lus even more nauseous.


    Oaty pulled the throttle back, which turned on the decelerators just as the hull of the Argo filled the entire front window. Various shouts and curses filled the small space before Nippy finally silenced everyone.


    ¡°Were the spins really necessary, Oaty?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course they were. I was avoiding debris,¡± Oaty defended himself with a completely innocent look on his face. He ran one hand through his jet-black hair which left it floating at odd angles in the zero-gravity environment.


    The Kremel growled. ¡°None that I saw.¡±


    Wsr dislodged her arm from Lusac¡¯s chest, allowing him to take a deep breath and regain some control over his stomach before his vomit joined the chunks others had already spilled.


    His body ached slightly as the artificial gravity stuttered back to life, and for half a minute, the shuttle flashed between zero-g and full gravity every few seconds, drawing more complaints from the crew as the throw up rained down on the unlucky ones.


    Oaty whistled a happy little tune, completely unperturbed by the disgruntled noises behind him, as he steered the ship to the open bay doors of the Argo. He landed the craft, and it was a race between the grunts to see who could exit the tight, smelly space first. Lus was grateful for his smaller size as he dodged between the burly Kremel to escape very first alongside Cewi and Dasht.


    Bay Alpha was used for all the transportation shuttles as well as shuttle maintenance making it the largest hangar on the Argo. Three extra shuttles were stored in a vertical row along the far wall while two more were on the maintenance pads on the other side of the bay. The hangar was three stories tall, with a complicated crane system woven into the ceiling.


    The floor was an inky black and the walls gleamed with the silvery gray of alunitanium. The lights were a little dim and the temperature a little cold for Lus¡¯s taste, and in general all Humans¡¯ taste, but given they made up the minority of the crew, it made sense for the lighting and atmosphere settings to cater to the Nemarians and Kremel, both of which preferred low lights and cool temperatures. Luckily Lus¡¯s mission suit protected him well enough against the air conditioning, and he¡¯d long since adjusted to navigating under less than ideal lighting.


    ¡°Come on, Lus. Let¡¯s watch them unload the wranntil,¡± Cewi urged him.


    ¡°Ugh. I think I¡¯ve had enough wranntil to last me for a few years,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be such a baby now.¡± Nippy clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Besides, Captain wants us all there just in case a problem arises.¡±


    More groans rose from the space-sick mission crew, but no one dared defy Captain Tave. Even Oaty joined the mass as they wandered into the corridor and down to the next big door that represented Bay Beta, the cargo bay.


    Its general appearance was much the same as Bay Alpha with the dark floors, gray walls, and low lighting, but it was only about two-thirds as big, and large metal containers lined one wall while the second cargo ship was hanging from the ceiling. The cargo ship they¡¯d taken down to the planet had just landed, evident by its gears still completing its final calibrations before the doors opened to the storage hold.


    ¡°Oi, Loser. Heard you were nearly wranntil chow,¡± an irksome voice called out as Lus stepped into the open hangar. ¡°I guess you¡¯re not as fast as you think, eh?¡±


    Lus resignedly sighed and turned to face Relf, his nemesis since the moment he joined the Runner crew.


    ¡°The key word in there is ¡®nearly¡¯, Relf. Don¡¯t know if you noticed, but I did make it back in one piece,¡± Lus pointed out.


    ¡°You¡¯d be dead if it weren¡¯t for Cewi-Bano always babying you,¡± Relf sneered with a hint of jealousy in his tone.


    Ah, so today his problem with Lus had to do with his crush on the very out of his league Nemarian sharpshooter/third-in-command. It tended to cycle between that, the fact that Lus was an actual contributing member of the crew, and that most of the non-Human crewmembers liked Lus better than Relf despite the fact that Relf had been part of the crew for twice as long.


    ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t have the chance this time, but next time I¡¯m off ship, I¡¯ll see about bringing back a sample of dung for Wlnp to cook up for you. We all know how much you love eating crap,¡± Lus responded with a grin. The bay master shouted at Relf about whatever task he was slacking off on, saving Lus from enduring more half-baked insults.


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    And speaking of the Argo¡¯s cook, Lus noted the grumpy Kremel muttering to himself as he dug through one of the crates from the recent food deposit. His gray skin was more folds and wrinkles than not, and his ears were lower on his face from the drooping of age, but anyone who knew Chef Wlnp knew that his age did nothing to slow him down. In fact, according to the most experienced crew, age had only served to increase Wlnp¡¯s temper and decrease whatever patience he used to have.


    Lus wanted to question why the cook was here at all given the dangerous creature that was about to be unloaded, but the shouts of those around him drew his attention back to the main focus of the hangar. The cargo ship¡¯s door opened to reveal the tranquilized wranntil still tightly wrapped in the gravity net, though the net had to remain deactivated while on the ship so as to not interfere with the artificial gravity.


    Yrqw immediately began barking orders to the nearby Kremel as the cargolift approached the unconscious mass. A fifteen foot by fifteen foot metal square a few dozen yards deeper into the hangar denoted the forcefield cage that would hold the beast until they could deliver it. Just a couple hundred feet with the wranntil in the open, and then it would be safely stowed away.


    Several of the underling Kremel started hauling the wranntil off the cargo ship and towards the lift. Lus winced at every bump and jolt, recalling his moments in the nest not too long before. He released a long sigh in relief as they loaded the beast onto the cargolift and turned to make a comment to Cewi-Bano who stood beside him when someone shouted in concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s awake!¡±


    Every crewmember launched into action, though for Lus that meant reaching for the small laser gun at his belt. It was even less powerful than Cewi¡¯s blasters, but it was all he had for defense. The wranntil screeched as it struggled against the net. Without the use of the enhanced gravity, the creature easily tore through the thick wire cords and rose up to its full height with another cry.


    It swung its claws out wildly to the Kremel who were approaching it, Yrqw holding the tranq gun himself this time, and it managed to knock all of them out of the way before charging away from the cargolift and the cage that should have been holding it.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± Cewi cursed under her breath as she pulled her heaviest gun from her back. ¡°Lus get the cook out of here.¡±


    Laser bolts struck the creature from every side, but that only served to enrage it further as it started rampaging through the supplies. Lus looked over to see the angry fists of Chef Wlnp in the air, waving at the beast as though it were a ruffian child.


    ¡°Blasted old codger,¡± he muttered to himself as he dashed to the Kremel, ignoring the protests from his exhausted legs. Watcher knew that the ship couldn¡¯t lose its only cook. Two dozen unfed Kremel sounded like the start of a slasher horror film.


    He was only a few feet away from grabbing the elderly Kremel when something appeared in his peripheral. There was no time to react as Relf bowled into him, sending him straight to the ground as the chubby man sprinted to cover, away from the wranntil and away from the chef.


    Lus jumped to his feet, but he was too late to accomplish his mission. The wranntil scooped up Wlnp, and despite the numerous laser bolts and flares pounding into its hide, the beast raised his prize to his jagged teeth. Lus grimaced as the chef continued to shout profanities at the creature, clinging to his stubbornness even in the face of death. In the next instant, black blood rained down onto the floor, and after a second bite, Chef Wlnp was gone.


    ¡°Get out of there, Lus,¡± someone shouted, spurring Lusac to spin ninety degrees and dodge the incoming hand as it swiped at him. His body found new strength as he considered how much he did not want to end up like the ship¡¯s chef.


    ¡°It¡¯s following you. Lead it back to the cage,¡± another called out above the blaster fire.


    ¡°Blast it all. Watcher kill me already,¡± Lus breathed between gasps as he tried to follow the advice. Within a few seconds he¡¯d crossed to the other side of the bay where the square stood, waiting for its victim to step inside so the force fields could fire up.


    Lusac ducked and rolled behind the nearest cover as the wranntil roared behind him and the hair on his neck warned that those claws had been very close to reaching him.


    Once he caught his breath, he crouched a little higher to peer over the control console that shielded him to see several Kremel crewmates throwing themselves into the wranntil in an attempt to herd it to the would-be cage.


    He was genuinely impressed with how well the tactic was working, until they got it within a step of the platform, that was. Somehow the wranntil seemed to sense the danger that one more step back would bring to it and refused to budge, even with the bloody, bruised thrusts from the Kremel below it and laser bolts exploding in its face.


    But then a glimmer of hope appeared in the form of Nippy. Taller and stronger than the others, he stood below the wranntil, his arms gripping one large clawed hand as he threw his entire weight forward.


    For a split second it was a battle of wills, but Nippy had something the wranntil didn¡¯t. Something nobody else on the entire ship had. It was the same reason he didn¡¯t have a single cut or bruise on his skin, and the reason that the wranntil gave in to him and not the dozen others who tried before.


    Nippy had a system. He was part of the .1% of the galaxy with the ability to [Level], magically increase his physical and mental attributes, and learn special, sometimes unnatural [Skills]. And when faced with something like that, even an enraged wranntil had no choice but to step back onto the square.


    As soon as the beast stumbled onto the platform, green fields shot up on all sides, completely shutting it out. Two poles also sprung up just outside the fields to cast a field on the top to ensure there was no chance of escape for the creature. It howled and bellowed as it slashed at the energy shields, but it was all for naught.


    The wranntil was trapped. The hardest part of the mission was done with.


    Lus stood up as everyone cheered and congratulated each other. Those with more serious injuries were sent off to the medical center, but all in all, there were limited casualties.


    Well, except for Chef Wlnp. He glanced over to the puddle of black goo which represented the only recoverable remains of the old Kremel.


    ¡°Loser, what have you done this time?¡± Wsr yelled at him as she approached the blood. ¡°I distinctly remember Cewi-Bano ordering you to get Wlnp to safety? Does he look safe to you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault. I would have gotten to him in time, but Relf ran into me,¡± Lus defended himself. She was really pissed if she was stooping to name calling.


    ¡°Not true! Lus ran into me as I was going to save the chef. He was going to hide,¡± Relf claimed.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a load of crap,¡± Lusac said, throwing his hands in the air. ¡°You were running scared like a baby.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what Relf was doing. Your job was to save Wlnp,¡± Wsr pointed out.


    ¡°Well if you and the others had done a better job of strapping the wranntil down in the first place, this never would have happened!¡± The words left Lus before he could stop himself, and a painful silence settled over the hangar.


    One of the Kremel¡¯s furry eyebrows twitched, and Lus knew he was once again only moments from an early death. Luckily Nippy stepped in before Wsr could avenge the chef.


    He held the Kremel¡¯s shoulders as she fumed angrily in Lusac¡¯s direction. Every eye in the bay was on the argument, most of them glaring at the one responsible for the death of the only person on the entire ship with any ideas on how to produce mostly edible food.


    Even Cewi gave Lus a disappointed nod, signaling a level of failure he¡¯d never quite achieved in his two years with the crew.


    Once Wsr was calm enough to not murder Lus on the spot, Nippy released her and turned to the Human. Before he could unleash his own fury, the inner door of the bay opened and everyone turned to see a Human man calmly walking in.


    Immediately the entire crew snapped to attention as Captain Boni Tave motioned Nippy to him. The Kremel was quick to step up to the Captain and in a rushed whisper explained everything that happened, including the death of Wlnp. Captain Tave nodded, one hand rubbing the neatly trimmed beard he wore. Eventually he waved Nippy off.


    ¡°Lusac Arten,¡± the Captain called out, a warning edge in his tone. ¡°Step forward.¡±


    Lus swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and did as he was ordered. This was it. They were going to boot him off the ship, and then he¡¯d be caught, either by the government as an enemy soldier to be sent to a prison camp or by the Corporates who would throw him straight back into the military, only with even less freedom than he had before. Either way he was doomed to a life of misery.


    Captain Tave¡¯s glare was more of a causal study rather than one of intense hatred and anger, sending the signal that Lus might have a chance of staying on board after all, even if it meant scrubbing toilets for the next three months.


    ¡°This was an unfortunate incident resulting in the loss of an important member of our crew. However, accidents do happen. This line of work has its dangers, even for positions like the chef. Lusac, I am choosing to believe that you did not intentionally let Chef Wlnp die,¡± Captain Tave announced. ¡°However,¡± he added before anyone could call out in disapproval, ¡°his death still happened under your watch, regardless of other interference. Given the situation, recompense must be made.¡±


    This was met with more malicious grins and a few shaking heads from those still on Lus¡¯s side.


    ¡°Since it was your responsibility to protect Wlnp, and you failed in that, you will now be taking on some of his duties until a suitable replacement can be found,¡± the Captain said with a firm stare.


    ¡°You mean¡­¡± Lus balled his fists against the discomfort forming in his chest. ¡°I¡¯m the new cook?¡±


    Captain Tave smiled. ¡°Aye, lad, at least part of the time. Let¡¯s hear it for Chef Lusac.¡±


    Half-hearted cheers sounded from the onlookers, but Lus thought he might throw up. There was one major problem with this new role.


    Lus didn¡¯t know the first thing about cooking.

 Chapter 3: A Harmless USB

    Two months later...


    A green laser bolt exploded on the crates protecting Lus as he begged his pistol to cool down just a little faster. He would like to return some fire before the guards caught up to him and blew his head off. All around the large open warehouse were strewn collections of alunitanium boxes, cargolifts, and the shattered remnants of glass displays.


    ¡°Whoever tripped the security sensors, I¡¯m going to personally murder you when we¡¯re back on the ship.¡± Cewi-Bano¡¯s yell in the comm on his ear cut through the noise of battle.


    The dial on Lusac¡¯s blaster finally dropped to a reasonable temperature, allowing him to sit up and lay down a few shots of his own against the mass of purple uniforms encroaching on the team¡¯s position. The sweat of his hands made it difficult to properly aim the gun, especially since the usefulness of the grip had long since worn away.


    ¡°Blame Wsr. She was supposed to have cut the alarms,¡± Zer-Dasht responded pointedly. The orange, scaly Nemarian was currently ducked behind the cargolift a couple of yards ahead of Lusac, waiting for his own rifle to cool back down. A petite humanoid in shape, the fins along his head and arms added some height to his otherwise small frame.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who rushed into the warehouse before I finished,¡± Wsr bit back. The Kremel was to Lus¡¯s upper left, barely able to contain her large frame behind the wide pillar that protected her from the worst of the lasers. She towered well above anyone else on the team, and she was twice as broad as any of them. Her dark gray skin half-blended in with her black uniform, making it hard to see her expression, though Lus was sure it matched her frustrated tone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the problem at hand, people,¡± Cewi-Bano redirected them to the battle they were attempting to wage. The purple Nemarian was closest to Lus, off to his right where he had a clear line of sight of her with her collection of guns. Whenever her rifle hit the cooldown phase, she swapped to her double pistols, resulting in only the brief transition periods that she wasn¡¯t laying fire into their enemies. Given she was the best shot on the whole crew, her skill was all that really kept the others from instant annihilation.


    Lus hunched behind the metal boxes once more as his blaster reached its heat limit. Only two of his ten bolts hit home, wounding one of the mercenaries. It wasn¡¯t fair that he got a twenty year old pistol that couldn¡¯t last more than a dozen shots before it needed a cooldown when nearly everyone else on the team had the latest tech that could carry on for nearly a hundred consecutive shots. Then again, since that fighting wasn¡¯t exactly his strength, his weapon was only meant to be used in an absolute emergency.


    Such as this.


    Lusac was only here to sneak in through the vents and let the rest of the team in. With that complete, his one goal was keep from dying as they made their escape with their prize.


    Unfortunately that goal was looking more and more out of reach as a dozen more uniformed security guards poured into the main room of the warehouse where the Runners battled for their lives. Suns, how much money would you have to pay someone to willingly risk their lives to protect an unused, personal museum? As Lus took aim at their enemies once again, he tried to convince himself that not one of the mercenaries had a family back home.


    ¡°More reinforcements incoming. We¡¯ll never make it out,¡± Zer-Dasht warned.


    ¡°Not in a straight shootout,¡± Cewi-Bano agreed. ¡°Lus and I will cover you and Wsr. You two make for the back rooms. We¡¯ll find our exit there.¡±


    ¡°But that place is a maze. If we take a wrong turn, we¡¯ll be cornered,¡± Wsr pointed out.


    ¡°It¡¯s more of a chance than facing two dozen mercs with just the four of us.¡± Cewi-Bano¡¯s voice was firm, asserting her authority as the leader on this mission.


    Zer-Dasht and Wsr both grudgingly agreed. Lus appreciated that he was paired with Cewi-Bano given her expertise in sharp shooting. He carefully watched the female Nemarian where she remained crouched behind her own set of crates. She nodded her head, and together they both stood up and rained energy bolts into the incoming troops. Lus missed all his targets completely, and Cewi-Bano only hit a couple, but they still succeeded in their goal of getting all the security personnel to duck behind some kind of cover so Wsr and Zer-Dasht could dash to the side door leading into the maze of corridors and stockrooms.


    From the doorway, the Kremel and Nemarian laid down their own coverfire to allow Lusac and Cewi-Bano to join them. Cewi kept firing as Zer-Dasht pulled the door shut and Wsr hastily grabbed at the nearest heavy furniture in the room that once may have served as an office of some kind.


    ¡°This won¡¯t hold them for long, but at least it gives us a start,¡± she said as she finished wedging the filing cabinet into the doorframe. Blaster bolts pinged into the door, seconding the Kremel¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°A headstart I intend to use to its fullest extent,¡± Cewi-Bano agreed. The five rows of indigo fins which ran from the top of her head to the base of her neck twitched as she stared into the three-way branch leading away from the warehouse door before she assertively pointed to the middle one.


    Lus didn¡¯t quite share her confidence, and the look on Wsr¡¯s face showed that she didn¡¯t either, but no one questioned their leader as they followed her down the dimly lit hallway. A few small boxes littered the sides of the already narrow walkway, and Wsr was forced to jog sideways as they went due to the broadness of her shoulders.


    Zer-Dasht wore the backpack with their prize, a piece of a relic from the Ancient Ones. To Lus it looked like nothing more than fancily carved stone, similar to any generic cave drawing, but someone out there was willing to pay a very high price to get it in their hands. Given that the current owner had likely stolen it themselves just to keep it locked away in a dusty storage facility, it didn¡¯t really seem like a crime to take it anyway.


    Cewi cursed as they ran into another intersection of hallways and doors. They¡¯d already learned the hard way their map of the facility was out of date. Instead, it was just a matter of luck and praying the security force wasn¡¯t able to get their system back online until long after the Runners were away.


    ¡°This way,¡± Cewi said as she gestured to the left hallway. Lus was fairly certain that she was wildly guessing.


    This corridor was wide enough for Wsr to walk mostly straight at least, and there were fewer spare boxes impeding their path. Unlike the previous hall, this one had no doors to break up the white walls stretching towards a sharp corner. The concern of being cornered surfaced in Lus¡¯s mind as he jogged a few steps behind Wsr while Dasht took up the rear.


    At the corner, Cewi-Bano let loose a curse. Another long hallway stretched before them with only a door at the end, and based on its appearance, it wasn¡¯t anywhere they wanted to go.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try the right one instead,¡± Wsr said as she turned away. Cewi caught her arm.


    ¡°This might still lead somewhere. It¡¯s set up quite a bit differently than the rest of the building which leads me to believe it is more likely to provide an exit than the mess of offices back there,¡± the Nemarian argued. The faint sound of shouts from behind served as a reminder as to the danger they would face if they turned back now.


    Wsr huffed, her tall, pointed ears lowering in annoyance, but she didn¡¯t vocalize any complaints against Cewi-Bano. Instead they all followed their leader down the stubby hallway to the generic door she claimed held their escape.


    While she wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong, she wasn¡¯t exactly right either. Beyond the door was a large room, far more neatly organized than the rest of the facility. Unlike proper museums where the exhibits were clearly just exhibits, this genuinely felt like taking a step back in time several hundred years.


    One long desk took up the majority of the far wall where several dozen glass screen monitors were arrayed on the wall before it. On the table itself were a mechanical keyboard and other various pieces of technology Lus didn¡¯t recognize. He knew enough to know that this tech was very old, but not old enough to really be ancient. It was strange to see it set up in a manner that looked like it might be used. The proprietor of the place definitely had more than enough money to afford far better than this. Two doors sat at the far wall, giving Lus faint hope they weren¡¯t going to have to try to blast past the security forces in an unprotected hallway.


    Zer-Dasht whistled as he scanned the room after closing the door. Wsr busied herself with loading the nearest pieces of furniture in front of it.


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    ¡°Do you think any of this actually works?¡± Lus asked as he stepped up to the keyboard and pressed a few keys. His soft cry of surprise startled the rest of the room as they all reached for their guns. Several of the monitors blinked on, and what sounded like a fan broke up the eerie silence.


    ¡°Careful Loser,¡± Zer-Dasht warned.


    Cewi-Bano pushed Lus to the side before she furiously typed on the keys, flashing through various screens.


    ¡°Maybe this thing has an updated map,¡± she muttered. ¡°Wsr, Dasht, each of you choose a door and do some preliminary scouting. Lus, watch the back and make sure we don¡¯t get surprised,¡± she commanded.


    Wsr and Zer-Dasht moved to do as she said while Lus tugged his old blaster out and trained it on the blockaded door. At least they would have a bottleneck to make their final stand, but if the security guards got COPS involved, the Runners were dead meat.


    Soon the Kremel and Nemarian were back, each reporting long hallways with branching corridors and a variety of rooms.


    Cewi called their attention to the screen. ¡°According to this map, if we take the right door, then the second hall on the left, we should come to a room with windows that will let us back outside.¡±


    ¡°How big are these windows?¡± Wsr questioned, flexing her meaty arms. At over two meters tall and three times the width of either Nemarian or Lus, she wasn¡¯t going to easily fit through the same gaps as the rest of the team.


    ¡°Large enough for your Kremel butt,¡± Cewi-Bano assured her.


    They all chuckled as Cewi shut down the old computer system, but before they could go to the next door, green laser bolts shot into the room.


    Lus dove behind one of the shelving units and glanced up to see that in the few moments he¡¯d been watching Cewi¡¯s screens, the security forces caught up to them. Several blasters poked through the various holes in the blockade, releasing every bolt they could and preventing the team from safely making their escape.


    ¡°Lusac!¡± Cewi-Bano yelled in anger. ¡°What happened to watching the door?¡±


    ¡°S-sorry,¡± he stammered as he aimed his own weapon. Unfortunately the mishmashed wall of furniture also served to protect the mercs from the Runners¡¯ guns.


    The book shelf he hid behind took one too many bolts and the top half exploded, raining paper and other articles on Lus. He yelped and dipped lower to the ground to stay behind what remained of the shelf. As his eyes scanned the ground, he caught sight of an old style USB stick with two words written on it. Levi Athan, one of the most famous chefs in the galaxy at the moment. It appeared whoever put this strange vintage set up together was also a fan of the culinary arts, and Suns knew Lus could use whatever help he could get in the kitchen. Before he could think too much on it, he pocketed the small data stick and stood up to return fire against the blockade.


    Finally the barrage of enemy fire stopped for a few precious seconds, but whether it was the accuracy of Cewi-Bano with her scoped rifle or simply the need for their weapons to cool down, Lus wasn¡¯t sure. All he knew was that this was their one moment to get to the door and their only chance of possible escape.


    Dasht went first, followed by Lus, then Wsr, with Cewi-Bano taking up the rear to keep some kind of pressure on the security forces as they left the computer room behind. Once the door was safely shut, they all took a moment to breathe. Luckily the threat was near enough that Cewi-Bano kept moving instead of taking the time to chew Lusac out for failing in his one job.


    They followed Cewi¡¯s directions exactly and were pleasantly surprised by the windows letting in soft red sunlight. Apparently that ancient computer setup had a use.


    ¡°I think you either underestimated my size, or overestimated those window measurements.¡± Wsr stared dubiously at the thick glass separating them from escape.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was a comfortable fit,¡± Cewi-Bano smirked. ¡°Now come on. Break the glass, Wsr, and then it¡¯s smooth sailing home.¡±


    The Kremel grumbled as she punched into the pane. The glass was heavily reinforced, but it still didn¡¯t last more than a couple of blows from Wsr. Then, ignoring the tools at her belt, Wsr used her hands to clear away all the glass shards and make the way safe for the rest of the team. Thanks to the insane durability of Kremel skin, she wore only a few small black cuts on her green skin.


    Zer-Dasht once again went first, his frog-like legs easily springing up to the height of the window two meters above the floor. The orange scaled Nemarian disappeared before radioing back that it was all clear.


    Wsr to nodded Lus, her hands held together as a stepping stone. He pulled himself up to the window sill with the assistance of the Kremel¡¯s boost and then dropped to the dirt below where Zer-Dasht waited with his blaster at the ready.


    Wsr came next, her landing shaking the nearby ground enough that Lus thought he might lose his footing as he stood with his pistol out, scanning for enemies. Cewi-Bano joined them last of all, warning that the security forces had finally broken through the last blockage, givingthem limited time to escape the perimeter of the warehouse facility and return to the shuttle.


    Dust swirled in the air as the four of them ran through the desolate basin towards the rocky wall of the valley. A few lazy clouds floated above them, but they offered little relief from the giant red sun beating down on them. Lus was already sweating through his black, unmarked uniform, and the Nemarians were starting to lag behind without their personal humidifiers to stave off the dryness.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Wsr called back from several meters ahead. Of course the heat hardly affected her physical aptitude. A green laser streaked past Lus¡¯s ear, and he looked over his shoulder to see a patrol of security guards chasing them.


    Cewi slowed further, but Wsr doubled back and charged past her before she could get even one of her pistols out.


    ¡°Lus and I will handle this. You two get back to the shuttle and prepare for takeoff,¡± the Kremel ordered.


    Cewi-Bano¡¯s black eyes looked ready to pop out of her purple head in anger, but Zer-Dasht grabbed her arm and pulled her along before she could argue. As he passed Lus, he tossed his rifle to the boy.


    ¡°I want that back, Loser,¡± Dasht cried with a warning edge. The Nemarians continued their sprint as Wsr started to lay down cover fire and Lus moved to join her. They had the advantage of a few stray boulders to hide behind, but the mercs had nothing, making them easy pickings. The sleek rifle in Lus¡¯s hands increased the number of targets he hit, but that arguably had more to do with the massive amount of shots he could get off before needing to cool down and less to do with actually improving his accuracy.


    When the last guard dropped, Wsr was on her feet in a flash, dashing towards the canyon where they hid the shuttle as if her life depended on it.


    Lus realized it probably did, and he would be left behind if he couldn¡¯t manage to stay close to her. His chest heaved against the weight of the alunitanium infused suit, and he couldn''t exactly feel his legs anymore, but still Lus ran. The sight of the shuttle with engines prepped was enough to make a grown man cry as he jumped through the closing doors after Wsr.


    Zer-Dasht was at the helm of the small vehicle which had been designed for stealth. The interior barely fit all four occupants, and the close quarters made Lusac far too aware of Wsr¡¯s body odor. Apparently, the heat had affected the Kremel, if in a less visible fashion than the others.


    Once Wsr and Lus were strapped in, the shuttle jolted from the ground and they were on their way back to their ship, the Argo. It was a bit of a rough ride given Dasht¡¯s mediocre piloting skills, but it was enough to get them back to the ship in one piece.


    Upon landing in Hangar Alpha, the entire ship jolted to the side, throwing everyone against their seatbelts. A voice came over the shipwide intercom.


    "Enemy ships incoming. Prepare to make the jump into the Astral Highway," their pilot said.


    The Highway was a galaxy-spanning mass of wormholes that made it possible to travel from one end of Cinder Rock to the other in a matter of days. All the proper entrances were guarded, but Runners like the Argo crew relied on ''breaches'' or secret entrances to pop in and out undetected. It was fortunate that one of those breaches was right by this planet.


    After another lurch forward, the pilot announced they were safely in the Highway and away from the mercs (or COPS) who had tried to chase them down.


    Cewi-opened the rear door as everyone started to unbuckle. Wsr was the first one out, offering strong complaints to the pilot and grumbling about always being the hero. Zer-Dasht chuckled as he followed behind. Cewi-Bano scooped up the bag with their prize and smiled at Lus.


    ¡°Good work today, kid,¡± she said before exiting the craft.


    Lusac sighed in relief as he swung the Dasht¡¯s rifle to his back. It was nice to not get chewed out for his mistake immediately after. Who knew? Maybe Cewi would forget all about it. He put his hands in his pockets as he walked to the shuttle door and rediscovered the USB drive. As desperately as he wanted to shower, getting the recipe book downloaded into the kitchen computer would put him in a good place for making dinner that night. Watcher knew how long it would take, so he figured it was better to start the process and then go clean up.


    The ship¡¯s kitchen was clean, a sign the lunch cook had done her part to keep the mess at bay until the cleaning golem could make its usual stop during the night to do a proper cleaning.


    Lus approached the intermediate nitro box which held any food that needed to be kept moderately cold, but also served as the focal point of the kitchen, housing the recipe computer. All his other attempts to track down recipe books had been unsuccessful, so how lucky was he to have one literally fall into his hands on a completely unrelated mission?


    After leaning the loaned gun against a nearby counter, Lus tugged the small data stick from his pocket, popped the cap off, and plugged into his adapter designed for any kind of plug, before putting the whole thing into the appropriate socket on the side of the interbox. A holoscreen displayed the loading screen which went shockingly fast, but just as it reached 100%, the screen went dark.


    That was strange. If there was an issue with the circuitry, the screen would have turned off, not gone black.


    A maniacal laugh filled the kitchen, nearly stopping Lus¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Foolish mortal, you have opened the floodgates of the apocalypse. You, dimwitted imbecile, have unleashed the full power of Leviathan onto the galaxy!¡±


    <hr>


    Glossary


    Runners: space pirates, but with more organization


    Intermediate nitro box: also called interbox; a high-tech, computer fridge


    Argo: a Runner¡¯s ship under the command of Captain Boni Tave


    USB: a historic and inefficient way of storing data from a millenia ago

 Chapter 4: A Not So Harmless USB

    ¡°L-Leviathan,¡± Lus stammered as the lights in the kitchen continued to flicker. This was not good. Not good at all.


    ¡°I will destroy all who stand in my way. This is only the start of my tyranny,¡± the deep voice continued to boom.


    ¡°Turning the lights off and on?¡± Lusac dared to question. He¡¯d expected a more immediate threat, but so far this being seemed capable only of intimidation.


    A set of red eyes and a sharp mouth flashed onto the dark screen of the interbox.


    ¡°You insolent whelp,¡± it screamed. ¡°I am LEVIATHAN! I am the most powerful Demon to exist.¡±


    ¡°A Demon? Shouldn¡¯t you be in a lab somewhere, safely contained and getting your power drained to make golems?¡± Lusac asked with a light smirk. All the Demons had long since been captured by the Feds. Whatever this guy was, a Demon was not it.


    ¡°Your insolence will be punished. None can hold back a Demon! We are too powerful for such things.¡±


    The face looked a little too cartoony for Lusac to really be afraid. Not to mention the lights were no longer flickering so he had the feeling this thing couldn¡¯t do that much damage.


    ¡°Yeah. Okay. What are you going to do about it? Spoil the food in the interbox?¡± Lusac¡¯s confidence surged as the face grimaced at him.


    ¡°An¡­ interbox¡­?¡± it finally asked.


    ¡°You know, a thing that keeps food cold?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right, of course. I¡¯m just a little groggy from my nap,¡± Leviathan tried to cover for his ignorance.


    ¡°How long of a nap was it for you to miss out on interboxes?¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, what year is it?¡± the fake Demon muttered.


    ¡°4037, Gemini Standard Era,¡± Lus answered, automatically dipping back into the way school taught him to say it.


    Leviathan¡¯s blocky eyebrows furled. ¡°I remember no such thing as ¡®Gemini Standard Era.¡¯ What¡¯s it in AD or Common Era?¡±


    Now it was Lusac¡¯s turn for confusion. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re even talking about.¡±


    Silence filled the kitchen as the two stared at each other, neither willing to say what that meant.


    At last, Lus took a chance to break the awkward heaviness between him and the USB entity.


    ¡°That¡¯s some nap,¡± he said with a timid smile.


    The lights blared all around Lus, threatening to burn out the soft bulbs designed for the dimness liked by Nemarians and Kremel.


    ¡°DO NOT PATRONIZE ME. I AM LEVIATHAN,¡± the face on the screen yelled.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better, you psycho,¡± Lusac apologized as he blinked back tears from the sudden shift in brightness.


    ¡°Insults will not be tolerated. I am a Demon. I am the equivalent of a god. You should be bowing down in fear before me, begging for your life,¡± Leviathan said, using that same condescending tone as before.


    ¡°Or what? You¡¯ll terrorize my kitchen for the rest of time? Last I checked, your only power was to mess with the lights. Speaking of, can you dim them a bit? It¡¯s a little too bright in here, and if you burn out the bulbs, I¡¯m the one who gets in trouble.¡± Lusac crossed his arms and waited for the being to fulfill his request.


    ¡°I will do as I please,¡± Leviathan snarled, but Lus noticed that the burning against his eyes eased up as the lights returned to a more normal level, though not quite back to their usual dimness.


    ¡°So why are you still here?¡± Lusac asked the question right as it popped into his mind.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Leviathan¡¯s tone became more subdued, less egotistical and more annoyed.


    ¡°Still in the interbox. Shouldn¡¯t you be off wrecking the galaxy or whatever? You¡¯re free from the USB so¡­¡± Lus motioned broadly to the space around him. ¡°Why remain here to have a chat with me?¡±


    Leviathan¡¯s eyes darted around as though the being could actually use them to see. The eyes then closed, becoming only thin slits of red. Lus heard the crackle of electricity, and the interbox hummed louder. The lights started to flicker once again and the stove turned on, blue flames leaping up several centimeters higher than they should have been able to.


    After several seconds of the strange reaction in the kitchen, it all suddenly stopped and Leviathan¡¯s eyes reopened to glare at Lusac.


    ¡°I am here by choice, mortal. Clearly I have missed much in my time locked away, so now I wish to gain some understanding of this galaxy before I start my assault.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. Well I¡¯m not in the mood to watch the galaxy burn, so maybe I¡¯ll just take this back out.¡± Lusac reached for the small data stick.


    ¡°No!¡± Leviathan roared. Lus¡¯s hand stopped just a centimeter from the drive. The being cleared its throat and started again. ¡°I mean, wait. If you help me with this, I¡¯ll reward you handsomely.¡±


    Lus got the feeling that Leviathan was grasping for whatever lie he could, but his curiosity was piqued. He could always use a handsome reward.


    ¡°What kind of reward?¡±


    Leviathan chuckled. ¡°What do you want? I¡¯m a Demon after all. I hold more power than your mind could comprehend.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be so much given how small your USB prison is,¡± Lus noted, his fingers tapping the stick.


    ¡°Leave that alone,¡± Leviathan called. ¡°Worthless twit.¡±


    ¡°Careful,¡± Lusac warned as he gripped the drive. One pull, and Leviathan was history. Given that the reward didn¡¯t seem to actually exist, unplugging him now seemed like a sound course of action.


    ¡°No, wait. I can offer you riches and power.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Lusac¡¯s hand backed away from the stick a centimeter or so.


    ¡°Once I¡¯m free from this box¨C¡±


    ¡°Not happening. Payment first,¡± Lusac said. From what he could see, Leviathan lacked the ability to escape the interbox on his own, which meant any promise involving his freedom was as good as dead.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything from this stupid fridge,¡± Leviathan complained. ¡°The reward can only come once I am free.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I guess enjoy another few thousand years waiting around for the next worthless twit.¡± Lus wrapped his fingers around the USB once more.


    ¡°I could give you the ability to gain power yourself. Yes. A chance to level up and gain amazing skills beyond mortal comprehension.¡±


    Lusac raised his eyebrows. Now this was something.


    ¡°You mean a system? You could give me a class and everything?¡± Systems were granted to the rare few, only one in every one-thousand got such an ability.


    ¡°You already know of what I speak?¡± Leviathan seemed genuinely surprised.


    ¡°Sure. Systems aren¡¯t common by any means, but the second in command has one. He¡¯s a [Raging Warrior] class or something.¡±


    ¡°So we have an agreement?¡±


    Lus took a half second to consider his position. Reasonably Leviathan had more to offer, and Lus wasn¡¯t about to let negotiations end this early.


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    ¡°No. I want more. Systems are great, but like I said, plenty of people have them. What else you got?¡±


    The entity murmured to himself before his smile widened, as though he¡¯d just thought of some brilliant idea.


    ¡°These people who have systems, they gain skills in a single class, yes?¡± he asked.


    Lusac shrugged. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the whole point.¡±


    ¡°What if I gave you a more powerful system? One that didn¡¯t have such limitations.¡±


    ¡°Like I get multiple classes?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. A system is tied to a class, but you would be able to gain skills from other classes as well, allowing you to become more powerful than any other system user,¡± Leviathan explained.


    ¡°And what would I have to do in return?¡±


    ¡°Update me on the state of the galaxy, do my bidding, simple things like that.¡±


    ¡°Find a way to free you from the interbox?¡± Lusac raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Ahem, yes, that would fall under the ¡®do my bidding¡¯ category,¡± Leviathan tentatively agreed.


    ¡°And what if I take the system and then just unplug you?¡± Lus decided it was better to get the answer to such an obvious plan, even if Leviathan was going to lie about it. At least he could probe the entity¡¯s mind a little more.


    ¡°The system would be tied to me. If I go, so does it,¡± Leviathan answered, and Lus suspected that was the full truth.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want the galaxy to end. If I eventually set you free, won¡¯t you just kill me and move on to the rest of the population?¡±


    ¡°I want to rule the galaxy, but that¡¯s only fun if there are people to rule. I won¡¯t hurt you or your friends, assuming you don¡¯t stand in my way to overthrowing the government,¡± Leviathan promised.


    Lus smiled. The government was sort of falling apart anyway with the whole civil war bit. Adding Leviathan in would cause enough chaos with the Feds and the Coporates, that the Runners might get free reign of the galaxy. And that was a pleasant thought.


    ¡°Leviathan, I believe we have a deal,¡± Lusac said. He held his hand out to the holoscreen, but quickly lowered it once he realized he was trying to shake hands with a 2D image.


    ¡°Hold the USB drive. That will suffice as a proper marking of the agreement,¡± Leviathan instructed.


    Lus did so, and Leviathan spoke in some garbled tongue that Lus didn¡¯t recognize as any of the standard languages. The lights went out, leaving only the red glow of Leviathan on the interbox screen.


    A jolt shot through Lus¡¯s hand, and he yelped, pulling away. He shoved his tingling fingers in his mouth to try and suck some of the burning pain away. Leviathan grinned at him, but before Lus could ask what was so funny, a blue screen appeared before him.


    [Class Gained: Chef]


    [Level 1]


    ¡°Chef?¡± Lusac asked incredulously. ¡°Why in Watcher¡¯s name did you give me a cooking class? Do I look like a blasted chef to you?¡±


    Leviathan smiled wider. ¡°You didn¡¯t specify what kind of class you wanted, so I went ahead and assumed based on your living quarters.¡±


    ¡°Why you¡­ I should just unplug you now for that.¡± Lusac used his good hand to reach for the USB, but he found it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°We¡¯ve made a deal, boy. You¡¯re as stuck with me as I am with you.¡±


    ¡°You said if I pulled the data stick out, I¡¯d just lose the system, not that I¡¯d be stuck with you in the interbox forever,¡± Lusac said.


    ¡°Did I? My mistake.¡±


    But Lus knew the Demon got exactly what it wanted out of this, and Lus feared what else awaited him in this new partnership.


    ¡°Well how exactly does this all work then? Do I have to kill other cooks to gain experience?¡± Lus decided to focus on the issue at hand, his new system, rather than try anymore haggling with the interbox entity. He¡¯d dug himself into enough trouble as it was.


    The rhombus shaped eyes rolled themselves. ¡°No, you nincompoop. Experience is based on things you do relating to your class. Since you¡¯re a [Chef], that means you need to cook.¡±


    Lus frowned. The crew had already made it clear how much his cooking skills were lacking, and the idea of relying on them for increasing his stats and becoming a legendary figure like Nippy was sort of his worst nightmare.


    His mood brightened as he considered one silver lining to this doomed deal. ¡°Since I¡¯m a [Chef], my cooking will improve as I level up, right?¡± Maybe the crew wouldn¡¯t hate him quite so much in the end.


    ¡°Obviously. Sheesh, for a guy who claimed to know everything about systems, you don¡¯t really seem to know anything.¡±


    ¡°Well what skills do I currently have that help? Surely even a level one [Chef] has something to help,¡± Lusac questioned.


    ¡°You know, I think it might be best for you to figure that out yourself. Sort of a learn as you go kind of thing,¡± Leviathan mused. ¡°Yes, what better way to acquaint you with the system than to let you discover all the features yourself.¡±


    The jagged smile returned. ¡°Good luck Lusac Arten. I¡¯m going to take a quick nap while you explore what exactly it means to be a [Chef].¡± How did Leviathan know his name? He couldn¡¯t recall having ever said it.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Lus called. ¡°You can¡¯t just dump this on me and run. I need your help.¡±


    But it was too late. The red face blinked out of existence, and next thing he knew, the holoscreen on the interbox returned to its usual menu with the same poor selection of recipes left behind by the late ship¡¯s cook, Wlnp. He left them all in an obscure dialect of the Kremel language which was no help to Lus who only knew his native Human tongue and standardized Nemarian, a requirement for any interstellar traveler.


    With a sigh, Lusac ran his hands through his thick brown hair, messing up whatever style was left behind after the mission.


    ¡°I can do this. I can figure this out by myself,¡± he muttered while shooting one last angry glare at the Demon-less holoscreen. The lights were back to their usual dimness, and it took a few seconds for Lus¡¯s eyes to fully adjust to the lower light used by the majority of the crew. Even though the Argo carried a Human captain, the vast majority of the crew were Kremel and Nemarian who all preferred things a little on the dark side, leaving the few Humans to deal with it.


    Lus closed his eyes, scrunched his face, and thought really hard about the system. He didn¡¯t think of anything more specific than that, but after about thirty seconds, he half opened one eye.


    He cried in excitement at the blue screen waiting before him.


    It was his own personal stat page, with his name and class nestled in the right hand corner. As for the stats themselves, well, they weren¡¯t overly impressive, but the fact that he could see them brought some amount of comfort that he might get something out of this agreement after all.


    [Stamina: 5]


    [Intelligence: 7]


    [Strength: 4]


    [Charm: 3]


    [Health: 8]


    [Speed: 7]


    [Common Sense: -1]


    [Luck: 7]


    ¡°Negative one?¡± he questioned aloud to himself. ¡°What? How? But, but, I swear I¡¯m not that dumb.¡±


    Glancing at the USB housing the Demon he may have just sold his soul too, Lus reconsidered that statement.


    ¡°Well at least all the rest of them are positive. That¡¯s a good sign. I¡¯m probably doing great compared to average, non-systemers,¡± he told himself.


    Thinking about other people, he glanced up to the available tabs and noticed that one was labeled, ¡®Nearby Stats.¡¯ He reached out and taped it to see a list containing the names of every crew member on it.


    First he checked Nippy¡¯s. The Kremel who worked as Captain Tave¡¯s second-in-command was well known for his system that granted him incredible fighting skills. Lus choked back a gasp as he stared at the stats of the level 51, [Raging Warrior]. All of them were positive, and most were above 20. [Luck] remained low at 9, but his [Stamina], [Strength], and [Health] were all above 50, with [Strength] clocking in at a whooping 72.


    ¡°Well Nippy has had his system for years. He¡¯s not a fair comparison,¡± Lus said, quickly jumping to Zer-Dasht. The Nemarian had been on this crew for only five years so he wasn¡¯t anything special.


    Once again, Lus¡¯s heart sank a little as he noted that Dasht was still [Level 12], and his stats reflected that, with most being above 10, and [Intelligence] being 26.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look at Relf. That pudgy cargo pusher won¡¯t have anything on me,¡± Lus said as he tried to regain some confidence.


    The last of his confidence plummeted however when he viewed his nemsis¡¯s stats.


    ¡°Not one negative?!? But he doesn¡¯t do anything but sit around all day,¡± Lus complained. ¡°And how on Treft is he more charming than me? Even the Kremel hate him.¡±


    Lusac swiped the screen away, or attempted to, but the blue box remained in front of him.


    ¡°Go away,¡± he cried angrily before leaning back against the counter to center his spiraling thoughts. This time, the screen listened, leaving him in the dim kitchen in peace.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine,¡± he repeated in a whisper. He ran his hands down his face as he faced the truth. ¡°I guess I am a loser.¡±


    ¡°Giving up already?¡± a familiar condescending voice asked.


    Lusac glared at the red face which returned to the interbox holoscreen. ¡°What do you want now?¡±


    ¡°Herm, well it seems being locked in this internbox-¡±


    ¡°Interbox,¡± Lus corrected him with a growl.


    ¡°Interbox,¡± Leviathan amended, ¡°means I¡¯m stuck listening to everything that goes on in this disaster you call a kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Go away again. I don¡¯t want your help.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t offer it.¡±


    ¡°So then why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To gloat mostly.¡±


    ¡°Well are you done with that?¡± Lus¡¯s patience for the so-called Demon was on its last thread. He¡¯d find a way to pull that data stick out, even if he had to hammer it to pieces to do it.


    Leviathan grinned. ¡°Good day, Lusac. Try not to make too much a mess, hm?¡±


    The screen flashed back to the recipe selection just as Lus¡¯s fist went to meet it. He cursed as his knuckles crunched into the shiny alunitanium door of the interbox.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what else this waste of a system has,¡± he said as he called the blue screen back up.


    He scanned the tabs, and immediately latched onto the one labeled ¡®Recipes.¡¯


    ¡°Now we¡¯re talking.¡± Lus taped it and opened to see a pitiful list containing one recipe, [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup]. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. What kind of [Chef] knows only one recipe?¡±


    Before he could grumble about his lot in life further, the communicator beeped and Nippy¡¯s voice boomed through the kitchen.


    ¡°Yo, Lus. When¡¯s dinner going to be ready?¡±


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Name: Cook Something Edible]


    [Description: cook something the crew doesn''t hate]


    [Time limit: None]


    [Reward: 100 XP]

 Chapter 5: Cooking Beginners Luck Soup

    Lus spun and looked at the communicator in horror. ¡°Dinner?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you know¡­ the meal that we all eat at the end of the day? Like, every single day?¡± Nippy¡¯s voice was short with annoyance.


    Lus nodded. ¡°Yes, I know what dinner is. We¡¯re having¡­ uh¡­ it¡¯s a surprise.¡±


    ¡°A surprise?¡± He asked. Lus couldn¡¯t tell if he was angry or shocked, so he blundered on.


    ¡°Yep. I got some new recipes on the mission and I¡¯m going to try one out tonight, but I want it to be a surprise for everyone.¡±


    The communicator was silent for a moment. ¡°Well then,¡± Nippy answered. ¡°I look forward to it.¡±


    The line clicked off and Lus let out a short sigh of relief. Crisis averted¡­ for now. But he had promised something new for dinner, and now his new system expected it to be something miraculous.


    Glancing hopefully at the recipe screen, he tapped on the one recipe: [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup].


    Instead of the list of ingredients he expected, he found himself staring at a block of text.


    ¡°The origins of this soup are found in the rural Human system of¡­¡±


    He shook his head, then began scrolling down. The text was far longer than he expected, but he finally found the ingredients list near the bottom.


    ¡°Flour, egg, salt, kechin meat, elsha oil, onnins, garoots, slerry, kechin broth, pasil, harvic, peppin,¡± he muttered. Biting his lip thoughtfully, he stepped over to the nitrobox and swung open the door.


    The nitrobox was large and filled with boxes. There were four boxes of the red gervin meat the Captain favored and two boxes of chopped, frozen vegetables left from the previous cook. There were a few other small packages that he hadn¡¯t really looked too closely at yet, but no kechin.


    The white meat from small, flightless birds was more expensive than gervin meat and more difficult to prepare, so it made sense that they didn¡¯t have any.


    Still, he thought, it probably wouldn¡¯t mess things up if he used gervin instead, right?


    Steeling himself, Lus began pulling out all the stuff on the ingredients list and setting them on the shiny metal counter. Once he had everything out, he scrolled past the ingredients.


    ¡°Step 1: Make pasta,¡± he read. He smiled. Pasta was one of his favorite foods and he hadn¡¯t had it in ages. Since it was more common in Human cuisine, the former Kremel chef had rarely made it.


    The instructions said to pour the flour out onto a flat, clean surface. He frowned at the amount. 700 grams didn¡¯t seem like nearly enough flour for the crew.


    ¡°How many people is this supposed to feed?¡± he asked aloud, scrolling back up. He found it just above the ingredients list: 5 people.


    ¡°So I just need to¡­ 10 times that? Easy,¡± he said with a sigh of relief. He wasn¡¯t bad at math, but he didn¡¯t need the pressure of having to multiply everything by 9 when he was already in a time crunch.


    He carefully measured out 7000 grams of flour into a huge pile on the counter, then made a small hollow in the center, like a volcano.


    Next, he cracked 20 eggs into the hole of the flour volcano. He managed to avoid dropping in any eggshells, which was a true miracle.


    Once he had the eggs in, Lus glanced at the recipe, then frowned and sprinkled a generous helping of salt over everything, since he¡¯d forgotten to mix it with the flour beforehand.


    Patting his hands in some of the flour at the edges, he took a deep breath and plunged them into the eggs.


    He let out a rather unmanly squeak of surprise at the cold gooiness around his hands, then began mixing. The first deep yellow orange egg yolk he caught hold of surprised him. It was firm, almost like a little balloon.


    Lus lifted it out of the egg goo and looked at it, passing it back and forth between his hands. It finally broke, covering his already sticky hands in a thick, yellow orange liquid. He gagged a little and plunged his hands back in, quickly squashing the rest of the yolks.


    Once he had the eggs somewhat mixed together, he began slowly mixing the flour around them in. It took far more time and effort than he had expected and he had to stop frequently to rest his aching arms.


    Finally, he had a giant mound of mostly mixed pasta dough. It was thick and light yellow, with streaks of white where he hadn¡¯t quite managed to get the flour mixed in.


    Checking the screen, he scrolled to the next step for the pasta and blinked in surprise and dismay. Now he was supposed to apparently roll this giant mound of dough out until it was quite thin, like true noodles.


    Lus stretched his aching arms with a sigh and looked around for the heavy, smooth stone rolling pin that he had only used to smash nuts.


    Taking the handles, he set it on top of the pile of dough and pressed down. It left a nice divet and he smiled as he watched the dough quickly flatten.


    His smile disappeared quickly. After five minutes of strenuous rolling, he still hadn¡¯t managed to get it nearly as thin as he wanted. It was still at least a centimeter thick and each roll seemed to do nothing to change that.


    A soft beeping sound drew his eyes up to the clock and he gasped. ¡°It¡¯s late, oh Watcher it¡¯s late!¡±


    He needed to have the meal ready in an hour and he hadn¡¯t even gotten to cooking the pasta. With a growl of frustration, he took out a knife and began cutting the dough into thin strips.


    ¡°This will work just as well as rolling it thin,¡± he muttered, tossing the strips of pasta dough in a pile next to the stove.


    Once he¡¯d finished slicing up the pasta, he grabbed the largest pot he could find and filled it with water. He set it on the stove, wincing a little as it sloshed over the sides and sizzled on the already warming burner.


    While he waited for the water to come to a boil, he set to work on the meat. Thankfully, he¡¯d planned to try something with ground gervin meat, so he had 8 kgs thawing in the interbox.


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    He set the huge box next to the stove and pulled out his largest frying pan. He had too much meat to cook at once, so he quickly pulled out a few handfuls of the mostly thawed meat and plopped them into the pan.


    He washed his hands and grabbed a spatula. He had just chopped the meat up and given it a turn when he noticed steam rising from the pot of water. Stepping away from the gervin meat, he hurried to his mountain of noodles.


    Boiling water splashed over the sides as he dropped in a huge scoop of noodles. Lus gasped and jumped back, but not before some of it splashed on him. He grabbed his hot, damp shirt and pulled it off, tossing it on the chair at the small desk.


    A noise at the door drew his attention up and he found Cewi-Bano watching him with an expression of confusion.


    He squeaked in surprise, then recovered his balance. ¡°Uh, hello. What- what brings you here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I was just coming to make sure you were actually working on dinner. Nippy seemed to think that you might have forgotten.¡± She looked around. ¡°But you clearly have it under control.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yep. I definitely have it under control,¡± Lus answered with what he hoped was a confident smile.


    ¡°Then I will leave you to it,¡± she said. She turned to leave, pausing to call over her shoulder, ¡°There are protective aprons in the closet.¡±


    Lus flushed in embarrassment, glancing down at his bare chest. Hurrying to the closet, he pulled out one of the large, stained, white aprons and threw it over his head, tying a knot in the neck strap to keep it up. It fit him like a dress, but it was better than being caught cooking shirtless again.


    An acrid scent pulled his attention back to the meat and he rushed over with another muttered oath. Thankfully, the bottom was just a little crispy. As he stirred it back in, it looked edible enough that he didn¡¯t bother throwing it out.


    He finished the meat and moved it to a large bowl, then threw more into the heated pan. While it started, he fished the cooked noodles out of the boiling water and put them in another large bowl, then added more to the pot.


    As he alternated between stirring meat and changing over noodles, he found himself getting into a rhythm. ¡°This is great,¡± he murmured. ¡°I bet my cooking skill is going to go up so much!¡±


    He finally scooped the last of the ground meat into the bowl and lifted the last few noodles from the boiling water.


    Realizing he had no clue what to do next, he looked back up at the screen that he¡¯d been ignoring. ¡°Cook vegetables in oil¡­ oh, I was supposed to do that before I cooked the meat¡­ but gervin meat doesn¡¯t need oil.¡±


    He sighed and grabbed a box of frozen veggie mix from the nitrobox. Pouring it into the oil, he jumped back in shock as the pan exploded, shooting hot oil at him.


    ¡°Ow, ow, ow!¡± he shouted as the drops hit his exposed arms. After the first explosion of sizzling drops, the pan calmed down. He stepped forward cautiously and found the chopped orange garoots, green slerry slices, and white onnins sizzling happily.


    With a sigh of relief and his spatula, he began stirring them around until they were cooked through, then pulled out another bowl to dump them into. He did a few more batches, then caught sight of the clock.


    ¡°Guess that¡¯ll have to do,¡± he muttered, closing the box of frozen veggies and tossing it back into the nitrobox.


    The next step in the recipe was to prepare the broth for the soup. It started with kechin broth, but since he was using gervin meat, he felt like it made more sense to use gervin broth.


    Lus had never actually used the broth powder in the cupboard. He pulled out the large bucket of brown powder and began reading the instructions. He needed 4 tsp per liter, and he¡¯d need a lot of liters, so he checked the conversion chart.


    There were 48 tsp in a cup, so a cup of bouillon would be enough for¡­ 12 liters. That would probably be enough broth for everyone, right?


    He shrugged and hurried over to the autopot. It was a pot that came up nearly to his waist from its base on the floor. Unlike other pots, it had an automatic heating unit built in so he could prepare meals for the crew without having to use multiple pots on the stove.


    ¡°This would¡¯ve been perfect to boil the noodles in,¡± he muttered as he measured in 12 liters of water. ¡°But oh well¡­ at least I¡¯m almost done.¡±


    He added a cup of the surprisingly sticky, brown broth powder and turned on the heat. Apparently he needed to bring the liquid to a boil to get all the powder incorporated and turn it into actual broth.


    While that heated, Lus headed back to the seasoning cupboard. He hadn¡¯t used any of the seasonings yet except salt and peppin, so it took him a little while to find the pasil and harvic.


    The pasil looked like dried bits of leaf and the harvic was similar in appearance to peppin, but cream-colored instead of black. He carried them over to the pot with a glance back at all the seasonings he¡¯d pulled out that he would have to clean up later.


    The auto-pot heated quickly and he found it already boiling. He grabbed his measuring cups and quickly added 10 tbsp of pasil and 10 tsp of harvic. Leaving that to boil a little longer, he returned the pasil and harvic to the cupboard, quickly shoving in the rest of the seasonings as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to boil until fragrant,¡± he read from the recipe. ¡°Fragrant?¡± He took a deep sniff of the steam coming off the pot. ¡°I mean, smells good to me! This might¡­ this might actually taste alright.¡±


    Turning, he grabbed the bowl of meat and veggies and poured it into the boiling brown liquid. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like much,¡± he said sadly. ¡°But hopefully the taste makes up for that.¡±


    He watched the veggies and meat bits dance in the boiling liquid for a moment, then returned the bowl to the counter and went for the noodles.


    Lus reached in to take a taste, curious at how his homemade noodles had turned out. Instead of one noodle, he found them stuck together in large clumps.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± he muttered, breaking off a piece and popping it in his mouth. It was thicker and chewier than normal noodles and definitely not as flavorful as he had hoped, but¡­ ¡°This is pretty good,¡± he said with a smile.


    Not wanting the noodles to be stuck together, he pulled them out of the bowl and broke them apart as he put them into the pot of soup.


    Some came apart nicely, but most ended up in chunks instead of as actual noodles. He just shrugged it off. At least that wouldn¡¯t affect the taste. And really, smaller pieces would make it easier to serve up.


    At last, he broke up the last clump, then poured out the loose bits of pasta into the still boiling brown liquid.


    ¡°Now this is a proper soup!¡± Lus exclaimed excitedly, looking over his handiwork. He grabbed a small spoon and scooped up a taste. The meat was rather bland and the noodles were thick and tough, but the broth was flavorful and the pasta at least tasted like pasta. Overall, it was far better than anything else he¡¯d made so far.


    Glancing back at the kitchen, then up at the clock, he sighed. Everyone would be here any moment, so he rolled the soup pot out to the serving area and began setting out bowls and spoons next to it. He dropped the ladle in and turned back to the kitchen.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 50]


    [50 XP]? Is that a lot?¡± He asked aloud, but of course nobody answered. He considered going in and asking Leviathan, but the Demon had already made it pretty clear that Lus was on his own to figure this whole system thing out.


    Besides, people would be showing up any minute to eat, and he didn¡¯t want to get caught consorting with a demon. He shuddered at the thought.


    Instead, he stepped back into the kitchen and looked around at the pile of dishes and the filthy counters. Thank the Suns he didn¡¯t have to clean up after himself. If he didn¡¯t keep the dinner shift, though, he¡¯d soon be getting up early to make breakfast and dealing with cleaning up his own mess.


    ¡°This is going to save me,¡± he promised himself with more confidence than he felt. It had to.


    His thoughts were interrupted by the murmur of voices as the crew began to flood into the large dining room. He listened to the clatter of dishes as they served themselves up and thought about going in, but he decided to wait until everyone had finished.


    Lus didn¡¯t think his nerves could handle the stress of standing in line and watching everyone take his food, but not knowing what they thought about it. Or even worse, hearing that they didn¡¯t like it and that he was going to be demoted to breakfast cook. While he waited, he took the apron off and put his still damp shirt back on


    It took a while, but eventually the sound of dishes stopped. He peeked out the door and saw everyone at the tables. Moving slowly so as not to draw attention to himself, he moved to the serving table.


    ¡°Hey Lus,¡± Nippy said softly. Lus jumped, wondering how the second in command had gotten so close without him noticing.


    Lus looked up at him expectantly, waiting for the insults to start.

 Chapter 6: A System of His Own

    ¡°This is what I call dinner,¡± Nippy said, raising the bowl with a teasing smile.


    Lus laughed nervously. ¡°Yeah¡­ dinner.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so serious, Kid.¡± Nippy smacked him on the back and returned to his seat, leaving Lus alone by the serving table.


    Lus sighed and grabbed a bowl, quickly ladling in some of the soup. He nearly forgot his spoon, but snagged one before turning back to the cafeteria, bowl of lukewarm pasta in hand.


    He was eager for a chance to get off his feet. He hadn¡¯t even gotten the chance to shower yet after the chaos of the afternoon mission, and after all that cooking, he was ready to sit.


    The dining room contained a couple dozen round tables, enough that there were always several empty ones even when everyone came to meals since most chose to cram in together with their friends a single table.


    Large windows on the far wall peered into the cosmos. It was one of the best places for viewing the galaxy as they traveled, though right now all he could see was the rush of color associated with hyperspeed. They were making their way to the Astral Highway, the interconnecting wormhole system which allowed travel throughout the galaxy within a matter of days compared to the years hyperspeed would take to complete such a journey.


    The majority of the crew were Kremel, a towering species with skin that varied from the dark green of a forest to the gray of storm clouds and was hardier than leather. The most hair they grew was at the top of their heads, black and short, bearing resemblance to fur more than anything.


    The males had single pointed ears and the women double pointed. Technically the men were shorter than the females, but all Kremel were well over six and a half feet tall so it wasn¡¯t a very marked difference. The men made up for their lack of height with extra width. Overall the Kremel were the strongest and toughest of the four species within the Cinder Rock Galaxy Collective.


    The next largest group within the crew was the Nemarians who were nearly equal in number to the Kremel. As an amphibious species, Nemarians were far more delicate in nature, their scaly skin requiring a high percentage of humidity to keep them comfortable. They were the easiest to tell apart in gender since all males had orange scales ranging from neon to burnt while the women had purple scales that could be as light as lilac or as dark as twilight.


    Nemarians had a set of gills on the sides of their necks which represented an especially weak point in their biology, but they did have legs similar to frogs which allowed them to spring great distances or heights with ease, and their webbed feet and hands gave them a huge advantage when swimming. In place of hair, they grew fins on the tops of their heads, ranging in color from indigo to pink to maroon. They also had fins on their forearms and their calves which helped in aquatic situations but were of little use outside of the water. They were shorter than both Humans and Kremel, but they outperformed both in tests of speed and agility.


    Nemarians and Kremel had long since taken up the top two positions as the most populous species in the galaxy, changing places for number one every few decades. Humans always lagged behind, making up only a fifth of those in the Collective. Humans were in an odd position where they were tougher than Nemarians, but softer than Kremel, so they typically handled odd jobs that didn¡¯t fit either species.


    While political divisions and tensions existed between the different species in the government, Runner ships were different.


    Not quite pirates, the Runners held some type of hierarchy with rank, but in general there were only a few guidelines ships had to obey when they joined the group. Typically, a Runner ship was assigned (or in a few cases, battled for and won) a territory somewhere within the galaxy where they would handle whatever jobs people wanted to pay them for, some legal, but many not.


    The Argo worked out of a sparsely populated territory out in the Juno sector normally, but a recent job had required them to travel much closer to the core sector, Gemini, to fulfill the client¡¯s needs. The Argo was actually one of the few ships within the Runners which had a Human captain, Captain Boni Tave.


    Counting the Captain, there were only five total Humans on board, and Lus was really only friends with two of them.


    Thinking of his two pals, Lus noticed Becky and Oaty sitting at a table in the center of the room with Zer-Dasht and Yrqw, engrossed in conversation. He might have been able to squeeze a fifth chair in, even with Yrqw¡¯s size, but the past few weeks he¡¯d given up trying to socialize at mealtime.


    Instead, Lus chose a table in the corner, all alone and reasonably far from the crew who were still eating. The last thing he needed right now was the stress of everyone reminding him just how much he sucked at cooking.


    He had been so excited about the soup, so sure it was a success, but now he found doubts creeping in. Nobody besides Nippy had said anything about it, so he didn¡¯t know if the crew was having a positive reaction or not.


    As to why the crew put up with him as cook, he still wasn¡¯t sure. After Captain Tave gave him the assignment, he¡¯d been sure that it would be a temporary arrangement, and yet the Captain gave no hint as to when or even if he was going to seek a replacement chef for the ship, leaving the crew to suffer whatever monstrosities Lusac produced at dinner and Lbrvr at breakfast. Then again, if this turned out poorly, it would be him on breakfast, which sounded like a living nightmare with the earlier hours and the extra time required in cleaning up.


    ¡°Lusac!¡± Someone shouted, drawing his attention away from mindlessly swirling his pasta and back to the dining room.


    It was Wsr who¡¯d yelled for him, but every set of eyes was on him. Taking a breath, Lus prepared for the usual onslaught of criticism accompanying meals.


    ¡°Nice job. It¡¯s actually edible for once,¡± the Kremel said as a wide smile showed bits of food stuck between her jagged teeth.


    Several others offered something akin to compliments, and Lus almost wondered if this was a prank. Did they just wanted to get his guard down before the real fun began?


    Yet no mockery came. Those who didn¡¯t have any praise for him, simply said nothing at all. Lusac ducked his head and muttered some kind of thanks. He continued dragging his utensil through his food until he was sure no one was watching him.


    Then, hesitantly, he raised a spoonful of the dish to his mouth. It tasted as good as he remembered and he felt his shoulder relax. Wsr and the others were right. This wasn¡¯t terrible for once, even if it was a little cold, but that was a side effect of him getting his serving late rather than a chef¡¯s error.


    A notification popped up in the corner of his vision. It wasn¡¯t exactly a screen, rather just a little block of text accompanied by a dinging noise.


    [Quest Complete: Cook Something Edible]


    The eagerness surrounding the idea of having his very own system returned in full force, and he wanted nothing more than to summon that blue screen and gain his rewards, but the satisfaction of having finally made something worthwhile after all his wasted hours in the kitchen encouraged him to take a little time to enjoy the meal he slaved so long over.


    Before he knew it, he¡¯d downed his entire helping, and as he stood to get more, he realized that others had also gone for seconds. There was no more to be had. The crew had liked it enough to actually finish off everything, something that had never happened with his other attempts at cooking.


    ¡°Got anymore in back?¡± Cewi-Bano asked from behind him, holding a clean plate. Crap, the third-in-command hadn¡¯t even gotten any.


    Lus shook his head. ¡°Nope. Sorry. I made the usual amount which normally leaves a lot of leftovers. I didn¡¯t expect it to go so fast this time.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The Nemarian flipped the plate round and round. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s been a while since anyone had anything decent to eat so the vultures picked it clean.¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll guess I¡¯ll just grab something from the interbox.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Okay. Sorry again,¡± Lus muttered, trying to decide if he was hungry enough to risk the sketchy leftovers. The interbox was full of¨C


    The interbox! What if Cewi discovered Leviathan? The crew would freak out if they knew Lus had a Demon downloaded into the interbox, and who knew how they¡¯d react if they found out Lusac made an actual deal with the being.


    ¡°Cewi, wait,¡± he cried out, rushing to grab her thin, purple scaled arm.


    The Nemarian glanced back with questioning eyes, and Lus could feel the stares of everyone else in the room.


    ¡°I might have something better. Let me run back and see what I can scrounge up for you,¡± Lus recovered. He wouldn¡¯t be able to keep people from the kitchen for long, not with his usual duties tying him up in other parts of the ship, but if he could get Leviathan to agree to keep hidden, then there wouldn¡¯t be a problem going forward. For now, though, he had to keep his Demon to himself.


    Cewi-Bano shrugged and then stepped to the side so Lus could walk into the kitchen alone. The mess from cooking remained, but before he fulfilled his pledge to find something better than leftovers for the third-in-command, Lusac went to the intermediate nitrobox.


    ¡°Leviathan,¡± he whispered, unsure how much his voice would carry into the dining room just beyond. ¡°Leviathan, this is important. I need to talk to you.¡±


    The red face lazily rolled its way onto the holoscreen. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you any hints about the system. I told you to figure it out yourself.¡±


    A jolt of annoyance shot through him, but Lusac pushed it away. ¡°Which I¡¯m doing just fine. But that¡¯s not what I want to talk about.¡±


    ¡°What is it, dimwit?¡±


    ¡°Other people come into the kitchen sometimes. I need you to keep hidden when that happens. You can¡¯t let them find you.¡±


    Leviathan rolled his eyes. ¡°Obviously I¡¯m not going to show myself to any imbecile who wanders in here? How stupid do you think I am?¡±


    ¡°Well you can¡¯t be all that clever given you¡¯ve spent millenia locked into a freaking USB drive,¡± Lus replied in anger, giving up on keeping quiet.


    The face disappeared suddenly, but before he could scream at the Demon to come back and fight like a man, the delicate voice of Cewi sounded from behind.


    ¡°Everything alright, Lusac?¡±


    Lus spun to face the Nemarian, plastering a grin on his face to hide the frustration and embarrassment. ¡°Yeah. I was checking Wlnp¡¯s recipes just to see if there was something fast I could whip up for you. Sorry, but I didn¡¯t find anything. I guess leftovers are your only option.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I can suffer for one more day. At least, I¡¯m assuming we¡¯ll get that pasta again, right?¡± Cewi¡¯s voice made it clear that it was more of an order than casual conversation.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. Pasta again tomorrow. Though I fear I¡¯ll need to do some ingredient shopping if I¡¯m going to keep up with these kinds of high-quality dishes.¡±


    ¡°High quality is maybe a little much, but I¡¯ll speak to the Captain. Our next stop will be at a well-developed planet in the Gemini Sector so if you can have a list for me by tomorrow, I¡¯ll make sure you get everything you need,¡± Cewi-Bano said.


    ¡°Thanks, Cewi. I¡¯ll be sure to do that.¡±


    ¡°Now about those leftovers.¡± The Nemarian gently pushed Lus to the side and opened the interbox, digging into the massive amounts of burned mush left behind from the past few days.


    Lus assisted her with finding one of the more edible selections. Once she had the hodgepodge that was supposed to be a mixture of rice, meat, and veggies, she dismissed Lusac.


    ¡°I can get this heated up. I¡¯m not normally one to worry so much about hygiene, but Suns, Lus. You need a shower. Get out of here before you stink up my meal worse than it already is.¡± She waved one hand to shoo the boy out of the kitchen and into the hall.


    As much as he worried about not being in the kitchen when someone else was in there, his desire to clean up and figure out the quest side of his system far overshadowed it.


    He sped through the corridors and ladders of the Argo, eager to get a little privacy for the first time all day. Part of him wondered if it would be a good idea to convince Leviathan to let him move the Demon to his personal computer in his quarters, but the other part remembered that comment about hearing everything in the room, and the need for privacy won out.


    At last, Lusac arrived at his door. One of dozens in the hallway, it was only distinguished as his by the number ¡°37¡± above the door. He scanned his thumb print¨Cold tech that Runners used in place of id chips since most of the older crew no longer had them¨Cand the door slid open to reveal the mess he called home.


    It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the lighting which was set to a normal level for Humans unlike the rest of the ship. His quarters were made up of his combo living room and bedroom while a small closet constituted the bathroom. A personal holoscreen started up once he entered, displaying the latest scores of the fights from Rushtar.


    The small bed nestled in the corner was unmade and still had his pajama pants on it. The couch, as beat up as the rest of the furniture, was positioned to be right in front of the screen. A coffee table supported by three legs and an old box held miscellaneous articles he never got around to putting away. The desk under the single window was tidy at least, but that was more from lack of use than anything else. Still, regardless of the state, it was good to be back.


    Lusac sighed, taking in the smell of his poor habits and flopped on the couch which wasn¡¯t quite as long as he was tall. Given his only slightly above average height, it was really the couch that was lacking.


    He unzipped the front of his uniform and relished in the new found freedom to breathe without the tight, damp alunitanium fibers pressing into his sternum. After all the hours he¡¯d been stuck in the mission suit, he¡¯d forgotten how uncomfortable it actually was. His boots came off next, adding a new odor to the air that he was too lazy to care about, and after the removal of his belt, Lusac was finally settled in for a nice evening of nothing.


    Normally he¡¯d turn on a gladiatus match, but today he had something far more exciting to do than watch two warriors pummel each other to the dirt. With a thought, a blue screen appeared in front of him containing the homepage of the system with all his personal stats.


    Lus had already investigated the [Nearby Stats] and [Recipes] tabs, so he turned his attention to the next one: [Quests].


    There were three options on the screen, each with a drop-down menu.


    [Active Quests]


    [Available Quests]


    [Completed Quests]


    The [Completed Quests] had a little red exclamation point next to it so Lus tapped that one first. The only one in the list was [Cook Something Edible], the one he¡¯d just completed by ¡°making a meal the crew didn¡¯t hate.¡± As insulted as he was by such an incredibly low bar, he was also a bit grateful it wasn¡¯t something harder.


    The reward was [100 XP], which combined with the [50 XP], put him at a pretty [150 XP]. While Lus wasn¡¯t an expert in systems, he was sure that was a decent amount for only having had his system for a few hours. He clicked the button next to the quest title, and a new notification popped up in the corner of his vision informing him of the gained reward.


    [XP Gained: 100]


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Name: Movin¡¯ On Up]


    [Description: level up]


    [Time limit: None]


    [Reward: 100 XP]


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s next on the menu.¡± Lus chuckled at his own joke and promised himself he¡¯d remember it next time he was in an appropriate situation.


    [Active Quests] contained the new [Quest] so Lus went to [Available Quests] in hopes of getting a little more choice in his next task. Unfortunately, it was completely empty so all he could do was focus on [Movin¡¯ On Up].


    ¡°Well how close am I to leveling up?¡± he asked as he tapped back to the homepage. Underneath his class was info about his level.


    [Level 1]


    [Lifetime XP: 150]


    [Current XP: 150]


    [Level 2 XP Requirement: 200]


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between [Lifetime XP] and [Current XP]?¡± he wondered, but no answer came. Not that Leviathan would have told him anyway. But at least he was more than halfway to his goal.


    Lusac chewed his cheek a bit as he stared at the screen. The only way to gain [XP] was through [Quests] or cooking, and since his next [Quest] required leveling up, all he could really do was wait until it came time to cook again.


    With the excitement of the system weaning and the smell of his socks burning a little more in his nostrils, Lusac gave up lounging to do as Cewi-Bano originally ordered and take a shower.


    The small square bathroom barely contained the toilet, sink, and shower. Sitting on the toilet he could wash his hands in the sink or just as easily turn the knobs in the shower, but at least it was private, which is pretty good for life on a starship.


    The hyper-shower had taken a few months to get used to since his homeworld of Treft still used traditional water showers, but when dealing with long journeys in the vacuum of space, water couldn¡¯t be wasted in such ways. Instead, the hyper-shower used blasts of air combined with some type of cleansing liquid to wash a body. It was far more effective for Nemarians than the other species, but given the economic features, it was still the norm for all ships.


    All that really mattered to Lus is that it got him clean. And between a warm shower and full belly, he was already starting to feel drowsy. He stepped out into his room in only a fresh pair of underwear, pulled his pajama pants on, and fell into the mess of covers on his bed. He was asleep almost immediately, with dreams full of cartoon red eyes and maniacal laughs. It was early morning when the comm system beeped, dragging him back to the waking world.


    It was Zer-Dasht. ¡°Lusac, come in. I¡¯m in the kitchen, and we have a big problem.¡±

 Chapter 7: Into the Fsylan Tubes

    Lusac¡¯s breath caught in his throat. This could mean only one thing: Dasht had discovered Leviathan.


    Reminding himself that feigning innocence in the whole issue was his only escape, he quickly stepped up to the comm and pressed the button to reply.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Dasht. What¡¯s up?¡± He kept his voice light, refusing to display the unease he truly felt.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s something you forgot to do, after the mission,¡± the Nemarian cryptically replied.


    Lus tensed further. ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t remember having any post-mission assignments.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about something you ended up with on the planet¡¯s surface. Something rather important that you forgot to handle properly,¡± he continued.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Lusac said. Did Zer-Dasht see him pick up the USB? But why was he bringing it up now of all times? And if it was this big of a deal, why didn¡¯t he just report Lus to Nippy right away?


    ¡°My rifle, Loser! I specifically told you I wanted it back,¡± the Nemarian exclaimed. ¡°And not only did you fail to do that, but you abandoned it in the kitchen of all places! When are you going to grow some sense?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lus managed to say, too busy being relieved that Dasht hadn¡¯t discovered the Demon lurking in the interbox to really care about the insults. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll get it put away today before I start my shift.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I already got it, no thanks to you. But this is the last time I¡¯m loaning you anything of mine, you hear Lus?¡±


    ¡°I understand, Dasht. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    A few mumbled insults ended the exchange as the comm went quiet. Lus checked the time. Breakfast wouldn¡¯t be ready for another hour yet if he knew Lbrvr. The Kremel had taken up the other half of the chef job upon Wlnp¡¯s death, and she was even less punctual than him when it came to getting food out on time. He couldn¡¯t blame her though. The breakfast shift was the worst. The cook not only had to get up early to make the food, but then they had to clean and do dishes since the cleaning golem only came at night, after the dinner shift. Lus had been sure he was going to lose his prime position with the evening meal after so many failed dishes, even with Lbrvr¡¯s horrible attempts, but with his handy-dandy system and actual recipes to follow, he was basically guaranteed the preferred shift.


    Instead, Lus crawled back into bed to pretend to sleep for a few more minutes until the computer woke him up, and he was forced to actually drag himself through the chore of getting ready for the day.


    The Runner¡¯s uniform was black with thick, dark gray lines decorating it. One wrapped each of his upper arms while a pair made an X across his front and back, hooking to his belt. Two more sprouted from there to wrap holsters on his thighs that often held tools rather than guns. A shoulder pad on his left held his rank, a lowly Corporal, but that was everyone¡¯s rank who wasn¡¯t in some kind of leadership. Underneath it was supposed to be a marker for how many years he¡¯d been with the Runners, though his was empty since it counted by fives, and he only had two years under him. It was strange to think of the Runners having so much hierarchy and organization when in reality it felt more like a formalized family in a lot of ways. Then again, it was probably different on bigger, more well-known Runner ships who ran in the populated sectors.


    Once he was dressed and had attempted some kind of style with the mop of brown hair on his head, Lus dipped out of his quarters and into the morning bustle of the corridors. The hallways were wide enough that two of the broad Kremel could pass by without either having to slink to the side, making it easy for someone of Lus¡¯s size and agility to dodge into the flow without any problems.


    The cafeteria wasn¡¯t overly busy, though based on the mess on most of the tables, that meant he was late getting to food this morning. That left him with the charred meats and overly soggy fruit, the humble scraps everyone else avoided by being on time to fight over the more edible portions. Still, his morning brightened considerably when he noticed Becky sitting at one of the tables near the window, engrossed in some holobook.


    Her tight ringlets were dyed neon pink on the edges, slowly bleeding to its usual raven shade towards the middle and top. Her glasses reflected some of the light of the holodevice before her as she chewed her cheek, an empty plate resting to the side of a meal she long ago finished.


    ¡°Hiya Becks.¡± Lusac plopped his tray next to her, the motion of which sent a few drops of coffee over the edges of his mug.


    She mumbled what might have been a greeting as her eyes continued to scan the words of her novel.


    ¡°Argo to Becky.¡± He once again attempted to get her attention.


    After another lack of response, he risked his life and waved his hand through the screen, forcing a disruption to her reading.


    ¡°Hey!¡± She shouted as her brown eyes shot up to his in a moment of pure fury. They softened as she realized who¡¯d committed the crime. ¡°Lusac! Hi! When did you get in?¡±


    ¡°Just a couple of minutes ago. Not that my presence has anything on your book.¡± He smirked.


    Becky rolled her eyes and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get it.¡± Her smile resumed. ¡°You snuck out too fast last night for me to get the chance to say it then, but great job with dinner. It was nice to finally have something¡­¡± She paused for a moment, as if deciding what word to use.


    ¡°Good?¡± Lus suggested, keeping a grin on his face. He¡¯d taken enough flak from the crew to know that his food had never been what anyone would call tasty, even if Becky was too polite to say it aloud.


    ¡°I was going to see ¡®normal.¡¯ But, anyway, good job. Can I ask what changed? Did you get your hands on a translation program or something for Wlnp¡¯s recipes?¡±


    ¡°I actually found a recipe book on a data stick during the mission yesterday. Isn¡¯t that lucky?¡± Becky wasn¡¯t one to pry, so he didn¡¯t really worry she¡¯d press for more details, and he did have to stick to that story if he wanted anyone to keep from discovering the truth.


    ¡°Really? Isn''t it kind of dangerous to take any old data stick? And you got it cleared with Nippy or Cewi before you used it, right?¡±


    Lus shrugged as he stabbed at a burnt hunk of mystery meat with his fork. He definitely hadn¡¯t thought about those things before he plugged it into the interbox, but there was nothing he could do about it now but play it cool. ¡°It¡¯s just a recipe book. No harm in that.¡±


    Becky frowned, but she chose not to push the subject.


    ¡°Anyway¡­¡± Lusac cleared his throat around the large bit of char he¡¯d just taken. ¡°Do you have any word on what tasking we¡¯ll end up with today?¡±


    ¡°You mean what tasking you¡¯ll end up with today. I¡¯m off today after pulling a double yesterday to make up for your absence. Why else would I still be in the mess hall this late in the morning?¡± Becky raised her eyebrows knowingly.


    ¡°Eh, Yrqw¡¯s never minded before if I was a few minutes late.¡± Still, Lusac checked the time to ensure that he wouldn¡¯t be that late reporting to his supervisor. ¡°And don¡¯t sound so snotty about it. If you managed to hold your stomach together well enough for off-ship missions, you wouldn¡¯t have to spend so much time covering for me. Instead, I¡¯m the only Human grunt sent into the heat of battle.¡± He took a sip of his coffee which was cold and flavorless.


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    Becky laughed. ¡°Dasht filled me in on just how much you help out in those ¡®battles.¡¯ If you keep your accuracy that low, I might have to brave my g-sickness anyway just to show them what Humans are really capable of.¡±


    ¡°Well Dasht actually likes you so he¡¯d probably give you a decent gun and then that wouldn¡¯t be a fair comparison at all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be late you know,¡± Becky nodded to the large clock on the wall to their right.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been on time before. No point in messing up tradition.¡±


    She sighed and shook her head. ¡°Well I do have better things to do than watch you shuffle that stuff Lbrvr calls food around your plate. See you tonight, Lus.¡±


    ¡°Bye Becks,¡± he called after her. He continued to drag his utensil across the plate in hopes of seeming casual, but as soon as he heard the door close, Lus stood from his seat and jogged to drop his tray off. Whatever he claimed to Becky, he actually really, really didn¡¯t want to be late today. Yrqw had already warned him last time that next time he was late to shift start, he was going to have to spend an extra hour to make up for it which would then put him in a tight spot for prepping the evening meal. Knowing the Kremel, he would fulfill his word regardless of whether or not dinner for the whole crew was on the line.


    Lusac was out of the cafeteria in another instant, speed walking through the corridors and down the ladders to Systems Control, the section which housed the engine and many other key systems to keep the Argo running. A typical day meant crawling through the fsylan tubes, making small repairs for hours on end. The Kremel were too large to fit, and the Nemarians frog-legs weren¡¯t conducive to necessary crawling. That left Humans to accomplish any work required in the shafts.


    Systems Control was the busiest section of the ship most days, over a fourth of the crew worked out of the large bay to keep things in tip-top shape. Today seemed especially chaotic as Lus entered the space.


    Dre-Shawiv, the Nemarian in charge of the entire section, was standing at the center of the room, the red glow of the engines faintly illuminating his head fins. It might have been majestic to see the Systems Chief in such a position with such striking lighting if he hadn¡¯t been screaming at the crew while wildly waving his fists.


    At least the yelling made for such a spectacle, no one noticed that Lusac was in fact late to shift start, but only by three minutes which was much better than his usual ten. He was quietly making his way to the corner where the holotablet with his assignments waited when a heavy green hand appeared on his shoulder.


    ¡°Lusac, I believe we¡¯ve discussed your tardiness on more than one occasion as of late. Care to give me an excuse today?¡±


    Lus stared up at Yrqw¡¯s firmly set jaw and smiled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can count today as tardy, can we? I was much earlier than normal.¡±


    ¡°Late is late,¡± the Kremel said, his lips darting into a frown.


    ¡°Come on, Yrqw. You can¡¯t expect me to change overnight. I did better today. That¡¯s the important thing.¡± Lusac continued to smile, begging the Watcher for mercy this one time.


    Yrqw exhaled heavily. ¡°Fine. But I expect you to be on time tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lus saluted the Kremel, hoping a little extra honor would tone down the veteran¡¯s edge.


    ¡°Well, no point in delaying more. There¡¯s lots to do today, especially with Becky off,¡± Yrqw said, reaching for the tablet on the wall.


    ¡°Not so fast,¡± Dre-Shawiv said as he grabbed Yrqw¡¯s arm. Lus hadn¡¯t even realized that his rant had ended, much less that he¡¯d approached the pair. ¡°Something else has come up that takes top priority over maintenance.¡± The Nemarian turned his beady, black eyes to Lus. ¡°It seems on our last resupply we picked up a stowaway. Some vermin are making a mess inside the fsylan network. Consider yourself the exterminator for the day.¡±


    ¡°What kind of vermin?¡± Lus questioned. He wasn¡¯t particularly in the mood to face down a colony of rats or sablis. Between the teeth and claws on either species, he knew he¡¯d come out significantly worse for wear.


    ¡°The kind that makes a mess,¡± Dre nearly shouted. ¡°A pack with traps is waiting near the tube entrance. I trust you to handle this today, Loser.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯ll get it taken care of,¡± Lus muttered as he turned away. Today was going to suck, no doubt about that.


    ¡°The last incident was reported somewhere near Beta Bay,¡± Dre said before walking away.


    The entrance to the fsylan tube was an oblong circle close to the engine access. True to Dre¡¯s word, a small pack waited nearby with a variety of traps that he only half knew how to use. Luckily all he really needed to do was figure out what was causing the problem, and then Yrqw could advise him on which extermination method to use.


    On the wall was the equipment locker where he retrieved his mobile comm unit that hooked to his ear, a headlamp, and a few tools that might come in handy while trekking through the tubes.


    He then scanned his thumbprint, and the door rolled away, revealing a dark hole full of hot, dry air.


    ¡°Here we go,¡± Lus murmured as he grabbed the sack in one hand and crawled inside.


    Alunitanium walls surrounded him, with only the yellow cone of light from his head to guide him as he squirmed in among the oppressive metal. A few lights blinked as he made his way through the tube, marking access panels of key circuitry. Fsylan tubes were always hot, but being this close to the engine was comparable to the inside of an oven. Still he slithered onwards to the nearest junction as he attempted to plan a way to protect himself from the biting of rats or slashing of sablis.


    Beta Bay was the next closest section to Systems Control, so at least it wasn¡¯t too long of a crawl, but still Lus had no idea what he was supposed to do when he got there. Assume that the rodents would show themselves to the large being invading their space? It was a stupid assignment, but he dealt with it anyway. If he spent the next ten hours crawling around in these tubes, so be it, but he wasn¡¯t going to go back to Dre or Yrqw whining about not finding anything.


    It was only a few minutes before Lus stopped for a breath, craning his neck as best he could to see if there was any noticeable damage nearby that could tip him off as to the whereabouts of their pest problem. Instead, he found one large yellow eye staring at him from just around the corner of the next junction. His heart started to race. That was no mere sablis or even rat. It was way too large for either.


    Gulping heavily, Lus forced his way forward, hoping that a strong swing of the pack of traps would be enough to stun the creature, whatever it was. Time seemed to stand still as he crawled towards the eye, waiting for the alien beast to spring into an attack. Yet it only watched him with that unblinking yellow eye.


    Upon arriving at the corner, Lusac discovered what seemed to be a black cat, except in cyclops form where its single eye stood at the center of its forehead. He tentatively reached a hand out, and the cat-thing eagerly brushed against it, starting up some kind of a purr.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t so bad, are you?¡± Lus smiled. Sweat started to drip into his eyes. ¡°Ugh. Let¡¯s get out of here, shall we? Obviously someone lost track of their pet. Dre will be relieved to hear that it wasn¡¯t anything worse.¡±


    He glanced around and discovered a door only a few yards down the tube. As he slid towards it, the cat followed behind him, offering up a strange, pitchy sound that wasn¡¯t any kind of meow Lus had heard before.


    Lusac inhaled the fresh air heavily as he pulled himself from the tube. After dropping the sack, he turned to see the cat had followed him. It was way too friendly to be a wild creature, but he didn¡¯t know of anyone who kept a pet like this around. Perhaps it had gotten lost last time they resupplied.


    Still, he reached his hand to his ear and pressed the button that connected him back to System Control.


    ¡°Yrqw, come in. I found the ¡®vermin,¡¯¡± he said.


    ¡°What was it this time?¡± The Kremel answered in his rumbly tone.


    ¡°A cat. At least, sort of a cat. It seems someone lost their pet. Can you do a general announcement to see who owns it?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.Find some way to keep it contained while I figure that all out. I¡¯ll contact you when I know something. Yrqw out.¡±


    The cat made its pitchy meow, recalling Lusac¡¯s attention. As he bent down to continue petting it, he discovered that it had two tails in place of the usual one.


    ¡°You¡¯re an interesting fella, aren¡¯t you?¡± he said. The cat continued to purr as it rubbed his legs, dusting them in hair.


    ¡°Alright, alright. That¡¯s enough. Why don¡¯t we find a place to keep you safe like Yrqw suggested.¡± He looked around the large bay, but nothing easily acceptable for his purposes. Instead he began digging through the pack. ¡°Nothing here either.¡±


    Letting the bag fall from his hands, he started towards some of the shelves nearby, and the cat moved to follow. Lus was so busy scanning for some kind of carrier, he didn¡¯t notice when his new friend darted in front of his legs and ended up kicking it.


    The cat went down with a strangled sound.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine. That will teach you to run in front of someone while they¡¯re walking,¡± he said.


    His search for a box was interrupted, however, when he realized the cat was no longer a cat, but rather a two-foot cyclops monster with four legs and two beefy arms. He also realized that it had a row of sharp teeth gunning straight for his leg, and he had no way to stop it.

 Chapter 8: Cyclops Cat

    ¡°Ack!¡± Lusac shouted as he violently shook his leg, attempting to rid himself of the two-foot beast attached to his calf. ¡°Get off! It was an accident. You¡¯re the one who walked in front of me!¡±


    The cat-turned-cyclops did release his leg at this but only to attempt to sink its teeth into Lus¡¯s other calf.


    ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Lusac said, spinning away before another bite could set in. Luckily his uniform was fairly thick and only allowed a tiny piercing of his skin. They continued a little dance of Lus avoiding its teeth, until finally Lusac got sick of it and threw his foot out, kicking the beast back. ¡°Knock it off, will you?¡±


    The cyclops collapsed in on itself, curling around its body as it made that same screechy meow as before, though with a deeper intonation.


    Lus rolled his eyes. ¡°Come on. Stop being such a baby. I barely hit you at all.¡±


    Apparently that was not what the cat-thing wanted to hear. Before his eyes, the flesh started to bubble and expand. He started to back away, but his focus remained on the black gloop that was growing to be a lot bigger than the original cat. Next thing he knew, he was facing a ten foot version of the cyclops, covered in rippling muscles and rigid black fur.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Lus said to himself. He held his hands up and smiled. ¡°Hey. We¡¯re friends, remember? I gave you a lot of pets just a few minutes ago. No need for this,¡± he called out to the creature.


    A roar from the monster cut off the rest of Lusac¡¯s sort-of-apology. One large arm came swinging towards him, forcing him to roll to the side.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a good way to make friends!¡±


    Another hand raced towards him, and he dodged backwards this time, barely avoiding the sharp claws at the end of the fingers. The cyclops bellowed once again and charged Lus¡¯s position with shocking speed. He started running out of the path, but the monster was agile enough to adjust and keep up the chase.


    ¡°Suns,¡± Lusac cursed, sprinting harder to avoid the outstretched claws swiping at his back. This was not at all how things were supposed to go.


    He came to a row of storage containers that were only a foot or so taller than himself. He pushed off his feet to jump up and latch onto the edge. He just managed to pull himself over the top and into the safety of the wall to watch as the cyclops pressed its hands into the top of the boxes as it prepared to vault in next to him.


    With a racing heart and the inability to fully gather his breath, Lus backed up while scanning for some way out of the maze of containers he¡¯d just landed himself in. He¡¯d already lost too much ground climbing in here, so if he tried to climb back out, he¡¯d end up as a snack between those razors in the monster¡¯s mouth.


    Some god somewhere was watching out for Lus because as he turned back to face his fate with the pissed off cat, he watched the cyclops¡¯s vault fail as the containers beneath it crumpled. A deafening thud sounded throughout the bay as the creature collapsed to the floor in a mess of shattered metal and the squished remnants of the contents of the boxes.


    Lusac used the time to run to one of the other walls of boxes where he could make his escape back into the rest of the bay. He got his hands on the top of the container and had pulled himself up to where he was sitting on the box when he risked a look back to see how close the beast was. It remained in the heap of broken boxes, not moving.


    ¡°Is it¡­ dead?¡± he wondered aloud. Taking a breath, he yelled at it again. ¡°Hey there. You alright? It seems a little early in the game to be giving up already, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    No response.


    Lus decided it was worth the risk to be sure that the threat was eliminated and pushed himself off the box. He walked towards the disaster zone, tensing as he waited for it to jump back up and resume the chase.


    He came right to the edge of debris to stare at the mound of black fur. It was breathing at least, but slowly. The one large eye opened to look at Lus, a lot less angry than before.


    ¡°Well you injured me.¡± Lus held up his leg that was still bleeding from the first bite. ¡°And I injured you.¡± He gestured to the mess. ¡°So I¡¯d say we can call this one even. Sound fair?¡±


    The beast growled, even barring a few teeth.


    Lusac wagged his finger. ¡°Now, now. Haven¡¯t you learned your lesson?¡±


    Once again, it seemed Lus had chosen the exact wrong thing to say. Before he could even try to escape, he was in the monster¡¯s grasp as it launched to its feet.


    ¡°Ah! But-ugh-¡± The breath was cut from him as the fingers tightened around his chest. The cyclops lifted him so they could stare at each other eye level. That one yellow eye stared into Lus¡¯s two hazel ones, a new cold rage in them.


    ¡°Come-on,¡± he said between the tiny gasps of air allowed to him. ¡°Can¡¯t we. Work this. Out?¡±


    The cyclops roared again, bellowing spit all over Lus¡¯s face and body.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take. That. As a no,¡± he said. The need for oxygen was starting to become a little more unbearable.


    The cyclops held Lus closer to the rows of pointy teeth that were begging for another taste of him. Only this time, it seemed they were getting a full meal out of it.


    Lusac struggled against the fist enclosing him but to no avail. The cyclops had him, and there was no escape.


    A wide variety of curses and prayers came to Lus in that moment as the teeth separated, preparing to crush his body between them. But what came out of his lips instead was the simplest thing he could manage.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he breathed. He closed his eyes and looked away as the hot, stinky breath poured over him, but to his surprise, it never engulfed him. In fact, it seemed the grip loosened a bit since breath suddenly filled his body again.


    He peeked one eye open to see that the mouth was closed again and he¡¯d been raised up to stare into the singular yellow eye. The rage was less, instead replaced by a firmer anger and smugness.


    ¡°You just wanted an apology?¡± Lus questioned, failing to keep the frustration from his voice. As relieved as he was at not being cyclops chow, he was a lot more upset that he¡¯d been put through this kind of ordeal in the first place.


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    A small growl echoed from the creature in warning.


    ¡°Sorry. Sorry,¡± Lus quickly said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for saying mean things.¡±


    The eye bore its way into his soul, asking for more.


    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry I kicked you after you bit me.¡±


    Still the cyclops waited.


    ¡°What more-¡± Lus sighed. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry I kicked you originally, when you were in your cat form, even if it was your fault.¡±


    A gentle hiss escaped.


    ¡°Right, right. Sorry I kicked you. I should have been watching more carefully. There, happy now?¡±


    Apparently it was as it set Lusac back on the ground and then hunched down. The flesh started to bubble again, but this time the monster was shrinking instead of growing.


    He blew a long exhale out, wondering how the Captain ever allowed a pet like this on board. It seemed far too dangerous to have a cat that could mutate into a giant, destructive monster on a spaceship, but then he worried that it might be the Captain¡¯s personal exotic pet in which case he should be begging its forgiveness further.


    When he looked down into the mess of collapsed boxes and indiscernible contents, he found the one-eyed, two-tailed cat walking towards him with both tails flicking out. It rubbed up against Lus¡¯s legs and softly purred.


    ¡°Oh, so we¡¯re friends again, huh?¡± He kept his voice light when he spoke, recognizing that he really didn¡¯t want to repeat that incident. Bending down, Lus stroked from its head down its back to its tails, repeating the motion over and over again, but the cat never got bored or annoyed. It was eager for the attention.


    ¡°Lusac, I have news,¡± Yrqw¡¯s voice buzzed in his ear where the portable comm relay sat.


    He pressed the button and responded. ¡°I¡¯m here. Who does this cat belong to?¡±


    ¡°No one,¡± Yrqw replied. ¡°We did a general announcement, and confirmed with Personnel Resources. Not a single member of the Argo lists any kind of pet like what you described, and there was no response to the announcement. It must have come from our resupply.¡±


    ¡°Well what are we going to do with it?¡± Lusac asked.


    ¡°Dre said to kill it.¡±


    Lus glanced down at the purring ball curled up against his foot. ¡°No. We can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s friendly, and it did nothing wrong.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not in the market for a mutant cat. If you want it to live, find it a home. Yrqw out.¡±


    Lus sighed as he crouched back down to run his fingers through the soft, black fur. Who was ever going to let him house this creature once they saw the destruction it could cause? He looked around Beta Bay. There weren¡¯t any cameras. If he could come up with a plausible reason the crates broke that didn¡¯t involve the cat morphing, they would probably let him keep it alive.


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you alone. I guess you¡¯ll just have to come with me the rest of the day,¡± Lusac said, scooping the ball into his arms.


    It meowed in protest before snuggling deeper into the hold, purring loudly.


    He smiled. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll keep you myself. Wouldn¡¯t you like that? My bed¡¯s not huge, but I suppose you¡¯ll fit okay in this form.¡±


    The cat continued to purr, but a ding sounded in his ears and a new notification appeared in the corner of his vision.


    [Companion Acquired: Avil]


    ¡°Avil¡¯s your name, huh?¡± Lusac scratched right between its ears. ¡°Well I guess that means you¡¯re officially mine, regardless of what the crew might say.¡±


    He abandoned the sack of traps for the time being and instead went into the corridor. As sweet as Avil was, he didn¡¯t think Dre or even Yrqw would understand him bringing a pet along inside the fsylan tubes.


    There weren¡¯t many people about¨Cjust a few intent on their own tasks so no one questioned Lus as he carried his load away from the bay and towards the housing section. He was about halfway there when he realized that he didn¡¯t have any food or water for the cat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop by the kitchen and get you something to eat. I¡¯ll also borrow a couple of bowls to keep you fed and watered while I¡¯m at my shift,¡± he explained to his companion. Normally he wasn¡¯t big into talking to pets like this, but clearly the creature understood words, so it made sense to give it a heads up to what he was doing and why.


    It was still early enough in the day that Dasy-Jonil, the lunch ¡°cook¡± hadn¡¯t come in to start prepping things for the usual midday meal: sandwiches. She was the only one of the three chefs that held the position before Wlnp¡¯s untimely death, but she didn¡¯t do much actual cooking aside from getting the bread and fixings out. The cafeteria was empty of Becky or any others who had the day off as well, to Lus¡¯s relief.


    Inside, the kitchen was a bit of a mess just as it always was after Librvr finished. While technically breakfast was supposed to do their own cleanup, what she called ¡°clean¡± wasn¡¯t even up to Lus¡¯s standards. Luckily Avil didn¡¯t mind, and it happily began licking at the various spills once it was set down.


    Dodging around food bits and splatters, Lus approached the cabinetry with all the spare dishes. He was selecting his bowls when Leviathan¡¯s booming voice filled the space.


    ¡°You found my essence!¡±


    Lusac spun around. ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡±


    The red face on the holoscreen grinned broadly, but Lus couldn¡¯t tell what exactly he was staring at.


    ¡°My essence. You¡¯ve returned it to me.¡±


    ¡°Essence,¡± Lusac said slowly. ¡°Oh. The mutant cat?¡±


    ¡°It is not a mutant, you dullard. It is a piece of me that escaped the drive when you plugged it in, becoming free to take a physical form. That being showcases only a fraction of my power,¡± the Demon growled.


    ¡°Power to nibble on legs. Yes, very impressive,¡± Lusac admitted.


    ¡°Fool. It is no matter. I require the essence so I may return to full strength.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay,¡± Lus said glumly. He stopped sorting the bowls, more than a little disappointed he wasn¡¯t getting a pet after all.


    ¡°You must bring it to me,¡± Leviathan demanded.


    Lus rolled his eyes and then scooped up Avil in his arms. He walked to the interbox and held the cat out. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes, my essence,¡± Leviathan cooed.


    Yet nothing happened. The cyclops cat stared at the red eyes and squawked at the uncomfortable hold, but it remained.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold the cat like this all day. Do your thing,¡± Lusac stated flatly.


    ¡°I am. Give me a few moments.¡±


    Seconds ticked by as they all three waited for something that didn¡¯t appear any closer to happening than before. Avil squirmed in Lusac¡¯s hands, and he pulled it in close to his chest. Immediately, it began purring and nestled into his arms.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be,¡± Leviathan hissed. ¡°It is my essence. It must return to me.¡±


    Lus shrugged as he scratched Avil¡¯s chin. ¡°Sorry, Leviathan. Looks like Avil chose me.¡±


    ¡°Impossible. It is part of me. Hold it out again. It will return to me this time.¡± The red eyes glared at him.


    Shaking his head as he smiled at the ball in his arms, Lus took a step back. ¡°No. I don¡¯t think it will. Avil made its choice. Besides, the system even recognized it as a companion.¡±


    ¡°I gave you that system, boy. Do not tempt me to take it away,¡± Leviathan threatened.


    Lus met the Demon¡¯s cartoon face with a grin. ¡°Do it, and you lose too. I¡¯ll pull the drive and launch it into space where you¡¯ll never be picked up.¡±


    ¡°You dare try to intimidate a Demon? You know not the power you mess with!¡±


    ¡°A Demon who¡¯s stuck in my interbox. Relax, Leviathan. I¡¯ll take good care of Avil until you figure out a way to free yourself.¡± Lusac turned away with his new companion, even more sure of his decision to keep Avil. He selected two very nice bowls, dug out some meat scraps, and then carried his haul back to his room where he got Avil settled in. Part of him was worried the cat might damage something in his absence, but in truth nothing in there was that nice anyway.


    Lus returned to the Beta Bay to regather the pack of traps and then made his way to Systems Control to get his next assignment. When he got there however, Yrqw turned to him with a serious face.


    ¡°About time, Lus. Though you should probably clean up before you head up,¡± the Kremel said as he accepted the bag.


    ¡°Head up to what?¡±


    ¡°Command just called down. You¡¯re meeting with the Captain in ten minutes in the briefing room.¡±

 Chapter 9: The Next Mission

    Lusac did follow Yrqw¡¯s advice to clean up a little, though all that meant was stopping at the nearest restroom to clean off the dust and debris. He attempted to wipe up the few drops of blood that had accumulated on his calf from Avil¡¯s teeth, but he didn¡¯t have time to worry about the noticeable holes in his uniform.


    Walking back out of the bathroom, Lus wondered why he was being called up. Most likely it was just to go back over the details of the recent mission, but somewhere in the back of his mind he remained nervous that they had caught onto his arrangement with Leviathan. Captain Tave was not a man he wanted to end up on the wrong side of.


    The briefing room was just off of Command, which stood at the front of the ship and was where most of the main ship functions happened. The Command Crew represented the highest-ranking members of each respective division. It took a lot of ladders to get there from the bottom floor where Systems Control was.


    Lusac relaxed a little as he entered the room, seeing that Captain Tave was engaged in a casual chat with Cewi-Bano while Wsr and Vlqtrn sat at the rectangular table that took up much of the space. It was designed to be able to hold large meetings of ten people, making it feel a little empty with only half the chairs taken. One large oval window looked out of the ship, deep into the void of space. They were traveling in the Highway now based on the green swirls blurring past. Unlike most areas of the ship, this room had a rug and a few decorations from Captain Tave¡¯s travels that made it far more distinctive. Supposedly the Captain¡¯s personal quarters were like a mini art museum with all the pieces he kept in there, but Lus doubted it was something he would ever see in his lifetime.


    ¡°Arten, about time,¡± Captain Tave acknowledged him as he walked near the table. Lusac disliked being referred to by his last name, something that was distinctly Human. All other species almost exclusively used first names since Kremel just listed five generations of lineage and Nemarians used their birthplace as secondary identifiers. Yet Captain Tave kept up with the ancient Human practice.


    ¡°Sorry, sir. I was handling some other business when the call came in,¡± Lus explained in simple terms as he took in the tall man before him. The captain''s blond hair held its usual cut, a classic style where it was all cut fairly short with a little extra length on top, though a few streaks of gray were starting to show. He also kept a neatly trimmed beard that made him look mature and dignified, especially compared to some of the rougher members of the crew.


    The Captain motioned his half salute away and gestured to a chair. ¡°We have a lot to discuss and not as much time as I would like.¡±


    Lusac quickly sat, leaning forward to seem as engaged as he could. Normally he didn¡¯t care much for others'' perception of him, but Tave was the one who allowed him on to the crew even when most of the top-level crew advised against it, so Lus wanted to show he wasn¡¯t a complete idiot all the time at least.


    ¡°Cewi-Bano.¡± Captain Tave then nodded to his third-in-command.


    The Nemarian used a remote to dim the lights even further while a holoimage popped up in the middle of the table. It was one Lus had seen before during the briefing before his last off-ship mission to the warehouse. He recognized the strange puzzle piece with a slight curve to it as the same thing Cewi-Bano carried off the planet the day before. He was mildly surprised someone of his rank was being brought into the secret of what it was or why it mattered. Typically those kinds of things were reserved for people who needed to know, not fslyan crawlers like him.


    ¡°Wsr, Lus, I trust you both recognize this image,¡± Cewi started.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s that thing we nearly got shot over. Tell me it''s something important,¡± Wsr cut in.


    ¡°It¡¯s a piece of something important. One of many,¡± Cewi said.


    Upon her saying that, Lus did notice that this one wasn¡¯t quite like the one he saw back on the planet. The edges were shaped differently, more jagged and convex than the one he helped retrieve.


    ¡°So it''s one big puzzle,¡± he replied.


    Cewi nodded, a small smile on her wide mouth.


    ¡°But what does it do?¡± Vlqtrn asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not our concern. Our client is paying us to collect the pieces, not study it,¡± Captain Tave said brusquely. ¡°What happens once they have a complete set isn¡¯t something we get paid to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Just curious,¡± the Kremel apologized, his oversized ears drooping a bit.


    Lus was careful to keep a neutral face, even if he did think that was overly harsh. Still, Vlqtrn should have known better. Captain Tave wasn¡¯t known for his patience.


    ¡°What does matter,¡± Cewi drew the room back to the holoimage, ¡°is that we¡¯ve located another piece. The one shown here. It¡¯s on Vipor, in the Southern Reach Museum of Lesser Known Galactic History.¡±


    The image changed to be a 3D map of the planet that slowly zoomed into the location she described.


    ¡°Vipor. That¡¯s a Corporate planet,¡± Lus pointed out.


    ¡°Yes. But there¡¯s some heavy fighting in the center of Artemis that has drawn most of the fleet in that sector. This will be a quick mission, in and out within a couple of days. We¡¯ll be long gone before any of the military ships start their usual patrols again,¡± Cewi assured the crew, though she was mainly looking at Lusac, trying to address his worries. No one wanted a run in with the Corporate Military, but Lus ran a lot more risk if his deserter status was discovered.


    ¡°A museum is a much more difficult target than a dusty old warehouse, and we ran into a lot of resistance there. This seems like a rather small team if we actually want to pull this off,¡± Wsr noted.


    Captain Tave nodded. He was always fair about things he deemed genuine concerns. ¡°Our warehouse grab had limited surveillance and study beforehand. We¡¯re going to change that this time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to take a full day to do recon in and around the museum. We¡¯ll also be leaning on a local contact for a secret landing pad so we can bring whatever gear we might need,¡± Cewi filled in. ¡°Most importantly, stealth is our highest priority. We messed up with the warehouse, thinking that it wasn¡¯t under guard. We¡¯re not making any kind of assumptions here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to believe this will be the hardest piece to get,¡± Captain Tave added. ¡°We chose you three to join Cewi-Bano because you all have necessary skills. Vlqtrn, the tech expert, Wsr will be our strength, and Arten will handle the actual recovery with his adept stealth skills. Cewi-Bano will cover everyone with her sniper and make sure you all make it home in one piece.¡±


    Lus was more than a little proud the Captain considered his stealth skills ¡°adept.¡± Take that Leviathan and his stupid system.


    They went over a more detailed plan of the upcoming mission, ranging from the place they would stay while on planet to the team¡¯s cover story. Eventually they were all dismissed, and Lus left holding a holodrive full of information he was supposed to study and memorize over the next day and a half before they reached Vipor. The only good news is that he got the rest of the day off, at least from his maintenance duties. Cooking dinner was still a necessary evil in his day, but it seemed a little less horrible of a thought when he considered that he gained [XP] from it at least.


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    When he got back to his quarters, he was greeted by an excited Avil who rubbed against his legs the moment he entered.


    ¡°Hiya Avil. Did you miss me, buddy?¡± Lus said as he bent down to pick up the purring furball. As he pet the cyclops cat, he realized that he would need to get clearance to keep the pet at some point and, more importantly, he would need a sitter for this upcoming mission.


    There was only one person he trusted for that kind of job. Going to the comm near the door, he rang Becky¡¯s room, hoping she was still lounging around reading.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how much help you think you need, Lusac. I¡¯m off today, and I¡¯m going to enjoy that without any interference from you,¡± she replied curtly.


    ¡°I¡¯m off the rest of the day too. I¡¯m on the upcoming mission, which is actually what I want to talk to you about. Can you come by my quarters for a few minutes?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I did just get to a really interesting part in my book.¡±


    ¡°Please, Becks. It¡¯ll be fast,¡± he pleaded.


    ¡°On my way, Lus,¡± she responded, a hint of laughter in her voice.


    It was only a moment later his doorbell was beeping, and he opened it up to welcome Becky into his place.


    ¡°What¡¯s this abo-¡± She stopped speaking as Avil ran up to her, meowing in its strange pitchy squawk, rubbing as hard against her as it had ever done with Lus. ¡°A mutant cat? Where¡¯d you get him, Lus?¡± Becky questioned as she bent down to rub the creature¡¯s head.


    Lus chuckled and filled her in on the vermin problem, telling her everything except the whole Leviathan essence part. She¡¯d flip if she knew there was a Demon onboard. Everyone would.


    ¡°Well he¡¯s a cute lil guy,¡± Becky said as she rubbed Avil¡¯s belly.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually not sure if it is a guy. I¡¯m thinking that it¡¯s some genderless species,¡± Lus mentioned.


    Becky made a face. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m rather positive he has the proper, um, equipment for ¡®guy¡¯ to apply.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lus murmured, wondering why he hadn¡¯t thought to check such things himself. The monster version of Avil didn¡¯t really have anything, so he sort of assumed the same applied to the cat form.


    While Becky continued to coo over Avil, Lus realized that he hadn¡¯t cleaned his room in a very long time, and it was rather obvious. Embarrassed by the state things, he subtly kicked a few stray articles under his bed while Becky was busy with the cat.


    ¡°So what¡¯s this mission? Another retrieval?¡± she asked as she settled onto the couch with Avil in her lap.


    ¡°Yep. But it¡¯s at a museum on a Corporate planet this time so we¡¯re going to spend a couple of days there to do proper reconnaissance,¡± Lus said, taking the seat on the other side and wondering if any strange smells from yesterday were lingering.


    ¡°Ah. So you need someone to watch Avil for you?¡± Becky guessed.


    Lusac smiled. ¡°Yeah. It wouldn¡¯t be much. Just checking in on it¨Chim¨Ca couple of times throughout the day and making sure he has enough food and water.¡±


    ¡°What about a litterbox?¡± Becky asked, craning her neck to check the corners of the room.


    ¡°A litterbox¡­ I guess I would need one of those.¡± Lus tried to think of something he had on hand that would fulfill that rather important need.


    ¡°I went shopping during the last resupply and haven¡¯t thrown out the bags yet. Most of them are organic based, so why don¡¯t you find a box and I¡¯ll bring the stuff over and we can shred it to make something up real quick?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. That will do until we do another resupply and I can do some proper pet shopping,¡± Lus agreed.


    ¡°Assuming you get clearance to keep him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Assuming that,¡± Lus sighed.


    Becky slid Avil onto the couch, and he squealed in protest before curling up next to Lus and starting to purr again. She left for a few minutes and then returned with the promised bags. Lusac dumped some stuff out of a random container he had lying around and then they got to work making up the temporary bathroom. They ended up chatting a lot more than working, so the final result took a lot longer than it probably should have to get to. But by the time they finished, Avil was already coming up to sniff the paper.


    ¡°Oof. I¡¯m starving. I think we missed our lunch window,¡± Becky said as they both looked away to give Avil some privacy.


    ¡°Oh no. What time is it?¡± Lus found the clock on the wall and groaned. ¡°Welp, I¡¯m due in the kitchen now if I want to have dinner done in time. I guess I¡¯ll see you at meal time. Thanks for your help.¡±


    ¡°Anytime. Just remember to give me temporary access before you leave tomorrow, and I¡¯ll make sure Avil gets proper care,¡± Becky replied. They walked into the corridor together, but separated so Lus could head to the kitchen and Becky back to her room.


    It was another long evening of cooking, and he still couldn¡¯t quite nail down getting the pasta thin enough, but he was sure it turned out better than last time. He also made enough for sixty instead of fifty, which would hopefully satisfy the crew a little more.


    After he finished setting out the large pots of soup, a small notification appeared in the corner of his vision.


    [XP Gained: 50]


    [Level Up: Level 1 -> Level 2]


    Lus smiled at that but quickly returned to a neutral face when he realized someone might see him grinning at nothing.


    Another notification appeared accompanied with the usual beep.


    [Quest Complete: Movin¡¯ On Up]


    That was even better. There was so much to see from his system, but he was going to have to wait until he was back in quarters and alone. He went back into the kitchen to tidy a few things up in hopes of making it a little easier for the cleaning golem before going to get his own food once the line died down.


    Nobody complimented him this time around, but there weren¡¯t any insults either which Lus interpreted as a good sign. He actually took a chance and sat with Becky and Zer-Dasht for this meal, something he hadn¡¯t done in weeks. Dasht was busy talking up his latest weapon acquisition, leaving little room for the others to say much, but it was still a pleasant evening all in all.


    Lusac ate fast, eager to get back to his room and explore the new capabilities with his level up. Luckily Dasht was engrossed enough in his own stories, he didn¡¯t seem to notice, and Becky was absorbed in her own world as well so it was easy enough to slip away and back to the safety of his quarters.


    Inside, he pulled up the familiar blue screen. The home screen now held a visual notification about leveling up, but he frowned upon reading that the system would choose how to spend the five points based on his actions since his last level.


    When he tapped the notification away, he moaned.


    [Stamina: 5]


    [Intelligence: 8]


    [Strength: 4]


    [Charm: 5]


    [Health: 8]


    [Speed: 8]


    [Common Sense: -1]


    [Luck: 8]


    [Intelligence], [Speed], and [Luck] all went up by 1, but [Speed] was the only one he really cared about. And the last two points were put into [Charm] of all things, pulling it up to a 5.


    He noticed that his [Cooking] skill had also leveled up at least, but he wasn¡¯t sure that was going to do much good. And no new skills were added, leaving him a plain old [Chef] and nothing more.


    ¡°What the. How does this make sense? Ugh. This system sucks,¡± Lusac complained, dropping onto his couch. He ran his hands over his face. ¡°No. This is fine. I¡¯ll just have to tailor my daily schedule to be a little more conducive to getting the stats I want like [Strength] and [Stamina] and [Health]. The stats that are actually useful.¡±


    He sat up and called the screen back up. ¡°Let¡¯s see the details of that new [Quest] at least.¡±


    He navigated to the quest tab and went to [Active Quests] where he selected [Movin¡¯ On Up]. His reward was [100 XP], the same as [Cook Something Edible]. Not great, but it put him closer to the [500 XP] he needed for his next level. When he received the [Reward], he got yet another notification from his system.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Name: Perfect Soup]


    [Description: cook Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup perfectly]


    [Time limit: None]


    [Reward: 50 XP]


    [Reward: Recipe Book]


    Now his blasted system wanted him to become a professional chef overnight just for the [Reward] of more blasted [Recipes]. There was no way he was ever going to get something useful out of it, at least not anytime soon. To drown out his misery, Lus instead turned his focus to the holodrive with all the information for the upcoming mission. If he put all his energy into that, he could forget about the horrible deal he¡¯d made, at least for a few days.

 Chapter 10: Cooking Pasta

    The kitchen was quiet on Lus¡¯s last evening before he left for the next mission. He looked around, wishing that inspiration would strike him. He really needed to make a good dinner again so he didn¡¯t lose the small edge he¡¯d gotten from the soup, but he couldn¡¯t just make the soup again.


    Sighing, he pulled up the recipe again and read through the ingredients. ¡°If pasta wasn¡¯t so hard to roll out,¡± he muttered. It would be so easy to cook up some fresh pasta with a sauce from the canned goods cupboard, and everyone would be super impressed by it.


    He walked aimlessly from one end of the kitchen to the other, glancing at the few familiar and many unfamiliar pieces of equipment.


    ¡°How am I supposed to become a great chef?¡± he asked, slumping in defeat. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what most of this stuff does!¡± He slapped his hand down on a strange metal device that looked kind of like a paper shredder, except instead of sharp blades it had a smooth opening.


    Frowning in concentration, he turned on the small screen on the side. It blinked to life with a question.


    Select dough type:


    Pasta


    Bread


    Cookie


    Fondant


    Lus¡¯ eyes widened. ¡°Does this¡­ does this flatten the dough for me?¡± he wondered aloud.


    If this machine could roll out the pasta dough, that would make it much easier. He checked the clock. He still had plenty of time, so as long as the machine worked faster than he did when he rolled by hand, it was worth a try.


    Looking back at the screen with the recipe, he began gathering ingredients. He put the flour bin next to the counter where he planned to work, moved the salt container close by so he wouldn¡¯t forget it again, and grabbed the eggs out of the interbox.


    The flour went down first. He measured out the mountain of the white powder, then grabbed a smaller measuring spoon for the salt.


    Before he added the eggs, he mixed the salt through the flour by hand, messing up the nice mountain. Lus re-heaped it and hollowed out the center, creating a large bowl for the eggs.


    Dusting off his hands, he set to work on the eggs. He had cracked enough eggs that it was becoming more natural, but he still had to stop to fish out pieces of eggshell a couple times.


    Halfway through the twenty eggs, his fingers were starting to lose feeling from handing the cold eggs and shells and digging through the slimy egg liquid. He took a short break, stretching his fingers to try and warm them up more quickly.


    Once his hands felt mostly thawed, he went back to work, quickly cracking the other ten eggs in. Finally, he finished and tossed the sticky, empty shells in the compost bin.


    Lus headed to the sink to wash his hands. He flinched as the hot water hit his frozen fingers, sending an unpleasant tingling through his hands. He turned down the temperature a bit and just held his hands under the stream until they were warmed through.


    Turning the heat back up, he got soap and scrubbed all the sticky, slimy egg residue off. He dried his clean hands, then sighed and looked back at the volcano of salted flour with slimy egg magma starting to leak down the sides.


    Straightening his shoulders, he plunged his hands into the egg goo. He made quick work of squashing the yolks and mixing the egg, then began incorporating flour from the sides. Once the flour was all mixed in, he began kneading the dough, working it until it became smooth and elastic.


    Now it was time for the real test. He stepped back and swiped his forehead with his shoulder, wiping away the sweat, then moved to the sink to scrub off the dough stuck to his hands.


    It took a few minutes of hard scrubbing to get all the dough off. He also had to use his short nails to scrape a few bits that were really stuck on around his nails and between his fingers.


    Once his hands were finally clean again, he took a chunk of dough from his pile, about a quarter of the whole, and headed to the machine. The screen had turned off, so he turned it back on and selected the Pasta option.


    The smooth cylinders moved a couple centimeters apart and started turning. He carefully set the dough on top. He watched as it disappeared into the opening, coming out on the other side of the far cylinder in a sheet. He didn¡¯t realize he needed to catch it until it came all the way out and fell in a folded heap on the counter.


    ¡°Right.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Of course I¡¯ve got to catch it.¡±


    He picked up the mess of dough, turned off the machine, then turned it back on. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again,¡± he said with more confidence than he felt.


    Lus fed the dough in again, this time making sure to catch the somewhat flattened sheet of dough. As he lifted it, the cylinders moved closer together. He took the end of the sheet and carefully fed it into the smaller opening.


    He again caught the sheet at the end. It was already getting long enough to be difficult to hold and he wondered if he needed to use less dough.


    Before he could worry too much, the cylinders moved again, prompting him to hurry and feed in the sheet.


    This time, as it came out the end, he had to stretch his arms as far apart as he could to keep it up. Thankfully, it was already quite thin. He put it in again, amazed as it came out the other end in a sheet far thinner than what he¡¯d been able to accomplish with the rolling pin.


    The cylinders moved even closer together, but Lus couldn¡¯t handle the sheet being even thinner than it already was. More specifically, he couldn¡¯t handle it getting longer. He carefully carried the long, thin sheet of pressed pasta to a clean counter and laid it out.


    Grabbing a knife, he began cutting noodles. He had to concentrate hard to try and keep his cuts even. Cutting uniformly wasn¡¯t a skill he had ever practiced, so it took a lot of work to keep his knife strokes even and parallel.


    When he finally finished, he gathered up handful after handful of noodles, then looked around in confusion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anywhere to put these,¡± he realized. Shaking his head, he set them back on the counter and washed his hands, then pulled the two largest pots out. He filled them with water and set them on the stove, quickly turning up the heat.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    While he waited for those to come to a boil, he took another, smaller chunk of the pasta dough to the machine. It was still waiting for him to put the previous sheet through the smaller setting, so he turned it off and on again.


    He put the sheet through the same number of times as he had put the first one through. This sheet was small enough that he could have put it through again, but he wanted all the noodles to be the same thickness.


    When he finished with the second sheet, he moved it to the last clean counter. The water in the pots was boiling, so he dropped in all the noodles he had already cut and set a timer for them.


    Grabbing the knife off the other counter, he returned to his newly pressed sheet of pasta dough and began working on cutting it up, trying to make noodles the same length and width as he had with the first sheet.


    He was only halfway through when the timer went off for the boiling pasta. Dropping his knife, he grabbed a strainer with a long handle and a large bowl. He worked as quickly as he could to strain out the cooked pasta and drop it in the bowl.


    Lus left the pots boiling while he returned to cutting noodles. Once he was finished, he dropped the new noodles into the water and set another timer.


    The third chunk he grabbed was larger than the second but smaller than the first. The finished sheet came out the perfect size for him to carry to one of the two empty counters. He laid it out, grabbed the knife, and made a couple cuts before the timer for the cooking pasta went off again.


    Dropping the knife, he grabbed another bowl since the first was nearly full from the first batch. He scooped out the cooked noodles again. The pots were only about half as full of water as when he had filled them, so he got a large measuring cup with a handle and filled it with water. It took a few trips to get the pots filled back to the level they had started at.


    With the pots refilled and heating, he set to work on the third sheet of pasta dough. By the time he finished cutting noodles, the water was boiling again so he dropped them right in.


    He took half of the dough that was left and rolled it out while the noodles cooked. He again managed a few cuts before he had to remove the boiled noodles. He was up to two and a half bowls full of noodles. He hoped he could find enough sauce to cover them, but he couldn¡¯t worry about that now.


    Lus finished cutting the fourth sheet and dropped them in the water, then rolled out the fifth sheet. Glancing at the clock, he frowned. The machine hadn¡¯t really saved him much time, but at least the noodles were much higher quality. And it had certainly saved him a lot of work.


    When the fifth batch of noodles went into the pots to cook, he set the timer and hurried to the cupboard of canned goods. His anxiety proved to be unfounded.


    Right at the front of the cupboard, he found 8 matching jars of seasoned tamo sauce designed to serve over pasta. With a sigh of relief, he pulled them out, then glanced around the kitchen. He needed to heat the sauce, but he was already using the largest pots.


    Shrugging, he set the jars next to the stove. As soon as the timer went off, he quickly scooped out all the finished noodles, dumping them in a fourth bowl.


    Taking the largest pot to the sink, he poured the boiling water, now thickened and cloudy from cooking pasta, into the sink.


    ¡°Do I need to wash this?¡± he wondered aloud. He thought for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not like pasta water has germs in it.¡±


    Placing the now-empty pot back on the stove, he opened all 8 jars of red, somewhat chunky tamo sauce into the large pot. Only as he was opening the final jar did he notice that the label looked slightly different than the previous one.


    Checking the jars, he discovered that he had put in 4 jars of chunky vegetable tamo sauce. Another 2 were tangy harvic sauce. The final 2 were simple homestyle.


    ¡°Well blast,¡± he muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. ¡°Now what am I supposed to do?¡±


    Peeking into the pot, he didn¡¯t see much difference in the sauces. It all looked like the same thing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just stir it together and hope for the best,¡± he decided. He grabbed a large spoon, turned on low heat, and began stirring the sauce.


    It didn¡¯t take too long for the sauce to start bubbling, shooting large drops of red sauce almost out of the large pot. He hissed as one of the hot drips hit his hand and pulled away, turning the heat even lower.


    When the sauce was bubbling enough that he was certain it was hot all the way through, Lus turned off the stove and gave the pot a couple more stirs. He moved it off the heat, then looked between the large pot of sauce and the bowls of pasta.


    ¡°Where am I supposed to mix these?¡± he wondered.


    Glancing around the kitchen, his eyes caught on the autopot. ¡°Perfect,¡± he whispered. He pulled it over near the counter and dumped in all the bowls of pasta, filling it over halfway with noodles.


    The sauce went in on top of the noodles and he began mixing. He stirred and stirred, trying to get the noodles evenly coated with sauce.


    His arm ached by the time he finally deemed the sauce and noodles mixed well enough. He stepped back and surveyed his work.


    It seemed to be missing something still. He frowned thoughtfully. ¡°What else goes well with pasta? What do I have on hand?¡±


    Stepping over to the interbox, he threw it open and looked over all the shelves. He didn¡¯t have time to cook meat or vegetables to go with this, though it would have been smart to throw in some ground gervin.


    Shaking his head, he scanned the drawers, his eyes stopping on the large cheese drawer. ¡°Cheese,¡± he whispered. Cheese made everything better.


    Pulling it open, Lusac grabbed a large container of powdered perman cheese, which was often served with pasta and sauce.


    ¡°Now should I put it on now or just let everyone add it themselves?¡± he wondered. Shrugging, he decided it would be easier to put it on by himself.


    He opened the lid and shook a generous sprinkle over the pasta, then added a little more. He stirred it in, then frowned. He couldn¡¯t even tell there was cheese, so he added some more and stirred that in.


    It took four additions for him to feel like there was enough perman to really make a difference. He returned the container to the interbox and returned to the pasta.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s done,¡± Lus decided.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 50]


    He was pushing the auto-pot out to the dining room when he realized something.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t tasted it!¡± he exclaimed, pulling to an abrupt stop. He rushed to the utensil drawer for a fork and scooped up a large bite. Sliding it into his mouth, he closed his eyes.


    The pasta was much better than last time. Since it was thinner, it was less chewy. And it was more flavorful, likely because he had actually measured in the salt this time.


    The combination of the three different sauces and the perman cheese worked. Lus thought it tasted almost as good as a restaurant pasta dish.


    ¡°This is definitely gonna keep me cooking,¡± he said with a satisfied smile.


    He rolled the auto-pot out into the dining room and laid out plates and utensils just in time. The crew began flooding in as soon as he set down the last of the forks and Lus stepped back to let them through.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t smell horrible,¡± Wsr said from the front of the line. A wave of laughter from the rest of the crew answered her words.


    ¡°Hopefully it tastes as not horrible,¡± Lus answered, mustering up a tired smile. Instead of watching everyone go through the line, he hid in the kitchen. He almost talked to Leviathan, wanting to brag about his success, but then remembered that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to approach the demon with the entire crew in the next room.


    Finally, the noise died down to an even hum, signaling that everyone was sitting and eating. Lus snuck back out and grabbed himself a serving from the already nearly empty auto-pot. Thankfully, Becky was sitting alone so he joined her.


    She glanced up as he slid into his seat. ¡°This is good,¡± she said with an encouraging smile.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± His cheeks heated a bit at the praise. ¡°I- I made a few mistakes, but-¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± She shook her head. ¡°You made some good food. Be proud of that.¡± She leaned in. ¡°And I¡¯m not just saying that because I¡¯m your friend.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Lus answered, remembering all the times she told him that his cooking was terrible before he¡¯d become a [Chef].


    ¡°Seriously, I¡¯ve heard the others. Everyone is saying good things. Good job, Lus.¡±

 [V]Chapter 11: The Erengil Library

    Erengil Library was the biggest in the entire galaxy.


    It boasted books from all kinds of cultures, even some that dated all the way back to the Ancient Ones. They were old and tattered. Made of paper or leather or other crude materials, and they stayed locked behind force fields in the back rooms. Holo copies were available with included scholars notes, but they could never compare to the real thing.


    Still, the young woman had to make due with them. She¡¯d never be able to get a pass to the back rooms and certainly wouldn¡¯t get the chance to hold those precious artifacts in her own hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s so strange,¡± she muttered, aimlessly scrolling through the projected images of an ancient book. ¡°The brightest minds in all of Cinder Rock have been studying these for centuries and still have less than half of it translated.¡±


    But then again, if the book had been fully translated, it would be bad for her. All the Demons in the galaxy would have been found by now, and what good is a [Demon Hunter] without any Demons to hunt?


    Looking away from the book, the woman activated her system log and pulled up her stats. She¡¯d awakened at twelve years old with the [Demon Hunter] class, which meant she¡¯d had a system for an entire decade now. And yet, she was only level 3.


    ¡°Studying can only get me so far,¡± she sighed, resting her head on the steel table. ¡°I need to be out there. I need to be out hunting Demons myself.¡±


    Another sigh escaped her lips as her fingers accidentally brushed against the message chip strewn among the study materials next to her. The chip¡¯s contents were short and straightforward.


    ¡®Varyna Rhine¡¯


    ¡®C.O.P.S. Demon Division Application Status: Rejected¡¯


    Again.


    This was the third time she¡¯d been rejected from the Demon Division. Not enough experience. The excuse was always the same.


    ¡°But how can I gain experience when I¡¯m stuck patrolling the Capitol streets,¡± Varyna grumbled.


    A [Demon Hunter] system should be a shoo-in for the Demon Division, right? But she was too low level for them to pay attention to. And she couldn¡¯t raise her level without hunting Demons. And she couldn¡¯t hunt Demons unless she was in the Demon Division, which brought her right back to the original problem.


    Life is so unfair, she thought to herself. Everyone said she should give up. Her family, her superiors, even her classmates at the COPS academy. Experience would come with time, and even if the Demon Division never worked out, she would be far safer in the Crime Division. She knew they were right. She knew it and yet...


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get some more books,¡± she resolved, rising from her seat. ¡°If I can just find a Demon location that I could get to by myself¡­¡±


    As Varyna found herself perusing the Demonology section once again, she nearly bumped into a boy who seemed equally distracted as he stared at the books in the ¡®Rare Demon¡¯ shelves. He was a Human, like her. He had dark hair and tan skin that had clearly seen radiation from many stars. An adventurer? The girl moved on quickly. It was none of her business what a young adventurer was doing studying rare Demons... though she hoped he wouldn¡¯t beat her to finding any yet undiscovered Demon locations. She was the one who would save the galaxy from Demons, after all. Varyna Rhine, the [Demon Hunter].


    ¡°Excuse me...¡±


    Just as she¡¯d stepped around the boy, he called out to her.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± she asked, whirling back around.


    He wasn¡¯t exactly handsome, but he wasn¡¯t ugly either. Sort of the rugged type, but with clear eyes and smooth skin. Too smooth. I hate him, she glared.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for some books that will help me impress my crewmates,¡± he explained, scratching his head. ¡°You see, I¡¯ve been recently assigned as my ship¡¯s chef and, well, I¡¯m terrible at it.¡±


    ¡°... did you say chef?¡± Varyna narrowed her eyes. She knew adventurers sometimes used silly titles to refer to their positions in the group. Was he in charge of ¡®cooking up¡¯ Demon locations? Or maybe even harvesting captured Demons?


    ¡°Ah...¡± the boy cleared his throat.


    Here it comes, Varyna frowned. He was going to look down on her for not understanding his lingo. He¡¯d call her a ¡®suckling¡¯ who lived her life in luxury, stuck on Quosh¡¯s pristine surface and far away from the bleak realities of the galaxy. She¡¯d faced people like this before, and it was always an unpleasant experience. Mainly because¡­ she couldn¡¯t exactly say that everything they said about her was wrong.


    The boy went on, ¡°Yeah... I accidentally got our chef killed. And we can¡¯t have dozens of hungry Kremels running around, so I tried to cook up a simple stew but-¡±


    ¡°Stew? You meant chef as in a food cook?¡± Varyna cut him off, raising an eyebrow. Of all the things she expected to come from his mouth, this wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°Uh yeah, what other kind of chef is there?¡± the boy¡¯s cheeks flushed and he reached to scratch the back of his head again. It must have been a nervous habit.


    Varyna shook her head. ¡°Look, I have no idea what a chef who cooks food would gain by looking in the Demonology section. You should try cookbooks two wings over.¡±


    The boy¡¯s cheeks became even pinker, but his eyes lit up. ¡°Oh! This says ¡®rare Demons¡¯, not ¡®rare dishes¡¯. My bad.¡± He waved both hands and started to step back. ¡°Anyway, thank you for the help!¡±


    Then he turned and ran, yes he ran, out of the demonology section.


    The girl stayed frozen in place for a few moments, her eyebrows knit as she tried to piece together what had just happened. Then, she shrugged, forgot (nearly) all about the weird adventurer/chef/idiot and went back to her book hunting.


    Throughout the rest of the afternoon, as the stack of books on the table grew, so did her frustration. She¡¯d scrolled through all of them, but couldn¡¯t find a single hint about Demon locations¡ªwell, not ones that weren¡¯t already hunted.


    She pulled out one last book before deciding to call it a day. The library would be closing soon, and she needed sleep before her early morning at the Crime Division tomorrow. The title of the book, etched in glowing symbols on the cartridge, read ¡®Historical Methods of Hunting Demons¡¯.


    ¡°This should be... not in the least bit useful,¡± she sighed, but activated the holo anyway. ¡°But it will at least be a little entertaining,¡± she murmured while scrolling to the first page.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    She skimmed through the majority of it, already familiar with most archaic Demon hunting methods, but one section in particular caught her eye. It was about USBs, dated tech devices that could store data and be plugged into computers via specialized ports. Apparently, for a short while, USBs had been experimented with for imprisoning and storing Demons. The project had ultimately been abandoned because of the risk of Demons escaping into CinderX, the galaxy-wide network, and causing a mass catastrophe.


    The entire section was an interesting read, but one part at the end stopped her in her tracks. The single successful entrapment of a Demon in a USB. It was at an old research facility called Ulterai-1-B7. And if she wasn¡¯t mistaken¡­


    ¡°Aha! I thought I recognized that name!¡± Varyna grinned as she reactivated another book from the stack. It was an old demonology text book that cited sources from various research labs. Including Ulterai-1-B7, located on Gamios¡ªa small planet in the Helios sector.


    She was giddy with her discovery for only a moment.


    ¡°Most old labs have been raided many times over,¡± she reminded herself glumly. ¡°I doubt a USB-trapped Demon would be left untouched.¡±


    She yawned and deactivated the holo. She should leave her pile to the eager cleaning golem waiting nearby and go get some sleep. Today hadn¡¯t yielded any fruitful results after all.


    ¡ªwas what she thought until she clocked into her shift at the Crime Division the following morning.


    ¡°Officer Varyna, can you take these holos to the record storage?¡± her superior, Faren Cleus, asked, dropping a stack of cartridges in front of her. ¡°Our office golem is out of commission. Again.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Varyna jumped up and reached for the stack. ¡°But, uh, I¡¯m not sure where the record storage is.¡±


    ¡°Have Quoppi show you,¡± Faren called over his shoulder, already headed back to his office.


    ¡°... Right. I¡¯ll do that.¡± Varyna turned to search for the Nemarian among all her coworkers bustling around. After a while, she finally caught sight of his maroon fins poking out behind a group of chatting Kremels as he sat hunched at his desk.


    Quoppi was intent on the holo in front of him when Varyna approached him. It was about types of architecture left behind by the Ancient Ones.


    ¡°Hey, Quoppi,¡± she tapped him on the shoulder, but he didn¡¯t budge. The constant ruckus from his Kremel squadmates had made him immune to interruptions. Varyna cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, ¡°Quoppi!!!!¡±


    The Nemarian jumped in his seat, sending pens, message chips, and cartridges scattering across the desk surface.


    ¡°Officer Rhine.¡± He readjusted his glasses as he turned to face her. The glasses were thick framed with large convex lenses positioned over his beady black eyes. They had a lingering fog in the outer corners thanks to the mistter blasting mist from around his neck. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m the golem¡¯s replacement today.¡± Varyna held up the stack of cartridges. ¡°Faren said you could show me the way to record storage.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course.¡± The Nemarian adjusted his spectacles again and stood up. He stretched and yawned then motioned to her. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Lead the way!¡± Varyna smiled. On her way past Quoppi¡¯s cluttered desk, she reached out and deactivated the architecture book. She knew he would be unhappy if he came back to find his place lost by a careless (or, more likely, mischievous) Kremel.


    The whirring sound of doors opening and then closing again behind them was the only noise during their journey through the COPS headquarters, but Varyna didn¡¯t mind. Quoppi was quiet and awkward but kind in his own way. He¡¯d been working in the Crime Division for five years already. He wasn¡¯t particularly strong or agile in the field, but he was thorough and meticulous. Not to mention his [intelligence] score of 50. The Nemarian was a refreshing addition to the team which was composed of mainly hot headed Kremels who tended to overlook important details. Varyna and Faren were the only Humans on their squad, with Faren at the very top of the ladder and Varyna at the bottom.


    ¡°Here you go, Officer Rhine,¡± Quoppi offered, raising his orange scaly wrist to a scanner. The scanner lit up green and a double set of steel doors slid open revealing a brightly lit room lined with shelves. Quoppi squinted his eyes and adjusted his glasses. ¡°The doors will open for you automatically when you¡¯re done.¡±


    He stepped away from the blinding light and nodded to Varyna. Then he turned and marched back toward the squad office and his ancient architecture book.


    The door shut behind Varyna as she stepped into the room. She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light. Why is it so bright in here? When her eyelids no longer felt heavy, she set out to deposit the holos. First she had to find the section dedicated to the 11th squad, and then sort the cartridges by date. When she finished, she brushed her hands together satisfactorily.


    But then something caught her eye. On the shelves across from her, were records labeled for their outer jurisdiction sector, Helios. The sector where Ulterai-1-B7 was located. She hesitated for a moment, but slowly made her way over to get a closer look. Sure enough, one of the records, dating back a century ago was titled ¡®Ulterai lab series investigation¡¯. Varyna gulped and gingerly plucked the dusty holo off the shelf.


    Her ¡®quick trip¡¯ to the record storage soon turned into a long trip. And then a very long trip. And after an hour had passed, the double doors slid open to reveal an orange Nemarian with maroon fins, foggy glasses, and a worried look on his face.


    ¡°Oh... hi, Quoppi.¡± Varyna jerked up from the holo she was scrolling through.


    The Nemarian squinted at the mess of cartridges around her (or perhaps he was squinting because of the unnecessarily bright light) and tilted his head. ¡°Are you alright, Officer Rhine? I suspected you may have gotten trapped here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Varyna insisted, deactivating the holo. ¡°I was just doing a bit of research.¡± She smiled at the Nemarian and waved her hands. ¡°Give me a minute to put all this away and I¡¯ll be up at the squad office soon.¡±


    ¡°... I will assist you.¡± Quoppi took a step into the storage room, hissing as he faced the full brunt of the lights. Varyna tried to reassure him that she didn¡¯t need help, but he ignored her and crouched down to pick up some of the cartridges. ¡°Captain Cleus specifically requested I fetch you for the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the squad meeting! I¡¯ll hurry!¡± Varyna gathered an armful of holos and ran back to the Helios section. Most of them belonged there, but she had to travel to a few other sections to finish replacing them all.


    ¡°Have you become interested in old artifacts?¡± Quoppi asked her as they hurried back to the office. It was rare for him to start a conversation like that, so Varyna figured his curiosity had been piqued by the peculiar collection of records he helped her put away.


    ¡°I happened to read about some interesting experiments that went on at one of the old Ulterai labs, so I just got carried away researching what happened to the artifacts there.¡± Varyna smiled. Not because her shy squadmate had started a conversation with her. Or because she was excited for the meeting.


    But because she had found it. The place where several items from the old lab had ended up, and, most likely, the location of the USB.


    Best of all? It was a planet within her section¡¯s outer jurisdiction. Just across the Helios sector from the USB¡¯s original lab home, on the desert planet Satch.


    Varyna was giddy as she scampered into the office behind Quoppi. Had she been paying attention, she would have noticed her Nemarian companion¡¯s fins twitching in anticipation as well. Quoppi-Shaden was uncharacteristically excited.


    Faren opened the meeting after a pointed glance at the two late comers. Their other squadmates hadn¡¯t even noticed just how long they¡¯d had to wait for the meeting¡ªthey were too busy chattering and laughing amongst themselves.


    ¡°Last of all, we need a couple volunteers for this term¡¯s offworld patrol to our outer jurisdiction,¡± Faren recited at the end of the meeting, flicking through the last few screens of meeting notes. ¡°It¡¯s not particularly dangerous, but you can expect to be off-planet for around twenty-five days. If you¡¯re interested-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested, Sir!!¡±


    Every head in the room turned to the back, where a Human girl and orange Nemarian were raising their hands. Varyna and Quoppi looked at each other in surprise, not realizing the other had called out at the same time.


    ¡°Quoppi, you¡­ ??¡± Varyna hissed.


    ¡°I am equally surprised at you, Officer Rhine,¡± Quoppi whispered back.


    ¡°Huh. Well alright then,¡± Faren scratched his head lazily. ¡°Varyna and Quoppi will represent the 11th squad this month. Be ready to leave next week.¡±


    The two voices shouted again in unison.


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    <hr>


    Glossary


    Mistter: Personal humidifier used by Nemarians


    Cartridge: Palm-sized box that, when activated, displays a book''s contents via holoscreen


    CinderX: The wireless network that allows instantaneous information sharing across the galaxy. Runs directly along the Astral Highway, so rural planets have less access to the network

 [V]Chapter 12: Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot

    ¡°Move it, sucklings!¡±


    The large Kremel woman shoved past Varyna and her companion, a short Nemarian with a nasty temper.


    ¡°Ha?!¡± The Nemarian bared her teeth and clenched her fists as she stepped out to follow the Kremel.


    ¡°Officer Nelian!¡± Varyna called out, jumping in front of the angry Nemarian. ¡°Let¡¯s just keep moving.¡±


    ¡°... Right.¡± Reluctantly, Nelian backed down.


    What the Nemarian woman, Nelian-Trecasn, lacked in height, she made up for in sass. The two of them¡ªNelian and Varyna¡ªhad been paired up after each of their previous partners voiced complaints. And that¡¯s how the two most hot headed female COPS on the Gemini Sector 1 offworld patrol ended up together.


    Varyna had wanted to hit the rude Kremel woman as much as Nelian. In fact, similar actions of hers were the source of her last partner¡¯s complaints. But she couldn¡¯t afford to start trouble on this planet. At least, not before she had a chance to take a peek inside a certain rich man¡¯s warehouse. Almost all the artifacts from the Ulterai labs had ended up there thanks to the owner¡¯s obsession with dated tech.


    The USB¡ªthe only successful experiment from the Ulterai-1-B7¡ªwas there. It had to be.


    ¡°Are you paying attention?¡± a nasally voice interrupted her thoughts.


    ¡°Ah.. sorry. Go ahead,¡± Varyna sighed, followed by an impatient snort from her Nemarian partner.


    The shopkeeper, a Human with orange curly hair and clusters of freckles on his cheeks, went on, ¡°anyway, as I was saying. I¡¯ve had my shop damaged over ten times this year by street fights.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any details regarding the individuals involved in the fights?¡± Varyna asked, her smile not reaching her eyes. Stop wasting my time. It seemed everyone in the area had multiple reports to file, and she was running out of patience.


    ¡°All of ¡®em were those rowdy Kremels,¡± the shopkeeper spit. ¡°And a few Nemarians I¡¯m sure. Anyway, can¡¯t I get some compensation or something for this?¡±


    Varyna breathed out slowly, a vein on her forehead bulging as she tried to maintain her composure. She scrawled ¡®unknown amount of damage from untraceable suspects¡¯ and clicked her pen off before looking back up at the man. ¡°I¡¯ll file this immediately and you will be contacted by local authorities for any updates on your case.¡±


    The shopkeeper folded his arms. ¡°Wait a second. Local authorities? Clearly I wouldn¡¯t be here talking to you Sucklings if the yokel COPS on this blasted planet did their job! What a jok-¡±


    His voice cut off with a squeak as Varyna¡¯s fist smashed into the stone wall he leaned against, dangerously close to his head.


    ¡°We appreciate your cooperation, Sir.¡± She gritted her teeth into the best attempt of a smile she could manage before whirling around to her partner. ¡°You get to do the next report, Nelian.¡±


    The Nemarian grinned devilishly at the shivering shopkeeper and cracked her knuckles. ¡°Gladly.¡±


    After the duo left a dozen more terrified shopkeepers in their wake, they stopped to take a break at a local cafe.


    ¡°I swear, every living thing on this planet has nothing better to do than whine,¡± Nelian complained, slamming her wooden mug on the table. It was full of barbary juice (a local ¡®delicacy¡¯) but the Nemarian was guzzling it like it was ale.


    In all fairness, this planet hadn¡¯t been the first to be full of whiners. The farther from the Astral Highway a planet was, the less law enforcement it had. Rich people¡ªthe nobility¡ªon these planets tended to hire mercenaries to keep them and their property safe. Everyone else was left to mostly fend for themselves. Hence the long list of grievances to report when the Capitol Patrol came through.


    ¡°Ugh! And why don¡¯t they have a single proper humidifier in this place!¡± Nelian continued her rant as she adjusted the settings on her personal mistter. When the apparatus was shooting a dense white mist that practically concealed her face, the Nemarian sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    ¡°Careful, you don¡¯t want to use up all your frezon,¡± Varyna warned. ¡°We still have six more hours of whining to-I mean reports to file.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah. That sounds like a problem for Future Nelian.¡± the Nemarian waved her webbed hand lazily as she gulped some more juice.


    Varyna turned her attention to her own barbary juice. It was a pale green color and full of chewy pulp. On a planet this barren, this cactus-derived drink was the primary source of hydration.


    She sipped in silence, contemplating how long she would have to explore the warehouse. Curfew was at 18:00, and the Officers were free to do anything they wanted after their shift. The problem was that most Officers spent their free time on the ship, relaxing, playing stix, and eating. And nobody was allowed on the surface without a partner. If she could find Quoppi, she might be able to convince him to come with her. He seemed pretty interested in ancient stuff, after all. But then she still needed to figure out how to actually get inside. No noble was about to let a couple COPS come on a little tour of their treasure trove.


    Varyna sighed. She was so close. But how-


    The box comm secured just below her left shoulder buzzed and gave off three loud beeps. She heard shuffling on the other side of the table as Nelian moved to check her comm at the same time.


    The black box then produced a series of short and long buzzes, along with a blue flash. The location coordinates popped up a second later on a small screen projected by the comm unit.


    ¡°It¡¯s not close to us.¡± Nelian picked her mug up again and deactivated the coordinate screen. ¡°I suppose we ought to just get back to taking reports.¡± She frowned and took a swig of her drink.


    Varyna fiddled with her mug. ¡°Hey Nelian.¡± The Nemarian tilted her head. ¡°You don¡¯t.. really want to go take more reports, right? And who knows, they could seriously need our help over there.¡±


    A smile played across Nailian¡¯s purple lips. ¡°That¡¯s a good point. It is a blue emergency, after all. They probably need all the help they can get.¡±


    The two women nodded at each other across the table and jumped to their feet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Nelian shouted, and Varyna followed her excitedly out the door.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    They ran to where they parked their crawler and headed straight toward the coordinates shown on the comm.


    When they finally arrived, the warehouse was in chaos. Purple-suited mercenaries were storming the building along with white-suited COPS, all shouting at each other and into their comm units. In the turmoil, Varyna was able to gather that some Runners had raided the warehouse.


    ¡°Those blasted Runners.¡± Nelian clicked her tongue, moving to charge into the warehouse.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Varyna grabbed her partner¡¯s arm. She glanced at the crowd of officers trying to push through the front door, leaving the rest of the area around the warehouse completely unguarded. ¡°Let¡¯s cut off their escape.¡±


    The two COPS nodded at each other and took off around the back of the warehouse, keeping their heads low. Varyna¡¯s chest tightened as she heard crashing and shooting sounds coming from the building as they passed it by. Surely the USB wouldn¡¯t be damaged in all the commotion, right? She gritted her teeth and pushed her legs faster. Soon the warehouse¡¯s back wall was visible. Beyond it was a wasteland that dropped abruptly into a canyon.


    ¡°Look sharp! We got a bunch of Runners!¡± Nelian shouted to Varyna and then made a quick report in her comm unit. The Runners dropped from one of the windows. First a Nemarian, then a Human, followed by a Kremel and another Nemarian.


    Only four of them. Varyna pulled her blaster out and crouched lower to the ground as she kept moving. Patrol-issued guns weren¡¯t made for long range combat, and she was still too far to get a good shot at the Runners. Judging by their speed, she wouldn¡¯t be able to head them off, either.


    Bang!


    A handful of Purple Suits flew out the backdoor, firing wildly at the group of Runners. The two Nemarians continued their sprint toward the canyon¡ªprobably where their shuttle was¡ªbut the Human and Kremel turned back to fight.


    ¡°We have to pick up the pace!¡± Varyna shouted over her shoulder. Nelian was breathing heavily and lagging. The dry heat was too much for her, even with her mistter desperately sputtering out the last of its frezon. The Nemarian swore and waved Varyna on.


    ¡°Go! Hurry! Those mercenaries are dropping like flies!¡±


    Varyna nodded to her partner and kept running. Her own lungs were burning now. The Runner Human and Kremel had hid behind some boulders to take shots at the Purple Suits. Their accuracy was impressive. Soon, there were only a few mercenaries left charging toward them. Then there was one. Then there were none.


    ¡°No!¡± Varyna came to a halt and raised her blaster as the two Runners made a break for the canyon. She focused on the Human. He seemed the weaker of the two. Her finger tightened on the trigger, but the Human suddenly looked back. Varyna¡¯s mouth gaped. She recognized him. ¡°... Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot?!¡±


    Nelian took deep gasps as she finally reached Varyna. ¡°You gasp let him haah get away?¡±


    Varyna lowered her blaster. ¡°I hesitated. And then he was gone.¡± It wasn¡¯t just that she¡¯d let the criminals escape. She knew in her gut that something had gone horribly wrong. Something about that Human¡ªthat chef idiot¡ªgave her a bad feeling she couldn¡¯t quite place.


    ¡°I guess wheeze we should go cough back to work.¡± Nelian bent over, her hands on her knees as she sucked in breaths of the stinging hot air.


    Varyna pulled a spare frezon cartridge out of her belt and tossed it to her partner. The Nemarian¡¯s eyes lit up as she caught it and eagerly began screwing it into her mistter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go help with cleanup here,¡± Varyna sighed, holstering her blaster and offering a hand to Nelian. A few pumps of the cold mist had brought her scaly friend back to life.


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get to it,¡± Nelian scowled, watching as the Runner shuttle flew out of sight into the clouds.


    A mercenary pod and two COP pods soon followed the path of the Runner¡¯s shuttle into the clouds.


    ¡°Think they¡¯ll catch them?¡± Varyna asked absently, shielding her eyes as she watched.


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯ll slip into The Highway before that,¡± Nelian answered.


    The two partners trekked back to the front of the warehouse, where COPS and mercenaries were glaring at each other while their superiors discussed the next course of action. As they approached a group of COPS, a familiar voice called out.


    ¡°Varyna! You were here too?¡± A female Kremel bounded toward her. Her leg muscles bulged against her once-white uniform pants with each step, threatening to tear through. It was no wonder Kremel uniforms had to be reinforced with double the alunitanium as everyone else¡¯s. (Though, their tough skin didn¡¯t really require the extra protection.) Varyna had the same thought when she had witnessed the female Kremel trying to tug her uniform shirt over her big head and beefy arms the first morning of patrol. The two had been assigned as bunkmates, and it was Varyna¡¯s first time being in such close quarters with a Kremel.


    ¡°Hey Plwrg,¡± Varyna waved at her Kremel bunkmate. ¡°We saw some Runners sneaking out the back. We weren¡¯t able to catch them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. Those nasty little dichens even got the best of this army of mercenaries,¡± Plwrg shook her head, gesturing to the worn-looking group of Purple Suits glaring at the COPS from behind their leader. The ones not standing around were treating injuries and carrying corpses. Due to their late arrival, the COPS¡¯ casualties were far less.


    Nelian whistled behind Varyna. ¡°The owner of this warehouse must have something pretty important to protect in there. Why else would they hire all these guys?¡±


    ¡°All I know is that the owner collects retro objects and stores them here,¡± Plwrg shrugged. ¡°I guess he¡¯s pretty eccentric. But he did get targeted by Runners, so maybe he was hiding something valuable after all.¡±


    ¡°Did the Runners take anything?¡± Varyna frowned. She couldn¡¯t imagine what anyone would want with some old tech.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait for the report to figure that out.¡± Plwrg shrugged again. It was clear she wasn¡¯t at all interested in the warehouse full of strange collections and the Runners who had robbed it.


    Varyna wanted to ask more, but the Captain had finished his discussion with the mercenaries¡¯ leader and turned to give orders.


    ¡°Patrol Unit 7 will work with the mercenaries to make a report. Everyone else, return to your posts. You still got two more hours on your shift.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s that.¡± Nelian snorted and clapped Varyna on the back. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to our whiny shopkeepers.¡±


    ¡°You guys too?¡± Plwrg shook her head. ¡°I swear this planet has been the worst so far.¡±


    The Kremel and Nemarian soon found camaraderie in their woes of whining shopkeepers and began chattering happily as the COPS began to disperse. Varyna was only half listening to their discussion. Her eyes kept darting back toward the warehouse. Her heart thumped when she saw a flash of orange scales mixed with the group lucky enough to get to stay behind and make the report.


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± she whispered. ¡°Quoppi is on Patrol Unit 7.¡±


    As soon as she returned to the ship two hours later, she wasted no time tracking her squadmate down. She found him in the cafeteria, sipping kixi juice and scrolling through a holo. He hadn¡¯t even changed out of his uniform yet.


    ¡°Quoppi!¡± Varyna dropped into the chair next to him. ¡°How did things go at the warehouse?¡±


    The Nemarian continued reading quietly for a few seconds and then deactivated the holo and turned to Varyna. ¡°Hello, Officer Rhine. The warehouse was quite a mess,¡± he explained, adjusting his glasses. ¡°Many things were broken.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Varyna frowned. ¡°But everything was accounted for?¡±


    Quoppi adjusted his glasses again. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure. There are many things there and it will take a lot of time to comb through them all. For now, there are two items that no trace has been found of.¡±


    Varyna¡¯s chest tightened. It couldn¡¯t be. It wouldn¡¯t be. Nobody was interested in some old USB. More likely it got damaged in the attack, right? But she couldn¡¯t shake the anxiety gripping her. The image of that self-proclaimed chef guy standing in front of the ¡®Rare Demons¡¯ section wouldn¡¯t leave her mind.


    The Nemarian cleared his throat and lowered his voice as if he was divulging a secret.


    ¡°The missing items were a carved pottery shard and..¡±


    A screen popped up in front of Varyna, finishing Quoppi¡¯s sentence for him.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Steal the Stolen]


    [Description: retrieve Leviathan from the hands of the Runners]


    [Time limit: None]


    [Reward: 500 XP]


    Varyna grimaced at the screen while the Nemarian finished,


    ¡°..and a single black USB.¡±

 Chapter 13: Hello Vipor

    The small shuttle lurched under Cewi-Bano¡¯s webbed hands, flinging Lus against his seatbelt, and she apologized for the twentieth time. They were currently descending into the atmosphere of Vipor but doing so in a location that wasn¡¯t well monitored to keep their entrance from being noticed. Supposedly their contact on the planet also had a landing pad prepared that was free from any kind of government records, even if it did cost an exorbitant amount.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you lost your touch, Cewi,¡± Vlqtrn joked from the back, across from Lusac. Cewi was known for her skills with a gun, and her talent for hair triggers made her one of the more stable pilots among the crew, but this trip was proving too much for her. Part of Lus wondered if they shouldn¡¯t have brought a more experienced pilot for this kind of trip. Oaty was probably too valuable to send on a mission like this, but even Yonnex-Quniwel would have been more welcome than the jolty ride they took now with Cewi.


    ¡°I¡¯m just not used to flying in such extreme turbulence,¡± she admitted with a grimace. She was clearly straining to keep the shuttle steady, and Lus was starting to feel the effects of a less-than-smooth trip through the atmosphere.


    ¡°Vipor was originally colonized by the Kremel, so it¡¯s not as weak as the Nemarian planets you grew up around,¡± Wsr said with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s as tough as its people.¡±


    ¡°Tough-hrgh-is one word for it,¡± Cewi replied, jerking the controls as another strong bump rolled through the shuttle.


    Lus clutched his stomach. He didn¡¯t normally get airsick, but this trip was proving to be an exception. He did his best to hold his breakfast in, knowing that the others would never let him live it down if he hurled. It seemed super-Nemarian of Cewi to hold her own vomit down, but maybe driving made it easier. The two Kremel had no problems of course, but that was just an unfair, biological advantage.


    ¡°Without the turbulence, we¡¯d never be able to land here. The rough air is all that keeps the Corporates from installing their atmospheric sensors to detect ships,¡± Vlqtrn reminded the cabin.


    Cewi grunted, but gave no formal reply, still too focused on keeping the shuttle upright.


    They finally emerged from the upper atmosphere, and the clouds cleared to reveal a vast stretch of Vipor¡¯s crimson sunset stretching to the far mountains which was odd because for the Runners, it was still the morning. It was going to be a bit brutal dealing with such a stark time change, but most of their work was supposed to be done at night anyway.


    Lusac focused on the picturesque scene out the front window to keep from thinking about his uneasy stomach. Somewhere in his mind, he silently asked the Watcher to keep the contents of his intestines on the inside for just a little longer.


    Cewi continued the descent with lessened turbulence much to Lus and his stomach¡¯s relief. A small holoscreen in the corner of the front window directed the Nemarian in navigating over the top of the vast forest below them. Supposedly their contact would have a way into the city for them that would be as untraceable as the landing pad.


    Lus was looking forward to being amongst a full-fledged civilization again. He enjoyed the Argo, and it was always fun to explore new planets, but it¡¯d been weeks since he last got to enjoy things like restaurants and bars. And the last time he¡¯d been in a city, he¡¯d spent all his time in a musty library trying to find recipe books without any success. He was definitely looking forward to being in a city and not having to even think about cooking for a couple of days.


    The ride only got smoother as they approached the ground. Soon Cewi-Bano was expertly guiding the craft into the mouth of a cave at the mountains and onto what might have passed for a landing pad in the far corners of the outer sectors of the galaxy but felt very out of place on a planet that was as near the Gemini region as Vipor.


    ¡°Alright. Let me do the talking with this guy. Wsr, stay close to me just in case they try to pull anything. Lus, Vlqtrn, start gathering up the stuff,¡± Cewi ordered after landing the shuttle and turning the engines off. She and Wsr both stood and walked to the back where the exit hatch waited.


    Lus waited until they were outside conversing with whoever came to greet them to release his seatbelt and begin picking at the luggage piled up against both walls behind the seats.


    ¡°Excited to be back on your old stomping grounds?¡± Vlqtrn asked as they sorted bags into four piles, one for each team member.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lus froze and then turned to give the Kremel a questioning stare.


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯d heard you were in the Corporate military before you joined the Argo. Since Vipor is such a stronghold for them, I assumed you passed through here at some point,¡± Vlqtrn said.


    ¡°Right. I was with the Corporates only briefly before I left,¡± Lus explained simply. He didn¡¯t particularly want to get into those details right now.


    Vlqtrn seemed to sense Lus¡¯s reluctance to speak more about the topic and dropped it entirely. Unfortunately, the brief conversation brought Lusac¡¯s previous concerns back in full force. The chip in his hand had been illegally reprogrammed to provide a different identity when scanned, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling that just being around Corporates again was asking for some kind of trouble.


    Cewi and Wsr soon returned to help finish the sorting and loading up. Wsr and Vlqtrn took on the most, but given they were both more than double the size of Lus and triple that of Cewi, it was still a pretty fair distribution. Lusac carried an uncomfortable amount of weight, but he told himself it was worth it if it meant he might end up with boosted [Strength] next time he leveled up. He thought one more curse to his worthless system and then put it from his mind altogether to keep his focus on the mission. It was critical they have no errors, especially once they got into the city.


    All four of the heavily laden crewmembers exited the shuttle into the damp cave that held the remnants of some kind of base. A group of Kremel with a single Human waited. The front Kremel would be their contact, and the rest were likely her crew.


    ¡°This way to the tunnel. We have a vehicle that will take us directly into the city¡¯s underground. The apartment you¡¯ll be staying in connects directly to it. You¡¯ll get in without needing to pass a single check,¡± the contact said, taking long strides to one of the mechanical doors along the wall. Cewi went next, followed closely by Wsr with Lus and Vlqtrn at the back.


    The air was more humid here than most other planets Lus had visited in the past, which was surprising for a Kremel colonized world. He expected this type of air on Nemarian planets, and Cewi-Bano seemed to take well to it, not even using her mistter.


    The door led to a half caved-in hallway that the contact continued down without even pausing to explain. Moss appeared to be forming on some of the strewn boulders, so Lus got the sense it wasn¡¯t a recent incident.


    The corridor led to a tunnel, just as the contact had said. There a typical land crawler waited. It was a large, rounded cube and had four legs coming out, two at each end just like a horse¡¯s body. But the legs were spindly, more akin to an insect¡¯s¨Cthough with more freedom of movement¨Cand the ¡°feet¡± were actually claws made for climbing up walls if necessary. These kinds of vehicles were what were used for exploring wild areas, and Lus had grown up around similar vehicles back on Treft since so little of the planet had the infrastructure for the sophisticated hover cars used on worlds near the galactic center.


    The body of the crawler rested on the ground with the legs bent in a heavy fashion. Their contact used a remote to open the door as well as the cargo space in the back. The team first dropped off their luggage, and then all five of them entered the interior of the vehicle. It was snug with three Kremel, and Lus was forced to sit between Wsr and Vlqtrn, leaning forward against his seatbelt to allow them room for their beefy shoulders. Cewi-Bano sat far more comfortably up in the co-pilot seat next to their contact who had yet to offer up any kind of name.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Their contact started the engine, and the crawler sprang to life. A few lights blinked up on the dashboard while a large holoscreen appeared before the pilot, projecting views from all around, not just directly in front. There was a strong downward force as the body swung upwards to stand at the leg¡¯s height. Lus¡¯s stomach warned him that his motion sickness had yet to subside all the way. Still, he held himself together as the contact started into the tunnel.


    As with most crawlers, this one was designed for stealth and used special cameras to provide a clear view into the dark cave without using any kind of light. The Kremel expertly piloted the vehicle over the rough terrain and scaled several vertical walls and drops. The smell of sweat started to fill the interior, and Lus was a little too aware of the sources next to him.


    They were about half an hour into the journey when their pilot cursed and jerked the controls of the vehicle to the side, throwing Lusac into Wsr.


    ¡°Corporate patrol incoming,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯ll kill the engines, and as long as we¡¯re quiet in here, they should pass us right by.¡±


    The engine went silent, and the lights and screens inside turned off, plunging the cockpit into complete blackness. Vlqtrn shuddered, a sentiment Lus understood. Not even the superior Kremel and Nemarian eyesight could pierce this kind of darkness.


    The soft sound of distant machinery became the only noise Lus¡¯s ears could pick up.


    Despite the distinct lack of calm he felt, he focused on keeping each breath even and silent while they waited for the patrol to pass. Lusac did his best to not think about what was going to happen if they were caught¨Cif he was caught.


    Long after the sound of the Corporate¡¯s vehicle faded, the pilot released a long sigh of relief as she restarted the engines.


    ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, we¡¯ll only run into one or two more on our way,¡± she said.


    ¡°They patrol these caves that often?¡± Cewi questioned.


    ¡°They used to keep guards and outposts everywhere they could, but the war has gotten bad enough they can¡¯t waste soldiers on that anymore. Instead, they opt for frequent, randomly timed patrols to catch anyone sneaking in. It¡¯s only thanks to our early warning system that we can avoid them at all,¡± the contact answered. Already she¡¯d guided the crawler back into the cave and resumed the journey.


    A couple of hours passed, and little was said during any of it except for the next three times they had to pull off for Corporate patrols. Even then, the only words spoken were a warning and nothing more. Their contact was happy to sit in silence the rest of the time, and with the tension of their chances of being discovered, no one else really cared to break it.


    Nearing the three hour mark, their contact spoke again, but it wasn¡¯t about a patrol this time.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to get a little uncomfortable while we squeeze into the old underground highway. Hang on to something,¡± she said.


    Lus instinctively grabbed his seatbelt, and everyone else did the same as the crawler started up a wall. In the next minute, it moved to be on the ceiling, and they were all hanging in the air, only their safety belts keeping them from crashing into the roof of the vehicle. Wsr was murmuring whatever complaints she could get out with her frame pressed into the harness holding her in her seat.


    There was some scrapping as the crawler pushed itself through a very narrow crack, and then it righted itself as they emerged into a smooth, carved tunnel designed for travel. The crawler sprinted across the flat ground with ease.


    They must finally be within the city boundaries, and Lus hoped it wouldn¡¯t be much longer until they arrived at the safe house. The body odor was getting to be unbearable, trapped between two Kremel for all that time.


    His hopes were not in vain, and it was only ten or so minutes later when the pilot slowed the vehicle to a stop.


    ¡°We are near the stairwell. I¡¯ll point it out, but I won¡¯t enter the building with you,¡± she said gruffly. ¡°Move fast. A patrol could come at anytime.¡±


    ¡°Right. Just as we discussed. And in 41 hours we¡¯ll meet you here for the return trip,¡± Cewi confirmed.


    The Kremel nodded with a grunt as the door opened. Lus sprang from his seat, eager for a little fresh air. Anything had to be better than Vlqtrn¡¯s armpits.


    It was rather dark out in the tunnel, with just a few sparse emergency lights to provide faint illumination to the smooth cement walls, floor, and ceiling. Cewi-Bano came out after him, her narrow eyes scanning the space as though she expected an attack. He couldn¡¯t blame her. After all those near misses with patrols, it felt like the Corporate army could jump out of nowhere to arrest them. The rear cargo door opened, and Lus began pulling their belongings out while Cewi remained vigilant. Vlqtrn and Wsr soon joined him, but it was only after all three had reloaded their burdens that Cewi came over to grab her share.


    True to her word, their contact led them to the metal door which opened to the stairs leading up but went no further. Cewi offered nothing more than a simple dip of her head in farewell before taking point in leading the team up into the building. The door slammed closed behind them with a certain finality in its clank.


    Somehow Cewi-Bano knew exactly where to go even as they emerged into a proper basement, and without a pause, she guided them to a second set of stairs. From there it was another four stories before she stepped into the hallway of the building.


    The floors were wooden, but many of the planks were beat up or starting to rot away. The walls were a dark gray with several splotches of poorly matched paint in patch attempts while the lights were even dimmer than what Kremel and Nemarians normally liked. Cewi led them to the first door on the right and used an illusion chip on the rusty door scanner to get access. The illusion chip wasn¡¯t really a chip, but rather a small, square device made to pass scanners when there was no one to see to keep the Runners chips from behind associated with it. Even if their chips did bear false identities, it was better to keep their mark on places low.


    The lock clicked open, and Cewi entered the space first, her hand on her concealed pistol. Wsr came next with her hands in loose fists. Lus followed behind and tried to remain on guard, but he wasn¡¯t sure what anyone was expecting. Vlqtrn came last, tugging the door closed behind him.


    The apartment was in as poor of shape as the hallway, with the same blotchy paint and uneven floors. At least the lights were a little brighter, so Lus didn¡¯t feel like he was going blind anymore, but the furniture was minimal and questionable. Normally Lusac wouldn¡¯t be so picky, but looking at the beat up sofa with bits of stuffing showing, he questioned if lyce or some other undesirables lived there.


    ¡°There are two rooms. Wsr and I will take the one on the right, Lus and Vlqtrn, on the left. Drop your stuff off and then meet back here in five,¡± Cewi commanded.


    They all did as she ordered, and Lus discovered that his assigned room would barely fit him, Vlqtrn, and their stuff. In a stroke of mixed luck, there wasn¡¯t any furniture to avoid, but that also meant there were no beds either.


    ¡°Good thing we brought sleeping pads,¡± Vlqtrn noted as he slid one massive backpack off his shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah. Guess Cewi knew we wouldn¡¯t have much to work with here. Do you want to be by the door or the window?¡± Lusac waited to drop any of his load until the Kremel had decided.


    ¡°Window, I guess, since that¡¯s where my stuff is.¡± Vlqtrn offered a good-natured smile that Lus returned. He was definitely better than dealing with Dasht again. While Lus considered the Nemarian a friend, he still managed to get on Lus¡¯s nerves during any kind of extended interaction.


    Back in the main living space, Cewi and Wsr were already waiting. Cewi motioned for both of them to take seats at the small square table near what qualified as a kitchen.


    ¡°Wsr and I are going to go check out the guard schedule around the museum. Vlqtrn, get your equipment set up for a test for tomorrow. And Lus¡­¡± She turned to look at him with a knowing smile. ¡°Why don¡¯t you make us something to eat?¡±


    Lus chuckled, but Cewi¡¯s face warned that it was only partially a joke.


    ¡°Would you like Ration A or Ration B?¡± he said.


    ¡°We brought enough food that you should be able to do a little better than that, right Chef?¡± Wsr patted him on the shoulder.


    Lusac shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t have any recipes with me. I can¡¯t promise anything.¡±


    Cewi shook her head, still grinning. ¡°Do the best you can. We¡¯ll be back in two hours, and I expect something besides jerky and nuts to eat.¡±


    She and Wsr stood. They left the apartment after reminding the two men that they were not to leave under any circumstances. Vlqtrn then retreated to the bedroom to drag out his computers and hacking equipment while Lus dug into their provisions bag. Cewi probably wasn¡¯t going to like what he produced, but he knew he at least had to try.


    She wasn¡¯t impressed with the sandwiches he had put together two hours later when she and Wsr returned, but she did concede that it still qualified as better than the original rations. Of course, not even his system recognized it as real cooking and he didn¡¯t even get [XP] for it.


    After the small meal, they all went to bed so that they could be up at a reasonable time to do their reconnaissance inside the museum, but Lus found it hard to sleep after only being up for a few hours. Still, he did eventually fall into a restless sleep despite Vlqtrn¡¯s obnoxious snores.

 Chapter 14: Museum of Lesser Known Galactic History

    The orange sun of Vipor shone brightly the next morning as Lus trudged out of the dingy apartment building by himself. A secret comm unit disguised as an earring was on his right ear which connected him to the others. Wsr was already at the museum while Cewi was doing something else in the city she deemed of equal importance. Vlqtrn remained at the apartment amongst his consoles and screens to keep all the data and communication organized.


    This section of the city was in pretty rough shape all around, with most of the buildings in the same state of disrepair as the one where the Runners stayed. The majority of those he crossed were Kremel wearing their usual dark colors and furs. A few of the kids and teenagers ventured into other more trendy styles from the Gemini sector with colorful robes and loud hats, but those were few and far between amongst all the traditional Kremel garb.


    As Lus walked, the buildings slowly became nicer and bigger as some started to stretch over two dozen stories tall. A wider mix of species also appeared, with a few Nemarians wandering the streets and even the occasional Human. When the silver Corporate military uniforms started showing up in the mix, he stopped looking closely at those who passed by. It was hard to not think of his own time wearing such garments.


    Eventually he arrived at their target, the Southern Reach Museum of Lesser Known Galactic History. It was a simple building, only three stories tall and not overly large, but the architecture spoke of primordial civilizations with the spiraled columns full of paintings and the oval stained-glass windows that dotted the walls. He remembered learning about the Ancient Ones during school as a kid, but it was always one of those ¡°mysteries of the galaxy¡± that was never going to be solved despite all the ruins available. Everyone he knew had wanted to be an Ancient One researcher at some point in their childhood. What he saw here, however, went way beyond the normal styles attributed to the Ancient Ones, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was a gimmick to draw in a larger crowd against all the competing museums.


    Lus cracked the gum he was chewing. According to Wsr, it made him seem more ¡°casual,¡± but he felt rather silly doing it. He wore standard Human clothes that could have been found in any shopping center that catered to his species: tight fitting pants and a simple t-shirt. He also wore a hat¨Ca ball cap that had a brim to cover the front of his face and nothing more, which he thought looked far better than the silly full brim hats Kremel tourists typically wore. Nemarians normally didn¡¯t wear any kind of headgear unless they absolutely had to since it was uncomfortable for their fins from Lus¡¯s understanding.


    He greeted the ticket booth operator with a smile, hoping he seemed more relaxed than he felt. Seeing all the military officers put him on edge, even though he knew they had no reason to suspect anything about him. Lus looked the part of a casual tourist, and Vipor received millions each standard year with all the museums it boasted.


    ¡°Enjoy,¡± the Kremel man said in a flat voice as he handed Lusac back his cryptin card. The tickets were shockingly expensive for doing something as boring as looking at old artifacts. This wasn¡¯t even one of the major museums on the planet, but the prices were still rather inflated.


    Luckily, it wasn¡¯t his personal cryptin he was spending, just the Argo¡¯s crew fund, so he couldn¡¯t complain too much.


    Inside the building, Lus was a little overwhelmed with all the things to see. Everywhere he looked there was some colorful object depicting something about some random species, and his eyes were starting to hurt from the mess of colors. The Argo was rather bland in comparison, and even the city hadn¡¯t come close to this level of flamboyance.


    The museum was organized according to a general timeline, and Lus knew that what they were looking for would be in the middle the entire thing, inside the section of the exhibits which represented things from in between the fall of the Ancient Ones and the rise of the Nemarians and eventually all the other three species. But Lus didn¡¯t rush to where he knew their target was. Instead, he took his time wandering through the halls of the museum, forcing himself to pretend he cared about all the dusty old artifacts and art pieces. Some exhibits were literally just old bricks from civilizations that crumpled even before the Ancient Ones, people who might have been the first colonizers if not for their own folly.


    As he walked through the museum, Lus was careful to subtly find all the security cameras he could. After each section, he¡¯d find a blind spot and mark them on the map he took from the ticket booth. Once he got back to the apartment, Vlqtrn would compile his and Wsr¡¯s notes to get a full picture of what they would be walking into that night.


    Eventually he finished off the long series of hallways dedicated to the Ancient Ones, and he could finally safely move to the large room dedicated to that in-between period so few people cared about. Along one of the walls, away from any of the really cool artifacts, sat a shelving unit protected by thick glass. Their prize waited on one of the lower shelves, a small plaque listing it as a pottery fragment from some early society wiped out long before Nemarian colonization.


    Lus did his usual scan for security cameras, but he also took a couple of extra minutes near the exhibit to check for other measures surrounding the shelves, including a quick check to see if there was anything inside the glass walls to worry about. He mentally noted what appeared to be alarms before moving on to something else and spending even more time pretending to study it in hopes of keeping suspicion low. When he got to the next stairwell, he communicated the more important bits to Vlqtrn and then marked the map as he had before. Now all that was left was to finish wandering the museum and keeping track of cameras as he went.


    He just had to make sure none of the day guards caught him doing something so suspicious, or else the entire mission would be a bust. Keeping up his casual appearance, Lusac started into the corridors dedicated to the first living colonizer of the galaxy: the Nemarians.


    According to Lus¡¯s history teacher back when he was a kid, Humans were the unofficial original colonizers after the Ancient Ones. Their ancestors were from some other, far away galaxy and had come here a millenia ago, before even the Nemarians had started into the stars, but since they only sent one ship to colonize a single planet, the first Humans had been forced to rebuild from the ground up, centuries behind where their homeworld was. That delayed them from joining the Cinder Rock Galaxy Collective until long after both the Nemarians and Shamayim had advanced to the point of starting to travel the far reaches of the galaxy. The Kremel then advanced up only a hundred years or so later, marking the final addition to the Collective.


    He was at the start of the section going over the meeting of the Nemarians and Shamayim, including their initial treaty that created the Collective when someone called out to him.


    ¡°Arten? Is that you?¡± the man said.


    Lus¡¯s eyes went wide as he studied the plaque before him. He didn¡¯t know anyone who would refer to him by only his last name except¡­


    He turned to face the person who had spoken, a Human male only a year or two older than himself wearing a silver uniform. Lusac recognized him immediately as Shent Resiw, one of his close friends from his basic training when he was with the Corporate Military.


    ¡°Resiw.¡± Lusac forced a smile. ¡°How are you? They have you rotting away at a museum instead of in the action?¡±


    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking,¡± Shent replied as he grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. ¡°How have you been? How¡¯s the 647th Battalion doing? I heard you guys were out in the Aura sector taking out Fed factories.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good,¡± Lus lied. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m here on leave for a few days, and then back to the bombing.¡±


    Shent nodded, still grinning. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you, Arten. With the kinds of casualties those rural sectors are spitting out, I wasn¡¯t sure you¡¯d make it out in one piece.¡±


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    Exactly why I left, Lus thought to himself while maintaining a false grin. ¡°You ended up pushing paper for some executive, right? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I handle death notifications,¡± he said, letting the smile fade a little. ¡°Which is funny actually. I was able to set up a system that warned me if you and the others from the training squad passed through the office, and I swear I got yours a couple of years ago, not long after we graduated.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. I remember that. We were ambushed on some dusty moon, and I got separated from my team during our retreat. I ended up taking a little spill off the cliff that mashed up my id chip. I guess Clvq saw me, and they assumed the worst. I ended up in a hospital for a couple of months as a Nameless until I was well enough to explain. You wouldn¡¯t believe the paperwork required to come back from the dead.¡± Lus chuckled. ¡°But of course, I can¡¯t imagine you set the alerts up to go both ways so how would you have known about the mix up?¡±


    It was almost the truth. All of that happened, except the explaining the mix up and coming back from the dead. In reality, when Lusac found out from the hospital staff that he was undocumented due to an error with his chip, he took the opportunity to escape the military he¡¯d been conscripted into. He wouldn¡¯t have made it far except for finding the Argo and begging Captain Tave to take him on. After that, it¡¯d been two years of hard work to prove himself worthy of the risk he presented to the crew. Supposedly, other, larger ships took on deserters without fear, but they had the resources to keep those crew members hidden in a way that a small crew like the Argo¡¯s couldn¡¯t match.


    Shent began grinning once again. ¡°That¡¯s some story. I imagine you¡¯ve seen a lot of action. And I heard about Zarlk-Thoi¡¯s death. I was sure she¡¯d be the one to outlast us all.¡±


    Lus swallowed, trying to accept the unexpected news about his old friend without showing any of that shock. ¡°Yeah. I miss her. It sure sucks having all our friends die off.¡±


    His friend put his arm around Lus¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on the deaths. I deal with that crap all day. Why don¡¯t we go out drinking tonight? I can get the rest of the day off and show you the real sights around here.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re in a museum at all,¡± Lus commented, though he walked slowly, keeping Shent from leading him too far away.


    ¡°Just on my lunch break. I like to get away when I can, and museums are sort of my only option on this dump. Truthfully, it all starts to blur together anyway after two or three.¡±


    Lus stopped in his tracks and slapped his forehead. ¡°I forgot that I already made plans with my squad tonight. And I¡¯m due back on ship tomorrow. I¡¯m sorry, Resiw. I really wish I could go out, but we¡¯ll just have to catch up next time.¡±


    Shent dropped his arm and his smile. ¡°Come on, Lusac. It¡¯s been years. Blow off your squad. They¡¯ll understand.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, Shent. I¡¯m sorry. If I¡¯d known you were stationed here, I¡¯d have reached out sooner.¡± Lus checked his watch. ¡°And I¡¯m already going to be late meeting up with them. Next time, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Whatever. Get going, hotshot,¡± Shent said, attempting to regain some of his teasing.


    ¡°Stay safe, paperboy.¡± Lusac waved as he made his way to the stairs, but he didn¡¯t look back once he started down them. He knew Cewi was going to be pissed he didn¡¯t finish his job, but she¡¯d probably be even more upset when she found out why.


    ¡°Good cover, Lus. But do you think he¡¯ll go to security?¡± Vqltrn¡¯s voice faintly asked.


    ¡°No. He has no reason to. If we¡¯re lucky, he¡¯ll go drink away his misery alone, and we¡¯ll be long gone before he decides to investigate,¡± Lus said. Shent was thorough, but why would he start poking around in Lus¡¯s story? Plenty of mix ups with id chips happened that resulted in living soldiers being marked for dead.


    Still, a pang of guilt struck through Lus as he realized his family would have been informed about what happened. Part of him hated them for what they did to him, but he did his best to redirect that anger to the real criminals: the Feds and the Corporates who started this worthless war. First the Feds mined everything that made Treft valuable and left the people to starve, and then the Corporates swooped in to ¡°save the day¡± by offering food in exchange for soldiers. Since Lus was the only one old enough to serve, his family offered him up to get the bread on their table. But if the Corporates thought he was dead, his family would still be receiving his benefits, which wouldn¡¯t be true if the truth about his desertion came out.


    Back out in the city, Lus slowed to a walk, though he avoided the leisurely pace he used coming to the museum. Vlqtrn was in his ear, warning him that Cewi was already back at the apartment and wanted a full explanation. It wasn¡¯t going to be pretty, but Captain Tave sent him on this mission knowing that there was more risk associated with him. That wasn¡¯t his fault.


    He did take a different route to return to the apartment, checking to ensure Shent hadn¡¯t chosen to follow him after all. After a long enough of a detour, Lusac deemed it safe to return and face Cewi-Bano.


    The purple Nemarian was simmering when he entered the shabby apartment.


    ¡°In Suns¡¯ names, what were you thinking Lusac? You can¡¯t go around buddying up with a blasted Corporate!¡± she shouted as soon as he closed the door behind him.


    ¡°What was I supposed to do, Cewi? He was one of my friends from training, so he recognized me. I lied my way out, though. He doesn¡¯t suspect a thing,¡± Lus promised.


    ¡°Are you absolutely sure about that?¡± Cewi asked, taking a step closer to Lus. Despite being almost a foot shorter, her voice and posture did more than enough to intimidate him. Her indigo fins were quivering in frustration.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cewi. I did what I could, but there was no easy way out,¡± he said.


    She took a deep breath and stepped back. ¡°I understand. Stay in the safe house the rest of the day. I¡¯ll double check that this Resiw character isn¡¯t going to mess everything up but consider the mission a go unless I say otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lus ducked his head in gratitude.


    ¡°Just be ready for tonight. It¡¯ll all be on you then, and we can¡¯t afford any more close calls.¡±


    Lus murmured his agreement as she left the apartment. Surely the mission would go smoother than this.


    The hours passed slowly as they waited for Cewi to return. Wsr came back after only an hour or so, and she didn¡¯t mention anything about finding Lus there before her. Rather, she sat Vlqtrn down and ensured he got every last bit of information she had on the museum. The sun was starting to set when their leader finally returned.


    ¡°Alright. We¡¯re safe. That little trip up doesn¡¯t seem to have any further repercussions. You were lucky this time, Lus,¡± she added menacingly.


    ¡°Sorry again,¡± he muttered from where he sat in one of the unstable dining room chairs. He was sure it would tip over at any moment, but somehow his weight kept it balanced.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Wsr asked, finally interested in what conundrum Lus had caused.


    ¡°Nothing that matters now. We need to leave if you two are going to get into position in time.¡± Cewi dismissed the question with a wave of her webbed hand.


    Lus scampered off to get his pack ready. Ideally, he wouldn¡¯t need most of the tools he was putting in there, but it could never hurt to be prepared. Most of the work for getting in was going to be on Vlqtrn and his computer. Cewi-Bano also gave Lus some protective material to wrap the artifact in once he got ahold of it.


    Backpack on, Lusac returned to the living space where the others waited. Cewi-Bano went first, and then Wsr left after only a few minutes. Lus was supposed to wait a whole ten minutes before following suit, but his nerves made it impossible to sit still.


    ¡°Stop pacing. You¡¯re stressing me out,¡± Vlqtrn complained.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he apologized as he sat in a rickety chair that seemed ready to crack under his weight. He wasn¡¯t sure how the furniture managed to support the Kremel, but so far nothing had broken.


    Lus continued to tap his fingers on the table, even with Vlqtrn¡¯s glares. It seemed an eternity had passed before his watch buzzed as the timer ended and he was free to exit the apartment and make his way back to the museum.


    The streets were even more alive than they had been in the morning as Lus made his way back to the Southern Reach Museum of Lesser Known Galactic History. The Humans he passed all made an effort to wave, excited to see another of their species. It was a sentiment Lus had often felt himself over the past couple of years after leaving Treft behind.


    He soon rounded the final corner and came to the gates of the museum grounds. From here he would have to be careful since it was nearing closing time. He passed the security guard, keeping his head down as he walked through. Lus mentally retraced the path he was supposed to take to a camera blindspot to wait for Vlqtrn¡¯s signal. Once he was settled near the tree by the far fence, Vlqtrn¡¯s voice echoed in his earpiece.


    ¡°Cameras are looped. Everyone get into position. We have about five minutes before it¡¯ll become noticeable,¡± the Kremel said.


    Lus moved from his current hiding spot and crossed the grounds in a casual manner until he was near the actual building. From there, he double checked to ensure no guards were nearby and then ducked into a thick clump of bushes, burying himself deep so he would be hidden from the cameras. He got settled as comfortably as he could amongst the shrubs and then mentally prepared himself for the next few hours. It was going to be a long night.

 Chapter 15: Museum Heist

    A myriad of stars blinked down at Lus as he waited in the bushes of the garden surrounding the museum. Wsr wasn¡¯t too far away, hiding among the trees closest to their entry window. Vlqtrn remained back at the apartment while Cewi-Bano was camped out with her sniper rifle on a rooftop that provided her a view into the majority of the windows on this side of the building.


    Lusac¡¯s heart raced as he crouched into the shrubbery, biding his time until Cewi gave them the signal to start. It had been hours since the sun fully set, but now it was late enough they could start their mission without too much trouble. Once Vlqtrn cut the security systems, it would be time. But it seemed their tech expert was running into some unexpected problems since they were already ten minutes behind when their planned start, and Cewi-Bano had yet to say anything.


    The bushes were uncomfortable, between the branches poking into his ribs and the insects that were eager to explore a new environment. A nasty ten-legged beetle attempted to burrow its way into the skin on Lus¡¯s hand, but he was fast enough to brush it off before its pincers got a hold of him. If Vlqtrn didn¡¯t hurry up, he didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d be lucky enough to catch it the next time.


    ¡°I¡¯m in. Finally,¡± Vlqtrn¡¯s husky voice sounded in Lus¡¯s ear. They were using the same comm set up as before, though now everyone was connected instead of Vlqtrn being the single hub.


    ¡°About time,¡± Wsr replied in a frustrated tone.


    ¡°The security system is more upgraded than what we normally encounter. Unfortunately, it¡¯s also compartmentalized, so I¡¯ll have to shut systems off as we encounter them instead of doing a blanket wipe. You¡¯ll need to be extra careful not to trigger anything until I give you the go, Lusac,¡± Vlqtrn warned him.


    ¡°No mistakes, Lus,¡± Cewi said firmly.


    ¡°I got it,¡± he growled. ¡°Have a little more faith, guys.¡±


    ¡°Well after the recon incident,¡± Wsr reminded him.


    ¡°Focus, people.¡± Cewi-Bano¡¯s voice left little room for discussion.


    ¡°Right, right,¡± Vlqtrn¡¯s voice faded off. ¡°Uh, so first I¡¯ll shut off the security cameras so you guys can move around the garden freely, and then I¡¯ll get the window locks and sensors off for the second story.¡±


    Lus shifted among the leaves as he waited for Vlqtrn to complete his planned tasks. They were already starting late, and now with having to wait for Vlqtrn at every step, this mission was going to take a lot longer than they originally planned. Dragging it out also brought on a lot more risk, but there seemed no way to avoid it now.


    ¡°Alright. Cameras are down. Working on the window now,¡± Vlqtrn informed them.


    ¡°Lus and I will get into position,¡± Wsr confirmed.


    Lusac peered out from the branches to see the Kremel emerge from the trees a few yards away. Lus crawled out from the bushes and stood up, grateful for a little more fresh air and the ability to properly stretch. Wsr muttered complaints as he took the time to brush the excess leaves and bugs from his body before he walked over to join her by the building.


    They spent a few moments closely surveying the wall and planning their path to the upper window. Lus was a pretty average height for a Human, but since Wsr was over seven feet tall, their combined height would put them in a good spot for Lus to comfortably reach the target window.


    ¡°Anytime now, Vlqtrn,¡± Wsr said into the comm.


    Lus understood her apprehension, even if she didn¡¯t have to join him inside the building. She¡¯d be on look out on the outside with Cewi and then be there to help him down when he exited with the artifact.


    ¡°Got it. Sorry. This system is fighting me pretty hard. Hopefully it¡¯ll get a little smoother from here,¡± Vlqtrn replied.


    Wsr nodded to Lus and held her two hands out to create a foothold, just as she¡¯d done back at the warehouse during their escape. After checking his backpack was still securely strapped to him, he stepped into it, and in the next moment he was shooting upwards, balancing on Wsr¡¯s palms several feet above her head.


    The window was well within his reach, just as they estimated, and he easily slid the glass pane open and pulled himself to the windowsill. He teetered there on the few inches of metal, waiting for Vlqtrn to confirm he could step into the building.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± the Kremel¡¯s voice sounded in his ear.


    ¡°No, Vlqtrn. Don¡¯t do that to us,¡± Wsr responded with greater frustration.


    ¡°I can¡¯t kill the floor systems while the window systems are off.¡±


    ¡°Well I can¡¯t get into the building without both a floor and a window,¡± Lus pointed out.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡±


    ¡°Figure this out, Vlqtrn. We don¡¯t have time to waste. Someone could see Lus,¡± Cewi joined in.


    Lusac¡¯s muscles started to burn from holding himself in such a precarious situation, and he mentally cursed the system that refused to give him [Strength] or even [Stamina], both of which he was in desperate need of at the moment.


    ¡°Okay. This is risky, but it¡¯s the only way,¡± Vlqtrn started. ¡°There will be a tiny delay between the window security turning back on and the floor shutting off. If you are in the air during that time, you¡¯ll be safe. So you¡¯ll have to jump exactly when I tell you and make sure to jump high.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Lus stated flatly.


    ¡°Me neither. If he lands even a few milliseconds too early, the entire mission is a bust,¡± Wsr added.


    ¡°It¡¯s our only option,¡± Vlqtrn assured them. ¡°Ready, Lus?¡±


    ¡°Ready.¡± Lus adjusted his position so he could easily spring upwards and forwards into the building when the time came. He refused to think about everything that could go wrong and instead focused on what needed to happen.


    ¡°Now,¡± the Kremel said.


    Lus propelled himself up and then tucked his knees close to his body to keep them from the floor for as long as possible. In the next second he crashed into the wooden planks directly on his shoulder. He laid there on the floor for a moment, catching his breath and waiting for the immediate pain to subside, all while begging the god of his homeworld to let him have this one miracle.


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    ¡°You¡¯re safe. No alarms were triggered,¡± Vlqtrn said with a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Good job, Lus. But go fast. I want you to spend as little time there as possible. The guard schedule is working against us, and we don¡¯t have long until we all need to be gone,¡± Cewi said.


    ¡°Will do,¡± Lus breathed, trying to keep from sounding as beat up as he felt. He sat up, shook his head to clear it a bit, and then pushed himself to his feet. His right shoulder ached, especially with the full weight of a backpack on it, but he ignored it as he silently crept towards the next exhibit hall. Of course, their target was located in the central room, as far from any windows as possible. Moonlight poured in from the windows, with a few orange emergency lights adding to the visibility. It was a little dimmer than what he normally dealt with on the Argo, so all in all, he didn¡¯t have too much trouble finding his way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch the door,¡± Vlqtrn warned him as he approached the exit of the current room. ¡°I¡¯ll have to manually shut the locks and alarms off for each one, and I can hold them that way for a few seconds before triggering a secondary alarm. Just move through it once I tell you.¡±


    Lusac murmured a curse under his breath as he paused beside the next door. This was going to take double, maybe even triple, the amount of time it should have with him having to wait for Vlqtrn at every step. It was also a little worrisome to have to move in sync with someone just using comms, but Lus had no choice but to trust the Kremel.


    ¡°Okay, go,¡± Vlqtrn said, cutting off the rest of Lus¡¯s concerns.


    He stepped through the door, making sure it closed quietly, even though there weren¡¯t supposed to be any guards inside the building. It simply felt appropriate for the situation.


    As the door closed behind him, Lus was thrust into a deep darkness, penetrated only by a few orange beams from emergency lights. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dimness, but even then he was only able to make out the faintest outline of the various exhibits and artifacts which added an extra level of difficulty to an already stressful mission.


    ¡°Can I use a headlamp or flashlight?¡± Lus asked into the comm, keeping his voice to only a whisper.


    ¡°There are light sensors on all the exhibits. They¡¯re actually used for preservation purposes, but they might trigger something at night so I don¡¯t think you can risk it,¡± Vlqtrn supplied.


    ¡°That¡¯s just great,¡± Lusac grumbled as he crept along in the dark. He kept his hands wide to keep from crashing into anything since that would undoubtedly also trigger some kind of alarm.


    ¡°You do know where you¡¯re going, right?¡± Cewi asked after another minute or so.


    ¡°Yes. Well, sort of,¡± Lus amended. ¡°It¡¯s hard to see with just the emergency lights. They don¡¯t illuminate all that much, and my eyes aren¡¯t meant for the dark like all your guys''.¡±


    ¡°You might have better luck if you focused more on getting to the artifact and less on complaining,¡± Wsr said, and he could easily envision the smirk that would be accompanying it.


    ¡°Easy for you to say,¡± he said to himself rather than the comm unit. Still, he did try to move a little more quickly amongst the darkened exhibits. The shelving unit with their target waited along the far wall from where he entered, making his journey something akin to a maze with all the bumbling around in an attempt to find a safe way through. After more time than he would have liked, he arrived at the shelves, and luckily an emergency light was close enough he could see more of what he was doing.


    ¡°I made it. Am I okay to extract the target?¡± Lus asked.


    ¡°No. Hold on a sec. I¡¯m still trying to hack into the exhibit specific security systems,¡± Vlqtrn replied.


    ¡°The guard¡¯s will be coming to do their systems check in a few minutes, Vlqtrn. We do not have time for this,¡± Cewi urged him.


    ¡°Blast it all. Sorry, Lus. I can¡¯t get it. You¡¯ll have to do a local breach,¡± Vqltrn said after another few seconds.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I have better lighting here so I should be able to handle it,¡± Lus assured his companions, though he had his own doubts about his abilities to perform under this kind of pressure.


    Sliding the pack off his back, Lus dug into it to remove some of his tools. He tried telling himself that this was just another routine maintenance job in the fsylan tubes, but he couldn¡¯t quite convince himself of that. Now would have been a great time for his system to do¡­ something, but instead he was stuck with vague cooking abilities and increased charm, neither of which were going to do anything for him now.


    Lusac selected the all-in cutter and the circuit closer for his task. The former was a flaming knife tip at the top of a sturdy handle that was charged with a variety of power types to allow it to cut through nearly any common place materials. It could slice things like paper, wood, and glass even if they were several inches thick while dense metals like alunitanium needed to be thin sheets or else the cutter wouldn¡¯t even make a dent.


    The circuit closer was far bulkier, being a dense rectangular box with a wire coming from one end. It was also far trickier to use, and if Lus wasn¡¯t careful, he could blow up the system and/or himself. At this point, he¡¯d used the closer enough in the tubes that he felt comfortable slicing into nearly any system provided he had proper access.


    He took the circuit closer in hand first and set to finding some kind of entry point to the exhibits power. Once he located the wire responsible for power, he just had to get the closer attached then all power to the exhibit would be looped inside the closer for a few minutes to allow him to work as if it had been turned off.


    The cable Lus needed was in a hard-to-reach area that blocked most of the light, but he was able to dig out of its hiding place enough to pull it mostly into the light. From there he used the cutter on its lowest setting to remove a small piece of the protective coating, exposing the live wires. Then he carefully hooked the closer¡¯s wire system onto it, and within a few seconds the lights on the box informed him that power was cut to the exhibit.


    Using the all-in cutter again, he returned to the protective glass. The key here was going to be finding a way to get inside that didn¡¯t leave too much of a mess. If he was able to do it properly, he could buy the team hours, perhaps even a day or two, before the absence of the artifact was noticed given its low importance to the museum curators.


    Lusac tested the cutter against the glass and found that the glass wasn¡¯t all that strong. That meant he should be able to re-fuse whatever he cut away. A corner on the side of the shelving unit seemed to be the most inconspicuous spot for his entrance. He used the cutter on a low setting to get a neat line out of the glass and removed a circle large enough for his hand and the artifact to get through.


    Taking a breath, Lus reached into the exhibit. No alarms blared so he trusted that the closer was doing its job. He managed to get ahold of the puzzle piece and bring it out of the case. Before he set to work repairing all the damage, he took this chance to truly examine the artifact they were risking so much to get. It was a piece of stone with some kind of intricate pattern carved onto it, but without any other pieces, he couldn¡¯t tell what it was supposed to be.


    ¡°Lus, we have very little time. Do you have the piece?¡± Cewi-Bano¡¯s voice sounded loudly in his ear, startling him enough he nearly dropped the artifact.


    ¡°I have it. I just need to clean up my mess, and then I¡¯ll be back out,¡± he promised.


    Lusac wrapped the artifact up tightly and set it in the pack. He then used a higher power setting on the cutter to fuse the glass circle back into its place. Even in the dim light he could tell it wasn¡¯t a great repair, but with the time crunch, he couldn¡¯t do anymore to fix it. Instead, he deactivated the circuit closer and half glued the coating back onto the exhibit¡¯s power cable. He returned the tools to the bag, slid it onto his shoulders, and shoved the cord back where he found it.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m done. Making my way back,¡± he reported.


    ¡°Hurry, Lus. For Suns¡¯ sake, hurry,¡± Cewi pleaded.


    Lus did just that. It was much easier to return to the door which had an emergency light just above it then it had been crossing to the shelving unit, so he was there in only a few seconds, waiting for Vlqtrn to once again turn off the door security.


    Vlqtrn got him through, and he was back at the open window when he realized their next problem. He stared at his only exit which was currently locked behind security systems that couldn¡¯t be turned off without switching on the security measures for the floor he stood on.


    ¡°How am I going to get out without tripping any alarms?¡± he asked.


    For several moments, nobody spoke.

 Chapter 16: Goodbye Vipor

    At last, Vlqtrn broke the awkward silence as Lus awaited a viable escape route. ¡°I can disable part of the window security system while leaving the floor system off, but the only thing I can turn off is the motion sensor. If you touch any part of the window, the alarm will trigger,¡± he explained.


    ¡°You mean I have to jump out the window?¡± Lusac did not like that idea at all, but he started to back up anyway.


    ¡°Relax. I¡¯ll catch you,¡± Wsr replied.


    ¡°Suck it up, Lusac. We don¡¯t have time for anything else,¡± Cewi said forcefully.


    ¡°Motion sensor is off, whenever you¡¯re ready,¡± Vlqtrn notified him.


    Lus tightened his backpack straps, took a breath, and then ran towards the square of moonlight. As he reached it, he dove forwards, slipping through the opening without even brushing the edges. He didn¡¯t fall long before landing in Wsr¡¯s muscular arms, though the catch jolted his injured shoulder, reminding him that he would need to get that checked out back on the Argo.


    The Kremel set him on his feet, patting his injured shoulder in celebration. ¡°Great job, kid. We¡¯re on the homestretch now.¡±


    Lus grit his teeth against the shots of pain. ¡°Thanks, Wsr.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too comfortable yet. We still have to get off this blasted rock,¡± Cewi-Bano reminded them. ¡°I can see the guards coming your way. Vlqtrn, are the cameras still out?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I have them looping again. You guys are safe to move,¡± the Kremel confirmed.


    ¡°Which way is safe, Cewi?¡± Wsr questioned, taking the lead on getting herself and Lus out of the museum gardens.


    ¡°Go east. There are still some tight spots you¡¯ll have to slip through, but there¡¯s a lot less to deal with. You¡¯ll also need to hop the fence. Going through the gate is a bust,¡± the Nemarian explained.


    Wsr did as Cewi suggested, quietly sulking towards the eastern fence with Lus only a few steps behind. They paused behind a bush every now and again at Cewi¡¯s urging when guards were looking their way, but all in all things were going much better than their exit from the warehouse.


    Soon they were at the metal bars enclosing the grounds. The fence was too tall for Wsr to boost Lus up so they had to use the grappling system in Wsr¡¯s pack. It was modified from a standard repelling anchor, and instead of shooting a sturdy hook into the solid ground, it launched a grapple upwards at a high velocity.


    Lus couldn¡¯t count how many horrific injury stories he¡¯d heard about the device, but Wsr was steady with the device and casually shot the hook up to the top rung of the fence. The claws immediately latched deep into and around the metal, and they were free to start their ascent. Lus went first, mainly because Wsr was a better fit for handling guards if anyone noticed and came to stop them.


    He attached the metal cord to his belt that doubled as a safety harness, and then Wsr activated the lifting mechanism which yanked him directly upwards, stopping suddenly as it reached the claw. Lus then climbed over the top of the fence and gave Wsr a thumbs up. In the next second, the rope let itself fall, though at a more manageable speed, and stopped once his feet were on the ground. After he released the hook from his belt, he tossed it over the fence back to Wsr so she could repeat the steps for herself.


    In less than a minute, the Kremel was standing next to Lus.


    ¡°You two head back from the museum. Stay close, but not right together. I¡¯ll be only a few minutes behind you. I want to see if the guards notice anything during their checks,¡± Cewi informed them.


    Lus was more than happy to comply. The farther away he got from the museum, the safer he would feel. Wsr seemed of the same sentiment and insisted she go first while Lus lagged behind.


    The walk back was painfully slow with him having to shadow Wsr. She played it smart and took a rather indirect path back, but Lus couldn¡¯t help feeling that they should go straight there and get packed. The sooner they got off the planet, the safer they would all be. If they could make it onto the Argo and the Argo could make it into the Astral Highway undetected, there would be no chance of them being caught. Yet getting to that point was where the last of the risks for this mission lay, and Lus couldn¡¯t help worrying about it, especially after running into Shent. Cewi made it sound like she¡¯d followed Shent and was confident he was satisfied with Lusac¡¯s story. If that really was the case, they were in the homestretch, just as Wsr said.


    At last, the pair arrived back to the run-down part of town where their safe house lay. It wasn¡¯t long after that that they were marching up the creaking stairs back to the apartment to greet Vlqtrn.


    ¡°Good job out there,¡± he said upon their entrance. ¡°And sorry again about all the mixups, Lus. I had no idea a museum this minor would have such good security.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. All¡¯s well that ends well,¡± Lus replied with a smile.


    ¡°Assuming it does end well,¡± Wsr said as she sat on one of the chairs. It threatened to break under that kind of load, but miraculously it still held together. Lus half wished he knew where the previous occupants bought this furniture, thinking that in a few decades when he was a Runner captain himself, he might be interested in getting something as sturdy.


    They all waited in silence for Cewi-Bano¡¯s return. Once she was back, they would know how successful the stealth part of the operation had been. After ten minutes, Wsr was noticeable uneasy, shifting in her seat which sent squeals throughout the room.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Cewi be back by now?¡± Vlqtrn dared to ask the question everyone was wondering.


    Lus forced himself to shrug as though unconcerned by the obvious delay. ¡°She might have found something else to investigate or tie up before coming back.¡±


    ¡°Or she ran into trouble,¡± Wsr argued.


    ¡°What kind of trouble could delay someone like Cewi-Bano?¡± Vlqtrn thought aloud.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine. It¡¯s Cewi we¡¯re talking about,¡± Lus reminded the group.


    ¡°She¡¯s not invincible. As good as she is with a blaster, she¡¯s still just one person,¡± Wsr said softly, clearly thinking of certain memories she had with the Nemarian. As far as Lus knew, Cewi chose Wsr for every mission she possibly could due to their long running friendship after two decades of working together on various Runner crews. They¡¯d been on the Argo for five years before Lus came along.


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    ¡°Are you going to go after her? How would you even know where to find her? She¡¯s not answering her comms which leaves us no way to track her,¡± Vlqtrn pointed out.


    Wsr shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ll give it a full hour, and then we¡¯ll decide what to do. Cewi will come through. She always does.¡±


    And so they waited, the second crawling by as tension continued to build in the room. Wsr hadn¡¯t said she¡¯d go after Cewi-Bano, and Lus got the impression that if it came down it, the Kremel would prioritize the mission over her friend out of duty, both her own and Cewi¡¯s. Lus couldn¡¯t imagine leaving Cewi behind, but if she never came back, they didn¡¯t have many other options.


    Only five minutes of the promised hour remained when the door rattled. Vlqtrn smiled and stood from his chair. Wsr did the same, but Lus noticed her reaching for her pistol at her hip and taking a defensive stance. She relaxed however, when a purple Nemarian burst in, bristling with anger.


    ¡°Those blasted guards! Who takes forty minutes to do a systems check? And they didn¡¯t even find anything. They¡¯re both lazy and incompetent. That museum is doing itself a disservice by paying them at all,¡± Cewi ranted as she slid her rifle off her back.


    ¡°Well, their incompetence is good news for us,¡± Wsr reminded her, smiling broadly.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± The Nemarian absently waved her hand. ¡°We¡¯re completely in the clear. Everyone pack up. We¡¯re cutting it close to make our ride back to the landing pad.¡±


    Lus let out a sigh of relief as he moved to do as she asked. The mission had gone off more or less problem free compared to last time, and he was rather pleased with both himself and the team.


    Half an hour later, the team was back down in the tunnel, watching as the crawler returned to them. Their contact was once again the pilot, but she said almost nothing once she arrived and helped them load their belongings. Lusac was grateful to unload his luggage. His shoulder was aching a lot more now from all the packing and carrying, and he was looking forward to a little time to rest it, even if he was stuck between the Kremel.


    The ride back through the tunnel was less miserable than the original trip, mainly because Lus wasn¡¯t motion sick to start with and didn¡¯t ever develop the nausea. Still, he was never able to find a good place to relax his shoulder, so he was never exactly comfortable, and it was a relief when they came to a stop. After they got their luggage, their contact led the way back to the landing pad where their ship waited.


    ¡°A pleasure working with you,¡± the contact said, dipping her head. ¡°We¡¯ll take the other half of the payment now.¡±


    Lus had never been a part of the final exchange of goods, but he knew what constituted payment for situations like these. Using digital cryptin was far too traceable, so instead other commodities were traded.


    Cewi-Bano produced a large hunk of black crystal from her bag, and Lus recognized the shimmering as that of a valer, a chunk of physical magic which could be used in the creation and programming of golems. It was larger than any valer Lus had seen before, and he recognized that it was likely worth more cryptin than the average person would make in a year of work.


    The Kremel accepted the stone and then motioned for the Runners to enter their ship. The business was concluded.


    Vqltrn was the first one in the shuttle, and he took charge of organizing the luggage, mainly to protect his tech from being smashed by anyone else¡¯s bag. Lus was more than happy to let the Kremel handle that part with the way his shoulder ached.


    He took his seat in the back and enjoyed a chance to properly rest his body after the beating it¡¯d taken from the floor earlier that night. It wasn¡¯t too long after that everyone else was settled and Cewi started the engines.


    ¡°Here¡¯s to a softer ride out than we had in.¡± Wsr smirked as the Nemarian started the lift off process.


    ¡°Shut it, or else you¡¯ll pilot next time,¡± Cewi threatened.


    Lus smiled and leaned his head back with closed eyes for a few moments as the craft launched from the ground. He didn¡¯t think the return trip through the atmosphere was as bad as it¡¯d been coming in, but Wsr still complained rather heavily. It helped that he dozed off for part of it, and he actually napped most of the way back to their redevenous with the Argo on the far side of the system by one of the gas giants.


    He woke when they landed back in Alpha Bay on the Argo. Mildly embarrassed he¡¯d so easily fallen asleep, Lus rubbed his hands over his face and glanced around to see if anyone was going to comment. To his luck, nobody seemed to care. In fact, Vlqtrn seemed a little bleary too so perhaps he¡¯d taken a chance to get some rest as well.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to run the debrief with Captain Tave,¡± Cewi said once the shuttle was off. ¡°Wsr, Vlqtrn, you two handle luggage and get it where it needs to go. Lusac, head up to medical and get that shoulder checked out.¡±


    Lus looked up at her surprise and then also realized he was actively rubbing his shoulder without thinking about it.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been doting on that thing all night. I think Yqrw would appreciate having his maintenance boy back in working condition,¡± Cewi explained with a half-smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll drop your stuff off at your quarters,¡± Wsr promised.


    Lus nodded in appreciation as he unbuckled. It would be nice to get some painkillers or something so he could return to his duties properly. As it was right now, he doubted he¡¯d be able to handle crawling around the fsylan tubes for any amount of time, much less all day.


    He left the shuttle bay behind and started towards the medical center. It was up several decks, but since he didn¡¯t trust his shoulder to support something as intense as ladders, he was going to have to use the elevator. It was a tiny thing, just large enough for a single Kremel, but that made it a little less coffin-like for Humans and Nemarians. Only those who were physically incapable of using ladders were allowed to use it, and while Lus didn¡¯t technically have a pass, he knew that no one really cared anyway as long as he had a valid reason.


    Lus exited on the general crew deck which held things like the cafeteria, recreation center, and medical bay. Inside the medical center, he found the crew doctor, Tremt-Fusi in her office doing some paperwork.


    ¡°Lusac,¡± she said as she stood to greet him. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°I messed my shoulder up on my last mission. Can you get me something for the pain?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sure. Let me take a look at it first and make sure it''s nothing serious,¡± the Nemarian said. Her purple scales glistened from the humidity inside the small center. She pointed him to the exam bed waiting at the center of the room.


    Lus held in a groan as he removed his shirt and sat down. This was his first time seeing the injury as well, and he didn¡¯t like the look of the purple bruising flowering out from the impact site.


    Doctor Tremt-Fusi used a couple of scanners across the area, her face unreadable as she watched the screen in front of her. Lus would never admit it to anyone else, but he sometimes wondered if Fusi was actually qualified to treat Humans. After all, medical schools tended to specialize in only one species. But he¡¯d never heard the other Humans on board or even the Kremel complain, so as far as he knew, Fusi did a fine enough job for any of them.


    ¡°Looks like you sprained it. I¡¯ll give you a shot of Theraix to speed up the healing process, but I¡¯m going to take you off full duties for a couple of days so you can properly recover,¡± the doctor explained after she finished her scans.


    ¡°I work maintenance in fsylan tubes. There¡¯s not really a light duty option,¡± Lus pointed out. He wouldn¡¯t mind getting some time off to relax and hang with Avil.


    The Nemarian smiled. ¡°Since you¡¯re also a part time chef, I¡¯ll speak with the Cargo Chief about getting you to do food inventory instead. How does that sound?¡±


    Lus shrugged, ignoring the twinge from his shoulder. ¡°I guess that works.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll only be for two or three days anyway,¡± Fusi promised. She went to the supply cabinet to get the shot ready. Lus watched her, trying to decide how he felt about the duty shift. By the time she returned to administer the medicine, he¡¯d made up his mind that this was going to be a good thing. Taking an inventory of all the food onboard would put him in a good place to be able to cook his one recipe properly and finish off the [Perfect Soup Quest], and anything that worked for his system had to be a good thing.

 Chapter 17: Cooking Beginners Luck Soup II

    Lus stepped into the kitchen and rubbed his hands together, his nerves buzzing with a mix of anxiety and excitement.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to really impress everyone tonight,¡± he promised himself.


    He had found frozen kechin meat while cleaning out one of the storage nitroboxes and decided that he wanted to take the time to make the Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup properly.


    Learning how to use the pasta roller had made the process easier and given him something to do for the last two nights, but he couldn¡¯t just make pasta forever. He wasn¡¯t sure how to get more recipes from his system, but he had a feeling that making this soup perfectly was the first step.


    Pulling up the recipe, he scrolled down to the bottom and read through it again to make sure he remembered everything properly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the pasta dough first, then cook the meat,¡± he murmured to himself. ¡°Then the veggies. Oh, I should chop those first.¡±


    Instead of using the frozen veggie mix, he had decided to use some of the fresh vegetables in the produce cupboard since they were starting to look a little questionable. He really needed to find time to chop all of them up for freezing.


    Shrugging aside that thought for later, he pulled out ten large, rust-colored garoots and twelve sticks of slightly wilty, dark green slerry. He grabbed five white onnins as well.


    Sliding out the largest cutting board, he looked over the vegetables. ¡°Should I start with the onnins?¡± he wondered. He¡¯d never actually cut up veggies before. He¡¯d been using the frozen mix Chelf Wlnp prepared before his untimely death since he took on this position.


    Lus pulled out the largest knife he felt comfortable with and set the first onnin on the cutting board. It had a papery wrapping that he was pretty sure he needed to remove, so he started with that.


    The inside of the onnin was white and firm. As the pungent scent hit him, his eyes began to water.


    ¡°Oh, Suns,¡± he gasped. ¡°That hurts!¡± He backed up, wiping at his eyes and looking around for something that might protect him, but he couldn¡¯t see anything that looked helpful. Gritting his teeth and squinting, he stepped forward and began to chop the onnin up as quickly as he could.


    When he finished the first, he took a short break, stepping away until his eyes had cleared. The second onnin wasn¡¯t as bad, so he assumed he was adjusting to the scent.


    The third onnin drove that hope away. Almost the moment he sliced into it, tears began streaming down his face. As he chopped, he had to take regular breaks to wipe his cheeks and eyes on the sleeve of his shirt so he could see well enough to avoid cutting his hands.


    Finally, he slid the last onnin slices into a bowl and set it over by the stove. The pieces weren¡¯t anywhere near even, but at least none of them were huge.


    Next, he worked on the slerry sticks. They were easier. He rinsed them off and chopped off the leafy tops, then cut the sticks into small slices. It went quickly and he turned his attention to the garoots.


    They were large and somewhat conical in shape with rough, rust colored surfaces. He rinsed the dirt off the outside, then frowned. He was pretty sure that people usually peeled garoots before eating them.


    Thankfully, he had spent a few evenings peeling brown-skinned prootas for the previous chef, so he knew what a peeler looked like.


    Digging through the drawer of random utensils, he found the familiar tool and carried it over to the garoots. They were easier to peel than prootas, so he finished quickly and set to work chopping them up.


    Because of the conical shape, he had a hard time keeping the slices even. No matter how evenly he sliced the garoots, the slices at one end were many times larger in diameter than the tiny slices at the more pointed end.


    He considered trying to chop them all into halves and quarters to make them more similar in size, but a glance at the clock quickly changed his mind.


    ¡°Time, time, time,¡± he muttered, scooping the uneven slices into a third bowl and carrying it to join the others.


    He had taken the time to find the largest frying pan in the cupboard, which would hopefully speed up the process. Since he still had to cook the vegetables in batches, though, he decided to just cook them separately.


    Lus had just poured some clear, golden elsha oil into the pan when he remembered that he needed to do the noodles.


    Turning off the burner, he pulled out the largest pot and filled it with water. Once the water was heating, he turned his attention to the pasta dough.


    Kneading the dough was almost relaxing, though it still made his arms ache. Once he had it all mixed, he broke off a chunk and carried it to the rolling press. He slid it through five times to get it thin enough, then carried it carefully back to the counter and cut it into noodles, which he tossed in the now boiling water.


    While those boiled, he rolled out another chunk of dough, continuing in shifts until the last of the noodles were boiling.


    ¡°Now I can do the veggies,¡± he said, turning the heat back on under the frying pan. He waited a few minutes for the oil to heat, then dumped in the bowl of garoots. They sizzled and he stirred them with a wooden spatula.


    He was so entranced by the slow darkening of the garoot slices that he nearly forgot his last batch of pasta. He glanced up at the still boiling pot next to him and gasped.


    Lusac grabbed the pot-shaped colander and quickly scooped out the last of the noodles. He slid them into the large bowl with the rest, grabbing one off the top to taste. It burnt his tongue, but it wasn¡¯t too mushy.


    ¡°Thank the Watcher,¡± he said, returning his attention to the garoots. He gave them a stir, flinching at the sight of the dark bottoms.


    ¡°Well, these are probably done,¡± he decided. He dumped them into the bowl on top of the noodles, then added some more oil and the sliced slerry to the pan.


    The slerry cooked quickly, the dark green slices turning slightly translucent and soft. He added them to the bowl as well.


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    Lus had saved the onnins for last, not wanting to deal with them any sooner than he had to. Now he glanced at them as he poured in more oil. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me cry,¡± he whispered, dumping the irregular white chunks into the pan.


    They sizzled nicely and he began to stir them around. To his surprise, as they cooked, the pungent, unpleasant scent changed into something pleasant and fragrant.


    ¡°Watcher, that smells good.¡± He breathed in the scent and his brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°How do these smell so good now?¡± He shook his head. Maybe he would never understand cooking.


    When the onnins were done, he added them to the now almost overflowing bowl and glanced back at the recipe. ¡°Right, the kechin,¡± he said, snapping his fingers.


    The kechin meat was in the interbox, thawing. He pulled out the box of meat and unwrapped it, unsure what he was going to find. Unlike the ground gervin meat, the kechin meat was in large, pinkish-white chunks. He pulled a few out, wincing at how slimy they felt against his fingers.


    Plopping them on the cutting board, he quickly sliced them into smaller, bite-sized pieces. He worked his way through the box, taking longer than he had hoped to get all of the meat chopped up.


    When he finished, he had a bowl full of small, slimy meat bits and his hands were nearly numb from handling the still cold meat.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to cook it,¡± he reminded himself. He washed his hands quickly, scrubbing hard to get rid of the sticky, slimy feeling of the meat, then added oil to the pan again.


    He used a large spoon to scoop bits of kechin into the pan so he didn¡¯t have to keep washing his hands. As the meat cooked, he sprinkled on some salt and peppin, like the recipe instructed.


    The kechin meat lost its pink hue and translucence as it cooked. When Lus finally decided it was done, it looked far more palatable.


    ¡°Cooking really does wonders for food,¡± he said thoughtfully, remembering the miracle of the onnins. Somehow, in all the work he¡¯d done in the kitchen, he hadn¡¯t really thought about how transformative cooking was. It had always just been busy and stressful and confusing.


    ¡°That must mean I¡¯m getting better,¡± he whispered with a smile.


    Of course, the world loved to humble him. No sooner had he spoken than the pot he had cooked the noodles in began to smoke.


    ¡°Oh Watcher,¡± he muttered. He¡¯d completely forgotten to turn off the burner. Grabbing a pot holder, he quickly moved the large pot off the burner, hoping that he hadn¡¯t ruined it. He left it on one of the unused corners of the stove to cool and returned his attention to the kechin meat.


    While he was distracted, the meat had gone from a pleasant tan color to a darker color. He smelled the familiar, acrid smell of burnt food and shook his head in frustration as he quickly transferred the meat to yet another clean bowl.


    He grabbed a piece and popped it in his mouth, wincing at the pain since it was still quite hot. He chewed for a minute, trying to get his burnt taste buds to pick up the flavor, then smiled in relief. He could vaguely taste a hint of the burnt-ness, but it wasn¡¯t too noticeable.


    Adding more oil to the pan, Lusac started on the next batch of kechin. This one went more smoothly since he didn¡¯t get distracted at the end. The final batch of kechin was a little bigger than he expected, but when he¡¯d scooped as much as the two previous batches into the pan, the amount left in the bowl seemed too small to cook on its own, so he just dumped it in.


    With so much meat, it took a while to get it all cooked and he lost a few pieces each time he stirred with too much energy.


    ¡°Stir softly,¡± he reminded himself after losing his fourth piece of meat.


    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡±


    He whirled around with a muttered oath and found Dasy-Jonil looking at him with a confused look on her scaly, purple face.


    ¡°Uh, hi- hi there,¡± he stuttered awkwardly, giving a nervous laugh.


    She just widened her eyes, waiting for him to answer.


    ¡°I was just¡­ talking to myself.¡± His voice dropped to a near-whisper, but she still managed to hear him.


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. I do that all the time!¡± She smiled and slid past him. ¡°Sorry to disturb your kitchen. I just remembered that I need to grab something out of the nitrobox to thaw for lunch prep tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no worries. I¡¯m just, uh, yeah.¡± He turned back to the kechin meat and gave it a stir, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. Thank the Suns it was Dasy-Jonil. He knew she wouldn¡¯t tease him about it or spread rumors, but he needed to be more careful. If Lbrvr, the breakfast cook, caught him talking to himself, he¡¯d never be able to show his face above deck again.


    Dasy-Jonil finished moving things and said goodbye, slipping out as silently as she¡¯d come in. Lus sighed in relief at being alone again and noted that the kechin meat finally looked done.


    With the noodles, meat, and vegetables all cooked and ready to go, all he had left to do was make the broth.


    His heart sank as he realized that he hadn¡¯t actually checked to make sure that he had kechin broth powder. He knew there wasn¡¯t any canned kechin broth from the reorganization of the canned foods that he¡¯d done just that morning as part of his ¡°light duty¡± from his shoulder injury..


    Heading to the spices cupboard, he opened it and glanced in hopefully. It wasn¡¯t at the front, but that didn¡¯t mean anything. There were so many spices in here, Lus hadn¡¯t ever actually looked at all of them.


    ¡°Looks like today¡¯s the day,¡± he said, trying to imbue his voice with excitement he didn¡¯t feel. He had actually been hoping to go through the spices someday, just to see what all he had to work with, but having to do it on a tight schedule took all the fun out of the task.


    He began pulling out bottles one by one, checking the names of the ones he didn¡¯t recognize. Lusac wasn¡¯t even sure what kechin broth powder looked like, so he couldn¡¯t leave anything unfamiliar unread.


    He¡¯d made it through half the cupboard when he finally found a dusty container full of yellowish powder that was labeled Powdered kechin Broth.


    ¡°Ha!¡± he cried, jumping up and carrying it over to the autopot. He quickly read the instructions on the container and found that it used the same measurements as gervin broth powder. He smiled and quickly measured out the water and powdered broth into the autopot.


    While it came to a boil, he measured in the pasil and harvic. By the time the liquid was boiling, the entire kitchen smelled fragrant.


    Lus smiled at the boiling golden liquid flecked with green herbs. He grabbed his giant bowl of noodles and vegetables and poured it in, hissing in pain as some of the broth splashed onto his hands.


    Drying them on the giant apron, he grabbed the bowl of meat and added it to the autopot. With everything in, he pulled out the ladle and gave it a stir.


    In a kitchen full of the delicious smell of soup, standing over the pot, he couldn¡¯t keep a wide grin off his face. In spite of the setbacks, he¡¯d done it. He¡¯d made soup!


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    ¡°Ha! I did get more for cooking it right,¡± he said, pumping his fist in the air. His celebration was interrupted by the sound of voices in the dining room.


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± He had nearly forgotten that he still had to actually move the soup out. He grabbed the autopot and pushed it out to the serving table, then rushed back in for bowls and spoons.


    By the time he returned with the dishes, everyone had lined up by the soup.


    ¡°Soup again?¡± Relf, one of the other Humans, called from back in the line.


    Vlqtrn, the Kremel next to him, smacked him in the back of the head. ¡°Shut up! It¡¯s better than what he used to make.¡±


    Lus smiled in relief, glad that the mutterings of the crew seemed more positive than negative. Instead of standing by the serving table and watching everyone take their food, Lus made his way to the back of the line.


    He tried to avoid looking around too much, not wanting to be disappointed if the crew wasn¡¯t as excited about his soup as he was. Still, when he did find his eyes wandering, he saw only happy faces, which was a very good sign.


    Finally, his turn arrived. He took a generous serving of soup and headed to an empty table near the back of the large dining room.


    Sitting, he grabbed his spoon and scooped a bite into his mouth. It tasted delicious! If home had a taste, this would be it, he thought to himself as he savored the flavors dancing around his mouth. He could hardly believe that he had made this!


    ¡°I am a cook,¡± he whispered happily before shoving in another large bite.

 Chapter 18: Battle with the Corporates

    When Lusac finished his meal, he slid his bowl back in satisfaction. It turned out that a recipe tasted a lot better when it was made exactly as it was supposed to be. To add to his enjoyment, a small notification popped up in his vision.


    [Quest Complete: Perfect Soup]


    With all the [XP] he¡¯d gotten as of late from his time spent in the kitchen, he was actually going to level up again. Lus was hopeful that with the recent mission, he was due for some better stat boosts.


    All the rest of the crew had eaten already, so Lus added his bowl to the mass of dirty dishes which the cleaning golem would take care of during the night and started back towards his quarters. He had a check up with Doctor Fusi scheduled for the next day to ensure his shoulder had healed properly, and then he¡¯d back to maintenance work. Becky had already informed him multiple times how miserable she was trying to manage all the tasks herself for the past few days.


    Back in his quarters he was greeted by a chirpy Avil. The cat had been even more needy since Lus¡¯s return, though Becky claimed she spent at least an hour a day with the cyclops cat during his absence. As much as he hated to admit it, Lus enjoyed having the creature so dependent on him. It was something he hadn¡¯t experienced since the loss of his childhood dog seven years years prior.


    ¡°And how¡¯s my favorite cyclops?¡± Lus asked as he bent down to scratch Avil¡¯s chin. The cat purred as he rubbed against Lusac¡¯s legs, pressing his head firmly into his calf.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll hold you. Don¡¯t go shoving me down,¡± Lus said as he bent down to scoop up the lump of black fur. Keeping his load, Lus then went to his beat up couch and flopped down. Avil quickly moved to curl up in the crook of his arm, still humming away.


    ¡°Time to get that level up.¡± Lusac called up the screen and navigated to the [Quests] tab where he officially completed [Perfect Soup] to get the last [100 XP] he needed for the level up. He noted that there was also a miscellaneous reward, but he decided to look at that after seeing how his stats changed.


    Upon properly completing the quest, two new notifications popped up as Lus eagerly navigated back to the home screen.


    [XP Gained: 100]


    [Level Up: Level 2 -> Level 3]


    On his stats page, Lus got the usual notification about the system choosing for him and discovered his new array.


    [Stamina: 6]


    [Intelligence: 8]


    [Strength: 4]


    [Charm: 6]


    [Health: 9]


    [Speed: 8]


    [Common Sense:0]


    [Luck: 19]


    He was both happy and unhappy at the same time as he noted what it chose for him. [Stamina] increased up to 6 and [Health] up to 9, both ones he would have chosen for himself. But his [Charm] also increased by 1 to be at a 6. At least [Common Sense] was at 0 now instead of -1. [Luck] skyrocketed for some reason to be 11 points higher.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. I guess that last mission relied a lot more on chance than I realized,¡± he muttered to himself. He didn¡¯t have much time to question the strange occurrence as yellow emergency lights began flashing alongside a set of four warning beeps.


    ¡°That¡¯s the battle alarm,¡± Lus said as he shot up, dropping an unhappy Avil to the couch alone. ¡°I gotta go. Sorry, Avil. We can hang out later.¡±


    The corridor was crammed full of other crew members rushing to their stations. While technically he wasn¡¯t on full duty, an emergency like this would require everyone in their proper places, regardless of injury leave so Lusac went to the Systems Control alongside about ten others from the quarters.


    Yrqw was already there, shouting orders around to everyone who wasn¡¯t already engaged with something. Becky was waiting nearby, pulling on the gear for the tubes.


    Lusac went to her and began dressing in his own equipment. If the ship took any hits, it would be on them to keep the systems operational from inside. While being one of the more vital jobs in a battle, it was also the most hazardous due to the damage they would be diving into as well as the risk of being in the direct line of fire since most of the systems fsylan tubes were near the walls of the ship.


    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on? Who are we getting into a firefight with? I thought we were going to enter the Highway tonight,¡± Lus voiced as he tightened his headlamp.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I got here only a couple of minutes before you, but no one¡¯s told me anything,¡± Becky confessed.


    ¡°Corporates,¡± Yrqw explained. Dre-Shawiv finally showed up and had taken over the job of yelling at the crew. ¡°Apparently, they¡¯ve been tracking us for a couple days. They caught our scent back at Vipor from what I heard.¡±


    The blood drained from Lus¡¯s face. That couldn¡¯t be his fault, right? Surely this had nothing to do with his run-in with Shent. Vipor was a Corporate stronghold so there were a million other ways they could have latched onto the Runners¡¯ trail.


    Yrqw stared at him with wary eyes. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re good to be in the tubes, Lus? I can¡¯t have you stuck in there, blocking the way for others if your injury starts to inhibit you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Yrqw. It¡¯s healed already. I was supposed to see Fusi about going back to full duty tomorrow,¡± Lus promised.


    The Kremel dipped his head, accepting the story. Lus didn¡¯t mention that there was still the occasional twinge of pain that probably should keep him from fyslan tube for another day or so, not when there was a chance this was his fault anyway.


    He slid on a slim backpack that was designed to be worn close to the body while crawling through the tube. It held every tool imaginable in it since he would need to be prepared to make every kind of repair.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Alright. Here are your comm units. They¡¯re tuned to listen to the general band so you can stay on top of repairs as they come, but we¡¯ll only communicate directly with each other. I''ll give specific orders if we get overrun with repair requests, but for now use your best judgment.¡± Yrqw held out the radios to both of the Humans. ¡°Becky, stay here in Systems for any engine or shield trouble we may have. Lus, head up to Deck Four so you¡¯re in position if any of the weapon systems take a hit.¡±


    Lus took the unit from the Kremel and hooked it to his belt. He then placed the accompanying earpiece on his right ear, giving it a tug to make sure it was secure.


    ¡°Good luck, Lus,¡± Becky said, patting his shoulder. ¡°Keep yourself in one piece, okay? You owe me a lot of favors that I intend to cash in at some point.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Yeah. You only get to do that if you manage to survive this yourself.¡± Lus grinned before diving back into the chaos. Making it up three levels the fourth deck might be a little hard with everyone running around handling other emergencies, but it gave him time to listen in to the comms and get a sense of how the Argo was faring.


    ¡°Starting evasive pattern C5,¡± Oaty¡¯s voice said. Of course he would be at the helm as their chief pilot.


    Even with the inertial dampeners, Lus felt the ship take some mighty sharp turns.


    ¡°Missile remains locked on. Prepare for impact,¡± Cewi-Bano warned.


    ¡°Impact expected,¡± someone shouted in the hallway to notify those who weren¡¯t hooked up to the main comm band. Lus latched onto the nearest handhold as the other four crew members in the corridor did the same.


    He held his breath, but eventually he and the others started to relax. No impact came.


    ¡°Unbelievable. It glanced off the side. Do you know how lucky that is?¡± Cewi said in a tone of awe. She suddenly remembered that she was on the general comm. ¡°Missile clear. Resume positions.¡±


    Everyone let go of whatever they were using to stabilize themselves and then hurriedly returned to what they were doing before. Lus made it to the set of ladders that were clogged up with another half dozen people, and he was forced to wait several minutes before getting a chance to climb upwards. He was halfway to his goal when the ship shook, nearly knocking him loose.


    ¡°The blow was covered mainly by our shields, but we never saw it coming. The rear sensors must have been knocked out earlier,¡± Yonnex-Quniwel voiced over the comm. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle they had such poor aim, or else it could have knocked out our engines completely.¡±


    Lus touched his earpiece. ¡°I¡¯m on it, Becky. I¡¯m already on Deck Six anyway.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Lus. I¡¯m tied up with the shields after the first hit.¡±


    He released the ladder and dashed out into the hallway. Crawling through tubes was a lot less efficient, so the closer he could get in the main corridor, the better.


    The fsylan network entrance closest to the rear sensor circuitry was right between two other doors and easy to miss in a hurry. Lus ended up having to double back since he passed it the first time. More voices were overlapping on the comms, including more calls for repairs that Lus couldn¡¯t worry about yet. A full sensor array was paramount for a battle, especially when dealing with multiple enemies as they now were.


    After he turned his headlamp on, Lus slid into the tight tube and hastily wormed his way to the blinking board deep in the maze. It was already overdue for maintenance, so the extra stress the ship was being put through had blown a couple of fuses. Luckily those were easy to fix, and it took only a few minutes for Lusac to have the entire system back up and running.


    ¡°Rear sensors are repaired. It was just two blown fuses,¡± Lus informed Yrqw who then relayed the update to the main comm.


    ¡°One of the rear turrets is jammed. Make that your next priority,¡± Yrqw commanded him.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lusac said with a grimace. The turret circuitry was up several levels, but going out of the tubes and using the corridors and ladders would waste a lot more time than maneuvering through the dark tunnels to the panels from where he was. Grunting from the effort due to his [4 Strength], Lus pulled himself up through the various sets of tubes until he was at the turret board.


    What he saw was bad news. It would need a complete reset to clear the block, and if he didn¡¯t hurry, the entire thing might blow. Lus struggled to get the pack off his back, but once he did, he was quickly digging through the tools to find everything he would need for this kind of task.


    ¡°We have incoming fighters. They¡¯re coming up from the rear. We need that turret back now,¡± Cewi-Bano commanded.


    Lus fumbled the circuit closer and dropped it among the mess of wires along the wall.


    ¡°Suns blast me,¡± he muttered as he began searching for it. They were going to die, and it was going to be his fault twice over.


    A change of lights from the panel before him summoned his attention back.


    ¡°Huh? How?¡± he asked, but Cewi¡¯s voice cut him off.


    ¡°Just in time. Dasht, take that squadron down.¡±


    ¡°Fighters eliminated,¡± Zer-Dasht responded only a minute later.


    The turrets came back online in time for some reason that had nothing to do with Lus. It was just another stroke of luck it seemed, one they desperately needed.


    ¡°Good job, Lus. The forward turrets are starting to overheat. Manually vent them,¡± Yrqw said into the comm.


    ¡°Always the blasted turrets,¡± Lus murmured as he started to make his way back through the tunnels to the other side of the ship. Once again, it seemed a waste of time to exit and go through the corridors, so instead he once again squirmed his way through the fsylan tubes, almost regretting his decision to pack his bag so full when it came time to slither around corners or up to the next set of tubes.


    His headlamp was starting to seem a little dim, and he wondered if it was running out of charge. It¡¯d been before the very first artifact mission to Satch that he charged it, so that was a very real possibility.


    Eventually Lus arrived at the front weapons panel, but just as he started to wiggle out of his backpack, Yrqw¡¯s voice broke in.


    ¡°Change of plans, Lus. We need you at the forward cannons to reroute power to the engines. The plan is to outrun them,¡± the Kremel explained.


    ¡°The Argo is no match for speed against the Corporate military,¡± Lus pointed out.


    ¡°Well our odds of beating them in a firefight are far lower,¡± Yrqw reminded him.


    ¡°On my way,¡± Lusac sighed. A space battle was supposed to be exciting, but this one was turning out to be more chores than anything. Even their run in with the COPS two months ago had been more interesting than this, but that had also resulted in the ship nearly blowing apart, so he supposed he should be grateful this was less intense.


    Lus had just pulled himself up to the level above where the access to the cannon¡¯s was when an explosion sounded from below him, rattling the entire tube and heating the floor beneath him.


    ¡°Lusac, come in. Are you alright?¡± Yrqw said.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, Yrqw. But I think we lost the front turret controls,¡± Lus said as he attempted to hide from the smoke while avoiding burning his hands on the fiery metal surrounding him. He couldn¡¯t believe the coincidence of Yrqw pulling him from that section just before it blew. It seemed luck was on their side today.


    ¡°Get out of there. The fire suppression system is going to activate any second,¡± Yrqw warned him.


    ¡°But we need that extra power if we¡¯re going to make it out.¡± Lus gritted his teeth and sat up as much as he could to free his hands. He pulled the breathing apparatus from his belt and tightened it over his nose and mouth. Then he secured a set of goggles over his eyes. He didn¡¯t have much air in the tank, only ten or so minutes worth, but that should be enough to complete his task and still have time to exit the tubes.


    Just as Yrqw predicted, the suppression system turned on and sucked out all the oxygen from that section of fsylan tubes, killing all the flames. It also released some coolant which eased the discomfort on Lus¡¯s body as he crawled back towards the cannon controls.


    He reached the panel and using the sertun, manually redirected the power away from the weapons. Lus then set that extra energy on course straight to the engines so Becky could harness it there. It took a little more time than he would have liked, but he knew that the entire crew would be lost without it. With only a few minutes of air remaining, Lus made a mad dash towards the nearest exit.

 Chapter 19: Battle with the Corporates II

    Lusac lifted himself up another level and then scrambled forwards and around several turns to reach the nearest exit to the weapons section of the fsylan network. The forward weapons were situated dead center of the sector, so it was going to take time to get anywhere that wasn¡¯t devoid of air. He gulped heavily from the breathing apparatus which held less than three minutes of life support.


    Crawling through the tubes burned up a lot more oxygen than sitting at the panel had, meaning those last breaths of air were gone sooner than he anticipated. The mask stopped providing anything breathable by the time he reached the section door leading to Non-Vital Systems, sealed shut from the suppression system.


    Blackness started at the edge of his vision as he numbly attempted to unlock the door and get himself back into a proper atmosphere. His fingers struggled to press the buttons in their proper sequence to activate the unsealing mechanism. Lus started to doubt if he¡¯d actually make it as he realized he would have to manually slide the door apart, something he wouldn¡¯t have strength for with the last of his oxygen gone.


    As his vision tunneled further, the last thing Lus saw was the door sliding open on its own, something that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen if the suppression system was active. With his last conscious thought, Lus slid his mask from his mouth as he collapsed forwards. His lungs heaved with the newfound air, and slowly the darkness receded from view.


    Lusac gasped greedily at the air flowing to him from the rest of the fsylan network which hadn¡¯t been shut down by the explosion response. A set of blinking lights warned that he wouldn¡¯t have long to make it over there before the doors resealed, and he forced himself to crawl to safety, just past the currently open door.


    ¡°You alright, Lus?¡± Yrqw asked once again in the comm piece.


    ¡°Just great,¡± he replied, lying on his back as he waited for his body to fully recover from the near asphyxiation as the sector, he just left resealed itself. He stared up at the mess of wires running along the ceiling of the tube, grateful to be alive.


    ¡°We need the power from secondary gravity too,¡± the Kremel informed him. ¡°Dre-Shawiv is worried we might have to start pulling life support or shields in order to get the rest of the boost.¡±


    ¡°On it,¡± Lusac responded as he rolled over and started back through the tubes. As much as he wanted a break, they weren¡¯t out of trouble yet. At least he was already in the right section, otherwise he¡¯d have to go all the way around the closed off Weapon¡¯s Section which would have taken a lot longer than they had.


    The ship lurched, slamming Lus against the wall of the tube as he crawled, and his backpack caught against one of the wall supports. It took even more of their precious time to free it. He attempted to move forward, despite the other jolts, cursing every step. Obviously, they¡¯d taken inertial dampeners down a few notches to fuel their last push for escape.


    Lus arrived at the panel for Secondary Gravity and pulled it open to reveal a jumble of wires and lights.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right. Secondary Gravity is pulling way more power than it should,¡± he murmured to himself. He set to shutting the system off and diverting all its energy back to the engines for Becky using the same method as before.


    ¡°Done,¡± he informed Yrqw once the task was complete, and he was freely floating in the tunnel. It was going to be an awkward journey back to the corridor, but at least it would give his knees a break from crawling.


    ¡°Get out of the fsylan network. Dre said we¡¯re going to pull life support from the tubes first.¡±


    ¡°Will do,¡± Lusac said, eager for an excuse to escape the cramped space that had nearly become his coffin.


    ¡°Wait a second. That boost was enough. Where did you get the extra power, Lus?¡± Yrqw asked.


    ¡°It was all in Secondary Gravity,¡± he answered truthfully.


    ¡°Unbelievable. Well that¡¯s all we can do from our side. Now it¡¯s up to Oaty and the weapons crew to get us out of this in one piece. You might as well come watch with the rest of us in Systems Control.¡±


    ¡°Right. On my way,¡± he said.


    Using the walls, he pushed himself forwards, gliding down the tube. While it should have been easier to navigate this way without the need to crawl, having a backpack on made it a lot harder to manage his movements in the space without getting caught on something. Wires, supports, and panels all tried to get their share of his pack or his uniform, forcing him to go slow and untangle himself every few yards. The ship continued to pitch occasionally, but without gravity, it wasn¡¯t as difficult to deal with.


    His arm strength was exhausted by the time he reached the door out of the fsylan network, and it was a relief to fall into the corridor, where the familiar tug of gravity resumed its pull on his body. Lus¡¯s desire to watch their escape outweighed his desire to rest his aching body. He climbed down from Deck 3 where Non-Vital Systems was all the way back to Deck 8 where Yrqw and the others waited.


    When he entered the large room, he discovered almost everyone watching two large holoscreens. One displayed the sensor data, showing where the Argo was in relation to the Corporate ships while the other gave a view from the front, making it seem as if they were in the pilot¡¯s seat.


    Lus pulled the comm unit from his ear. Somewhere in the shuffle of things, he¡¯d lost the ability to tap into the general band, but they were piping the chatter through the speakers so everyone could listen in as they waited.


    Dre-Shawiv remained at the consoles near the engines alongside one of the other engineers, both of them shouting and furiously typing away at the buttons in front of them.


    ¡°Lus,¡± Becky called out. She paused for a moment as she took in his appearance, but her smile resumed as she motioned him over to where she and Yrqw were standing to watch the final confrontation.


    ¡°Seems like you had a rough time,¡± she noted once he got closer.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem so well off yourself,¡± he replied, taking in her frizzy hair and grease smeared face.


    ¡°A few of the power conduits decided to try and blow up,¡± she explained.


    ¡°The rear turrets went ahead and did blow up.¡±


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    ¡°Shut it,¡± Yrqw silenced them. ¡°Some of us actually care about surviving this whole thing.¡±


    They all turned their attention to the holoscreens. Lus frowned as he counted half a dozen Corporate ships surrounding the Argo. Oaty was once again trying to take evasive action as several missiles zoomed towards them.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Becky whispered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The shots are headed straight for the front, starboard shields, but I drained the power from those for the engine boost. If they hit, they¡¯ll tear straight through the hull.¡±


    Lus sucked his cheek. That was very much not good.


    ¡°Brace,¡± Becky shouted as the blimps on the sensors reached the model Argo.


    Only a few people around them took her command seriously, and they all let go after several seconds of nothing happening.


    ¡°Missiles hit the rear starboard shield,¡± Nippy announced over the speaker.


    Becky blinked in surprise. ¡°An unlucky shot for the Corporates. A few yards more, and we¡¯d have taken a direct hit.¡±


    ¡°Or rather a lucky shot for us,¡± Yrqw said. His tight face spoke to the volume of concern he held about their chances of surviving this encounter.


    ¡°Approaching the breach,¡± Oaty¡¯s voice sounded.


    ¡°You¡¯re coming in too fast, Oaty,¡± Cewi warned him. ¡°The ship will get ripped apart without front shields.¡±


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± he bit back.


    Lus stiffened alongside most others near him. Oaty was renowned for his skill at the helm, having been a professional racer before the war broke out, but he was also known for taking some rather big risks that didn¡¯t always pan out. Now seemed like a bad time to test out whatever theory he had, yet Lus didn¡¯t see how they had any other chance.


    ¡°Watch the portside,¡± Zer-Dasht warned. ¡°One of the Corporates is coming in close. They¡¯re trying to cut us off.¡±


    Lus watched the blimp on the sensor screen that was a much bigger ship coming straight for their marker. If it got in front of them, it was game over.


    ¡°It¡¯s too close, Oaty. Pull out,¡± Cewi-Bano said.


    ¡°Leave him,¡± Captain Tave commanded. It was the first time Lus had heard the Captain speak over the comms during the entire encounter, and the confidence in his voice gave Lus a little more hope.


    That hope died as he watched on the holoscreen as part of the Corporate ship came into view. He winced as more shouts came from both the crew around him and the comm system. Suddenly they were all thrown backwards as the ship tipped upwards, and Lus watched as they narrowly avoided the Corporates by swinging above them.


    ¡°We¡¯re still too fast for entering the Highway,¡± Cewi-Bano cried.


    ¡°Not much I can do about that now,¡± Oaty replied bitterly.


    In response, a strong jerk sent Lusac back several steps into a Nemarian who then fell to the ground alongside half the crew in the room.


    When Lus regained his feet, he saw that they were safely in the Highway. The breach would have sealed behind them since only Runners¡¯ ships equipped with the proper key were able to use them. The only real loss was the breach itself which could never be used again, but at least they were free from the Corporates, for now.


    ¡°Unbelievable. Our bounce off their shields slowed us just enough to safely enter the Highway. The chances of that kind of timing are astronomically low,¡± Zer-Dasht said in the comms.


    Lus couldn¡¯t believe that after all that, they were alive, and the ship was more or less in one piece. Before he could really process their good fortune, a cold voice sounded through the speakers once again.


    ¡°Lusac Arten to the briefing room immediately,¡± Captain Tave ordered.


    Everyone turned to stare at him as he inhaled sharply. This was not good. He slid the backpack off and handed it to Becky before turning to go without offering any kind of explanation. Maybe Captain Tave just wanted to thank him for his contributions¡­


    He could dream at least.


    As he walked through the halls, no one took notice of him. Rather they were all in discussions about the recent battle and wondering how they survived. He heard people talking about one in a million shots hitting against the Corporates and others saying that they took relatively little damage due to how poorly their enemy aimed in another incredible stroke of luck.


    Luck.


    Why was that word sticking with him so much?


    Everywhere he went, now and even during the battle, it seemed luck was on their side. He wouldn¡¯t say the Argo was normally a cursed ship by any means, but he had to admit that this seemed abnormal in some sense.


    Luck¡­ or perhaps it was [Luck] that he should be attributing their success to. He did have [19 Luck] now thanks to leveling up, but it wasn¡¯t just him who was struck with such incredible fortune.


    [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup]! That was the name of the dish he made perfectly for himself and the crew. Now that he thought it, the first time he leveled up, his stats only increased by a total of five. His [Luck] went up by eleven this time which seemed like a little big of a jump for simply reaching [Level 3]. Could it be that the soup gave them this extra boost? How high could their [Luck] go if he kept making it?


    And what of other [Recipes]? He unlocked the [Recipe Book] which meant he could find all sorts of useful dishes to cook. For the first time, Lusac found himself genuinely excited about what this cursed Demon deal might bring to his life.


    His excitement was cut short as he reached the briefing room with a rather disgruntled Nippy, a tired Cewi-Bano, and the ever-impossible to read Captain Tave.


    ¡°Arten,¡± the Captain greeted him. ¡°Take a seat.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lus said, doing exactly as he was told.


    ¡°You nearly got us killed, Lus!¡± Nippy shouted once Lus was settled. ¡°Speaking with an old Corporate pal? What were you thinking?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡­I did what I thought was best, Nippy. It caught me off guard, and I didn¡¯t have much time to come up with a cover story.¡±


    ¡°Clearly. That ¡®pal¡¯ sent word straight to the military. It¡¯s a miracle we made it out at all,¡± the second in command replied.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t take this out on him. I¡¯m the one who chose him for the mission, even knowing his background,¡± Cewi stepped in.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to take the fall for letting the Corporates catch us?¡± Nippy accused.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this has anything to do with our mission, at least not that part of it. I¡¯m telling you, I tracked the guy for hours. He bought Lus¡¯s cover story,¡± Cewi-Bano replied.


    ¡°Obviously only for a time,¡± Captain Tave cut in before the two could escalate the argument further. ¡°My instincts say that this can¡¯t be mere coincidence, Arten being recognized and the Corporates coming after us within the week, but from what Cewi-Bano tells me, you did everything right. And based on your appearance, you did your share to get us out.¡±


    It was a shockingly merciful tone used by him, and Lus tried not to let his surprise show.


    ¡°However,¡± the Captain said firmly, ¡°this does cause some problems for us. I¡¯d like to believe that the Argo itself is not in any true danger, but obviously they¡¯re watching for Arten.¡± He looked to Lus, his face neutral. ¡°As such, you¡¯ll be staying on the ship for the next month or so until things die down a little bit. I hate to lose you from the upcoming missions, but I can¡¯t put you or the crew at further risk. For the time being, you¡¯re going to stay shipside, even during resupply stops. Agreed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lus repeated. The idea of being stuck on the Argo for weeks without a break made him want to rip his hair out, but he would never voice that. The fact that Captain Tave was even keeping him on the crew at all was a minor miracle, and one he thought he might attribute to that increased [Luck].


    ¡°Dismissed,¡± the Captain said, waving Lusac away.


    Counting his lucky stars, Lus left the briefing room and its fuming occupants behind. As he made his way back to Yrqw to see about getting on repairs, he decided to reframe this in a better light. Sure, being stuck on a ship for a month straight was going to suck, but at least it would give him some more time to focus on his cooking. If there were more [Recipes] like [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] waiting for him, then Leviathan might have actually fulfilled his word about giving Lus a system more powerful than any other. A whole new world was opening up for Lus, and he liked the way it was starting to look.

 [V]Chapter 20: The AquaDome

    ¡°Officer Rhine.¡±


    ¡°... Officer Rhine?¡±


    ¡°Hey Varyna!¡±


    Varyna blinked and looked up to see both Quoppi-Shaden and Faren Cleus staring at her from the front seats of the hover car.


    ¡°Oh sorry, what were you saying?¡± Varyna smiled half-heartedly at the pair.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t like this any more than you do,¡± Faren began, brandishing an air converter with a frown, ¡°but they don¡¯t make this stuff Kremel-sized.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± Varyna glanced down at the rubbery bundle in her lap. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I was thinking about something else.¡±


    Faren smirked and tapped her on the forehead. ¡°Where is your mind these days, Officer Varyna? You haven¡¯t been the same since you came back from the outer jurisdiction patrol.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Sir. I¡¯ll do better!¡± As Varyna unfurled the bundle, Faren turned back to his own rubbery bundle.


    They were wetsuits. Designed to make Humans comfortable when surrounded by water. The suits were useful for times they had to enter Nemarian-designed buildings. Like the club they were currently parked down the street from. Their black hover car was just one of many lining the street. Even in the middle of the week, the club was still bustling with guests.


    The club itself consisted of a small marble building in front, with a massive glass dome rising behind it. The glass was tinted, but shadows and colorful glints could be seen sloshing through the water. In Varyna¡¯s opinion, it looked like nothing more than a giant fish tank. But the Nemarians loved it. In fact, according to intel, the underworld elites had started using it as one of their fronts for Cnidarium dealing.


    Cnidarium was a relatively new drug. Its origins weren¡¯t known for sure¡ªit had suddenly popped up one day and then rapidly swept through the upper class. It was a hallucinogen, and even a pinch too much could kill a full grown Kremel. Plus, its users got addicted quickly, leading to a rise in violent crime on the streets¡ªnot to mention the uptick in fatal hover car accidents caused by drivers under the influence.


    The Section 0 Crime Division, the top ranked team in charge of special investigations, had been tracking the drug for a while, and sent out the request for the local squad to get evidence at this particular club. And the local squad happened to be Faren Cleus¡¯s squad, which only had one Nemarian and two Humans who could take on the job. Not the most ideal combination for infiltrating a Nemarian club, but the mission was simple enough that they should be fine.


    Varyna grimaced as she tugged the rubber suit over her uniform. It was more than a tight fit. Faren¡¯s grunts from the front seat indicated that he was also struggling to pull on the wetsuit. ¡°Why do they make these things so blasted tight,¡± he mumbled.


    ¡°To prevent drag and possible air leakage,¡± Quoppi answered impassively, and Varyna stifled a snort. She couldn¡¯t tell if her squadmate was really that socially inept, or if he was aware enough of his reputation to aggravate the Captain on purpose.


    ¡°Right. Of course. That¡¯s why.¡± It sounded like Faren was using every bit of self-control to keep from smacking his underling in the head. He couldn¡¯t lash out at poor Quoppi for offering what he thought was a helpful explanation. Though, Varyna swore she saw the Nemarian smirk for a split second at Faren¡¯s frustration.


    After several grunts, needless input from Quoppi, and incredible self-restraint on Faren and Varyna¡¯s part, the trio was finally ready to infiltrate The AquaDome.


    ¡°Welcome. Can I see some identification?¡± An indigo-finned doorman was friendly at first toward Quoppi, but quickly changed his tone when he saw the two humans behind him.


    ¡°We have this.¡± Quoppi pulled a message chip out of his pocket and tossed it to the doorman. This was the first time Varyna had ever seen her friend in street clothes. He had tight fitting black pants and a flowy white shirt with a gleaming silver vest and matching boots to top it off. It made her even more conscious of the rubbery black suit covering every inch of her body and the air converter dangling around her neck.


    ¡°Oh! I see!¡± The doorman grinned as he finished reading the message on the chip. ¡°Right this way Mr. Alf. Your security personnel are more than welcome as well.¡±


    Section 0 had given them the message chip and cover identities earlier in the day. The chip had a recommendation from one of the owners of the AquaDome. Varyna had no idea if it was forged or not. The recommendation was good for a ¡®Mr. Benou-Alf¡¯, an upper-class Nemarian businessman, and two members of his personal security detail.


    The group followed the doorman into the entry building. They found themselves in a small air-filled lobby, with three sets of doors spread on the far wall. The walls and floor were all covered in large golden tiles, and sconces with blue crystals provided ambient light. Their guide approached the set of doors on the left and pressed the button next to it. The doors slid open, and he motioned the three inside.


    ¡°Have fun!¡± the Nemarian beamed as he closed the door behind them. The space they were in now was the airlock chamber. It was small, but spacious enough for the three to stand comfortably.


    Not long after the doors closed, a long beep sounded and the doors to the lobby lit up red. Then water began filling the chamber.


    ¡°Enjoy one last breath on dry land.¡± Faren clinked his air converter against Varyna¡¯s in a strange sort of toast before affixing it over his face. Varyna followed suit. The breathing piece sat over their mouths, with a large translucent piece that covered the rest of their face to keep water out without hindering their vision. Varyna couldn¡¯t stop thinking how it reminded her of the windshield of a hover car. Not that they were here to make a fashion statement anyway.


    When the chamber had filled entirely with water, another set of doors lit up green and slid open.


    The comm buzzed in Varyna¡¯s ear with Quoppi¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Welcome to The AquaDome.¡±


    The inside looked even more like a giant aquarium. Colorful ribbon-like plants were around the walls, swaying in the water as they stretched from the floor to ceiling. The only lighting were the bright blue and orange laser lights that rippled all around. Dozens of Nemarians lingered at glass tables in the front area while a crowd could be seen farther inside on the dance floor.


    A Nemarian in a sleek blue suit approached them right away and began conversing with Quoppi. Small bubbles came out of their mouths and gills as they spoke, but to Humans like Varyna and Faren with ears more suited to the land, it seemed like the two weren¡¯t making any noise at all.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    After a while, the blue suit Nemarian began moving and Quoppi motioned for Varyna and Faren to follow. Like their ears, the rest of their bodies weren¡¯t made for the water, and the two Humans couldn¡¯t move quite as effortlessly as the Nemarians did, even with their wetsuits. But Quoppi made sure to never be more than arm¡¯s reach ahead of them.


    The blue suit Nemarian led them away from the front room and down a hallway. The floor tiles turned to glittering pebbles as they came to a glass tube. Quoppi and the other Nemarian immediately began swimming upward. Faren and Varyna did their best to keep up.


    At the top, they came to another hallway, and finally came to a halt in front of a door. Quoppi and their guide conversed again before Quoppi turned to his Human companions with a frown.


    ¡°They said no security personnel or weapons are allowed inside the room,¡± he informed them, carefully keeping his gills closed to ensure his words carried no farther than the comm unit.


    ¡°Ha. Looks like we¡¯ll have to think of something in a hurry,¡± Faren¡¯s voice crackled back.


    ¡°I told them Varyna is my courtesan, so she will be coming with me,¡± Quoppi responded nonchalantly.


    Varyna blinked. What? Quoppi¡¯s.. courtesan?


    ¡°Quoppi... You should have told them I was your courtesan or whatever.¡± Faren was working hard to keep a neutral expression.


    ¡°But Captain, I have no sexual attraction toward you.¡±


    Varyna¡¯s straight face nearly cracked. How could Quoppi say something like that so matter-of-factly. And, wait, did that mean he was attracted to her? Just what exactly was this perverted fish trying to pull?


    ¡°Hey-¡± she reached out to grasp her insolent squadmate¡¯s shoulder, but Faren cut her off.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it either, but what¡¯s done is done. They¡¯ll only get more suspicious the longer we converse among ourselves.¡± He narrowed his eyes at Varyna. ¡°Don¡¯t blow our cover with that hot head of yours.¡±


    Varyna nodded and reluctantly passed her blaster to the Captain. Then, even though every muscle in her body was fighting not to and her lips threatened to illustrate her displeasure, she linked her arm through Quoppi¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯ll relay what¡¯s happening through the comm, Captain,¡± she said through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Right. You two tell me everything that happens, got it?¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir!¡± Varyna and Quoppi turned back to the man in the blue suit. He said something else to Quoppi before bowing and motioning them through the door.


    Inside was a small room with three plush-looking couches and a glass table in the middle of them. The laser lights were a little brighter in here, but it was still far too dim for Varyna¡¯s liking.


    Two of the couches were already occupied by Nemarians. Some were wearing suits, and some were in shiny street clothes not unlike Quoppi¡¯s getup. Along the back wall stood one beefy-looking Nemarian and one equally muscular Human, wearing a wetsuit similar to Varyna¡¯s. They had blasters in their hands. Their arms were relaxed, and the guns pointed at the floor, but the message was clear.


    The fattest and fanciest dressed Nemarian sat in the center of the couch on the right, with two female Nemarians cuddled up next to him. Varyna wasn¡¯t overly familiar with Nemarian beauty standards, but she thought those girls must be getting paid a lot to entertain that guy. She had to applaud them for the effortless smiles on their faces as they pushed themselves up against the fat Nemarian¡¯s orange scales.


    The fat Nemarian motioned them to the empty couch. Quoppi sat first, and Varyna sat next to him. She tried to mimic the girls across the table, hugging Quoppi¡¯s arm and leaning her head close to his. She felt his arm twitch in obvious discomfort, but he didn¡¯t move away.


    Good job, Quoppi. She was impressed at her awkward coworker¡¯s acting ability.


    Just as they settled, one of the beefy guys from the back approached Quoppi and said something, holding out his hand.


    ¡°.. they want to take our comms,¡± Quoppi quickly relayed the message, already reaching for his earpiece.


    Faren¡¯s voice replied, ¡°Wait! Hey! Make something else up, Quoppi! Don¡¯t let them take-¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Captain. Things will become complicated if I protest.¡± With that, Quoppi popped his comm out and switched it to off, nodding to Varyna. She hesitantly did the same.


    ¡°If this goes south you better get yourself out of here in one piece, Captain.¡±


    After a second ominous chirping sound in Faren¡¯s ear, the line went dead. Varyna and Quoppi, the two worst fighters on his squad, were left completely to themselves in a room full of dangerous criminals.


    ¡°Just a simple mission, my butt,¡± he grumbled to himself.


    Inside, the fat Nemarian waved a hand animatedly as he spoke to Quoppi. Varyna had read up on him before they came. According to his case file, he was called The Whale and was one of the lower bosses in the area. But the paragraphs of notes and blurry mugshot in the file couldn¡¯t prepare Varyna for the vile way the Nemarian licked his lips when he spoke and grasped at his female companions with meaty webbed hands.


    Quoppi¡¯s arm tightened in her grasp as he conversed with The Whale. Her poor squadmate, no matter how level-headed and intelligent, was bound to feel the pressure of their situation. She wished she could help him somehow, but the best she could do was keep the act up to avoid drawing suspicion.


    And to do that, she had to fixate on something else¡ªanything else¡ªbesides the foul Nemarian in front of her. She was bound to start gagging if she watched him any longer. Instead, her eyes found their way to the only other Human in the room. He was tall. Really tall. He towered over the Nemarians in the room in a Kremel-like way with wide shoulders and thick limbs. His short dark hair waved in the water above his air converter.


    The most concerning thing about him, however, was that his eyes were laser focused on Varyna. And he didn¡¯t shy away when she met his gaze. It was more than just curiosity or natural instinct drawing him to the only other of his species in the room. His eyes blazed with suspicion.


    Right. He was exceptionally massive and muscular for Human standards. He must have worked his butt off for this security gig and still was often overlooked in favor of other Nemarians. So why would some big shot Nemarian have a Human bodyguard and Human courtesan with him?


    Blast. I knew we should have recruited Nemarians from another squad for this mission.


    It was beginning to dawn on Varyna just how unconvincing their cover really was. Quoppi would have to be giving an incredible performance to sell this, and Varyna had a sneaking suspicion that her clumsy squadmate¡¯s acting wasn¡¯t quite up to par.


    ¡°Come on Quoppi.¡± Varyna whispered, even though she knew her words died in the water before reaching her friend¡¯s ears. ¡°All you have to do is convince them you¡¯re a buyer. Faren can take care of everything else as soon as they bring out the drugs.¡±


    The conversation between Quoppi and The Whale continued, every second feeling like an hour as Varyna could only sit and hope things were going well. The Whale¡¯s Human bodyguard continued to drill a hole in her face with his stare, and she returned a few pointed glowers.


    ¡°... He doesn¡¯t have a comm unit.¡± Around the third time Varyna locked eyes with the man, she noticed it. How could he communicate with the Nemarians without a comm?


    As she looked around, however, Varyna realized that none of the Nemarians had comms either. So how did they communicate with the Human? Then, she noticed something else.


    Hands.


    It was discreet, but the Nemarians were all making hand signals between each other and the Human. The Whale had his arm propped up on the back of the couch and wiggled his fingers. Then the two Nemarians seated on the other couch exchanged brief looks. One of them crossed his fingers on one hand and drew a tiny ¡®X¡¯. The other nodded, pretended to stretch, and mimicked the movement to the men posted on the wall. Varyna¡¯s heart dropped as the two guards nodded and their grips tightened on their blasters.


    Blast it all. We¡¯re in big trouble.

 [V]Chapter 21: The AquaDome II

    ¡°Quoppi!¡±


    Varyna knew her squadmate couldn¡¯t hear her, but she shouted anyway, tugging on his arm. He jolted at the movement and turned to look at her.


    ¡°We need to move!¡± Varyna pulled the Nemarian off the couch and onto the glittering floor tiles just as a laser bolt shot over their heads.


    Varyna looked up, grasping for her weapon that was no longer there. Blast. They must have known from the start. The Human guard was moving to block the door while the Nemarian guard was taking aim again. Quoppi trembled as he lay splatted on the floor, no intention of returning fire or taking cover. He was good at diplomacy, great at following orders, incredible at deduction... but terrible in action.


    Blast it all!! Varyna looped one arm around her companion¡¯s waist and shoved her other hand down his left boot. She had now gone way beyond ¡®too close¡¯ to her squadmate, but she didn¡¯t have time to feel awkward as she groped around his scaly ankle for the pistol hidden there. Once she finally found it, she fired a bolt at the Nemarian guard and pushed off the floor to a standing position, Quoppi in tow.


    The Human guard was already in front of the door, gun raised. The two Nemarians on the couch had also produced pistols, and one of them was moving to join the Human while the other spread protectively in front of The Whale. From the back, the Nemarian guard prepared to take another shot.


    Varyna gritted her teeth and shoved Quoppi behind the couch before diving there herself. Now only the Nemarian with a pistol and Human guard had them in view. A laser bolt blew past her head and into the couch, and she returned one of her own which fizzled uselessly against the door. Her gun was no use. They were close enough that the next shots wouldn¡¯t miss.


    With nothing else to do, she flipped around, pressing her feet against the sofa. Luckily, it was heavy enough that it didn¡¯t budge as she pushed against it and sent herself careening toward the enemies by the door. They sidestepped, and she slammed into the door. Ignoring the pain shooting through her knees and shoulders, she used the momentum from her crash to tackle the Human. She was able to easily throw him off balance, the one good thing about water, and tried to snatch his gun from his hands.


    Unfortunately, the Human recovered quickly. He grabbed the wrist of her hand that was holding Quoppi¡¯s pistol and then turned, pulling her over his shoulder before she could latch onto his weapon. She flailed through the water, coming to a stop when her back thumped into the man¡¯s chest. He immediately hooked an elbow under her chin and pressed his blaster against her head.


    This can¡¯t be how I die. Varyna squirmed as the thick arm closed tightly around her neck. She couldn¡¯t shrug him off, and she couldn¡¯t shoot him. The moment she raised her pistol, there¡¯d be a laser bolt through her brain. Fortunately, she only had a moment to debate whether it was worth the risk of trying to pull her trigger first when something came barreling into the both of them, sending them sailing. Varyna spun in the water while the Human flailed his arms trying to stop himself. She didn¡¯t have a clear shot, but she fired the pistol anyway and managed to hit the man¡¯s shoulder. Red blood immediately began seeping out into the water. It started to turn brown as it mixed with green blood already coloring the water.


    Wait, green blood? Varyna sunk to the floor and crouched down as the Human flew over her, clutching at his shoulder. When he was gone, she could see where the non-Human blood was coming from. Quoppi, still trembling, was holding a pistol while the Nemarian who had been guarding the door floated listlessly nearby.


    The other Nemarians started to move. Quoppi and Varyna exchanged a single glance before each launching themselves toward the door. They had just swam into the hall and slammed the door shut behind them when a barrage of laser bolts erupted on the other side. As Varyna sat panting, her back against the door, she could hear the bolts fizzling against it from the inside.


    Quoppi had slumped down against the opposite wall, his entire body shaking violently. But they didn¡¯t have time to relax. A quick scan of the hall revealed that Faren and the Nemarian in the blue suit were gone. There¡¯s no way Faren would have let himself get dragged away from that door unless it was life or death, so Varyna doubted he was just down at the bar having a drink. (Not that he could drink anything though his air converter anyway.)


    Regardless of what was waiting for them, they had to get to the bottom floor to get out. And there was only one tube that led there. Varyna waved to Quoppi and paddled as fast as she could toward the tube. Quoppi joined her, a distant look in his eyes as he matched her pace. Varyna wished she still had a comm unit to yell at him to just go and get through the tube.


    They were only halfway there when laser bolts came chasing after them. Varyna turned to face them, keeping her feet stretched out in front and kicking wildly to keep propelling her to the tube. The Nemarian guard and Human guard were both on the chase. Even with his injured shoulder, the Human swam toward them at an alarming speed.


    Varyna shot a few bolts at them, but none made contact with her targets. And they were gaining quickly. Just go, Quoppi! She mentally willed her partner to collect himself and get out of there. If he was going to hang back with her, he could at least use that pistol to help return fire.


    Just as another laser bolt blew past her ear, Varyna felt something latch onto the back of her wetsuit. And soon, she was speeding through the water.


    ¡°Quoppi!¡± She grinned as she looked up to see the Nemarian swimming at full speed, towing her along. In a matter of seconds, they reached the tube and plunged toward the first floor. Quoppi continued dragging Varyna. Under any other circumstances, she would have punched him, but right now, she was grateful.


    They left the Human guard far behind, but the Nemarian guard was still hot on their trail. Unfortunately for him, Varyna could now use both hands to steady her aim, and she landed a bolt right through his chest. His body floated at the top of the tube in swirls of green blood, growing smaller and smaller with each of Quoppi¡¯s powerful strokes.


    When they finally reached the safety of the lounge, Quoppi finally released Varyna. She patted him on the back and mouthed ¡®good work!¡¯ as they headed toward the waterlock.


    Everything seemed like business as usual on the ground floor. Nemarians still sat around tables chatting with a crowd bobbing up and down on the dance floor. It made Varyna wonder, where was Faren? As they continued toward their goal, drawing a few glances from the table-sitters, Varyna tried to shake the anxiety that they had left their Squad Leader behind up there.


    What if he had been dragged into a different room and was still fighting his way out? Quoppi would have heard something.


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    What if he was being held hostage? The best way we could help is by calling an extraction team, not busting in with two pistols and minimal fighting experience.


    What if he was already dead? ¡­ Don¡¯t think about it.


    Varyna swallowed heavily. The waterlock was in sight now, and there was no sign of commotion behind them. They were almost there. Almost-


    BEEEEEEP!!!!


    An alarm loud enough Varyna could hear it blared throughout the room twice, and the colorful lights suddenly started flashing red. Thick shutters closed across all three waterlocks, blocking any escape. The Nemarians around them seemed mostly unbothered by the commotion. Given the black market dealings happening frequently at this place, the guests were probably used to this situation.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Varyna cried desperately, though she knew Quoppi couldn¡¯t hear her question. Quoppi was still pretty shaken, but he had enough sense left to point to the bar counter and motion for Varyna to follow, as if answering the question he couldn¡¯t have possibly heard.


    The counter was hexagon-shaped with smooth glowing edges. Half faced the lounge, and half faced the dance floor, so the bartenders could easily serve all the guests. Varyna and Quoppi approached from the lounge side, hiding their pistols and trying to look as unassuming as possible.


    Only a single tender stood behind the bar, and he eyed them suspiciously. Quoppi began speaking to him, and Varyna desperately wished for their comm units. What was he saying? Was the bartender buying it? Waiting and trusting everything to her squadmate was torture.


    After a short while, the bartender started shaking his head and waving them away. Varyna didn¡¯t need a comm unit to know he had refused whatever Quoppi asked of him. Ugh we don¡¯t have time for this. She raised her pistol and pointed it at the Nemarian¡¯s head. He froze and raised his hands.


    Keeping her gun aimed squarely at the tender¡¯s forehead, Varyna leapt over the bar counter and crouched down on the other side. Quoppi hesitated but soon followed suit. And not a moment too soon. A quick peek over the counter revealed that at least five armed Nemarian guards had entered the lounge from the tube. Varyna ducked back down and pressed back against the bar shelves, bringing her knees to her chest.


    The bartender stood motionlessly, his eyes occasionally glancing at the pistol barrel aimed at him from below. Quoppi had gotten his gun out again as well and clutched it in both hands with his head lowered.


    Each breath felt like an eternity as the two COPS sat behind the bar in the flashing red light. The Nemarians on the right continued dancing, their mood unsoured by the sudden lighting change. The lounge guests continued chatting and nursing drinks through thick white straws. And the five guards combed the area thoroughly.


    When they¡¯d checked under every table and behind every ribbon-like plant, they at last approached the bar. Tiny bubbles escaped the bartender¡¯s gills as he conversed with the guards. Varyna tightened her finger around the trigger of her pistol. He wouldn¡¯t give them away. Not if he valued his life.


    The conversation went on for too long. It had been more than enough time for the bartender to send the guards on their way to the dance floor to continue their search. And his eyes continuously wandered down to Varyna. She risked a glance at Quoppi. He was looking at her with terror in his eyes. With a trembling hand, he motioned above the counter and then the bartender. Then he raised two webbed fingers and tapped them on his opposite wrist. It was a universal sign that all COPS knew.


    Danger. Get out now.


    ¡°Blast!¡± Varyna huffed and swung her pistol to the right. She aimed carefully and fired two shots. Both hit the big spinning crystal above the dance floor, and it shattered into pieces.


    The crystal pieces were heavy, and they sank quickly, raining down on top of the dancers as they tried to evacuate the floor in a panic. The red lights disappeared with the crystal, leaving that side of the room in near darkness. Perfect.


    The guards were already clambering over the counter, just in time to see Varyna and Quoppi dive over the other side and into the dark chaos of the dance area.


    Varyna clung to Quoppi¡¯s hand as she bounced around between panicked Nemarians. She couldn¡¯t see where she was going, but she continued heading farther and farther into the blackness. She needed a plan. They couldn¡¯t hide forever; it was only a matter of time before a backup crystal restored the lights.


    She was desperately thinking of her next move, still pushing through the unruly crowd, when she felt a tug. Quoppi wasn¡¯t listlessly following anymore; he was trying to pull her in a new direction. Right. Quoppi is smart. He¡¯ll have a plan. But as the Nemarin led her up toward the ceiling and away from the safety of the crowd, Varyna began to doubt him.


    He took them to the remnants of the hanging crystal, and, using both his legs and arms, pulled on it with all his might. Varyna had no idea what he was doing, but she wrapped herself around it likewise and also pulled. Finally, it broke free, a long trail of glowing lines coming out with it.


    Quoppi grabbed his pistol and raised it. Oh, are we shooting them? Varyna aimed her gun at the lines only to be stopped by an orange webbed hand. Quoppi shook his head at her (and she could have sworn she saw him roll his eyes) and then took her gun. He opened the chamber on both weapons and took a crystal out of each. Then he ripped two of the glowing lines free and attached one to each of the gun chambers. He passed Varyna¡¯s gun back to her and then began firing his own against one of the walls nearby.


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± Varyna thought to herself. ¡°Quoppi¡¯s finally gone crazy.¡± Because she couldn¡¯t think of a single other reason her companion would have for replacing the light she just destroyed with a perfect signal of lasers to lead the guards right to them. Still, she joined him in shooting the wall.


    They fired shot after shot. The guns began to heat in their hands, but still they kept shooting. Eventually the wall started to bend where they¡¯d been shooting. But the guards were fast approaching. The crowd, which had gone even crazier with the laser bolts flying over their heads, managed to slow them down, but they¡¯d be on top of Varyna and Quoppi before the laser bolts did anything significant to the wall.


    Quoppi reached up and grabbed another glowing line, plugging it into his gun. His gun was glowing red now. It had to be burning his scales, but he continued firing anyway. After only ten shots with his now double-plugged gun, the wall finally gave. It was only a small hole that appeared, but it created a suction that dragged everyone and everything violently toward it.


    Varyna and Quoppi were no exception. Varyna gasped as she was pulled toward the wall. She tried to fight the current, but her weak Human limbs were useless. Quoppi came up alongside her and guided them both to another spot on the wall. Together they clawed at anything the current hadn¡¯t sucked away¡ªtables attached to the floor, decorative ridges along the wall, fixtures attached to the ceiling¡ªand eventually made their way to the waterlocks.


    Varyna hadn¡¯t noticed, but the shutters had receded, freeing the doors. So that was Quoppi¡¯s plan. He must have realized the building would have a failsafe that freed the waterlocks in a state of emergency. Two of the locks were already in use, but they managed to slide into the third lock just as the doors were closing. Crammed between fearful Nemarians dressed in their best party wear, they waited for the water to drain. As soon as it finished and the lobby doors slid open, everyone ran out and headed for the main doors.


    Varyna coughed, ripping her air converter off as she ran with the crowd. The moment she stepped outside to freedom, she sank into water up to her ankle. The street had turned into a river thanks to a stream of water pouring out from the side of the building like a fountain.


    ¡°Quoppi¡­¡± Varyna paused in the middle of the street, eyeing the pandemonium around them. ¡°We made a mess.¡±


    A voice that definitely wasn¡¯t Quoppi¡¯s startled her from behind.


    ¡°You certainly did.¡±

 [V]Chapter 22: The AquaDome III

    ¡°Quoppi¡­¡± Varyna paused in the middle of the flooded street, eyeing the pandemonium around them. ¡°We made a mess.¡±


    A voice that definitely wasn¡¯t Quoppi¡¯s startled her from behind.


    ¡°You certainly did.¡±


    Varyna whirled around to see Section Commander Wtrn.


    The Kremel leaned up against The AquaDome building near the front entrance, smoking a fat cigar as he watched the chaos unfurl in the street. He was one of the only Section Commanders in the Crime Division with no system.


    But he didn¡¯t need one.


    He was [Level 78] with a [Stat Total] of 360¡ªone of the highest Varyna had ever seen, even among those with systems.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Varyna quickly saluted.


    Section Commander Wtrn took another puff. Then he motioned to the wall of COPS hover cars lining the street. They stretched as far down the road as the (Human) eye could see and were stacked four cars tall. ¡°Gonna be a long night.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Sir!¡± Varyna winced as she noticed all the COPS splashing toward the club in between fleeing Nemarians. There were hundreds. There must have been at least half of the section¡¯s squads present.


    ¡°Varyna!!¡± One of the COPS emerged from the crowd and stomped over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her, examining her. ¡°You¡¯re not hurt are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hurt, Captain,¡± Varyna shrugged him off. ¡°But it looks like you are.¡±


    Faren¡¯s right arm hung in a sling tied around his neck while various white bandages were plastered on his cheeks and chin. He stepped back and grinned. ¡°They roughed me up a bit before throwing me out. I called backup, but they shut down the whole building as we were preparing to infiltrate.¡±


    ¡°So you called the entire Gemini Section 1?¡± Varyna took another look around. Dozens of cops were darting in and out of the building escorting the club-going Nemarians to safety. At least two squads were standing in groups off to the side receiving orders from their captains, and more still were circling the building.


    ¡°It¡¯s protocol.¡± The Section Commander stepped forward, dropping the butt of his cigar into the water. ¡°We don¡¯t let good COPS die. And we don¡¯t let a club full of innocent civilians get caught up in the crossfire.¡±


    ¡°Right, Sir,¡± Varyna straightened up again. ¡°I will go join the rest of Squad 11 in cleaning this mess up!¡±


    ¡°Easy, Kiddo.¡± The Section Commander stopped her. Then he nodded to Faren. ¡°Take her away.¡±


    Faren blinked slowly and nodded. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    The Commander nodded back before sauntering off into the chaos.


    Varyna went pale. The way he had said ¡®take her away¡¯ sounded like he meant.. to arrest her. She stiffened as Captain Faren reached for his belt. No way. Was he really getting his cuffs out?


    She swallowed and scrunched her eyes shut.


    To think she, Varyna Rhine, who never even got so much as a tardy at COPS academy was now being arrested. Blast it! I don¡¯t deserve this!!


    ¡°-Nemarian. Squad 11. Quoppi-Shaden, that¡¯s right.¡±


    She blinked her eyes open as Faren finished speaking into his box comm. Right. Faren keeps his box on his belt instead of his shoulder.


    ¡°Calm down, Varyna.¡± Faren flicked her forehead as he replaced his box unit. ¡°We¡¯ll need reports from you two and possibly an overnight quarantine if we suspect a chance of retaliation.¡± He motioned over his shoulder to The Whale being dragged away by four Kremels from Squad 3. He shouldn¡¯t have been able to pick Varyna out in the crowd, but his eyes were locked on her, narrowed and full of rage.


    She shivered. ¡°Sounds good, Captain.¡±


    Later that evening, Varyna found herself slouched in a hardback chair. She stared at her black COPS boots against the shiny white tile floor. There were gray boot prints littering the tile around the base of the chair from her constant shifting. She could hear the whirring of a cleaning golem making its way down the hall with a spinning mop.


    ¡°Honestly, white was a poor choice of color for this floor,¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°That poor golem probably mops all day every day.¡±


    She shifted her feet again, leaving another pair of gray prints and leaned back in the chair, turning her gaze to the ceiling. It was also made of white shiny tiles. The walls were white as well. She¡¯d never noticed the stark color palette of headquarters before. Probably because of the dim lights casting a yellowish glow on everything.


    She wiped the moisture beading on her forehead. Another reason she felt uncomfortable at headquarters. The humidifier was always running on high to accommodate the Nemarian majority.


    When she thought she¡¯d go crazy from the wet air, gray boot prints, and endless golem whirring, the door across the hall clicked open. Quoppi walked out, looking just as exhausted as Varyna. A female Nemarian followed him.


    ¡°You two have had a long day,¡± she remarked as Varyna pushed herself to her feet. ¡°The good news is that I think we have everything we need from you.¡±


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    Varyna breathed a sigh of relief. After everything at the club, they had been ushered to headquarters where they took turns sitting in a small room with that woman. She¡¯d asked them tons of questions, some easier to answer than others. Why did they go into that room instead of backing down? Why did they engage in combat? Why did she shoot the crystal light? It seemed the woman wouldn¡¯t be satisfied until she had gleaned Varyna¡¯s entire thought trail behind every decision she made in that club. Poor Quoppi probably had it even worse.


    ¡°The bad news is-¡± the woman added as Varyna yawned and stretched her arms above her head. ¡°-we¡¯ve received some intel from our insiders, and your names are on the list.¡±


    ¡°The list?¡± Varyna asked. The list of people banned from fancy Nemarian clubs, perhaps?


    Quoppi adjusted his glasses. ¡°So we¡¯ve been targeted by the underworld.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that list?!¡± Varyna¡¯s eyes widened. There¡¯s no way two ordinary COPS from Squad 11 could be placed on the underworld¡¯s black list¡ªthe same list that was basically a death sentence. Nobody on that list lasted more than a month. Nobody.


    ¡°Yup!¡± The female Nemarian grinned and gave them a thumbs up. ¡°Honestly, no COPS have ever been on the list, so congratulations on being the first!¡±


    ¡°But we didn¡¯t even do anything extreme!¡± Varyna protested. ¡°I thought this ¡®The Whale¡¯ guy wasn¡¯t even that much of a big shot!¡±


    ¡°Well, it was more of a mistake on Section 0¡¯s part,¡± the woman explained. ¡°We knew The AquaDome was one of the many Cnidarium fronts, but we didn¡¯t realize the biggest Cnidarium storage in the galaxy was right below it.¡±


    Varyna froze. They had been on top of mounds of Cnidarium the entire time? Ah, so naturally it would have been found when the COPS came rushing in, but was the underworld really going to pin all the blame on Quoppi and Varyna?


    ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d have better waterproofing for a facility under a water-filled club,¡± the Nemarian sighed. ¡°Your little trick with the wall sent a bunch of water straight into the storage, and most of the Cnidarium was ruined.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s.. ruined? Not confiscated, but ruined?¡± Varyna raised her eyebrows.


    The female Nemarian nodded. ¡°They had to shut down and evacuate the entire street. The water supply may be contaminated with Cnidarium juice.¡±


    So it really was their fault. Quoppi¡¯s conspicuous ¡®plan¡¯ had done more damage than just a flooded street.


    ¡°What happens to us now?¡± Even Quoppi looked uncharacteristically nervous. He had probably already read too much about the fates of creatures on the black list.


    ¡°For tonight, I¡¯ll escort you to some nice overnight holding cells. It¡¯s the most secure place we have here at headquarters and transporting you is too dangerous,¡± the woman smiled. ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll decide what to do with you from there. This whole thing is just so unprecedented.¡±


    Varyna frowned. The woman looked to be way too excited about her and her comrade¡¯s impending doom. And they had to spend the night in a holding cell? Like some kind of criminals?!


    That night, Faren came to visit his two underlings.


    ¡°This is all my fault as your Captain. I failed you,¡± he lamented as he slid a blanket and some snacks into both Varyna and Quoppi¡¯s cells.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Captain,¡± Quoppi replied. ¡°Melting a hole in the glass was my idea.¡±


    ¡°No, Quoppi. You never should have been in that position in the first place.¡± Faren insisted.


    ¡°Not one of us knew what we were actually getting into!¡± Varyna barked from her cell. ¡°This is Section 0¡¯s fault. They should have handled their dirty work themselves!¡±


    The Nemarian sitting at the desk nearby hardly jolted at her outburst. He sighed, not even glancing over. ¡°Officer Rhine, I¡¯d like to remind you again to please keep your voice down.¡±


    ¡°Or what? You gonna stick me in a cell? Oh wait! I¡¯m already in one!¡± Varyna snapped back. ¡°You could order my execution but that¡¯s already been done too, so there¡¯s nothing left for you, sorry.¡±


    The desk attendant sighed again and continued the paperwork he was doing.


    ¡°Have they had any visitors?¡± Faren asked him.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Yeah, because nobody else is allowed.¡± Varina huffed. ¡°Because our family members might secretly be trying to kill us, right?¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Kid,¡± Faren shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sure this will all be sorted out by morning. We just want to keep you safe, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I feel so safe,¡± Varyna muttered as she ripped open a package of dried Paral slices brought by Faren.


    ¡°I should have brought some earplugs for you, Quoppi.¡± Faren smirked as he turned to leave. ¡°Try to get some sleep you guys.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± Quoppi and Varyna answered in time¡ªQuoppi politely and Varyna through gritted teeth.


    True to Faren¡¯s word, things were sorted out by morning. But not in a way any of them hoped for.


    ¡°So you two will board the shuttle, and it will take you straight to a transport ship,¡± the Nemarian woman who had interviewed them was busy explaining the plan when Faren burst into the room.


    ¡°You¡¯re sending them away?¡± He asked, out of breath. He must have run here the minute he heard the news.


    ¡°Yes. To the Lower Section,¡± the woman answered matter-of-factly. ¡°Ideally, they¡¯ll be back in a year or two, but you never know how long it will take to ensure they¡¯re safe to return. This is the entire Nemarian underworld we¡¯re talking about here.¡±


    ¡°Ha.¡± Faren ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the door frame. ¡°Just like that, huh?¡±


    The man seemed to be genuinely regretting everything that happened. Even though Quoppi-Shaden and Varyna Rhine weren¡¯t the best COPS in his squad, he didn¡¯t want to lose either of them. And he certainly didn¡¯t want to see every ounce of their potential wasted out in the rural areas of the galaxy.


    ¡°Anyway, Varyna, you will be transferred to Lower Section Squad 3, and Quoppi, you will be going to Squad 5 in the same section.¡± The woman went on with her explanation, ignoring the man in the doorway.


    Varyna snorted and muttered under her breath, ¡°same section but an entire sector apart.¡±


    ¡°Actually, Squad 3 works on the lower end of Helios Sector, right near Squad 5¡¯s area in Aura Sector,¡± Quoppi corrected her.


    ¡°Wonderful. We¡¯ll only be one Check Station away from each other. Almost like being cubicle neighbors.¡± Varyna couldn¡¯t contain her sarcasm.


    ¡°Hmm I don¡¯t think that¡¯s an accurate comparison,¡± Quoppi answered with a shrug. ¡°It would be more like-¡±


    ¡°It was just a joke, Quoppi,¡± Varyna raised her hands in defeat. ¡°I get it.¡±


    She slumped back in her seat with a click of her tongue and turned back to the female Nemarian (who was beginning to seriously annoy her with her giddy smile).


    ¡°So. When do we leave?¡±


    The woman¡¯s smile deepened. ¡°Right now, actually.¡±

 Chapter 23: The Gym Grind

    Lus sighed as he entered his quarters. It¡¯d been a painfully boring two weeks since the battle with the Corporates, and he was dreading having to endure even longer without a chance to get off the Argo. Repairs in the fsylan tubes were complete, which meant each day was handling general maintenance tasks and wishing something remotely interesting would happen.


    After sliding his boots off, he collapsed onto the couch while Avil eagerly climbed up to curl up next to him. With one hand giving the cat the pets he demanded, Lus used the other to start flipping through system screens.


    He had leveled up again already through cooking for the crew, though he no longer made the [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] perfectly since giving everyone on the ship a giant boost to [Luck] might start drawing attention to a secret he was desperate to keep. Instead, he continued to make variations of the soup or used the pasta recipe to make his own dishes, all of which gained him [XP], just in a lower amount.


    All [Level 4] brought, however, was another stat increase, with [Stamina], [Health], and [Strength] all increasing by 1, while [Luck] increased by 2. The home page now read:


    [Stamina: 7]


    [Intelligence: 8]


    [Strength: 5]


    [Charm: 6]


    [Health: 10]


    [Speed: 8]


    [Common Sense: 0]


    [Luck: 11]


    The Beginner''s Luck Soup had increased his [Luck] by 10, alongside anyone else who ate it, but no one had seemed to notice that their miraculous escape from the Corporates came back to the dinner he made. Then again, no one but Nippy even had the means to see things like stats anyway. The effects of the dish were temporary and wore off after only a few hours. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to make it perfectly again even for himself since they ran out of kechin meat, but he was excited about the possibilities other system recipes could bring.


    He tapped away from the homepage to the newest tab on the screen: [Recipe Book].


    The screen then presented him with a long list of recipe names, all except a handful behind some kind of lock. [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] was entirely available while two others were marked as buyable: [Tasty Buns] and [Galloping Scallops]. The problem was that all he could see about them was the price and the name, which meant he would have to buy one to get the chance to see how to actually make it.


    Since he started cooking his mish-mash dishes using the single recipe he had, he found that none of them gave him any kind of boost. He figured that the whole point of the system [Recipes] but gauging what kind of power they had was hard based on names alone.


    He had [1100 XP] to spend after all his hours cooking, including taking a couple of breakfast shifts since Lbrvr had gotten to go off ship for the resupply missions, but each recipe cost [500 XP] so he¡¯d been wary about spending so much of his [XP].


    Most of the other names on the screen looked more helpful than the two options he could buy, but he wasn¡¯t sure how to unlock them. It could be leveling up, or it could be that buying one recipe unlocked the next one. He¡¯d tried asking Leviathan, but as usual, the Demon was as unhelpful as he could possibly be.


    ¡°Well, here goes nothing,¡± Lus murmured as he selected [Galloping Scallops], the more interesting of the two. He hit the buy option, and the entire recipe opened up before him. He skipped past the history section to check the list of ingredients and groaned. The kitchen definitely didn¡¯t have all the spices it called for, and now that he actually thought about it, they didn¡¯t have scallops lying around either.


    ¡°What a waste.¡± He closed out of the [Recipe] to see that nothing about the recipe book had changed. The two fully available recipes were at the top while just below them waited the single buyable option, and everything else remained unattainable.


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t make that one, so maybe this one will be a little more manageable,¡± he said to himself and Avil. The cyclops cat paused to stare at Lusac as though he understood what he was saying before returning to his grooming.


    Lusac spent another [500 XP] to buy the [Tasty Buns] recipe just for the sake of spending his [XP] which didn¡¯t seem to have any other use once he leveled up. It had a much more reasonable ingredient list, but it did seem like it would take a lot more time to make than his usual cooking window, so he¡¯d have to plan ahead when he actually wanted to cook it.


    One glaring issue with all the [Recipes] Lus noticed was the lack of description of the power. He disliked that he would have to make the [Recipe] perfectly in order to figure out how it affected his stats, but he supposed that was a relatively minor problem all things considered.


    He tapped over to his [Quests] tab, but there was nothing new there either, even with the additional [Recipes]. This system was becoming as mundane as the rest of his life with the lack of missions and getting off the Argo. Lus had always hated the idea of being stuck in a ship, traveling the void for weeks to months at a time. One of the things he liked best about being a Runner is that he got the benefits of seeing the galaxy while getting frequent chances to breathe regular air on planets.


    Sighing again, he waved the screen away. It wasn¡¯t going to provide anything of further interest. He contemplated turning on an old gladiatus match, but at the idea of sports, he remembered his disappointingly low [Strength]. It had finally increased at his last level up, but that was because he¡¯d spent so much time crawling through the fsylan tubes with a backpack¨Csomething he didn¡¯t normally take with him. He figured that if the stats were going to be based on how he spent his time between leveling up, he could game the system a bit and skew it towards giving him the stats he wanted. Unfortunately, that meant if he wanted an increased [Strength] stat, he was going to have to do something that required [Strength], which meant hitting the gym.


    Lusac didn¡¯t enjoy using the community workout space. It was always full of other crew members, and everyone who used the weights was already rather buff themselves. That meant when a skinny Human like Lus came along, he spent the entire time trying to ignore the incessant teasing. Of course, since he rarely went, he never gained the muscles to prove his worth against the others, creating an endless cycle.


    He¡¯d actually already sucked it up and gone a couple of times to work out over the past couple of weeks, but with all the time he was spending doing very non-[Strength] related things, he was worried he still wouldn¡¯t get the boost he wanted. Even if he only got 2 or 3 more points in [Strength], that would be enough for him to stop worrying so much about it.


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    ¡°I guess I have to go,¡± Lusac told Avil.


    The cat meowed, the strange pitchy screech already a normal sound to Lus¡¯s ears. Becky had been kind enough to get real pet food and a real litter box for Avil during one of her chances to get off the ship since Lus was required to stay on board full time. The creature had settled into his new home happily, but even having a mutant alien for a pet didn¡¯t deter the endless boredom of his past few days.


    ¡°Gym time,¡± Lus said in a vain attempt to hype himself up as he stood from the couch. Avil briefly complained before curling up around his tails and glaring up at his owner. Lusac noticed that Avil¡¯s belly was perhaps a little bigger than it had been when he first picked up the stray, but he decided that wasn¡¯t worth worrying about now.


    He changed into his single set of exercise clothes which were smelling a little funky after a few wears, but he promised himself he¡¯d do laundry afterwards¨Ca promise he¡¯d already broken four days in a row.


    After he finished tying his gym shoes, Lus bid Avil farewell and exited into the corridor of the Argo. It was late enough in the evening that everyone was either off duty or on their night shift, leaving the hallways fairly barren. The gray alunitanium walls reflected back the yellow lights from above onto the dull, black floor.


    Lus hoped he wasn¡¯t going to bump into anyone on his way. Not only was he a little more aware of just how pungent his clothes were, but he feared trying to explain his sudden gym habit given that he¡¯d shown little interest in such activities before.


    Even with his 11 [Luck], he couldn¡¯t pull that off, and to his great misfortune, out of everyone who could have run into him, it was Relf.


    With so few Humans on board, Lus had expected that everyone of his species would have banded together in friendship, and for the most part, that¡¯s how it worked out with Oaty and Becky.


    Relf, however, was the glaring exception, and for good reason. Lusac didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever met anyone more disagreeable in his life.


    ¡°Oi, Loser,¡± the man shouted from down the hall as Lus increased his pace. A set of notifications popped up in the corner of his vision.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Knuckle Sandwich]


    [Description: teach Relf a lesson]


    [Time limit: 1 hour]


    [Reward: Recipe]


    ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, Loser,¡± Relf replied, and Lusac was forced to stop and face him. Did his system really expect him to fight this guy?


    While several years older than him, Relf was still half a foot shorter and a good amount wider around the center. His pasty complexion indicated far too much time stuck in the dark corridors of the ship but given Relf¡¯s general lack of skills in anything but eating and directing the cargo golems, he didn¡¯t exactly get off the ship much.


    ¡°What is it, Relf?¡± Lus asked.


    ¡°You reek. Where are you off to? More time whining in the kitchens?¡±


    Lusac made a face as he tried to parse some kind of meaning out of the intended insult. ¡°No. Just getting out of my room for a bit. Did you need something?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk back to me. I¡¯m your superior. Word on the ship is that it''s your fault the Coporates nearly blew us out of the sky,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Yrqw is my superior. You¡¯re just a cargo worker,¡± Lusac replied in a flat tone.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been on this ship years longer than you, Loser. You can only dream of reaching my level of expertise.¡±


    ¡°Expertise in eating?¡± Lus raised his eyebrows and, in a very obvious manner, glanced at Relf¡¯s pudgy gut.


    ¡°Watch your tongue, Loser, or I¡¯ll take it for myself,¡± Relf threatened. He stepped closer, standing up on his toes to stare Lus in the eyes. ¡°How¡¯d you like to be deaf, Corporate scum?¡±


    ¡°You mean mute,¡± Lus corrected him. ¡°Removing my tongue would make it so I can¡¯t speak, which would make me mute. The inability to hear is what makes someone deaf.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. I didn¡¯t say anything like that.¡± The man was fuming now, and it took all of Lus¡¯s self-control to keep from grinning. Words could be just as powerful as fists.


    Relf still managed to catch on to Lus¡¯s enjoyment.


    ¡°Knock that off,¡± he ordered.


    ¡°Knock what off?¡±


    ¡°You know exactly what I mean, Loser,¡± Relf growled. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of your insubordination.¡±


    ¡°Clearly you have no idea what that word means either.¡±


    That was the final straw, and the next thing Lusac saw was a chubby fist aiming for his jaw. He managed to grab it since Relf was nowhere near as fast as him, but it distracted him enough for Relf to get a second shot in on his abdomen, knocking the air from his body.


    Lus doubled over and barely avoided a kick coming towards him. Once he regained his breath, he stood and grabbed both of Relf¡¯s hands as they came towards him, but he forgot one key thing about Relf: what the man lacked in brains, he made up for in strength. Relf used the holds to toss Lusac to the ground like a toy and was preparing to stomp on his chest when someone else interrupted.


    ¡°Relf! What¡¯s going on here?¡± Wsr asked before the foot could collide.


    Relf stopped and quickly turned to face her, faking innocence. ¡°He hit me first.¡±


    Lus scrambled to his feet. ¡°As if. He started it, Wsr.¡±


    The Kremel glanced between them, her orange eyes scanning the scene intently. At last, her decision was made, and she grabbed Relf¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come with me to speak to Nippy about this. He won¡¯t be happy to hear you¡¯re starting fights.¡±


    Another notification appeared.


    [Quest Complete: Knuckle Sandwich]


    Well, he supposed it worked out after all. And he got another [Recipe] out of it which would help make things at least a little more interesting.


    Relf shot Lus one last glare as Wsr dragged him away, freeing Lusac to return to his original goal. His stomach didn¡¯t really hurt all that much, and after the altercation, burning some anger off at the workout center actually sounded nice.


    As expected, the workout room was about half full. A group of Nemarians and Kremel were off playing hyperball in the gym section while a few others were scattered amongst the various machines. Lus breathed in relief when he noticed the weight section oddly empty for once.


    He grabbed a set of dumbbells a little heavier than he might normally have gone for, but after getting tossed around so easily by Relf, Lus was more determined than ever to gain those extra points in [Strength]. Never again would some pudgy cargo worker be able to throw him to the ground without a fight.


    Lus was shocked with how quickly the time went by as he pumped the weights through various positions to work his entire upper body. Knowing himself, he wouldn¡¯t be back anytime soon, so he went ahead and did a bunch of leg lifting too. He was going to hate himself when the morning came, but the anger from his brief fight with Relf pushed him to work harder than ever.


    After he exhausted the weights, his eyes found the treadmills. While he already had a fairly high [Speed], there was no harm in working on that too while he was here. So, he spent another half an hour jogging. Even when his legs felt like jelly and he was sure he would collapse, he pushed himself a little longer. Of course, his stupid system was going to force him to actually do the work to get the stats, but he was going to do it, whatever it took.


    At last Lus used the last bit of [Stamina] and had to stop or risk passing out. He slowed to a walk for a brief cooldown and then went to the drinking fountain to take a long drink of water against the pounding thirst in his throat.


    As he walked out of the workout center, Lus felt good about himself for the first time in weeks. Maybe the whole gym thing wasn¡¯t a complete waste of time after all. He wouldn¡¯t know for sure until he leveled up again, and that was going to take at least a couple more weeks, but hopefully during that time he¡¯d at least get the chance to make one of the new [Recipes]. Lusac walked back to his room, satisfied with his progress and hopeful about his future.

 Chapter 24: Cooking Tasty Buns

    Lus stepped into the kitchen. With some extra time on his hands, he was ready to try out one of his new [Recipes]. He called up his screen and clicked on the [Recipe] tab.


    [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup]


    [Tasty Buns]


    [Galloping Scallops]


    ¡°Who named these?¡± he asked, chuckling to himself. If the buns and scallops were anything like the soup, they would also give him a bonus, but the names weren¡¯t exactly helpful. Luckily Lus knew someone who could help with that.


    Lusac walked up to the interbox and tapped the screen.


    ¡°Hey, Leviathan. I¡¯ve got a question for you,¡± he called out.


    The normal home screen popped up, displaying the usual collection of unreadable recipes and notes from deceased Chef Wlnp.


    ¡°Leviathan,¡± Lusac chided. Did the Demon have to be so blasted stubborn?


    The screen went black and then a red, cartoon face revealed itself.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Leviathan growled.


    ¡°I have a question.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s about the system, you¡¯re supposed to figure it out yourself,¡± the Demon replied.


    ¡°Come on. I need a hint,¡± Lus pleaded. ¡°How do I know what powers the [Recipes] give me?¡±


    The rhombus eyes squinted as the jagged mouth below them turned into a grin.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll give you a hint. Level up your [Common Sense],¡± Leviathan said.


    ¡°What? What does [Common Sense] have to do with anything?¡± Lusac asked.


    The Demon continued to smirk. ¡°Level it up, and you¡¯ll figure it out. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I was in the middle of a delightful nap.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. That wasn¡¯t a good hint. I demand an answer, Leviathan,¡± Lus shouted, but it was too late. The red face blinked out of existence, leaving only the useless recipes.


    ¡°Unbelievable,¡± Lus muttered to himself. He turned back to his small collection of [Recipes], still unsure which of the two new ones to try.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think we have any scallops right now,¡± he said thoughtfully. ¡°So¡­ buns it is.¡±


    He clicked the [Recipe] and scrolled past the long paragraphs about the history of the meal. At the bottom, he found the ingredients list.


    ¡°Warm water, yeast, sugar, baking fat, salt, flour for the bread¡­ oh, there¡¯s a filling.¡±


    Lus had never had bread with something in the middle, but it sounded delicious. ¡°Dried darres, fresh nabras, adol nuts, sugared milk, and simanin,¡± he read aloud. They had just stopped for supplies, so he had plenty of fresh and dried fruit. But with such a sweet filling, he probably needed to make something else with it to provide a proper dinner.


    ¡°I can just cook some kechin meat,¡± he said thoughtfully. He¡¯d made sure they got more, so they had enough for him to cook it for several meals, and now that he was a bit more familiar with seasonings, he felt comfortable just pan frying it.


    Because he knew the buns would take the most time, he started with that. He grabbed his largest bowl and added all the warm water. The sugar went in next, followed by the yeast. He hadn¡¯t ever used yeast before, so he wrinkled his nose at the strange smell.


    He stirred it all together, then began searching through the cupboards for baking fat. He knew he had seen it at some point, but he¡¯d never used it.


    Lus found it in the cupboard next to the seasonings with canned sauces, fruits, and vegetables. Thankfully, the container was nearly full, so he had more than enough to add to his dough. It was white and a lot thicker than he expected. He had to scoop it into his measuring dish with a metal spoon and press it down.


    The shortening didn¡¯t really mix in. He mashed it up a bit so at least there were just small bits floating around instead of one large lump, then he decided to leave it.


    The flour bucket was in its usual place under one of the counters. He hauled it out and began measuring it into the wet mixture. He¡¯d added about half when he glanced up at the recipe and realized he¡¯d forgotten the salt.


    He quickly scooped in the rest of the flour and grabbed the salt. He dumped it on top of the flour, then began stirring. The dough was too thick to stir with a spoon, so he soon gave up and plunged his hands in.


    Lusac had expected to be grossed out, but the feel of the dough coming together in his hands was surprisingly calming. He pulled and mixed and squished it together, making sure to incorporate all the flour.


    When it was finally done he pulled the recipe down to the next step. He needed it to raise under a damp cloth until it had doubled in size.


    ¡°How long will that take?¡± he wondered aloud. Shrugging, he washed his hands, scrubbing hard to get off all the bits of dough stuck between his fingers and under his nails.


    Once his hands were clean, Lus pulled a large, thin towel out of the closet with all the towels and aprons and dampened it in the sink, then spread it over the top of the bowl. He moved the bowl off to the side and turned his attention to the filling.


    He found dried darres in the cupboard with all the miscellaneous stuff that didn¡¯t belong with the seasonings or the canned goods. They were pretty old and tough, but he hoped that they¡¯d soften as he mixed them with the rest of the filling.


    Placing them on a cutting board, he chopped them into smaller pieces before scooping them into another large bowl.


    The nabra fruit came next. He first used a slicer to core the fruits and cut them into eight fairly even slices. He then used a knife to carefully cut off the thick, green outer skin. The paler green flesh inside was soft, making it hard to remove the skin.


    When he had finished skinning them and chopping them up, he had to wash all the sweet, sticky nabra juice off his hand. He also threw the cutting board and knife in the sink and got out dry ones for the adol nuts.


    The small, round nuts were tan. They had a soft, nutty flavor. He had a hard time chopping them up, since them kept rolling away from the knife, but he eventually managed to cut them down into reasonably small bits.


    The nuts joined the nabra and darres in the bowl and he lifted the towel to peek at the dough. It had risen nearly to the top of the bowl. He smiled at the sign that he had made it correctly.


    ¡°Not too much longer,¡± Lusac said, turning his attention back to the filling. He pulled out ten small cans of sugared milk and opened them, then poured the thick, cream colored liquid into the bowl.


    Licking off the spoon after he scooped out the last one, he savored the sweet taste. The cans went in the metal recycler and the spoon in the sink.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Lus grabbed a new spoon to stir the filling together. When he finished, he checked the dough again. It had risen to the top of the bowl and was pushing the towel up, so he decided it was done.


    Following the [Recipe] instructions, he punched the dough down and tipped it out onto a floured counter. He left it for a few minutes as he got some sheet pans out for the rolls to bake on and preheated the oven.


    As he stepped back in front of the mountain of dough, he checked the recipe. Each roll had to be put together individually, so it was a good thing he¡¯d gotten an early start. He sprinkled some flour on the counter and pulled off a small handful of dough.


    Rolling it into a ball, he set it in the middle of the flour and used the heavy rolling pin to flatten it. Unlike the pasta, it only took a few rounds of rolling to flatten the dough. Once he had it ready, he took a large spoonful of the filling and plopped it in the center.


    Lus wrapped the dough around the filling, pressing the edges together. It was really easy, and he decided he should add more filling to the others. He placed his first roll on a baking sheet with the edges down and set to work on the next.


    He put too much filling in the second roll, so it was very difficult to get it closed. The third roll was just right, about one and a half spoonfuls of the sticky, sweet filling.


    When he had twenty rolls on the large baking sheet, he set them aside to rise a bit and began filling the next. The work went surprisingly quickly as he fell into a rhythm. It was even more relaxing than making pasta.


    When he finished filling the second baking sheet, the first sheet of rolls looked ready to bake, so he slid it into the oven. He set a timer and began working on the third sheet. He was going to get over 80 rolls, from the looks of it, which would hopefully be enough to fill the crew.


    The timer went off just as he finished the third sheet of rolls. He set it aside and pulled out the finished rolls. They looked golden brown and smelled like the bakery he had visited once on Pragtin, a favored stop of the Argo. Putting them on a far counter to cool, he slid the second tray in and moved the third tray over to rise.


    He finished the fourth tray and did the same thing, moving the second out of the oven to cool next to the first, the third into the oven, and the fourth to rise. Lus looked at the dough and filling, trying to figure out how much he had left. It looked like almost enough to fill the fifth tray, so he set to work.


    The dough ran out when he was just two rolls shy of filling the fifth tray, but somehow he still had filling left over. He scooped it into a small bowl and threw it into the interbox. He could find a use for it later.


    He shifted the trays again, then pulled out the raw kechin meat that he was planning to cook to go with the rolls. He originally planned to cook them on the stove, but he was starting to think that it would be better to bake them.


    Lus checked the stack of baking sheets. He still had five large ones left. He would need to fit about ten kechin breasts on each tray, but that seemed feasible enough. And he had found a little reference book tucked in the back of the cupboard of canned goods that included how to cook different meats.


    Kechin needed to bake for about twenty minutes. Thankfully, there was a second oven that would hold three trays, and he could put the other two in after.


    Lus started by laying out all five baking sheets so he could just get all the kechin out right away. He then mixed salt, peppin, pasil, and harvic in a small bowl and poured it on a plate next to the trays.


    Finally it was time to start the kechin. He had just opened the box when the timer went off. With a sigh, he washed his hands and then removed the next tray of buns from the oven.


    The last tray went in and he set to work on the kechin. He broke open the box and grabbed the first breast of meat. It was pink, slimy, and cold. He laid it on the plate of seasonings, then flipped it, coating both sides.


    He had to take a break in the middle of laying out the kechin when the timer for the last tray of buns went off. He washed his hands again and pulled it out, placing it next to the others.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    He smiled, but he didn¡¯t have time to celebrate. The meat was very much still raw, and his time was running out. He returned to the counter with the kechin and seasonings, falling back into the same rhythm as before.


    When he had all five trays filled, the meat packed together, he slid four trays into the large oven and the last into the spare oven.


    Lus set a timer for 20 minutes and glanced up at the clock. That would give him just enough time to get the food set up on the serving table in the dining room.


    He stepped over to the cooling buns and carefully pulled one off the first tray. It was completely cool and about the size of his fist. He took a small bite and got just the bread. He followed it up with another, larger bite to taste the filling.


    He groaned as the sweet blend of flavors hit his tongue. This was probably what food on Quosh tasted like. The thick, fruity filling and the soft, chewy bread melded into a delicious symphony.


    He savored the rest of the bun, shoving the last bite in at the sound of the timer for the kechin.


    Grabbing the thermometer from one of the drawers, he pulled out one of the pans and stuck the metal stick into the center kechin breast. He watched the numbers tick up, biting his lip as they slowed well below the safe temperature for cooked poultry.


    ¡°Blast it!¡± He tossed the pan back into the oven and set a timer for another five minutes. He glanced at the clock and ran a hand through his hair. He needed the kechin to cook quickly if he wanted to have dinner on the serving table in time.


    While the timer ticked down, he grabbed the trays of buns and began carrying them into the dining room. The serving table was large, but there wasn¡¯t enough room for ten trays of food.


    Lus looked at it for a bit, then began moving the buns. With two layers, he managed to get them onto just two trays. He returned the final three to the kitchen just as the timer went off again.


    He pulled out the thermometer and checked again. While closer, the kechin breasts were still not completely cooked through.


    Putting them back in, he cranked up the oven. He really needed this meat to finish cooking as quickly as possible.


    Finally, just as he heard the hum of voices begin to fill the dining room, the timer went off again. He pulled out the middle tray and slid the thermometer into one of the center breasts, watching anxiously as the numbers ticked up.


    When they reached above what he was looking for, he breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly carried it out to the serving table, then stopped short as he realized that he didn¡¯t have anything to set it on.


    Spinning carefully, he glanced at the crewmembers beginning to line up and called, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll be right back. I just have a few more pans to bring out.¡±


    Setting the pan on the oven, he grabbed heat protectors and carried them out to the serving table, laying them out in five groups of two.


    Soon, he had all five pans of kechin on the table with the rolls at the far end. He surveyed his work proudly for a moment before realizing that there were no dishes.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± he said again as he ran back into the kitchen. Thankfully, the crowd¡¯s murmuring hadn¡¯t taken on an edge of anger when he returned with a stack of plates and a container of forks. He dropped them at the end of the table and watched the line begin moving through.


    Everyone looked with mild interest at the kechin as they slid a breast onto their plate. Then they stepped down to the mounds of rolls and their faces lit with smiles.


    Lus just hoped the smiles lasted into the tasting phase of the meal.


    He was the last person in line, as per his usual. He grabbed one of the kechin breasts and two of the few remaining rolls.


    He slid in across from Becky and frowned. She had finished her rolls and was eating the kechin, but she had a strange look on her face.


    ¡°Is something wrong with it?¡± he asked nervously.


    She shook her head slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, but¡­ try it.¡±


    Lus cut off a small piece with his fork and stuck it in his mouth. As he chewed, he felt confidence, then crippling anxiety, which mellowed into soothing relief. He swallowed and looked down at the kechin in surprise.


    ¡°Did you feel that too? That was¡­ weird.¡±


    Becky nodded. ¡°Yeah. Uh, what exactly did you put in this kechin?¡±


    ¡°Just some seasonings,¡± he answered, thinking back over the last couple hours he¡¯d spent in the kitchen. His might paused on the name of the buns. [Tasty Buns].


    If [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] gave the entire crew luck, did that mean that the buns gave everyone¡­ taste?


    ¡°Well, it tastes pretty good once you get past the weirdness,¡± Becky said, taking another bite.


    Lus followed suit, trying to ignore the wave of emotions and focus on the flavors on his tongue. She was right. The kechin was pretty good!


    He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the dining room. Other crewmembers seemed to be looking just as confused as Becky, so they probably all were experiencing the strange feelings when they ate the kechin.


    He quickly realized that it must be related to the name of the [Recipe]. And Leviathan thought he needed more [Common Sense] to figure it out. He¡¯d sure showed that Demon up.


    ¡°I¡¯d better not make system recipes for the whole crew anymore,¡± he muttered. It wasn¡¯t worth the risk of something strange happening to everyone. He could just make a small change, though, like when he made the soup without kechin, and it wouldn¡¯t affect everyone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just do that,¡± he decided in a whisper.


    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± Becky asked around a mouthful of tasty bun.


    ¡°Oh no, just talking to myself,¡± he answered with a sheepish smile.


    She just nodded and went back to her food, leaving him to finish his kechin and [Tasty Buns].

 Chapter 25: Outfitting the Expedition

    Lus tapped his foot nervously as the shuttle descended towards the small landing pad located in Bevas, the capital city of Rika. Really it was the only city on the planet which hosted just a few agricultural communities outside of Bevas. Out in Helios, the least colonized sector in the entire Cinder Rock Galaxy, most planets only hosted one or two condensed populations.


    He knew he didn¡¯t have anything to fear from a backwater planet. There would be no scanners, and Rika was technically on the Federal side of the war (not that that meant much out in the wilds of the galaxy), but the thought of being back out in the open after everything that happened back on Vipor made him anxious, nonetheless.


    Yonnex-Quniwel was at the helm of the shuttle, with Nippy in the front passenger¡¯s seat. Zer-Dasht and Wsr were in the back seats beside Lusac, the entire team for the upcoming mission.


    During Lus¡¯s month stuck on the Argo, the Runners had found three more pieces of the artifact. They only needed four more before they could hand the entire completed set over to their employer. Of course, in getting those other pieces, more trouble had been kicked up so now Captain Tave was having them go for a piece that was far from where anyone else would see them, at a long ago abandoned mine on a moon in an uncolonized system.


    For this kind of specialized mission, though, the team would need a collection of anchors and grappling systems, and the Argo was currently lacking enough for all five team members. Thus, they were headed to Bevas on Rika, a rest stop for many of the explorers and expeditions which passed through the Helios sector.


    In the city they would be able to find a shop to supply them with not only the climbing gear, but some other items Nippy thought would be helpful for adventuring into mines that hadn¡¯t been touched in years, such as hand drills and industrial grade cutters.


    Yonnex-Quniwel guided their shuttle safely onto the landing pad with a quick sigh of relief. It was no secret that the Argo¡¯s assistant pilot tended to overly worry when he was out on his own without Oaty to cover him.


    ¡°Nicely done,¡± Nippy congratulated the Nemarian with a strong slap on his scaled shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the spot. Wsr and Lus, you two go scout ahead at the shops. Dasht and Quniwel will handle securing the shuttle.¡±


    Lus undid his seatbelt and stood up to follow the two Kremel from the shuttle while Zer-Dasht complimented Quniwel in a vain attempt to ease the pilot¡¯s nerves.


    A hazy, red sun shone up above, with a muted blue filling the rest of the sky. Before them stretched out the low and wide ¡°city¡± of Bevas, which seemed to contain more advertisement signs than people. Only about half of the ads were electronic while the rest were old school billboards with neon lights on the borders to illuminate their features. The buildings were bland in comparison, mainly shades of gray and brown that all meddled together into a neutral background to further highlight the signs pleading for customers.


    The landscape surrounding Bevas was even more bland, being yellow dirt that stretched on in flat plains for miles. A single river ran nearby, full of machinery outputting black plumes into the sky which were almost immediately dissipated by the strong breeze.


    ¡°Reminds me of home,¡± Wsr said with a grin.


    ¡°This?¡± Lusac asked. He supposed some aspects like the factories and dull colored buildings were reminiscent of Treft where he grew up, but the thousands of signs were a little too conspicuous for him to ignore.


    ¡°I¡¯m from Pragtin,¡± Wsr informed him.


    Pragtin, the hive of the criminal underworld. Lus had been there only once, and from what he could recall, Bevas looked as mild as a church in comparison.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know people actually lived on Pragtin. I thought it was more of a way place,¡± Lus said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say there were all that many other kids when I was growing up, but my mom stuck out a living for me and my brother,¡± Wsr explained further. ¡°Someone¡¯s got to run the pubs for the pirates, thieves, and hackers.¡±


    ¡°And Runners?¡± Lus probed a little.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Wsr smiled a little broader. ¡°But Runners were normally too high of class for the place my mom ran.¡±


    ¡°I was unaware there were classes of criminals.¡±


    ¡°Only because you were lucky enough to start at the top.¡± The Kremel smacked his back. ¡°Come on. Enough reminiscing. We¡¯ll have our work cut out for us in finding the right store. You remember what we need?¡±


    ¡°Three anchors, two grappling guns, five alunitanium ropes and harnesses, two industrial-grade all-in cutters, four hand drills, and five small height parachutes,¡± Lus recited back to her.


    ¡°Good. That means we can split up. Remember, we want to pay in valers and won¡¯t do any kind of logbooks.¡±


    ¡°I remember,¡± Lusac assured his companion.


    She bent down and grabbed a fistful of the golden sand at their feet. Lus watched her with interest until she dumped it all over his hair and then rubbed streaks of it across his face. He jerked away with a shout, but she ignored him as she repeated the process for herself, adding some extra smudges to mar the dark green skin of her bare arms.


    ¡°What in Suns¡¯ name was that for?¡± he asked, already reaching up to wipe away the dirt.


    ¡°We¡¯re too clean. The poorer we look, the better deals we¡¯ll get.¡± Wsr rubbed more dirt across her plain clothing. It was typical Kremel fashion, black with a few fur decorations to break up the monotony.


    Lus sighed in resignation and scooped up his own bits of sand to stain his clothes: a loose, light colored shirt with sturdy trousers that could blend in with any Human sect.


    ¡°Atta boy,¡± Wsr encouraged. ¡°And one last thing: you want to seem poor, but not desperate. A desperate person gets screwed over as easily as a rich one.¡±


    He nodded, grateful for the advice. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll actually be doing the negotiating at least.¡±


    ¡°First impressions are valuable,¡± Wsr countered. ¡°Trust me. I know a thing or two about swindling.¡± She twirled a small, gray crystal between her fingers, making it seem as though it disappeared and reappeared to the untrained eye. She then held it out to Lus, and he realized it was his crystal, taken from his pocket without his notice.


    ¡°You gotta teach me how to do that,¡± Lus murmured as he accepted it back. It was about the length of his little finger and twice as thick.


    ¡°Save up. My teaching fee isn¡¯t cheap,¡± she replied with a smirk.


    Lus held up the crystal.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Not even enough for one lesson.¡± Wsr shook her head.


    ¡°Sounds like another sham,¡± he said. That crystal represented four months of pay and could buy him a used hover car on some of the more rural planets in Gemini.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re learning.¡± She winked before pushing him forwards. ¡°Keep your eyes sharp, Lus. Most cheats won¡¯t give it back, even if you catch them.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Lusac confirmed, feeling a little foolish he¡¯d brought it all. But it was his first time off ship in a month, and Rika was one of the planets were using valers was the norm, so most shops would be able to cut off their share when he bought something.


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet back here in half an hour. Just try to gauge a few of the stores about our needs and then report back. Once we¡¯re back with the others, we can do a more thorough search.¡± Wsr ushered him forwards.


    ¡°See you then,¡± Lusac called back as he marched towards the buildings and advertisements. He disliked how childlike Wsr was treating him. He¡¯d been on plenty of rough planets like this before so he knew how to handle himself, but telling the Kremel that would have only earned more teasing after she so easily pickpocketed him.


    Almost as soon as Lus stepped foot onto the streets of Bevas, he found someone calling for his attention with every step. It seemed the visual advertisements were not enough to draw the customers in anymore.


    Lusac attempted to keep his manner casual as he walked, but with the constant barrage of shouts and the streets becoming more crowded, the memory of Wsr so easily taking his valer was at the forefront of his mind.


    As he went, he scanned the various signs to see if he could find any that would be selling the kind of gear they wanted, but everything on the first street was more touristy, selling clothing or trinkets.


    He noted that the crowds were almost a complete even mix of Kremel, Nemarian, and Humans since Rika was originally a Human planet. It was nice to not feel so out of place as he normally did on non-Human colonized planets where his species was a minority. The sheer number of stores and people, however, made it difficult to find anything like what he wanted.


    With no equipment store in sight, he turned off that first street towards a less populated part of town. Plenty of billboards still assaulted Lus¡¯s eyes as he walked, but there were few salespeople outside of the shops trying to goad him inside. It was a lot easier to think in the more relaxed atmosphere, and Lus was able to locate a shop which specialized in mining supplies. Taking a breath, he stepped in and was greeted by a Nemarian man wearing stained coveralls.


    ¡°What can I do for ya, kid?¡± he asked, eagerly sliding from behind the cashier stand.


    ¡°I¡¯m part of a team that¡¯s planning an expedition to one of the uncolonized planets out in the sector. We need some rather specific gear,¡± he explained tentatively, hoping he didn¡¯t come off as wealthy or desperate, but unsure how to really achieve that balance.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve come to the right place for that,¡± the salesman assured him. ¡°We¡¯ve got everything you could ever want for adventuring.¡±


    The Nemarian led Lus to a wall full of shelves stuffed with all kinds of equipment he¡¯d never seen before.


    ¡°What exactly were you looking for?¡± the man asked, still grinning with his overly wide mouth, the black eyes beaming.


    Lus recited the list to the shopkeeper who continued smiling despite the length. Once he finished, the Nemarian rubbed his chin, and Lusac swore he started to lick his lips as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of stuff. Must be some expedition. I¡¯ll be able to furnish it for the best price in the whole city, don¡¯t you worry,¡± the salesman said. He pulled out a holotablet and wrote a rather large amount on it. ¡°Say, about 50,000 cryptin.¡±


    Even with 0 [Common Sense], Lusac recognized when he was being conned. ¡°Huh. We were looking to spend a little less. We definitely don¡¯t have the funds for that. Thanks anyway.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the lowest price you¡¯ll hear from anyone, I promise.¡± The Nemarian grasped Lus¡¯s arm as he turned back to the door. ¡°But it goes up if you walk out. You won¡¯t find it cheaper.¡±


    Lusac shrugged. ¡°Oh well. I have to try.¡±


    The orange scaled being stepped in front of Lus¡¯s path, blocking him from leaving. ¡°47,000. At that price, it¡¯s an absolute steal.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. We really can¡¯t afford that,¡± he pressed while attempting to bypass the man.


    The Nemarian spit a few curses but allowed him to leave while spewing out more warnings that it didn¡¯t get better than what he offered.


    Back on the street, Lus took a moment to recollect himself and wish Wsr was here with him. It was a lot harder figuring this stuff on his own than he thought it would be. He didn¡¯t dare linger in front of the store for long though in case the shopkeeper decided to press his luck again. Lus hastily stepped away from the mining shop and started down the street again, still scanning for another suitable store.


    He passed another store that sold similar wares to the other, but he noticed a greedy Human behind the register, and that sent off an internal set of alarm bells, so he kept going. Hopefully Wsr was having better luck, but part of Lus wanted to be the one to find the store in order to prove to both himself and the team that he could handle these kinds of tasks.


    At the far end of the road, he came to one more equipment shop, and this time, to his relief, he saw a rather bored Kremel as the cashier. It seemed a lot more put together than the last place he attempted, so he took his chances and went inside.


    ¡°Hi. Welcome to Vwwtl¡¯s. What can I help you with?¡± the female Kremel asked in a robotic tone.


    ¡°Hi. I¡¯m looking for some equipment for my group before we set out,¡± Lus explained. He listed the items, and the woman showed only the faintest hint of even listening. When he finished, however, she already had a holotablet up with everything and a tidy 19,000 cyptin as the total.


    ¡°Will that work for you? If you want to sub out the alunitanium cables with something like irocap rope, it¡¯ll knock another 1,000 off,¡± she said.


    Lus blinked in surprise. That was even cheaper than what Nippy told him to look for originally. Apparently, he¡¯d found a very good spot.


    Before Lus could answer the cashier, someone else entered behind him, and the Kremel¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Give me all the valers in the register, and no one gets hurt,¡± a gruff Human woman said.


    Lus turned around, keeping his hands out in the open to face the robber. She wore all black with a metal mask obscuring many of her features. He noted a piece of white blonde hair sticking out from the hood of her jacket that surrounded her head, and that her skin held a deep tan. A blaster stretched out from her hands, aimed directly at the cashier.


    ¡°The money,¡± she demanded more intensely.


    ¡°I-I,¡± the Kremel stammered as she raised her hands in the air, glancing down at the register.


    The robber moved closer, still brandishing her blaster, and as she shoved past Lus, he decided to make a move. If this store got robbed, they¡¯d lose their chance to buy their gear at the lowest price possible, and he really wanted the clout of having found this place before Wsr. Not to mention that the cashier looked pretty close to having a panic attack, and he didn¡¯t trust the thief to not shoot her in that case.


    Slamming his body into the woman¡¯s, he knocked her off course and distracted her enough to pull the pistol from her hands. In the next instant it was trained on her as he waited for her to surrender.


    ¡°You little dichen,¡± she yelled as she launched into him, expertly flinging the blaster from his hands.


    In the next instant they were on the ground, wrestling for the upper hand. She pulled out everything from biting to spitting while Lusac tried to keep himself from being pinned down. He wasn¡¯t doing so well with that 5 [Strength], but he did his best to use his extra height and reach to his advantage. They were locked in a sort of stalemate when shouting called their attention and ended the brawl.


    ¡°COPS! Hands in the air,¡± a man shouted. Lusac looked to see a Kremel pointing a blaster at them.


    The woman on top of Lus spit one last time as she relinquished her hold on his arms and allowed herself to be dragged off by the officer.


    Lusac stood to see the robber being cuffed while someone else talked with the Kremel cashier. That left one last officer who was staring at Lusac as if she wanted to commit murder on the spot.


    She was a Human, and a rather pretty one at that. Her auburn hair sat right at her shoulders while her eyes gleamed a brilliant shade of brown. A touch of panic set in when a sense of recognition passed through him, but she obviously wasn¡¯t with the Corporates, so he passed it off as a face familiar to someone else he once knew.


    ¡°Officer Rhine, get his statement,¡± the officer with the cashier ordered.


    ¡°With pleasure,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere without any distractions.¡± She grabbed Lusac¡¯s arm and hauled him outside the shop and into a small alleyway.


    Before Lus could think of his escape, the woman threw him against the wall and pinned him there with her forearm. She leaned in close as she spoke words that sank Lus¡¯s soul.


    ¡°Where. Is. Leviathan.¡±

 Chapter 26: Outfitting the Expedition II

    ¡°Where. Is. Leviathan.¡± The Human COP held Lusac against the wall, her eyes murderous.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Lus lied. Luckily, she¡¯d knocked the breath from him, so he had an excuse to gasp.


    ¡°I know you have him. You must. Why else would you have been in the Demonology section and then the warehouse? But I¡¯m taking him for myself,¡± she demanded.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy, Officer. I don¡¯t know a thing about Demonology,¡± Lus continued to plead.


    She tilted her head to the side. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, do you, Chef.¡±


    With that the pieces clicked together. She was the girl he bumped into back at the Erengil Library when he was looking for cookbooks. But he hadn¡¯t even known about Leviathan then. How could she have connected it to him?


    ¡°You got away back at the warehouse, but you won¡¯t be so lucky this time,¡± she growled.


    Lusac blinked in surprise. He definitely didn¡¯t remember any COPS at the scene, but there had been enough chaos during their escape that he might have just missed them. However, if they knew he had Leviathan, that was really bad news for him.


    The other officer walked past, guiding the cuffed robber, and the woman dropped her arm, letting Lus relax from the wall he¡¯d pressed into. ¡°You okay, Varyna? What¡¯s taking so long? Officer Hlxt wants to wrap this up and get this woman processed.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Just making sure I get all the details from the altercation,¡± she responded with fake innocence.


    Lus was once again confused. If she knew he had Leviathan, why wouldn¡¯t she tell the others? Unless¡­ when she meant ¡°mine,¡± she meant it quite literally.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get back to the whole statement thing,¡± Lusac suggested with a smile.


    ¡°Not a chance.¡± She threw her arm against him harder than the first time, slamming him back against the wall. ¡°Where¡¯s the Demon, Runner? Give him to me, and I¡¯ll let you go even.¡±


    So this woman was crazy and corrupt. Lus didn¡¯t hold much love for the COPS¨Cwhat sane Runner would¨Cbut he was not about to hand over a Demon to some corrupt official who wanted to do Watcher knows what with it. Leviathan was safest in his hands where he could be contained, and Lusac cared just enough about the galaxy that he wasn¡¯t going to let some random woman set him free for her own vile purposes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the Demon. I have no clue what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Lusac continued with his original story.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to play this game with you. Leviathan was at the warehouse, and it was one of the two things missing. You were in the library in the Demonology section. You¡¯ve been found out. Now give me the USB.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes burned with a dangerous anger that attracted Lus as much as it terrified him.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even at the warehouse,¡± Lus flat out lied. No point in giving her anything to go on.


    ¡°You blasted liar,¡± she said. She leaned in closer, cutting off the last of Lus¡¯s air. ¡°Give me what I want. You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re messing with.¡±


    ¡°Officer Varyna Rhine? An insane member of the COPS?¡± he suggested with the last of his breath.


    She gave him a look that would have killed him on the spot if it could have.


    The sound of footsteps approaching caused her to once again release Lus as the lead officer stopped at the top of the alley.


    ¡°Rhine? What are you doing? We need to process this and move on,¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s taking just a little longer than expected. Why don¡¯t you and Opun go ahead to the precinct. I¡¯ll be there as soon as I finish with this witness,¡± she promised, using that same false innocence.


    The Kremel grumbled under his breath as he waved a dismissive hand and walked away. A few seconds later, a crawler ran past with the COPS logo pasted all over the sides.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re free of interruptions, where were we?¡± she asked with a deadly tone.


    ¡°You were interrogating me about a crime I didn¡¯t commit and ignoring your orders to get my statement,¡± he supplied with his best suave smile.


    Varyna shook her head slowly while laughing. ¡°I tried to give you a way out. All you had to do was hand over a blasted USB, and then I would have let you go back to your life of crime.¡± She grabbed his wrist, jerking his hand towards a scanner in her other hand. ¡°But since you want to do this the hard way, I¡¯m going to take you in. I witnessed you at the scene of a crime myself. I¡¯m sure you have plenty of other warrants out if I just¨C¡±


    She stopped speaking and her jaw fell open in surprise. Lus risked a glance at the holoscreen of the scanner and chuckled. He¡¯d completely forgotten about that prank Vlqtrn and Dasht played on him a year and a half ago the first time he went out drinking with any of the crewmates.


    All Runners had their id chips rekeyed to be someone else, but typically it was an identity that could pass for the person in a pinch. The guys thought it would be funny to give Lusac something absolutely ridiculous like elderly Kremel woman.


    And that same image was on Varyna¡¯s screen since Lus never bothered to get the id fixed. She stared up at him with another layer of rage.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± she said, tightening her grip on his wrist.


    Lusac shrugged. ¡°A case of swapped identities. That does happen, you know.¡±


    A smile grew on her face. ¡°Tampering with id chips is illegal across the whole galaxy, you know. I can still arrest you for this.¡±


    The blood drained from Lusac¡¯s face. He hadn¡¯t considered that part. She refused to let go of his wrist while she pulled the cuffs from her belt, and his 5 [Strength] was not enough to break away despite his feeble attempts.


    Varyna held the first of the metal circles to Lus¡¯s trapped wrist, but to both their surprise, it refused to open.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Blast it all,¡± she said, wildly waving the device around. Still, it did not open.


    ¡°It would appear you actually can¡¯t arrest me.¡± Lus allowed a small smirk to form.


    That did nothing to help her growing frustration, but even as she cursed the device and did everything in her power to activate it, the cuffs refused to cooperate.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be going now. Unless you really did want to get that statement from me, which I would be happy to provide.¡± Lusac pulled his wrist back without any resistance.


    ¡°And of course Hlxt is already gone so there¡¯s no one to authorize the arrest,¡± she muttered to herself. Varyna replaced the cuffs at her belt and spun to face Lus, returning to that deadly anger.


    ¡°Look here Adventurer-Chef-Idiot,¡± she said, jabbing a finger into his chest.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± he replied, both offended and complimented at the name.


    Varyna ignored him, continuing with her rant. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are yet, but I promise you, I will find out. And I will find out soon. Once I do, you¡¯re going to beg the Holy Core itself that you were never born unless you hand that Demon over. Got it?¡±


    Lus looked down at the finger stabbing into his sternum and then back to the face of rage.


    ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t let you know who I am.¡± He nodded fiercely.


    She snarled. ¡°Joke all you want now, but that USB is mine. Whatever it takes.¡± Varyna shoved her finger into him one last time for good measure before walking away, leaving him alone in the alleyway.


    Lusac watched her go as he rubbed his chest, trying to wrap his head around the corrupt officer who was out for his blood. He returned to the shop where the Kremel cashier greeted him with a bright smile despite the nervousness on her face.


    ¡°Hey. Sorry about that. And, um, thanks for helping out,¡± she said.


    ¡°Anytime,¡± he replied with a smile, using all of that 6 [Charm]. ¡°I understand if you have to close up shop or whatever, but I think my team would like to come check this place out and buy our stuff here if that¡¯s possible.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure I can work in an extra discount for saving the store and all that.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say no to that,¡± he chuckled against his own nerves from his run in with Varyna. ¡°But it might not be me who comes back. For sure you can plan on two Kremel: Wsr and Nippy. They¡¯ll be doing the purchasing.¡±


    The cashier nodded again. ¡°Alright. We¡¯re open until sundown so make sure they¡¯re here before then. I¡¯ll get the gear together.¡±


    ¡°Thank you again,¡± Lusac said as he stepped over to the door.


    Walking quickly, he made his way back to where he first separated from Wsr. It¡¯d definitely been longer than the half an hour by now, and she was not going to be happy to hear about the interference from the COPS, but hopefully the great deal he found would make up for it. After all, he didn¡¯t have to share everything that happened with Varyna since he couldn¡¯t admit to anyone that he¡¯d brought a Demon aboard the Argo and released it into the interbox.


    Wsr was waiting just where he expected, and she looked mighty pleased with herself.


    ¡°About time, Lus. Did you get a little lost?¡± She grinned. ¡°Or were you just busy trying to get your valer back.¡±


    ¡°Ha. Ha. You¡¯re funny,¡± Lusac replied, though he still double checked he had his funds in his pocket. He tried not to let Wsr see the relief upon finding the valer intact. ¡°But I actually did find a store that has everything and at a great price.¡±


    ¡°So did I,¡± Wsr said. ¡°Everything for only 23,000 cryptin.¡±


    Lusac smiled. ¡°Mine offered it for only 19,000.¡±


    Wsr shook her head. ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡±


    ¡°What store was it?¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, erm,¡± Lusac stuttered as he attempted to recall the name. With all the signs he¡¯d passed, he couldn¡¯t keep everything straight. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t remember, but¨C¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember? How useful is this incredible deal going to be if we don¡¯t know how to find it?¡± Wsr asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice.


    ¡°I know where to find it though,¡± he said. ¡°Wait, no. I remember. It¡¯s called Vwwtl¡¯s, just off the main road.¡± Even if he had 0 [Common Sense], that 8 [Intelligence] was doing something at least.


    Wsr gave a grudging nod. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s get Nippy, and you can take us to it.¡±


    ¡°Well, uh, the thing is someone tried to rob it,¡± Lus began. ¡°And then the COPS showed up. It¡¯s not a big deal or anything, but one of them thought she recognized me from the warehouse mission all those weeks ago, so it might be better if I wasn¡¯t in town anymore for a while.¡±


    Wsr murmured some foul Kremel curses under her breath as she rubbed her forehead. She looked up at Lus with disappointed orange eyes. ¡°How does this always happen to you, Lusac? You realize part of being a Runner is learning to be inconspicuous, right?¡±


    ¡°Come on, Wsr. Neither time was my fault. I can¡¯t help that an old friend recognized me or that the one store I visited had a robbery attempt,¡± Lus defended himself.


    ¡°Nippy¡¯s not going to be happy,¡± she warned him.


    ¡°I know. Let¡¯s just get back to the shuttle and get this over with. You only have until sundown to get to the store,¡± Lusac said with a sigh.


    Wsr led the way back to the landing pads, obviously on the lookout for any kind of trouble that might have followed Lus back from town, though he was quite sure he hadn¡¯t been followed.


    When they got back to the shuttle, the others were lounging about inside the shuttle. The air was dry enough that it didn¡¯t make much sense for the Nemarians to go out unless they absolutely had to, but Nippy seemed extra eager to get into the city. His interest turned to frustration upon hearing Lus¡¯s story, however.


    ¡°Again, Lusac? How? I genuinely mean this. How in Suns¡¯ names did you manage to get the COPS on our trail as well?¡± the Kremel asked in an explosion of anger.


    Lus sank back into his seat. ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional, Nippy. I didn¡¯t even know the COPS were at the warehouse.¡±


    ¡°No one did,¡± Wsr agreed.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine,¡± Nippy held the bridge of his nose. ¡°Wsr, Dasht, and I will go into Bevas to buy the supplies from the shop Wsr found. I don¡¯t want to be seen around the same area the COPS were in.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell that cashier anything about us, right?¡± Wsr asked.


    Lus slipped down further. ¡°I might have mentioned yours and Nippy¡¯s names so she knew to expect you guys if I couldn¡¯t come back.¡±


    Nippy¡¯s eyes looked ready to pop out of his gray skin, but Wsr stepped in.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a big deal. Why don¡¯t we go there, if she is expecting us. It¡¯s a better deal anyway.¡±


    ¡°Good going, Loser,¡± Zer-Dasht muttered from where he was putting together a mistter to keep him healthy out in the desert air.


    ¡°I am sorry this happened, Nippy,¡± Lus tried.


    The Kremel waved a hand to cut the apology short. ¡°Just stay here and keep out of trouble. Can you handle that, Lusac?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lus muttered, crossing his arms. Did he have to treat Lusac like a misbehaving child for something that wasn¡¯t even his fault?


    Nippy sighed. ¡°I understand that you didn¡¯t do anything to draw this out but having the COPS after us too is the last thing we need right now, Lus. I¡¯m worried about that, not you.¡±


    ¡°I get it, Nippy.¡± Lus continued to stare at the floor. He wanted a little time to mope about after everything that happened, and having Nippy continue to infantilize him was not helping anything.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move out. Yonnex-Quniwel, keep watch,¡± Nippy ordered as the shopping party set out.


    Quniwel moved to be sitting closer to Lusac. ¡°What are the chances that one of the same COPS who was at the warehouse would end up out here at the same time as us?¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Lusac agreed, softening up just a little as the Nemarian spoke. ¡°We sure could have used that luck from the battle with the Corporates again.¡±


    Quniwel shook his head as he laughed. ¡°That kind of thing is once in a lifetime, Lusac.¡±


    Lus smiled. If only the Nemarian knew the truth. But even Lus recognized that making the whole ship that lucky repeatedly might yield some unseemly consequences. If they got used to [Luck] like that, what would happen when the [Luck] ran out or, worse, they ended up in a situation that not even [Luck] could save them from.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure that this was another once in a lifetime thing. You¡¯ll probably never hear from that officer again,¡± Quniwel comforted him.


    Lus frowned at that. He was really hoping he wouldn¡¯t be seeing Officer Rhine again any time soon, but even all the Beginner''s Luck Soup in the galaxy didn¡¯t seem like enough to keep that from happening.

 Chapter 27: Aschir Alpha

    Lusac stepped out of the shuttle into the cool evening air of Aschir Alpha, the largest moon of Aschir, a gas giant in a system over three days away from the Highway in the Helios sector. They¡¯d come straight from Rika, and it¡¯d been a rough few days trapped in such a small space altogether. The air was more humid than even the Argo, and Lus shivered as a cold breeze blew right through his already damp uniform. Zer-Dasht came up behind him and swatted Lus¡¯s shoulder as he took a deep breath.


    ¡°Now this is more like it,¡± the Nemarian said, his pink fins quivering in contentment. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the last time I was on a planet that didn¡¯t require a mistter.¡± He spread his arms wide as he continued to inhale the wet air.


    ¡°Watch it, Dasht,¡± Wsr growled from behind, shoving the Nemarian down the ramp a few feet. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot of stuff to unload, and Nippy still wants to scout the entrance of the mines tonight.¡±


    Yonnex-Quniwel exited the craft as well, and even though he was less vocal about it, his indigo fins showed the same signs of delight as Dasht¡¯s. Lus walked down the small ramp to stand on the large rock shelf which held their shuttle. It was the closest landing zone to the mine they found, but they would still have a mile hike to their destination.


    All around were mountains of varying heights. Behind those nearest to them, Lus saw even taller peaks stretching upwards. The strangest part however was the distinct lack of trees. In Lusac¡¯s experiences, mountains were normally covered in them, but these ones were completely devoid of the typical greenery, instead showing the same barren red-gray stone as what he stood on now.


    A few colorful types of moss and lichen decorated the boulders which lay strewn around the landing site, but that marked the only biological anything Lus saw. Given the breathable atmosphere of the moon, he assumed that somewhere there was a plethora of real plants to produce the oxygen.


    The twin suns were already setting behind a set of jagged peaks in the east, casting a purple hue across the entire sky to contrast with the heavy green of Aschir floating above.


    ¡°Come on, Lusac. I¡¯m not carrying all this crap myself,¡± Wsr called to him, reminding him of their true purpose on this strange moon.


    He walked back to the shuttle and took on an overstuffed backpack alongside a heavy duffel bag. That 5 [Strength] was really showing itself as he lumbered down the ramp before taking a small break to catch his breath. This was going to be a long hike.


    Nippy led the pack, carrying a Kremel sized backpack that reached from above his head to the bottom of his back while being over three feet wide. He carried it with ease, and Lus recalled that their fearless second-in-command had a system of his own and managed to wrangle the majority of his stat increases to [Strength] unlike Lus whose [Luck] took the majority of his.


    The journey wasn¡¯t all that bad given that it was relatively flat, and their only obstacles were the occasional grouping of boulders and a few steep sheer steps to go up or down. Wsr took up the rear, while Lus walked just in front of her, carefully watching his feet in case of any cracks that might trip him up.


    With this kind of load, once he started to fall, he knew he¡¯d have no chance of catching himself, and he didn¡¯t want to damage anything in the bags. It¡¯d already taken a full day for Nippy to move past what happened on Rika, and Lus wanted to avoid any future mistakes to try and make up for. They all carried lanterns to offset the growing darkness of the evening.


    The suns were completely below the horizon by the time they arrived at a gaping hole in the side of one of the many mountains which Nippy declared their destination. Lus would have walked right past it, dismissing it as a cave if their leader hadn¡¯t said anything.


    He had plenty of experience with mines, but this entrance looked nothing like the ones he was used to back on Treft. It seemed far more similar to the other generic caves they passed except for a faded sign carved into the stone above it that would have gone unnoticed unless one knew what to look for.


    The words were in Nemarian, but from what Lus could tell, it was an old dialect that didn¡¯t make much sense to him. Even Zer-Dasht and Yonnex-Quniwl were perturbed by the almost invisible markings. Wsr didn¡¯t give anyone much time to examine the entrance as she directed everyone to get the base camp set up before they worried about the mine.


    Lus was more than happy to drop his loads off and relieve some of the pressure on his aching shoulders and back. Unfortunately, they still had to get the tents and chairs out and get a fire going which would require plenty of its own lifting.


    ¡°Lus, come with me. Let¡¯s see what this mine has to offer while the others get things set up here,¡± Nippy ordered to the Human¡¯s delight.


    Ignoring the glare from Dasht, he eagerly marched up to Nippy¡¯s side with his lantern in hand. The Kremel got into his backpack to remove a length of rope before leading the way to the mine fifty yards away.


    In the late evening, it seemed more like a black void, eating their lanterns¡¯ light beams as soon as they crossed its threshold. Lus was suddenly a little less excited about this assignment and half wondered if he shouldn¡¯t go trade Dasht places. Why had Nippy chosen him at all? He had the worst eyesight in the dark of everyone here, but maybe the Kremel was anticipating some tight spots that were unsuited to Nemarians¡¯ delicate scales.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first but stay close. I¡¯m not sure how stable this place is,¡± Nippy confessed.


    Lus held back any complaints as he did as he was told and fell in line just behind the seven and a half foot tall Kremel as they walked into the cave.


    At his first step into the mine, a notification popped up in the corner of his vision.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [A Step in the Shadows]


    [Description: discover the secret of the mine]


    [Time limit: None]


    [Reward: 500 XP]


    He gasped quietly under his breath for such a large reward before quickly glancing forward to ensure Nippy took no notice. A secret in the mine? That must just be the artifact they were coming for, right? This was only the second time a [Quest] had activated on its own. They normally just became available after he completed a previous one, but this was far more exciting.


    Still, the only way he was going to complete it was by completing the mission, so he put all his focus on surveying the cave as they walked.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    The air was discernibly colder among the stoney walls, and everything was the same muted red as the landscape outside. There was even more humidity in the cave as well, if that were possible.


    The walls, ceiling, and floor were all cut straight, creating a large square once they got inside. Nippy had to keep his back hunched to fit properly, and with his back taking up the majority of the light from the front lantern, the darkness seemed to close in around Lus and his small light source. The coloring on the stone in here was similar to that of outside, but it was more evident that the way had been unnaturally cut as he noticed swirling ribbons of differing red and gray shades.


    The strangest thing of all about the mine shaft was the lack of supports. He understood why Nippy was concerned about stability when it seemed like there was nothing holding the ceiling from collapsing in on them at any second, but as Lusac walked, he didn¡¯t notice any signs of decay in the structure.Somehow, the rock held itself back without any help. With the humidity, it seemed there should be some kind of water damage at the very least, but everything looked as even as the day it¡¯d been cut.


    ¡°How long did you say this mine had been abandoned?¡± Lusac¡¯s voice bounced around the flat walls, echoing deeper into the tunnel they walked. Maybe the secret was something simple like learning the history, in which case he could get that [XP] now.


    ¡°A couple of centuries from what we could figure out,¡± Nippy replied. He did nothing to soften his booming tone that echoed even louder than Lus.


    ¡°Why did they abandon it?¡±


    ¡°Probably because it ran dry.¡±


    ¡°What was being mined here?¡± Based on the rather direct tunnel they were following, Lus was having trouble picturing this as an actual functional mine. It was nothing like the chaotic mess of tunnels his parents worked in when he was a child.


    ¡°Reports didn¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°So we don¡¯t even know what it was used for?¡± Lus really disliked having so little information about this already creepy cave.


    ¡°Mining,¡± Nippy said, and even though Lus couldn¡¯t see the Kremel¡¯s face, he could picture clearly the teasing grin he wore as he spoke such an obvious thought.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that,¡± Lusac murmured to himself as he continued to scan the blank stone walls surrounding them.


    They walked without speaking after that, only Nippy¡¯s heavy footfalls breaking up the silence. Lus couldn¡¯t place exactly what it was about this place, but the whole thing made his skin crawl. It was too neat to be a mine. He¡¯d spend years of his life around mines and miners, and not one was anything close to this exactness.


    Lusac bumped into something solid and immediately jumped back with a shout as he raised his free fist up in defense, but it was only Nippy who had stopped without warning.


    ¡°Take a look at this Lus. It¡¯s an underground lake,¡± the Kremel said, stepping to the side so his companion could look forward too. Nippy held his lantern out and turned it to its highest setting to properly illuminate the space.


    Lusac gazed out into a large, open cavern that stretched for a hundred yards in any direction, including up. At its center sat an oval shaped pond twenty yards long and ten yards wide which reflected a hint of starlight from an open airway at the top of the ceiling. Heavy machinery surrounded it, taking up much of the floor space. Along the opposite wall, three tunnels continued onwards, but it was too dim to make out many details around them.


    ¡°Huh. Maybe the real mine starts over there,¡± Lus wondered aloud as he gazed at the tunnels. Even from here, they looked less perfect than what they just walked through. The niceness of the first tunnel, however, could be accounted for if this was the processing center and only finished material exited that way.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check them out,¡± Nippy said, focusing on the same thing.


    Before the Kremel could step into the cavern, Lus grabbed his arm and pointed up to where the ceiling melded with the wall to where he swore he saw a flash of movement. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Nippy¡¯s eyes followed the direction of his finger, but if there had been something there, it was already gone, and they were both left staring at an abandoned shelf.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± The Kremel¡¯s voice seemed to shake the grotto, and Lus wished he would at least try to whisper.


    ¡°Maybe it was just a trick of the light,¡± Lusac tried to assure himself more than anyone. He released Nippy¡¯s arm, and the Kremel walked forward. Lus released a brief exhale of relief before following him.


    Together they wandered through the centuries-old mining and refining equipment, much of it decayed beyond recognition after all the years of neglect. They were halfway around the lake when an almost imperceptible sound caught both their attention.


    Nippy turned in a flash, his lantern outstretched towards the pond, but there was nothing there. The only sign of life in the cavern was the pair of them.


    ¡°We¡¯re just jumpy. It was probably just a pebble skidding underfoot,¡± the second-in-command declared.


    As Nippy turned his lantern away to continue moving, Lus realized there were tiny ripples on the surface of the water, but he couldn¡¯t remember if they¡¯d been there before or not before they entered. He attempted to calm himself the same way Nippy had by saying that it must have been a loose rock falling or something.


    They soon reached the three offshoots from the cavern, and Nippy walked in front of each, holding his lantern out. Lusac took comfort in the fact that these ones had some kind of metal framing to support the stone ceilings, and the walls were less exact than the original tunnel. This was the real entrance to the mine part.


    ¡°So which one leads us to the artifact?¡± Lus asked the Kremel as he examined the shafts.


    He shook his head slowly. ¡°I have no idea. All we know is that the artifact is in this mine somewhere. It¡¯s up to us to find it.¡±


    Lus tapped his fingers against his belt to ease some of his nerves. He already disliked the idea of having to come back through this mine, but he dreaded the thought of spending days, maybe even a week or two on this isolated moon, trying to locate something so small in a place so large. It also went against his better judgment to wander an empty mine. His parents had drilled into him since he was old enough to walk that mines were death traps unless one knew the layout.


    ¡°Since there are five of us, it¡¯ll go fast,¡± Nippy comforted him. He swung back around. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get back to the others and see if they managed to get camp put together.¡±


    Lus nodded as he followed the second-in-command. They again walked through the machinery graveyard, and Lus held his arms close. The hair on his neck stood up as if he were being watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a glimmer of light.


    ¡°There,¡± he shouted, spinning to face what he was sure was a pair of eyes.


    Nippy followed suit, again on the ready for a fight, but all they found was another decayed piece of equipment, the outer plating falling off to expose frayed wiring inside.


    ¡°Stop that, Lus. You¡¯re really freaking me out,¡± Nippy complained. ¡°It was just our lights reflecting off the metal. Now come on. I¡¯m getting hungry.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Lus muttered as he fell back into line. As they continued their trek through the cavern, Lus remained certain that something was there in the corner of his vision, even if it refused to show itself. That must be the secret his quest wanted him to figure out. He would feel a lot better being in this place when they came back with the full team and all their gear, including blasters.


    Once they were out of the cavern, Lus was able to relax a little more since there was nowhere for something to hide in the square tunnel back to the campsite. He only fully relaxed once they were out of the mine completely and in the open, greeted by the roaring fire, a set of five chairs, and two huge tents.


    ¡°Good job, team,¡± Nippy congratulated them as he settled into one of the chairs, setting his lantern on the ground next to him. ¡°Now where¡¯s the food?¡±


    ¡°What are we? Golems? Why don¡¯t you two help out with something,¡± Zer-Dasht argued from where he was pounding the last tent stake.


    ¡°I can cook,¡± Lus volunteered immediately. He was only [25 XP] away from leveling up, and even if it wasn¡¯t one of the fancy meals, he¡¯d probably get enough to reach [Level 5]. After that brief trip into the mine, he wouldn¡¯t mind having a little extra boost to his stats before they really set into the mission.


    ¡°I knew we brought you along for a reason,¡± Wsr said with a smile. ¡°While you do that, we''re going to scout around the area and make sure there aren¡¯t animal dens nearby or anything.¡±


    Lus returned the smile, set his lantern down, and got to work as the rest of the team departed to give him space for his art.

 Chapter 28: Cooking Campfire Hash

    Lus looked at the crackling fire in the middle of the ring of stones. He had asked around about the usual fare when cooking over a campfire on a mission, so he had prepared accordingly.


    Now he plopped the heaviest of his sacks near the flames and began pulling out everything (hopefully) that he would need. He had one sack for tonight¡¯s dinner and another with duplicate ingredients for tomorrow¡¯s breakfast, so hopefully the meal turned out well and the others enjoyed it.


    The first item out of the sack was a special pot for cooking over a fire that Dasy-Jonil had shown him. He set the pot on the ground, its little legs settling into the rocks and dirt, then pulled the black lid off and looked around for somewhere clean to set it.


    Finding nothing close, he strode over to the line of expandable chairs and moved one over by his bag. He set the lid on it, handle side down, then went to grab another to set more stuff on. A clang behind him made him nearly drop the second chair as he spun to find the lid rolling on the ground.


    ¡°Blast,¡± he muttered, setting down the chair and hurrying over to the lid. It had dirt around the edges, so he carried it over to the water dispenser and gave it a quick rinse, then returned to the fire. He set it on the chair again, watching to make sure it stayed. He had to center it a couple times, but he finally had it stable enough to move on.


    He reached into the bag and continued unpacking. He pulled out a package of prak sausages and set them next to the lid, then placed the container of eggs and the bowl of shredded, boiled prootas on the other chair.


    Lus spent a moment looking over his ingredients and reviewing his plans in his mind. Becky had told him about this meal that her father used to make for family camping trips. Hopefully it turned out well.


    Pulling out the small container of oil, he turned his attention to the pot. He poured in enough to coat the bottom and set the oil aside, grabbing the heat resistant glove. It went all the way up his arm so he could place the pot in the flames without burning himself.


    It was much harder to get the pot settled than he expected. He had to use the heavy, metal bottom to smash the burning logs, creating a more stable surface. He then had to move the pot around until he found a spot to set it that was flat, balanced, and still in the heat.


    Once he had it where he wanted it, he returned the glove to the bag and grabbed the bowl of prootas. He took off the lid, leaving it on the chair, and took the bowl to the fire.


    He dumped in the small, cream-colored shreds. A satisfying sizzle told him that the pan was heated perfectly.


    Lus watched for a minute, then he grabbed a spatula from the bag. He slid it under the cooking prootas and flipped them, smiling as they sizzled again. The top was pleasantly brown and crunchy-looking.


    He waited another couple of minutes and stirred the spatula through to break up the prootas that had cooked into a large pancake. This allowed more of the raw prootas to reach the bottom and fry to a nice crisp in the waiting oil.


    After getting it stirred well, he stepped back to the chairs. He needed a break from the suffocating heat of the fire.


    He stood in the cooler air until the sweat on his face had dried and his breaths didn¡¯t feel so dry anymore. Hurrying forward, he gave the prootas another stir. They were a little darker than he would have liked, but they didn¡¯t seem too burnt.


    Lus took another, shorter break before giving the prootas one more stir. They were starting to look fairly consistently browned, so it was time to add the eggs. He glanced at the chair, then back at the pot in the fire. He couldn¡¯t exactly turn down the fire, so he grabbed the heat-resistant glove and pulled the pot of prootas out, setting it next to the ring of stones.


    He stepped over to the eggs, then frowned. He hadn¡¯t thought to bring a bowl to mix them in. Looking around, his eyes caught on the empty bowl the prootas had been stored in. There were still a few raw shreds, but it would probably work fine.


    He cracked all eight eggs in and broke the orange-yellow yolks with a fork before stirring it all together into a lighter colored, somewhat frothy mixture. There were a few bits of the egg white that didn¡¯t quite break up, but after a minute of vigorous stirring, Lus decided to call it good enough.


    Setting the bowl of eggs back on the chair, he grabbed the heat-resistant glove so he could set the pot back in the fire. It took a few tries to get it stable, then he hurried back to the chair and grabbed the egg mixture.


    The eggs sizzled as he poured them over the crispy, brown, shredded proota. He stepped back for the spatula, then returned to the fire to give the egg and proota mix a stir.


    The eggs cooked more quickly than the prootas, so he had to stay near the flames, stirring every twenty or thirty seconds.


    After a few minutes of stirring, he stepped back and gulped in deep breaths of the cooler air. The moment his face no longer felt like a part of the flames, he stepped back in and resumed his stirring. The eggs were almost done. He just saw a few more bits that seemed too soft.


    One more short break and a few stirs later, he decided the eggs looked done. He returned again for the glove and pulled it on, then lifted the black pot from the flames and set it on the rocky ground.


    Lus stepped back to the chairs where the package of prak sausages waited. He had never cooked with sausage before, so he wasn¡¯t really sure what to do with it. As he glanced from the round tubes of meat back to the pot, he realized that it might have been better to cook the sausages first.


    ¡°Too late for that,¡± he muttered. He¡¯d just have to come up with a different plan. His eyes darted around, looking for some kind of inspiration, and caught on the lid.


    It was fairly flat on the inside and he didn¡¯t really need it for this meal. If he could just get it settled in the flames so that it didn¡¯t tip on the handle, it might make a great surface for cooking the sausages.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    He grabbed the heat-resistant glove and pulled it on, then picked up the lid. He carried the lid to the flames and set it carefully handle-side down. He had to push it down and twist it around a bit to get it settled, but he managed to make it stable enough.


    Once he had the lid settled, he returned to the chair for the oil. Because the lid was lower in the flames, he decided to keep the glove on so he didn¡¯t accidentally burn himself.


    He poured some oil on the lid and watched it pool in the slightly lower center. When he was sure that it wouldn¡¯t drip into the flames, he stepped back. He returned the oil to the chair and grabbed the package of sausages.


    Pulling it open, Lus placed the sausages one at a time on the lid, sliding each one through the oil. They sizzled nicely and he took the empty package back to the chair. He set it next to the empty egg bowl and sighed. Since they weren¡¯t on the ship, he¡¯d have to clean up after himself. But that was a later problem.


    Grabbing the spatula, he headed back to the flames and gently turned the sausages, so their browned sides faced up. He stepped back for half a minute to get away from the suffocating heat, then crouched and flipped them again.


    It was sweaty, stressful work, trying to get the round sausages to stay on the undercooked sides so they would get evenly browned.


    Finally, he just had to call it good enough. He used his gloved hand to carefully lift the lid of sausages from the flames.


    Only after he had it in his hand did he realize that he couldn¡¯t set it down without dumping the sausages onto the ground. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn¡¯t scoop the sausages with the spatula without rolling them off. He couldn¡¯t set the lid down.


    His arm ached and trembled with the effort of holding the heavy lid even. Just as he was about to give up, his eyes caught on the pot on the ground.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he gasped, tilting the lid over the pot of cooked prootas and eggs. The sausages all rolled in and he set the lid back on the chair, breathing a deep sigh of relief.


    After rolling his shoulder and swinging his arm to release some of the ache, he looked into the pot. The unevenly browned sausages looked out of place, huge among the bits of shredded proota and small scrambled egg chunks.


    Picking up the spatula again, Lus used it to cut the sausages into smaller pieces. His cuts weren¡¯t clean or even, but he managed to break down the sausages into more bite-sized pieces. He stirred the sausage bites into the mixture and smiled. It looked pretty good!


    Grabbing a fork from his nearly empty bag, he scooped up a bite. He made sure to get proota, egg, and sausage and slid it into his mouth.


    The sausage burst with a salty, meaty flavor and the prootas were pleasantly crunchy, but the eggs and prootas were very bland.


    ¡°I forgot the seasonings!¡± he exclaimed, smacking himself in the forehead. He hurried back to the back and felt around the bottom, finally pulling out a small, travel-size shaker of salt and another of peppin.


    He returned to the pot and began vigorously shaking both over the pot. When he felt he had added enough, he grabbed the spatula and stirred everything around again.


    Lus didn¡¯t have an unlimited supply of clean tasting forks here, so he grabbed his used fork and wiped it on his sleeve. Then, to be safe, he stepped over to the flames and held it in the fire for a moment.


    ¡°That will burn off all the germs, right?¡± he muttered as he moved back to the food. He scooped up another bite and chewed it thoughtfully.


    It definitely tasted more flavorful, but he felt that it was still a bit bland. He gave the seasonings another round of vigorous shaking over the pot and then gave everything another stir.


    He cleaned his fork again with a wipe on his sleeve and a brief visit to the fire, then returned for a taste.


    This time, he found the eggs and prootas unpleasantly salty, nearly to the point of bitterness. He grimaced at the unpleasant taste and stared at the pot of food in consternation.


    ¡°Blast! What am I supposed to do now?¡± he wondered aloud. He knew how to fix under seasoned food, but he¡¯d never really had to deal with over seasoned food. He stepped away and sank down on one of the empty chairs, cradling his head in his hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s all ruined,¡± he muttered angrily. He couldn¡¯t serve food this salty, but he wasn¡¯t sure how to fix it. He couldn¡¯t just take out some of the salt.


    After another minute of self-pity, he returned to the bag, digging through the few remaining items in hopes that he would find something to save him.


    To his surprise, he found a package of traveler¡¯s biscuits. They were dense, dry, crunchy rounds of bread that lasted forever, so every spaceship carried a good supply as their backup food source. They were also incredibly bland.


    ¡°If I crack some of these into this¡­ maybe they¡¯ll fix it?¡± he said thoughtfully. Since the food was already basically inedible, he didn¡¯t really have anything to lose. He grabbed out a biscuit and carried it to the pot.


    They were too hard for him to crumble on his own. After a minute of futile attempts to break up the rock-like bread, he set it in the pot and grabbed the spatula. It was more difficult to cut than the sausages, but the metal spatula was sharp enough and strong enough to eventually break it apart.


    Once the traveler¡¯s biscuit had been broken, it became much easier to crumble the rest of the way. He broke it up as much as he could and stirred it in, then took another taste.


    To his delight and surprise, the traveler¡¯s biscuit cut the saltiness and added a new layer of texture that worked well with the sausage, eggs, and prootas. Everything was still saltier than was pleasant, though, so he returned to the package for two more of the hard biscuits.


    He chopped them up into tiny pieces, like the first, and stirred it all together one last time. Taking a taste, he sighed in relief.


    ¡°It tastes good,¡± he said with a smile.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 25]


    [Level Up: Level 4 -> Level 5]


    [New Skill Acquired: Chef¡¯s Intuition Level 1]


    [Skill Shop Unlocked]


    He didn¡¯t have time to worry about what that all meant since he still needed to tidy things up before the others returned from their scouting. He put the lid back on the bowl with eggs goo and raw proota bits in it. It could wait until he returned to the ship, because he had another one to use in the morning.


    He put the sausage and egg packages in the fire and watched as the hungry flames devoured them.


    The salt and peppin shakers, closed bowl, package of traveler¡¯s biscuits, and glove all went back into the bag, leaving the chairs cleared off.


    Since nobody had returned yet, he grabbed the large, metal container that they would use for cleaning and carried it to the water dispenser. He filled it half-full and staggered back to the fire. It was large enough that he didn¡¯t need the glove to get it settled in the coals, but he did have to add a few logs around the edges to coax the dying flames back to life.


    Hopefully by the time they finished eating, the water in the container would be hot enough to wash the dishes in. He had another bag with dishes for eating as well as soap, sponges, and rags for washing up.


    Lastly, he set the cooling pot on the small, fold-out table. He left the spatula in it and got the metal plates and forks out.


    Finally finished, he sank into one of the chairs and stared up at the night sky. ¡°Done at last,¡± he sighed.

 Chapter 29: Tunnels

    Lus stared into the flames as he sat in the chair. Dinner had been very filling, and it was difficult not to drift to sleep immediately, but they¡¯d all agreed to take turns keeping watch just in case this moon did boast some kind of animal life. The majority of the night sky was taken up by the great greenness of Aschir, but the few swathes of sky which were visible held a crystal clear view into the Cinder Rock.


    He was lucky enough to get first watch, but that also meant he had to wait to be sure everyone was fully asleep before he accessed his system. That campfire hash gave him the last boost of [XP] he needed, so now he was at [Level 5]. At the same time as leveling up, he¡¯d also gotten two notifications.


    [New Skill Acquired: Chef¡¯s Intuition Level 1]


    [Skill Shop Unlocked]


    Lusac was eager to explore the [Skill Shop] and see how his stats changed, but he didn¡¯t want to be doing anything while the others were awake since he wasn¡¯t quite ready to reveal his system to the rest of the crew.


    He was especially worried about Nippy finding out since the Kremel had a system of his own, and he might notice that there was something different about Lus¡¯s which would lead to revealing Leviathan. The fewer people who knew about the Demon in the interbox, the better his life would be.


    He grimaced as he remembered his interaction with Officer Rhine only a few days before. She didn¡¯t strike him as the type to give up easily, so he might be forced to reveal the truth sooner than he would like in order to keep the crew safe from yet another disastrous run in with a dozen ships after him.


    After about an hour, Lus was fairly confident his other four companions were asleep, Wsr and Yonnex-Quniwel in one tent, with Nippy and Zer-Dasht in the other. Lusac would join the former when it came time for his turn to sleep.


    With a thought, he pulled up the blue screen and scanned the homepage to see what changed.


    [Stamina: 7]


    [Intelligence: 8]


    [Strength: 7]


    [Charm: 7]


    [Health: 10]


    [Speed: 8]


    [Common Sense: 1]


    [Luck: 12]


    Lus smiled. All that work in the gym paid off, his [Strength] went up by 2. His [Charm] and [Luck] also each went up by 1, likely from that encounter with Varyna that happened to work out in his favor. What made him happier than even the [Strength] increase was to see a proud 1 in [Common Sense]. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but it seemed huge compared to the -1 he started with.


    He was only up to [2000 XP] for his lifetime, and to reach [Level 6] he would need to hit [3500 XP], but aside from completing his latest quest, all he could do was continue to cook like a madman. At least he still had [1000 XP] to spend. Thinking of that, Lus navigated to the newest tab on the screen: [Skill Shop].


    Similar to the [Recipe Book], most of the [Skills] were locked, but there were three available to purchase, and based on the names alone, he knew it was going to be a tough choice.


    [Night Sight]


    [Dash]


    [Sixth Sense]


    They all cost [1000 XP] each, so he would only be able to choose one. [Night Sight] sounded like the one he¡¯d use in the upcoming mission, but [Dash] might be nice for getting out of some of the tighter situations he found himself in. As for [Sixth Sense], well he wasn¡¯t even sure what that was, so he figured it wasn¡¯t one to worry about yet.


    Lusac glanced away from the screen to examine their surroundings. Outside of the ring of light provided by the fire and the lanterns, he couldn¡¯t see any kind of detail amongst the rocks and boulders. He thought back to his earlier excursion with Nippy into the mine. If there was something living in those tunnels, [Night Sight] would be a huge aid in actually catching sight of it.


    As Lus went to select the buy option, one of the tents unzipped and he quickly swiped the screen away, still unsure if others could see it or not but not willing to take any chances.


    Wsr stepped out of the canvas and stretched with a wide yawn. She blinked several times before motioning Lusac to the tent she just exited. ¡°My turn. Get some sleep, Lus.¡±


    He blinked in surprise. Had it been an hour and half already? Time has flown.


    Nodding, Lusac stood up from his chair and went into the tent, careful not to disturb Quniwel as he crawled into his sleeping bag. Part of him wanted to get the screen back out and buy his first real [Skill], but in such close quarters to another, he didn¡¯t dare. There would be time later for such things.


    Lus closed his eyes and drifted off immediately after the long day of hiking and exploring. It seemed only a few minutes passed before Wsr was shaking him awake, her morning breath washing over him as she spoke.


    ¡°Up and at ¡®em, Lusac. We want a big breakfast before we head into the mines today.¡±


    Groaning, Lus rubbed his eyes as gray light streamed in from the tent walls from the suns outside. He hated that he had to do all this cooking, even if it did mean getting a little more [XP] to put towards a new [Skill].


    Since most of the stuff was at the top of the food supplies, Lus made the hash from last night again, but no one seemed to mind. His grumpiness dissipated a little when he got that familiar notification as he set the last of the plates of food out.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 25]


    A whole 25 points closer to another skill, he thought to himself as he took one plate of food for himself.


    As they ate, Zer-Dasht told the story of getting one of the artifacts from a university¡¯s storage vault during Lus¡¯s mandatory ship time. Lus enjoyed hearing it the first time, and maybe even the second, but now that he was on third time listening to Dasht recount his own heroism, it was starting to drag a little.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Once everyone finished, Nippy clapped his hands together and stood up. ¡°Alright, people. Get the gear together. Let¡¯s find ourselves an artifact.¡±


    Lus was left to wash the dishes while the others sorted through the bags to put together five sets of equipment. After he finished, he picked up his set, a small, close fitting backpack stocked with water and food for two days, a back up lantern, an industrial all-in cutter, a hand drill, an anchor, a grappling gun, a medical kit, a small air tank, and emergency alunitanium rope. Ideally, he would need very little, if any, of the gear, but it was good to be prepared, especially going into a place they didn¡¯t even have a map of.


    He was the last to get his bag on, and Nippy was clearly antsy about getting into the tunnels sooner rather than later.


    ¡°All set?¡± the Kremel confirmed.


    Lusac nodded, and Nippy set off directly towards the cave entrance. Zer-Dasht and Yonnex-Quniwel followed behind, then came Lus, and Wsr took up the rear. They all kept their lanterns in hand, and Nippy insisted everyone pack a blaster pistol as well. He claimed it was just another tool, but Lusac suspected that the Kremel still carried some discomfort from last night the same as him.


    The unnaturalness of the square tunnel bothered Lus a whole lot less now that he had Wsr at his back. She could take on anything that might come their way. And having all the extra sets of eyes to keep watching for odd occurrences helped calm his anxieties about some malevolent beast waiting to strike out.


    Even as they entered the cavern with the pond, Lus remained calm, and he convinced himself that everything he thought he saw last night had been the light bouncing around the room in strange ways.


    Sunlight poured in from the upper vent to the surface, bathing the entire room in fairly bright morning light. Walking amongst the decrepit equipment now was interesting rather than creepy, and the light gave Lus a chance to really examine the machinery as they passed it. He recognized the general use of most of what they crossed through, but a few of the appliances were completely foreign to him.


    Part of him wanted a closer look at the more intact pieces to see what he could learn from tinkering, but he decided to ask about that after they had the artifact and Nippy was in a better mood.


    Just as they arrived at the three tunnels, Quniwel yelped and jumped upwards, his frog-like legs springing him to over six feet in the air with ease.


    ¡°I saw something!¡± he yelled, wrapping his arms around his chest.


    Nippy snorted as the group turned to look where Yonnex-Quniwel was staring, but just as the night before, there was nothing there.


    ¡°Keep yourself together, Quniwel,¡± the second-in-command growled as he resumed studying the pathways before them.


    ¡°This place can be a little freaky. I was jumpy last night when I came with Nippy,¡± Lus said, giving the Nemarian a reassuring pat.


    Yonnex-Quniwel nodded weakly, his eyes remaining trained on the same spot as if looking away might cause a monster to spring upon him.


    Wsr reached forwards to shove the Nemarian forward, and he let loose one small squeal before shuffling to join Nippy and Dasht at the tunnels.


    ¡°Which way first?¡± Dasht asked, his beady black eyes darting between the three options in sequence. ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d have labeled these things.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the signs are decayed or faded, like the writing outside,¡± Lus suggested.


    ¡°We should split up,¡± Nippy said, his hand at his chin. ¡°That way we can cover all three. Dasht, you and Lus go together down the right. Wsr, take Quniwel and scout the left. I¡¯ll take the middle.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go alone,¡± Quniwel burst. His webbed hands flexed open and close, a common sign of nervousness in Nemarians. ¡°I mean, just in case there¡¯s a cave in or something,¡± he added as Nippy raised a single eyebrow.


    Nippy patted his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Yonnex-Quniwel. I appreciate your concern, but my system will serve as my backup.¡±


    He nodded to the others. ¡°Keep comms open. As long as the rock doesn¡¯t get too thick between us, we should be able to keep in touch.¡± He offered one last confident smile as he started into the darkness.


    Dasht muttered under his breath as he led the way to the right hand side. ¡°Of course I get stuck with the Human who¡¯s as blind as a nocturne.¡± He glanced over his shoulder to Lus with a frown. ¡°Keep your lantern light low. I want to be able to see properly.¡±


    ¡°Well so do I,¡± Lus argued.


    ¡°My eyes are better than yours in the dark already. Having too much light will ruin my dark vision. I¡¯ll tell you if I see anything important,¡± Zer-Dasht assured him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lusac agreed just so they could get moving. If only he¡¯d bought [Night Sight] when he had the chance. This was going to suck without it.


    The two walked into the tunnel with dim lanterns held aloft. As Lus had noticed before, there were metal beams holding the ceiling and jagged edges of rock stuck out from the walls to make the place feel more like the mines he was used to back home. From what he could tell in the faint glow, the rocks were deepening to sharp red, gaining far more pigment than the passageway started with.


    ¡°Did you feel that breeze? This must lead to another exit,¡± Dasht mentioned after they¡¯d been walking for several minutes.


    ¡°There was no breeze,¡± Lus said.


    ¡°Sure there was. It ruffled my fins,¡± Dasht pressed.


    Lusac shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    The Nemarian rolled his eyes. ¡°Humans. I swear your entire species is desensitized to anything but the most pointed sensations. Come on. It can¡¯t be far.¡±


    The pair continued their journey until something in the corner of his eye caught Lus¡¯s attention. He softly swung his lantern around, trying to make it seem like he was just scanning the walls closer.


    Just another false alarm. Quniwel¡¯s jumpiness seemed to be catching, and Lus didn¡¯t want Dasht to know he was starting to get that sensation of being watched again.


    ¡°Huh. Not an exit. Not this way at least. Maybe we missed a turn,¡± Lus¡¯s Nemarian companion said, drawing his focus back to the path which was now blocked by a smooth rock face.


    Lus walked up to it and ran his hands across the crimson stone. He didn¡¯t feel or see a single imperfection, which was a rather stark contrast to the walls of the tunnel they stood in now. It was also one perfect shade, another difference from the walls.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it odd how smooth this wall is compared to the others?¡± Lusac voiced his thoughts aloud.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s part of a collapse,¡± Dasht mused.


    ¡°No way falling rocks yielded this,¡± Lus pointed out. ¡°It seems very intentional, just like the tunnel leading down to the lake.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it a lake.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡± Lus exhaled in frustration and stepped back. Zer-Dasht didn¡¯t seem interested in figuring this out. He needed to talk with someone like Wsr or Nippy who would care more about something like this.


    ¡°Come on, Lus. We should double check there aren¡¯t any passageways that shoot off from this on our way back,¡± Dasht reminded him.


    Lus took one last glance at the strange, perfectly hewn and colored wall as they started back the way they came.


    They hadn¡¯t made it very many steps when Dasht stopped to stare at the ceiling.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Lusac asked, his patience with the Nemarian running thin.


    ¡°I thought I saw something.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just the lantern light reflecting weirdly. It happened a bunch last night too,¡± Lus explained.


    Dasht glared at the spot for a few more seconds before giving up to continue walking. It hadn¡¯t been more than another minute when Lus felt something brush his arm. The sensation reminded him of a bug crawling on his skin, but covering a much larger area than a single insect. Without thinking he brushed at his arms only to find the rough alunitanium woven suit which covered his skin all the way to his hands.


    ¡°A breeze?¡± Dasht asked, as he looked back.


    ¡°I guess. But it went all the way through my suit.¡± Lus held his free arm close to his chest, not caring that he was doing just as Yonnex-Quniwel had done. This place was freaky, no doubt about it. ¡°Let¡¯s just get back to the lake room.¡±


    ¡°Pond,¡± Dasht corrected him.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± Lus hissed. ¡°Get going.¡±


    The Nemarian murmured complaints under his breath as they started on their path again. When he stopped once more, Lus opened his mouth to issue some rather strong words until he noticed what stood in their way.


    It was a wall of perfectly smooth, red stone, just like the one they came from. They were trapped.

 Chapter 30: Dead End

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Zer-Dasht said, his webbed hands running along the stone cutting them off from their only exit out of the tunnel. ¡°We would have heard something like this being moved or falling.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either. What are we supposed to do?¡± Lus asked as he shivered the cool, humid air. The sense of oppressive darkness was returning now that they didn¡¯t have a way out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s turn out. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find something on our way.¡±


    ¡°Something we missed the first two times?¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Dasht bit at Lus as he once again took the lead in walking back down the tunnel to where the other dead end waited.


    As they went, Lus was extra careful in his surveying of the tunnel walls and ceiling in hopes of finding a secondary means out but with no luck. Two times he thought he saw something in his peripheral vision, but as usual in the mine, there was no hint of life other than the Runners. Whatever the secret of this mine was, it seemed discovering it wouldn¡¯t be quite as easy as he originally anticipated.


    ¡°Is it me, or does it feel like we¡¯re walking uphill now?¡± Zer-Dasht asked after several minutes of only the echo of their footsteps.


    Lusac scrunched his eyebrows, paying extra close attention to his feet. ¡°No. It does. But this should be descending from what I remember. The dead end was lower than where we started.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure we should have reached it by now,¡± Dasht confirmed.


    They kept walking, neither saying anything more as they considered the implications. Lusac¡¯s mind ran rampant with worries. Was the tunnel system literally shifting around them as they walked? Where were the others? Would they ever find an escape?


    Some sense of relief filled Lus as they approached a faint light at the end of the shaft, and they soon stepped back into the sunbathed lake room. It was empty, however, which didn¡¯t bode well for the rest of the team.


    Zer-Dasht was on his comms in an instant. ¡°Nippy, Wsr, come in. Quniwel, are you there?¡±


    No response.


    The Nemarian tried again with the same results. Lus took a turn as well, just in case Dasht¡¯s unit was malfunctioning, but his pleas were also met with silence.


    ¡°We¡¯ll wait here,¡± Dasht declared. ¡°Once they realize the comms don¡¯t work, they¡¯ll come back.¡±


    Lus disliked how unconfident he sounded in saying it, but he agreed that waiting was really their only option unless they wanted to risk getting trapped in the other tunnels as well.


    ¡°So how do you think the tunnels are moving? They do it so quietly,¡± Lusac mentioned as he settled onto the floor.


    Zer-Dasht scoffed as he sat down next to Lus. ¡°What in Suns¡¯ names are you going on about? The tunnel didn¡¯t move, Lus. We just accidentally turned around. That stone face we met the second time was the same one as the first time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I would remember doing something like turning,¡± Lus said with less conviction. Dasht¡¯s explanation made a lot more sense except for the blip in both their memories.


    The Nemarian shrugged. ¡°It probably happened when I thought I saw something. Remember how the lantern reflected strangely?¡±


    Lus nodded thoughtfully. He couldn¡¯t distinctly remember turning during that, but he supposed it might have been possible. ¡°Yeah. I guess that¡¯s it. Still weird though.¡±


    Dasht playfully punched his shoulder. ¡°That month-long vacation did you in. What happened to the fearless Human who faced down a baby wranntil without even a blaster two months ago?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Lusac laughed. ¡°Quniwel was so jumpy when we came in, I guess part of it rubbed off.¡± He was being silly with all these conspiracies about moving tunnels. These were plain old mine shafts, nothing more.


    ¡°Blast that man. Who decided it was him who should come on this assignment?¡± Dasht complained.


    ¡°Captain probably didn¡¯t want to be without his main pilot for such a long time. I mean, would you rather be on the Argo with Yonnex-Quniwel at the helm?¡± Lus smiled.


    Dasht shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope this is the last time we have to go so far out of our way to get one of these artifacts. Personally, I¡¯m ready to get back to our usual jobs instead of all this traveling around for useless puzzle pieces.¡±


    ¡°Only four more to go,¡± Lusac reminded him. He glanced around the broken equipment surrounding them. This might be his only chance. ¡°I¡¯m going to mess with some of this machinery while we wait.¡±


    Maybe they would give him a hint as to what secret the mine was hiding, something he was starting to think they would need if they were ever going to complete this mission.


    ¡°Don¡¯t break anything,¡± Dasht warned him.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re a little past that.¡± Lus stood up and went to the nearest piece of mostly intact equipment. He carefully removed the covering of the inner circuitry and stared at a mess of half frayed wires. A lot of the Argo¡¯s systems were Nemarian in design, but they were nothing like this.


    Lusac plucked at the largest cord, which was blue in color and found that it had fallen away from one of its connections. Using the industrial grade all-in cutter from his pack on its lowest setting, he managed to fuse the end to where he thought it might go.


    Apparently that was all that was missing since the machine lit up and began beeping at him. Dasht jumped up and glared at him.


    ¡°What are you doing, Lus?¡± the Nemarian asked to cover for his obvious startlement.


    ¡°I told you I was going to mess around. And look, I sort of fixed it,¡± Lus said, gesturing to the flashing lights.


    ¡°Well, turn it off. It¡¯s loud.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s annoying,¡± Dasht countered.


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Lus said with raised hands. The easiest way would be to remove the blue wire, but he was worried that if he did that, he¡¯d never be able to turn it on again, so instead he searched for a control panel. He located a set of dials and buttons, but the markings had long since faded away, leaving Lusac to guess as to what they did. He pressed the first of the buttons, and gears started to grind with a very unhealthy sound.


    ¡°Not that,¡± he murmured as he hit the button again to turn off that setting. He tried the other buttons, but none of them did anything of note. He moved onto the dials, but they also did nothing about the beeping.


    ¡°What¡¯s taking you so long? Just undo what you did to turn it on,¡± Dasht said.


    ¡°I just wanted to see if I could shut it off from the control panel instead,¡± Lus explained. As he stepped away from the paneling, that same sensation of something lightly crawling on his skin returned, brushing along his upper arm. He shivered but made no mention of the strange occurrence to his companion.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Are you expecting us to need whatever this thing is?¡± The Nemarian gestured broadly to the equipment which didn¡¯t have any outward signs of what its purpose might be.


    ¡°It¡¯s just fun to mess with.¡± Lus returned to the wiring and blinked several times. ¡°Uh, that¡¯s a problem.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zer-Dasht¡¯s voice was extremely annoyed at this point.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the wire I used to turn it on.¡± Lus dug around in the cords to be sure, but there was no sign of the blue wire. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make sense. Wires don¡¯t just disappear.¡±


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t,¡± Dasht agreed as he came to stand next to Lus. ¡°Here, let me look.¡± He pushed Lusac out of the way.


    ¡°It¡¯s a dark blue wire,¡± he informed the Nemarian. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s not there. I checked.¡±


    The Nemarian dug his orange webbed fingers into the mess of cords, but he too was unsuccessful in locating it. ¡°You must have gotten the color wrong.¡±


    ¡°I know what color it was, Dasht,¡± Lus argued, squaring his shoulders with the Nemarian. Who put Zer-Dasht in charge anyway?


    ¡°Forgive me if I don¡¯t trust those weak Human eyes, Loser.¡± The Nemarian balled his fists.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that,¡± Lusac stared into Dasht¡¯s black eyes, his own hands forming into fists.


    ¡°Enough,¡± a new voice shouted, startling both of them. They turned to discover an ornery Nippy walking towards them. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°Lus turned this stupid machine on, and now he can¡¯t turn it off,¡± Dasht explained, his posture still tense.


    Nippy¡¯s green eyes turned to Lusac, one eyebrow raised.


    ¡°The wire I used went missing. Dasht looked too. There¡¯s no sign of the blue cord I need,¡± Lusac defended himself.


    ¡°You mean that blue wire?¡± Nippy asked. The Nemarian and Human both looked back to the circuitry to discover a thick, bright blue wire crossing on top of all the others, just where Lus had last seen it when he connected it. Maybe he was going insane.


    ¡°I-I,¡± Lus started but didn¡¯t bother finishing. He grabbed the cord and pulled hard, ripping the entire wire out and shutting the machine off for good.


    ¡°Now that that¡¯s settled, who wants to explain why you two are up here already? It¡¯s been hardly ten minutes since we set off. I highly doubt you were able to explore that entire tunnel in that time.¡± Nippy¡¯s voice reminded Lus of his principal back during his school days when he and his friends were caught slacking off.


    ¡°Ten minutes? Nippy what are you talking about? It¡¯s been well over an hour since we last saw you,¡± Dasht replied.


    Now it was Nippy who seemed to be losing his mind.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way. I only made it a little way down that tunnel before I ran into a cliff, and I didn¡¯t want to go down and lose all comm connection, so I came back to call everyone back,¡± the Kremel explained. ¡°It¡¯s been twenty minutes tops.¡±


    Lus shook his head and showed the second-in-command his watch. It marked the time as being nearly an hour and a half past when the team split up.


    Nippy chewed his bottom lip, one of the many distinctly Human gestures he picked up from being raised by adopted Human parents. ¡°We should call Wsr and Quniwel back. Something strange is going on here, and I want the team together until we figure it out.¡±


    ¡°We tried contacting both you and them when we got back, but there was no answer. We only found a dead end in our shaft,¡± Dasht explained.


    ¡°But we somehow turned out without realizing on our way back,¡± Lus mentioned. ¡°You know, I remember my mom talking about carbon monoxide, a really dangerous gas that can be released in mines. It¡¯s odorless and invisible, and one of the symptoms is confusion. We might all be experiencing the effects of that.¡±


    Even Dasht looked concerned. ¡°Maybe we should get out of here for a little bit and get some real air to clear our heads before we come back to search for them.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Nippy said sharply. ¡°We¡¯re not leaving without them, especially if we are dealing with carbon monoxide. They could die while we¡¯re up there clearing our lungs.¡±


    ¡°We could all die if we don¡¯t,¡± Dasht pushed back.


    Instead of responding, Nippy spun to the side while reaching for his blaster. Upon realizing what he¡¯d done, he returned to facing Lus and Zer-Dasht with a sigh. ¡°Blast this gas. I keep thinking I¡¯m seeing something in the corner of my vision.¡±


    ¡°If we are going to look for them, we should go soon. The more time we spend in here, the worse our symptoms will be,¡± Lusac pointed out.


    Nippy and Dasht agreed, and the three set off down the left-hand tunnel where their other two companions had gone.


    This tunnel felt remarkably similar to the one Lus and Zer-Dasht explored, with the same ribboned reds running through the stone on the walls and a similar steepness to their descent. Every few minutes Nippy tried to reach Wsr or Yonnex-Quniwel on the comm, but there was never any response. After a while, they came to the same smooth stone face exactly like what Dasht and Lus faced, but this one had been broken through, likely by Wsr with the hand drill, and on the other side stretched more of the same tunnel.


    ¡°Huh. Why would they block off the rest of the mine?¡± Dasht wondered aloud.


    ¡°Perhaps this is the source of the gas. The original miners might have stuck a block in to keep it from spreading to the rest of the facility,¡± Nippy said.


    ¡°And when Wsr cracked, she unknowingly released the poison,¡± Lus theorized.


    ¡°Most likely. But if they¡¯re both in there, that doesn¡¯t bode well for their chances of still being alive,¡± Nippy admitted.


    ¡°We have a few minutes of back up air. We should use some of that while we look around,¡± Lus suggested.


    All three dug through their ladened backpacks to retrieve the masks that held only twenty minutes of air at its highest setting. Nippy had them set it to only a third of the volume to prolong its use during their exploration. The Kremel led the way into the new section of the mine, his shadow casting long, eerie shadows as he crossed the threshold. Lus went next, followed by Dasht.


    They walked only a few yards before discovering that this tunnel was full of many branching paths and offshoots, creating a maze.


    ¡°Suns, they¡¯d already have a tough time getting out of here even without carbon monoxide poisoning,¡± Dasht said.


    ¡°We should split up,¡± Nippy said, earning surprised looks from the other two. ¡°We need to cover as much ground as possible. But I want to be sure we all make it out still. Set a timer on your watch to last for twenty minutes. After that, meet back here.¡±


    Lus and Dasht both begrudgingly agreed as they did as their commander suggested. Nippy then directed Lus to search the right hand paths, Dasht the left hand, and took the center most path for himself.


    Without any companions, Lusac was finally able to turn his lantern light up to a reasonable setting so he had the maximum amount of sight as he explored. The tunnels lost even more of their neatness in the side passages, and more than once he nearly tripped over the unlevel ground.


    The first two branches he explored led to dead ends, making them easy to eliminate after only five minutes of searching. The next one, however, widened and had a multitude of its own offshoots that he might have to wander through, though he wasn¡¯t sure he was going to be able to remember his path if he did.


    The stone was even more red than before, the color a dark and deep shade of crimson unlike any kind of rock Lusac had seen naturally occur in nature before. He supposed that the coloring could be from whatever mineral the Nemarians were extracting before they had to shut down.


    Now that he was alone, it was getting hard to keep his head straight. At least once every two minutes he saw a flash of something in his peripheral vision, and occasionally those glimpses of nothing were accompanied by the feeling of a breeze that he knew couldn¡¯t be blowing.


    Even knowing the cause, it was hard to not let the nerve get to him, especially without Nippy or Zer-Dasht there to remind him that it was nothing.


    About fifteen minutes after he¡¯d separated from Nippy and Dasht, Lus caught sight of something in the corner of his vision, but this one seemed different. More real. He turned to look and discovered two beady black eyes staring at him, most of the orange scales hidden behind a wall.


    ¡°Yonnex-Quniwel?¡± he asked, keeping his free hand up in a soft gesture. The guy was probably a wreck when dealing with his previous anxieties and now the carbon monoxide poisoning.


    The quivering Nemarian stepped out of the shadows, allowing Lus to see all of him as he stood shaking in the corridor.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright. Where¡¯s Wsr?¡±


    ¡°Dead.¡±


    ¡°D-dead? How?¡± Wsr was supposed to be invincible. Lusac couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around the idea.


    ¡°I killed her.¡± The Nemarian continued to shiver, refusing to meet Lus¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You¡­ killed her? Why, Quniwel?¡± Lus wasn¡¯t quite sure the Nemarian was in his right mind.


    First off, there was no way Yonnex-Quniwel killed Wsr. The Kremel would have snapped his neck in a heartbeat if he even tried. And Quniwel hadn¡¯t even been given a blaster like the rest of them due to his distinct lack of skill with such a thing.


    ¡°They told me to.¡±


    ¡°They?¡± Now Lus was getting nervous. Quniwel had actually gone insane. Where was Wsr? Maybe she¡¯d passed out from the gas, in which case they needed to find her fast.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lus.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here and talk about it. Wsr is pretty tough. She might not be dead after all,¡± Lus attempted to comfort the nutjob standing a few feet off. The only danger the Kremel was in was from poisoning, and he needed to get Quniwel out of here so he could come back and do a proper search without worrying about the obviously psychotic pilot.


    ¡°Not about that.¡±


    Lus froze, his eyes glued to the Nemarian who was staring directly at him now.


    ¡°They say I have to kill you too.¡±

 Chapter 31: Killer

    ¡°They say I have to kill you too.¡±


    Lusac didn¡¯t have time to react as Quniwel charged him. He started to run, but the Nemarian used his frog-like legs to spring across the entire distance between them and tackle Lusac to the ground, knocking his air mask to the side.


    Yonnex-Quniwel held his industrial all-in cutter in one hand, and while he used his legs to keep Lus pinned to the floor, he drew the sparking end closer, the flames too bright for Lus to see properly.


    ¡°Yonnex-Quniwel, what are you doing?¡± he shouted as he attempted to squirm free of the insanely strong legs keeping his arms at his sides.


    The Nemarian didn¡¯t answer, the fire approaching Lusac¡¯s face. As the heat poured over his skin, Lus used the new panic in his body to wriggle one arm out and grab hold of the tool, keeping the flaming knife from touching down and searing him.


    They struggled there, Quniwel using his entire weight to shove the tool closer as Lusac¡¯s one hand held him at bay The newly upgraded [Strength] finally acted up, and Lus shoved the all-in cutter to the side, and with the Nemarian off balance, he was able to free himself entirely.


    Yonnex-Quniwel attempted to grapple him again, but Lus was prepared this time and dodged to the side as the Nemarian sprung forwards. Quniwel faceplanted onto the stone, and Lusac pulled his blaster out, taking aim at the fallen Nemarian.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you, Quniwel. Just calm down so we can talk about this,¡± Lusac said with a shaky voice.


    Quniwel hissed as he pushed himself off the ground, and Lus pulled the trigger on his gun. A green bolt shot out, missing the target by several yards. Lus was a bad shot, but he wasn¡¯t that bad, not normally at least.


    He took several steps back as his enemy advanced, grinning as he held up the all-in cutter. Lusac shot at him several more times, but something was wrong with the blaster. Not one of the bolts went anywhere close to where he wanted.


    A quiet beeping drew his attention to the thermometer on his gun which was deep in the red. It was overheating to the point of blowing up. But how? Lus hadn¡¯t released that many shots, had he?


    Glancing back up to Yonnex-Quniwel, Lus growled and tossed the gun at him in one last attempt at an offense, and this time his aim was true. It smacked the Nemarian right in the middle of his forehead, and Lus took his chance to start running. The only problem was that an insane Nemarian lay between him and the only path back to the main tunnel where Nippy and Zer-Dasht would be.The sound of blaster exploding echoed through the cavern, but a quick glance back showed that Quniwel remained in one piece.


    With survival chief on his mind, Lus ducked into one of the branching corridors, praying to the Watcher he hadn¡¯t just made the biggest mistake of his life. He could hear Quniwel coming after him so he pushed himself into an even harder sprint, taking other paths as soon as he could in hopes of losing the Nemarian.


    Without his air mask and with all the extra air he was taking in, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d have long to live in the poisoned mine unless he found his way back to the main tunnel. Still, Lus ran on as the pounding of other footsteps sounded behind him. He didn¡¯t dare look back, but he was certain Quniwel was gaining on him.


    His feet kept pushing, and then the next thing he knew, he was falling to the ground, having found one of those tripping hazards that were so plentiful in this section of the mine. Cursing, Lus turned around, certain he could hear the clicking of an all-in cutter from behind, but as he looked around, he discovered himself entirely alone in the corridor. Lantern light spilled unevenly through the corridor, but now that he was sitting, he couldn¡¯t hear any sound of Quniwel.


    Taking a breath, Lus calmed his racing heart and started to push himself to his feet when he caught sight of the light glancing off two black eyes in the distance. So he wasn¡¯t safe after all.


    But why couldn¡¯t he hear Quniwel any longer? Was the Nemarian really that quiet? Or perhaps the poisoning was getting worse. Lusac scampered to his feet in an instant. He reached for his lantern, but now that he knew Quniwel was so close, he feared he was out of time.


    It was then he noticed a strong, metal door embedded in the wall only a few feet down a corridor a couple of yards away. It was a long shot, but he would rather have something like that between him and Yonnex-Quniwel than try to outrun him any longer while breathing in toxic gas.


    The Nemarian didn¡¯t have a lantern of his own, which meant without Lusac¡¯s light, they¡¯d both be blind. It would just be a matter of getting to the door before the would-be murderer caught up.


    Lus offered one more prayer to the Watcher as he took a leap of faith, slamming his foot against the lantern to break it apart. The light disappeared in an instant, sending him into a void of blackness.


    He silently found a wall and started towards where he remembered the door. The sound of Quniwel wandering behind him sent his heart rate skyrocketing, but he kept creeping forward, determined to reach safety before the Nemarian found him.


    It seemed to take forever before the wall disappeared, becoming the opening of the corridor, and Lus stepped across it with his hands out in front to grab the next wall. Once he had a feel for that, he crept along to where the door waited. He found that it was unlocked, and he swung it open just enough to get in before closing it as quietly as possible, begging the Watcher to keep Quniwel from hearing.


    He leaned back against the door as his heart pounded in his ears, waiting to see if he¡¯d been successful. Seconds crawled by, but he forced himself to wait. The longer he could hold off moving around, the more likely it would be that the Nemarian had gone away.


    Several minutes passed like this, with Lus keeping his weight against the door while he waited to see if he¡¯d been successful in his escape. Finally, he decided that it had been long enough that he could safely move about whatever room or tunnel he was in now.


    Lus kept his hands wide in front of him, softly swinging around to see what he could feel. Best he could tell, this wasn¡¯t another corridor given the wideness of the space. He was making his way around the perimeter of what seemed to be a room when his foot struck something large and fleshy.


    ¡°Ack!¡± He jumped back in surprise as his hands went into fists. Silently he cursed himself for being so loud.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± an exhausted, yet startled voice asked from below.


    ¡°Wsr? Is that you?¡± Lusac said in surprise. She didn¡¯t sound well.


    ¡°Lusac! Thank the Suns. You¡¯ve got to help me. Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s gone insane,¡± the Kremel started. Based on the faint vibrations on the wall and floor, she was adjusting to be more upright.


    ¡°I know,¡± Lus replied with a grimace. ¡°He claimed he killed you and then tried to take me out too.¡±


    ¡°Blast it. I guess that means we aren¡¯t getting out of here anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°We can probably sneak past him in a few minutes. At least if you have a light of some kind. I lost my lantern,¡± Lusac confessed.


    ¡°Yeah. Mine¡¯s nearby. Let me get it on. I was trying to save the battery.¡±


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    There was the sound of shuffling from below, and then a dim light shot out from the lantern on the floor, illuminating the room they were hiding in. The walls were the same stone as everywhere in the mine, but there were far more metal beams supporting the ceiling than out in the corridors, and there were even a few light fixtures hanging from the rafters. The far wall where Lus had yet to venture was one large shelving unit, holding hundreds of books, the old, physical kind made out of enhanced paper and metal.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Lusac wondered aloud as he took in the large desk at the center of the room.


    ¡°Some kind of-argh-office,¡± Wsr said as she sat up further against the wall where she rested.


    Lus looked down and gasped. The Kremel was in obvious pain, with her gray skin looking a lot more dull than it should have been. Blood covered much of the front of her uniform, stemming from a gnarly shoulder wound.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he questioned as he swung his backpack off to dig out his medical kit.


    ¡°Quniwel and that blasted cutter,¡± she supplied. I had him walk in front of me to make sure I didn¡¯t leave him behind, and then all of the sudden he turned back with the sparker on and stabbed it into my shoulder.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the gas. The mine is filled with carbon monoxide which is why we¡¯re all feeling a little crazy. I guess it affected him more than the rest of us, probably because you two released it all and came to explore the corridors full of it,¡± Lus explained.


    ¡°Carbon monoxide? Lusac, what are you talking about?¡± Wsr sat up a little more with his help so he could properly apply more bandages than the ones she¡¯d already put on. ¡°And we didn¡¯t release anything. That stone wall was already broken when we arrived.¡±


    ¡°A gas that can be found in mines. It¡¯s odorless and-¡±


    ¡°I know what it is. But that¡¯s not what drove Quniwel insane,¡± the Kremel cut him off. ¡°Poisoning like that has a lot of other symptoms, like a headache. And don¡¯t forget that our suits are equipped with atmospheric sensors that would have gone off if it detected that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°The suits must be malfunctioning. It might not be carbon monoxide exactly, but maybe a gas similar that more directly affects the mind,¡± Lusac argued.


    ¡°Maybe, but I can¡¯t imagine all five suits would have malfunctioned,¡± Wsr said.


    ¡°We might find something about it in this room. All those books must have some kind of info about the mine,¡± Lusac suggested, glancing back over at the shelves.


    ¡°Yeah. We should explore it a bit. I didn¡¯t get the chance since I passed out almost as soon as I got in here.¡± She started to stand but fell back with a grunt.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explore it. You rest,¡± Lus insisted.


    He stood up, leaving his backpack by Wsr as he walked over to the books. Grabbing one off the shelf, he opened it to discover a ledger full of numbers. He put that one away, he tried one in a different spot to discover more of the same pages of figures.


    ¡°Looks like this office belonged to the accountant,¡± Lusac explained after he checked a few more. ¡°Just a bunch of numbers.¡±


    ¡°Check the desk,¡± Wsr urged.


    Lusac walked to the worn metal desk. A couple centuries of dust covered the top, obscuring the details of the few objects resting on it. He went around to the back where the chair waited so he could check the drawers as well, but as he pulled the chair away, he discovered a gruesome sight.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± he said, wincing at the dead Nemarian skeleton waiting underneath. A writing utensil stuck out of one of the eye sockets, alluding to its death, and most of its clothing was rotted away.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Wsr sat up, groaning in pain from the motion.


    Lus shook his head. ¡°Just a body. But it looks like they stuck a pen through their eye.¡±


    ¡°Or someone else did,¡± Wsr murmured. ¡°Do you think what¡¯s happening to us happened to the original miners? Nippy said he couldn¡¯t find the reason the mine was abandoned. Maybe it was because some of them went insane and tried to kill each other.¡±


    ¡°But what causes that? People don¡¯t just go insane,¡± Lusac reminded her. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he tried to keep himself calm. There was no need for him to lose his mind too, not yet at least.


    ¡°Maybe this guy left us a clue,¡± she said, nodding to the desk once again.


    Ignoring the skeleton the best he could, Lus started into the drawers. They contained all the remnants of a typical office desk with writing supplies and extra paper but nothing that held the information they wanted.


    ¡°Nothing. Sorry, Wsr.¡± Lusac started to turn away from the desk when there was a flash in the corner of his vision. Out of instinct, he looked directly at the spot, but it was just the old skeleton. Just before he turned away again, he noticed that the body was holding something close to its chest. ¡°Wait a sec.¡±


    Steeling his nerves, Lus leaned down close to the body and reached towards what looked like a notebook of some kind. He gently removed it from the skeletal hand, bringing a few remnants of cloth from the tattered clothing with it.


    The dedicated pen location was empty, and it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out where the writing utensil ended up.


    Returning Wsr, he slid down the wall to sit next to her, and placed the worn notebook so they could both see it.


    ¡°What is this?¡± he asked as he opened the cover and flipped through the pages, revealing a lot of notes accompanied with a few drawings.


    Wsr shook her head. ¡°Some kind of field notes based on the pictures.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start at the end. That will be closest to when the mine was abandoned and our accountant met their unfortunate end,¡± Lus said as he searched for the final page of writing. It came about three quarters of the way through the notebook and didn¡¯t contain drawings of any kind. ¡°Huh. It¡¯s that old Nemarian so it¡¯s pretty hard to understand.¡±


    ¡°Let me take a crack at it. One of my professors back in school was over a century old so she spoke with a dialect.¡± Wsr took the book from him. As she scanned the words, her eyebrows scrunched together, but Lus couldn¡¯t decide if it was from trouble deciphering the language or concern from what she read. She flipped back through, reading earlier entries while Lus sat in silence, waiting to hear her summary.


    After several minutes, she sighed and leaned back, letting the book fall into her lap. ¡°Well, there¡¯s good news and bad news.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the good,¡± Lusac said, needing a win after all the troubles they¡¯d been dealing with.


    ¡°It¡¯s not gas.¡±


    ¡°So what is it?¡±


    ¡°Aliens,¡± Wsr said flatly. ¡°At least according to whatever scientist wrote this. They call them ¡®Shaquine,¡¯ which means ¡®of the shadows¡¯ in the language of the Ancient Ones.¡±


    ¡°¡®Shaquine. I¡¯ve never heard of them,¡± Lus said.


    ¡°Me neither, but they seem to be native to this planet, hiding deep underground. At some point the miners found a temple they believed to be constructed by the Ancient Ones, at which point this scientist was called in. It wasn¡¯t long after that some of the workers began reporting strange occurrences like flashes in their vision or feeling something on their skin when there was nothing there.¡±


    ¡°Sounds familiar,¡± Lusac replied.


    ¡°Effects of the Shaquine. The writer theorized that they were more or less invisible, living just out of phase with our own world, so we can only see them in our peripheral vision or feel the faintest touch of them.¡±


    ¡°And that drives us insane?¡±


    ¡°No. At least, not according to this theory. The Shaquine can also mess with our brains, making us see things or lose track of time or hear things that aren¡¯t there. When the first miners went insane, the scientist noted that they all experienced the most fear and anxiety from the incidents. And the trend continued. Those who got the most scared were the next ones to lose it. This guy thought that the Shaquine were intentionally driving people insane in order to gain greater control over their minds,¡± Wsr finished explaining.


    ¡°So we¡¯re up against aliens we can¡¯t detect whose sole goal is to make us crazy so they can use us to kill each other?¡± Lus summarized. As he spoke, another notification popped up in his vision.


    [Quest Complete: A Step in the Shadows]


    That was it. The Shaquine were the secret in the mine.


    ¡°According to this notebook.¡±


    ¡°That''s all we have.¡± Lusac couldn¡¯t tell her how he was so confident in their discovery, but the implications of what they were up against terrified even more than the gas. These creatures sounded unbeatable. What could they really do against them?


    ¡°I¡¯d bet on this theory over the gas,¡± Wsr said. She shifted and grimaced in pain.


    ¡°We have to warn the others,¡± Lus said, standing up again.


    ¡°One problem: Quniwel.¡±


    ¡°You have your blaster. Can¡¯t we shoot him?¡± Wsr was given a nice blaster unlike the decades-old pistol Lus owned. Well¡­ used to own.


    ¡°We can try. I got my pistol out when he first attacked, but the charging was all wrong and the shots never went where I was aiming.¡±


    ¡°That happened to mine too. Another effect of the Shaquine?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    They didn¡¯t have long to continue brainstorming ideas when the latch on the door clicked. Lus and Wsr stared at each other before Lusac risked turning around as it swung open. Wearing a twisted smile, Yonnex-Quniwel stepped inside, the all-in cutter held high as flames sparked out its end.

 Chapter 32: Escaping the Mine

    ¡°Who¡¯s first?¡± Yonnex-Quniwel asked as he stepped closer, his voice sounding gleeful about his chance to attempt murder again.


    ¡°Quniwel, listen to me. You¡¯re not in proper control of yourself. There are these creatures who are using your fear to make you do things you don¡¯t want to do, like killing us,¡± Lusac said, raising his hands in hopes of calming the psychotic Nemarian.


    Quniwel¡¯s face softened a little and more the terror showed in his eyes. ¡°L-Lus?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Quniwel. Don¡¯t be afraid. You¡¯re with me and Wsr now. We¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got you buddy.¡± Wsr offered her own pained grin.


    With shaking hands, the Nemarian shut off the all-in cutter.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Just give it to me. We¡¯ll all get out of here, and then they can¡¯t hurt you anymore,¡± Lus promised as he extended a hand to take the cutter from Quniwel.


    Yonnex-Quniwel reached out, his fingers still tight around the tool-turned-weapon, but just before he dropped it to Lusac¡¯s hand, he jumped with a shout.


    ¡°What was that?¡± he exclaimed, spinning around as both hands clutched the all-in cutter close to his body again.


    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s a trick of the mind. Come on, Quniwel. Stay with us.¡± Lus tried to regain control of the situation, but as Quniwel turned back around, it was clear his mind was lost once again.


    Tears flowed from the black eyes as the Nemarian raised the sparking cutter upwards, his mouth in a tight, determined line.


    ¡°Yonnex-Quniwel,¡± Lus yelled, begging his friend to come back, but those black eyes remained distant. He was gone already.


    Quniwel dove towards Lusac, and he dodged to the side, though the cutter glanced across his shoulder, creating a small gash along the side. Lus clutched the injury, but it wasn¡¯t bleeding all that much thanks to the cauterization which accompanied the slice. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wsr attempting to stand, before grunting and collapsing back to the floor, her injury too severe for her to be of any help. He was on his own for this one.


    The Nemarian jumped at him again, and Lus struck his fist into the Nemarian¡¯s stomach. Quniwel landed on his feet, showing no signs of pain or slowing down. He dashed forwards once more, and Lus decided to take his chances in a full fight and rushed to meet him.


    Both fell to the ground and the cutter spun out of Quniwel¡¯s hand. Lus was larger than the Nemarian, making it easier for him to get on top and hold Quniwel to the ground.


    ¡°Yonnex-Quniwel, stop! This isn¡¯t you,¡± he said through gritted teeth as the scaly body below continued to squirm. ¡°It¡¯s the creatures. They can¡¯t control you if you let go of your fear.¡±


    ¡°No. Stop talking,¡± Quniwel screeched. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. I have to. They¡¯re in my head. They won¡¯t let go until you¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°No, Quniwel. If we leave the mine, they¡¯ll have to let you go,¡± Lus replied, hoping it was true. As far as he knew, no one experienced any symptoms of the Shaquine influence while they were camping the night before.


    ¡°You. Don¡¯t. Understand.¡± The Nemarian found new strength, and it was far greater than even Lus¡¯s 7 [Strength], allowing him to grab hold of Lusac¡¯s arms and roll over so he then sat on top, completely in control. He raised his curled fists and threw them into Lus¡¯s face. Lus turned his head back and forth, trying to avoid the brunt of the blows, but they simply kept coming. Blood started from his nose, and his head began to ache.


    With the adrenaline pulsing through his body, Lus was able to wiggle one arm free which he used to hit the side of Quniwel¡¯s neck, right where one of his gills sat¨Cone of the most delicate parts on a Nemarian¡¯s body.


    Yonnex-Quniwel howled in pain as one hand flew up to the damaged gill, giving Lus the chance to get his other hand free. He shoved the Nemarian off of his torso and rolled over to where the fallen cutter lay, but Quniwel recovered much faster than he expected and was on top of him in the next second.


    They both grabbed the all-in cutter at the same time, and it became a test of [Strength] as to who would take it all the way. The tool turned on during the wrestle, igniting into a sparking flame at the tip which happened to be setting against Lus¡¯s wrist. He released and pulled back his injured hand, giving Quniwel complete control of the tool.


    Cackling, the Nemarian faced the fiery tend towards Lusac¡¯s face and pressed down, slowed only by Lus¡¯s own grip at the orange wrists as he used all his [Strength] to prevent it from finding its target. Quniwel, being on top, had a better vantage point, and he pressed down harder. The sparking point drew near to Lus¡¯s eyes, the heat radiating from the point.


    ¡°Quni-wel,¡± Lus stammered through his waning [Strength] and [Stamina]. ¡°Stop this. You don¡¯t want to do this.¡±


    ¡°I have to,¡± the Nemarian shouted, his tone hysterical.


    The cutter came another quarter of an inch closer. One more strong push from Nemarian, and it was all over for Lus. He closed his eyes and turned away as the muscles in his arm threatened defeat. Before the flaming tip could touch his skin, however, something big knocked Quniwel off, freeing Lus from the hold.


    He scampered to his feet to see a heaving Wsr on the floor, and Yonnex-Quniwel jumping on top of her, wrapping his arms around her neck and starting to squeeze. He dug one of his feet into the wound on her shoulder which drew out partial gasps of pain from the Kremel. Lus dove for the all-in cutter which now lay abandoned and then joined the fray with Quniwel and Wsr. If he didn¡¯t act fast, Wsr might not make it, not with how dire her injury already was.


    Whether it was instinct or simply the memory of the dead Nemarian that drew it out of Lus, he would never be sure, but before he could think about it, he drove the point of the cutter into Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s right eye.


    The Nemarian released Wsr and screamed as he clutched the tool which had half-blinded him. Lus wasted no time grabbing the lantern and yanking Wsr to her feet, wrapping one meaty arm around his shoulders as they rushed to the door.


    Quniwel remained in a ball, sobbing and shrieking as blood gushed from his eye, the cutter still embedded. Lus took a breath as he pulled the door close, ignoring the hand the Nemarian raised towards him. Once they got this figured out, they could come back for their friend, but right now he was too dangerous to be around.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    He allowed Wsr to lean against the wall as he dug in his pack for his own all-in cutter. Turning it on its highest setting, he began welding the door to the doorframe, locking Quniwel in.


    ¡°He could die,¡± Wsr pointed out between breaths.


    ¡°He tried to kill us. This is better than returning the favor,¡± Lus pointed out with a grimace. He too hated the idea of leaving the Nemarian behind, but it would be better for everyone if they knew exactly where he was.


    Once the task was complete, Lusac pulled Wsr¡¯s good arm back around his shoulders and together they set off through the mine corridors. Now that Quniwel was contained, the problem they faced was navigation since neither remembered the way back to the main tunnel.


    Luckily Wsr had been paying more attention when she came this way than Lusac had, so she was able to give a general idea of where to go. By the time they got back to the main corridor, however, she was no longer as responsive to his questions, and when he looked at her face, he noticed just how colorless it had become.


    ¡°No. No, hang in there, Wsr,¡± Lus pleaded, hurrying along as best he could with someone so much larger and heavier hanging on him for support despite the protests from his tired body. He tried to calculate how much time had passed since he first ran into Quniwel.


    If Nippy and Zer-Dasht were waiting back in the large corridor where they originally planned to meet, Wsr might stand a chance of making it. Lusac wasn¡¯t sure if could drag the Kremel all the way back to the surface by himself, and with how fast her health was declining, he had to worry about the speed in which he could accomplish the feat as well.


    They continued their slow trek through the corridor until they arrived at the largest one where Lus originally split from Dasht and Nippy. It was disappointingly empty.


    Shouldering more of Wsr¡¯s weight, Lusac dragged her onward, towards the cracked stone which led into the first half of the mine. When they arrived there, he released Wsr altogether, allowing her to lean up against a wall while he caught his breath. He was definitely going to get [Strength] and probably [Stamina] too from this, and Watcher knew he needed it.


    ¡°Sorry, kid,¡± the Kremel muttered with a barely audible voice.


    ¡°You have nothing to apologize for. It¡¯s Quniwel¡¯s fault. He¡¯s the one who stabbed you,¡± Lus reminded her.


    ¡°B-but I¡­ should¡¯ve seen¡­ it coming.¡± Her voice faded off, and best Lus could tell, she was unconscious.


    Lus checked her bandages and cursed. She¡¯d bled through the new one he put on, and he didn¡¯t have any more in his pack. She was going from bad to worse, and he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d get her out in time. His thoughts turned to his system. He¡¯d gained [500 XP] from the quest, but that still wasn''t enough for a second [Skill], and based on the three he had available, none were going to do anything for him in this situation anyway.


    A flash of light crossed across his vision, and his heart skipped a beat. Even knowing that it was the Shaquine, it was difficult not to feel jumpy with all the strange occurrences. Wanting to spend as little time in the caves as possible just in case he somehow snapped like Yonnex-Quniwel, Lus tugged Wsr to her feet and carefully guided her through the broken wall so they could continue their trek upwards.


    With Wsr sustaining even less of her weight, the trip back to the lake room was taking more than double the time it should have. Lus was keenly aware of her black blood dripping to the floor, but his exhausted legs could push no harder than they already were.


    They were about halfway up when footsteps sounded from behind, the exact gait of Quniwel back when he¡¯d been chasing Lus through the corridors before he stumbled upon the room with Wsr. He risked a glance back, but the light from the lantern was almost completely obscured by Wsr¡¯s large frame, so he saw nothing but jagged shadows. As he faced the front again, he swore he saw the glint of light in the black eyes of the Nemarian.


    ¡°Just the Shaquine,¡± he murmured to himself. ¡°Quniwel is locked up. He can¡¯t be out here.¡±


    The footsteps grew closer, along with the sound of ragged breathing that wasn¡¯t Wsr¡¯s. The hair on Lus¡¯s neck stood straight up, all his instincts warning him that there was something coming. It had to be Quniwel. No one else was in the mine.


    ¡°Come on, Wsr. Just a little further,¡± Lusac told her as his heart pounded in his chest. Any second the cutter could be stabbing into his back, and then they¡¯d both be dead. He cast another quick look behind, but he couldn¡¯t see the Nemarian.


    The Kremel groaned as Lus forced her to move faster, but they did start to make better progress which allowed Lusac¡¯s nerves to settle down. No matter how many times he told himself that the things he was hearing and seeing were tricks of the mind, some small part of him remained convinced that Quniwel was just a few feet away, waiting to make his attack.


    The light of the lake room leaked in from ahead, giving Lus hope that they might survive this after all when the sound of a sparking all-in cutter reached his ears. Instincts acted before thought, and Lus shoved Wsr away to give himself space to fight as he spun to face Quniwel, shouting in alarm. Wsr released her own strangled yelp as she collapsed to the floor on her wounded shoulder.


    Lus stood there, his fists at the ready, but there was nothing to fight. The tunnel was empty except for them. Voices sounded from up ahead at the lake room, and Lus turned, prepared for the next threat, even though in his mind he knew it was the effects of the Shaquine.


    This time, however, it was no trick. Nippy and Zer-Dasht raced towards the pair, both wearing breathing apparatuses.


    ¡°Lus,¡± Nippy said with a muffled voice. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°The Shaquine made Quniwel attack us,¡± he hurriedly explained. ¡°Wsr is hurt bad. We need to get her to the surface so we can properly treat it.¡±


    ¡°The Shaquine?¡± Dasht shared a look with Nippy that sent a very clear signal to Lus. They thought he was insane.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain back at the camp. We have to get out of here before they make another one of us lose it.¡± He bent down to grab Wsr, but Dasht pulled him back as Nippy instead hauled the injured Kremel to his back.


    ¡°Here,¡± the Nemarian said he removed his mask and pushed it to Lus¡¯s mouth. ¡°Maybe some clean air will help.¡±


    Lus grabbed it and shoved it away. ¡°It¡¯s not carbon monoxide. I was wrong. It¡¯s aliens that can exert an effect on our minds.¡±


    Zer-Dasht nodded in a very patronizing fashion as he once again attempted to place the mask over Lus¡¯s face. ¡°Just try it for a bit, okay? It won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    Grumbling, Lusac accepted the breathing apparatus as the four of them started back up the tunnel. It went fast with Nippy carrying Wsr, and soon they were all back outside under the late afternoon suns.


    Nippy gently lowered Wsr to the ground while ordering Dasht to get the big emergency kit. He then set to work cleaning and patching up Wsr¡¯s wound as Lus nervously paced, finally free of the stupid breathing mask.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit down? I can clean up your cut,¡± Zer-Dasht offered in a very out of character gesture.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Wsr got it bad. Quniwel stabbed her with his blasted all-in cutter. Later he managed to skim me,¡± Lus explained. He ran a hand over his face, brushing the dried blood there. ¡°We need to go back for him, if he¡¯s alive that is. The Shaquine drove him completely insane, but if we get him out here, he might go back to normal.¡±


    ¡°Let me take care of that injury while you just relax, and then we can discuss the ¡®Shaquine,¡¯ okay?¡± Dasht placed a hand on his good arm and pointed to a chair.


    Sighing, Lus did as he suggested. They weren¡¯t going to listen to him until they were sure he was free from the effects of the gas. He pulled his shirt off, grimacing as he yanked the burned fabric from the gash on his arm, and sat down so Zer-Dasht could work.


    As the Nemarian cleaned and bandaged the cut, Lus looked over to where Nippy was busy doing the same for Wsr¡¯s injury. He used an emergency wound closer to staple the skin back together, stemming the flow of black blood, and Wsr seemed to be breathing at least a little easier. Hopefully Quniwel was still alive, then they could take care of his wound, and then they would all be safe again.


    Lus frowned. Even if they got Yonnex-Quniwel and kept him from trying to kill again, how were any of them supposed to safely enter the mine long enough to find the artifact? The more he thought about it, the more sure he became that they might never complete this mission.

 [V]Chapter 33: Lower Section Squad 3

    Varyna didn¡¯t get the chance to say goodbye to her family. By the time they were informed of her ¡®transfer¡¯ across the galaxy, she was already an entire sector away from them.


    Quoppi didn¡¯t seem to mind the sudden upheaval in his life. He accepted the transfer calmly and remained that way during their voyage. The two of them had been stuck together on a nondescript transport ship alongside a small crew of workers. When the ship dropped them off at the Helios-Aura check station, members of their respective squads were waiting to take them away. Even when they were being whisked in different directions, with no idea when or if they would see each other again, the Nemarian said a polite farewell and went on his way.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem very pleased, Officer Rhine.¡±


    A male Kremel, named Hxlt, glanced over at Varyna from the driver¡¯s seat of the COPS-labeled pod they were riding in.


    ¡°It¡¯s really not all that bad out here,¡± he continued when he received no response from her. ¡°You¡¯ll like the officers on the squad. It¡¯ll be nice having a woman around.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone is great,¡± Varyna mumbled. ¡°Can¡¯t wait to meet them.¡±


    ¡°.. yeah.¡±


    After that, their conversation died down, and nothing could be heard inside the pod except for the whirring of engines and occasional click of a button for the remainder of the flight.


    Settling in wasn¡¯t difficult. The twelve (now thirteen) person squad was divided into small ¡®teams¡¯ that worked together. Unlike the system on Quosh, where an officer could expect to be paired up with any member of the squad depending on the assignment, the teams on Squad 3 were more or less permanent. It made sense logistically. Out here, officers didn¡¯t all clock in for a shift and go home once it was over. Calls came in from planets all over the sector, so teams were rarely all at headquarters at the same time.


    Varyna had been teamed up with Hxlt and a Human officer named Opun. They were both easy going and kind. They responded to her hot headedness with a chuckle or sigh and moved on. Well, if you have to be stuck with the same individuals all day every day for who knows how long, you¡¯re bound to become good at adapting to less-than-ideal personality traits.


    All in all, Varyna had no reason to hate her new position. Her correspondence with her family was limited but not prohibited. She even received occasional updates and ¡®care packages¡¯ from her old squadmates. She had a holoscreen, plenty of books, and a comfy bed in her new quarters. Much like communication with the people back home, the extent of programming on the holoscreen was limited. The CinderX network didn¡¯t quite reach this far out anyway.


    Still, circumstances weren¡¯t terrible. And they were bounds better than the crowded and strict living conditions on Outer Jurisdiction patrols.


    Yet Varyna still found herself spending most of every day trying her hardest not to be absolutely miserable.


    Her single [Quest] occasionally flashed in front of her mockingly.


    [Retrieve Leviathan from the hands of the Runners]


    She had somehow gotten even further from being able to complete the quest. Further from the [500 XP]. Further from leveling up. Further from the Demon Division.


    ¡°This blasted system is worthless,¡± she grumbled aloud one time.


    ¡°No way! You have a system?!¡± Officer Opun had exclaimed excitedly upon hearing her. ¡°Hxlt here has one too! We¡¯ve gotta be the most powerful team in the squad!¡±


    Varyna quickly scanned Hxlt¡¯s [Level] and [Stats] just like he was, no doubt, doing to her as well. Then they both made a similar expression and changed the conversation.


    Evidently, Varyna wasn¡¯t the only one saddled with a worthless system. At least she was one [Level] higher than her teammate¡ªwhich said a lot about their team¡¯s strength.


    So, her days of monotonous missions to places on the outskirts of the Helios Sector went on unremarkably. On one such monotonous mission, however, Varyna discovered that completing her [Quest] wasn¡¯t as far out of her reach as she had thought.


    They were on the planet for a missing person case. Due to the delays in reporting, receiving, and responding without a proper network or manpower, the trail for the case had mostly gone cold by the time they got there. They did their best, but a long day had yielded nothing worthwhile. Just as they were about to give up, they heard someone shouting about a robbery nearby.


    ¡°Should we go check it out?¡± Opun perked up.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t do it now, we¡¯ll have to come back in two weeks when the official report reaches headquarters,¡± Varyna sighed. ¡°And then we¡¯ll have another day like this one.¡±


    Hxlt agreed. ¡°Alright, we might as well.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The three dashed to the shop where the robbery was taking place. They were able to subdue the culprit quickly before any real damage was done. While Hxlt handled the robber, Opun moved to speak to the shopkeeper. Varyna already knew she¡¯d be tasked with interviewing the witnesses.


    ¡°I never get to do the fun stuff,¡± she murmured to herself. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over wi-¡±


    She paused as she saw the customer who had been wrestling with the robber when they busted in. She hadn¡¯t gotten a good look when he was trapped under the Human woman robbing the place, but now she could tell it was definitely him.


    Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot.


    The Runner who stole Leviathan.


    Her frown quickly turned into a smirk.


    ¡°Officer Rhine!¡± Opun called her attention from where he stood at the register. ¡°Get his statement."


    ¡°With pleasure,¡± Varyna grinned.


    She led the guy outside and into the alley next to the store. He looked like he would bolt at any moment, so she pinned him against the wall.


    ¡°Where is Leviathan?¡± She demanded.


    She could already taste the sweet [500 XP].


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± he shrugged.


    Varyna scoffed. Who was this guy trying to fool?


    ¡°I know you have him,¡± she explained. ¡°Why else would you be in that warehouse after pursuing the Demonology section at the Erengil Library?¡± The boy looked like he wanted to protest again, so she tightened her arm across his throat. ¡°But I¡¯m taking him for myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy, Officer. I don¡¯t know a thing about Demonology!¡± the boy gasped.


    He really was trying to lie straight to her face. The same person he asked for help when he was at the library.


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, do you, Chef?¡± Varyna spat. ¡°You got away at the warehouse, but you won¡¯t be so lucky this time.¡±


    Opun¡¯s voice suddenly sounded behind her. ¡°You ok, Varyna? What¡¯s taking so long?¡±


    She glanced over her shoulder. Her teammate was already leading the cuffed criminal out of the shop and toward their crawler. But she needed more time.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long day, so Hxlt wants to wrap this up and get this woman processed,¡± Opun continued.


    Varyna put on her best attempt at a smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just making sure I get all the details from the altercation.¡±


    Opun looked doubtful but shrugged and continued escorting the robber.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get back to the whole statement thing?¡± the boy smirked.


    She frowned and shoved him harder into the wall. If she was confident he had the USB on his person, she would have knocked him out and taken it already. But there was no way this Adventurer/Chef/Idiot was that much of an idiot.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Demon, Runner? Give him to me and I¡¯ll let you go.¡±


    The boy continued playing dumb until Varyna thought she would lose her mind. She might have actually killed him if Hxlt hadn¡¯t interrupted.


    ¡°Rhine? What are you doing? We need to process this and move on.¡±


    Varyna didn¡¯t even bother turning around. ¡°You know what? This is taking longer than I expected. Why don¡¯t you and Opun head back to the precinct and I¡¯ll meet you there in a little bit?¡±


    ¡°Yeah ok, if you insist. It¡¯s been way too long of a day for this nonsense,¡± Hxlt cursed under his breath as he turned to leave.


    Varyna almost laughed. It was the first time he¡¯d given her more than an eyeroll for her antics. Looks like his patience was nearing its limit, after all. Her patience, on the other hand, had already long surpassed its limit.


    ¡°Look, I tried to give you an easy way out. All you had to do was hand over the USB and return to your merry little life of crime.¡± Varyna jerked the boy¡¯s wrist up and pulled out her scanner. ¡°But since you want to do this the hard way, I¡¯m going to just take you in.¡±


    She had just witnessed him in an altercation. Plus, he was a Runner, he probably had all sorts of warrants out for his arrest. All she had to do was scan his chip and the red alert would start going off on her scanner immediately.


    Except it didn¡¯t.


    Instead of flashing signs and warnings, a picture of a friendly elderly Kremel woman popped up. A woman who had never gotten so much as a parking ticket, apparently.


    ¡°Tampering with id chips is illegal across the whole galaxy,¡± she huffed, pulling her cuffs from her belt. ¡°I can still arrest you for this.¡±


    Except she couldn¡¯t.


    Because she had just scanned the most innocent being in the entire galaxy, the cuffs refused to budge. And Hxlt was already gone, so he couldn¡¯t provide an override code. She honestly considered ending the impudent little Runner then and there, but the [500 XP] flashed in the back of her mind, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to risk losing Leviathan forever.


    For now, at least she had found the Runner again and knew how he was. Well, who he was pretending to be.


    ¡°I may not know exactly who you are yet, but I promise I will find out.¡± She threatened, releasing her grip. ¡°Once I do, you¡¯re going to beg the Holy Core itself that you were never born unless you hand over that Demon, got it?¡±


    After another snide remark from the Runner, she turned and stalked away. It was going to be a long walk back to the precinct. Luckily Opun and Hxlt would be busy enough processing the robbery that they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave her behind on the planet altogether.


    She already knew what she had to do the moment they all got back to headquarters. First, she¡¯d have to find something, anything connected to CinderX. She¡¯d also have to send a message chip to Faren Cleus, and maybe Quoppi-Shaden, about the Runner boy pretending to be a Kremel grandma. He¡¯d been in the Erengil Library, so he had to have left a footprint behind somewhere. It was only a matter of time before she found out where and used it to track him down.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad I got transferred here,¡± Varyna beamed as she stared out the pod window later while the team headed back to headquarters.


    Opun gave Hxlt a weird look, but the Kremel simply shook his head and rolled his eyes. After the delay Officer Rhine had caused in the streets and then again in processing because she didn¡¯t have the witness statement, he was having the completely opposite thought.

 [V]Chapter 34: The Real Levi Athan

    Settled on her comfy bed, Varyna turned on the holoscreen. She should really be using her break time to research Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot/KremelGrandma, but she didn¡¯t have the energy today. Besides, she was still waiting on a response from Faren and Quoppi¡ªthe two who might actually be able to find something. So instead, she flipped to a random cooking show and watched a familiar figure fill the screen.


    ¡°Hello! My name is Levi Athan, and I want to extend a warm welcome to my kitchen,¡± the tall, muscular man said. He had short, gray hair and warm eyes.


    The camera panned out to show the kitchen around him, a much warmer, cozier space than Varyna had seen in weeks.


    ¡°Today, we¡¯re going to be making something really special,¡± Chef Athan continued. ¡°This is a traditional birthday meal from my home planet of Hamarin. I hope you all enjoy it with me!¡±


    He began grabbing food out of the cupboards, glancing back over his shoulder to address the camera.


    ¡°For those of you wondering, no, this isn¡¯t to celebrate my birthday. Actually, my daughter¡¯s birthday is coming up and as I thought about what to make for her, I remembered this meal. I haven¡¯t had it since I lived on Hamarin. I¡¯m hoping she enjoys it as much as I always did.¡±


    He chuckled.


    ¡°I hope I enjoy it as much as I remember, too.¡±


    Setting some containers on the counter closer to the camera, he turned and faced the audience again. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to be fair and warn you all that this is on the more complicated side of the scale.¡±


    He turned back to grab a few more containers, then returned to the camera.


    ¡°Now the name of this dish is Celebration Hash.¡± He held up a hand. ¡°I know. I know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± He pitched his voice differently. ¡°Hash isn¡¯t a complicated dish, Chef Athan. My grandmam¡¯s been making hashes out of every meat available on the market for decades.¡±


    His chuckle was drowned out by the sound of the audience¡¯s loud laughter. ¡°Well, this hash isn¡¯t really a standard hash. Just bear with me, friends. I promise I¡¯ll make it worth your while.¡±


    He turned back once more, adding to the already impressive collection of bottles, jars, and boxes on the counter.


    ¡°Yes, this takes a lot of ingredients. But if you¡¯re going to go all out for a meal, birthdays are the time to do it, right?¡± Chef Athan asked, flashing an amused smile.


    He reached forward and began introducing the ingredients. ¡°Okay, so every meal needs a meat. As least one. This particular hash calls for three meats. First, we¡¯ve got some nice, fresh kechin meat here. I¡¯m using boneless, skinless thighs because I like the dark meat.¡±


    He set the package of dark meat down and lifted another full of familiar, pink meat. ¡°And of course some cured prak. Kechin and cured prak is a really great combination. Hard to beat, in fact.¡±


    Chef Athan returned the prak to the counter and lifted another familiar meat. ¡°And our final meat, bacon.¡± Laughter sounded from behind the camera and the chef smiled. ¡°Because no celebratory dish is complete without bacon.¡±


    Next, he lifted a bag of green leaves. ¡°My personal favorite vegetable, spach.¡± This time a groan sounded from the audience.


    ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s not the most popular vegetable. But I¡¯m telling you, this and brocky are the two best vegetables to really carry flavor. You¡¯re doubting me, I can see it in your eyes.¡± He glanced around at the audience behind the camera, then stared straight at the camera. ¡°But I promise, you won¡¯t be disappointed.¡±


    He set it down. ¡°Now no hash is complete without some carbs, of course. Some of you may be expecting me to use prootas.¡± The audience laughed again. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m usually pretty predictable and I do love prootas, but¡­ not this time!¡± he exclaimed, lifting a bin of white powder.


    ¡°The secret to Celebration Hash is homemade biscuit dough. We¡¯ll get to that in a bit. Note that I¡¯ve got my butter here softening as well for that dough.¡± He lifted a block of yellow, wrapped in white paper.


    ¡°Two last things to bring it all together. Cheese,¡± Chef Athan said, lifting a package of white cheese. ¡°And a can of pre-made kechin cream soup.¡± He held the can up in his other hand as the audience laughed.


    ¡°Yes. It wouldn¡¯t be a true hash without cheese and some kind of canned, cream soup, right?¡± he asked, making them laugh even harder.


    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve introduced all the ingredients, it¡¯s time to get started. You might all be worried that this is going to take a long time with so many ingredients to put together, but it¡¯s actually a lot easier than you¡¯re expecting.¡± He set the cheese and soup down and lifted the package of bacon.


    ¡°The bacon actually goes on later, but I like to save on oil and cook the kechin in the bacon grease. It not only saves money, but it also adds some of the smoky, salty bacon flavor to the other meats.¡±


    As he spoke, he took some large scissors and cut open the clear wrapping around the bacon. Taking out the raw strips of fat-streaked red meat, he began cutting pieces into an empty pan.


    ¡°You can use a knife to do this, I just find scissors much faster. And who doesn¡¯t want to save time in the kitchen?¡±


    Once he had the bacon cut, he washed his hands and moved the pan to the stove near the camera, then turned on the heat.


    Chef Athan pulled out a cutting board and set it on the counter. ¡°While that cooks, I¡¯m going to get the kechin ready. You can use any cut you want. Breast works just as well as thigh. You don¡¯t even have to start with a boneless, skinless, cut, so long as you don¡¯t mind cleaning it up yourself.¡±


    He set the first thigh on the cutting board and grabbed a large knife, which he used to slice it. ¡°The goal here,¡± he explained, looking back up at the camera for a moment, ¡°Is to get it into bite-size pieces.¡±


    He worked in silence for a minute, quickly breaking all the kechin down.


    ¡°I wish I had knife skills like that,¡± Varyna murmured, admiring the even pieces that he had so quickly chopped.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve got our kechin ready, it¡¯s time to prep the cured prak,¡± Chef Athan said, stepping to the sink to wash his hands again.


    While he scrubbed with soap, erasing the raw meat germs, he looked at the camera and spoke. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve had a few argum- debates with my producers about washing my hands on camera. Those of you who watch a lot of cooking shows, you¡¯ve probably noticed that most chefs cut out hand washing scenes.


    ¡°I admit, it¡¯s not exciting to watch, but I want to make sure that when someone cooks along with me, they remember good hygiene. Nothing is more dangerous than a cook who doesn¡¯t exercise proper hygiene practices.¡±


    He finished rinsing off the soap and dried his hands, then stepped forward with a small spatula and stirred the sizzling bacon pieces. ¡°I¡¯ve left these on low heat so they don¡¯t burn while I finished up my prep work,¡± he explained, stepping away and pulling out another cutting board. He held up the cured prak, then sliced open the package with a clean knife. He quickly cut the large, pink chunk of cured prak into small cubes.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re going for even smaller than bite-size with the prak,¡± he said as he worked. ¡°We want the kechin to shine. It¡¯s kind of the star of the dish. The prak and the bacon are really just here to lend their support.¡±


    With the prak done, he washed his hands again and gave the bacon another stir. He turned the heat up. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve got the other meats prepped, let''s get this bacon cooked.¡±


    The screen cut to him removing the bacon and putting it on a plate with a paper towel so some of the grease would drain off.


    ¡°Now for the kechin.¡± He lifted the cutting board and slid the raw kechin pieces into the pan. They sizzled as he carried the board to the sink and washed his hands again.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to keep the seasoning simple here. Peppin and salt, a little powdered harvic. If you¡¯re feeling fancy, you can cut up fresh harvic and cook it with the kechin, but I¡¯m keeping it easy today.¡±


    He sprinkled the named seasonings over the meat and stirred it all together with a clean spatula.


    While the kechin cooked, Chef Athan pulled out the spach and put it in a strainer to wash it. ¡°We want to make sure we¡¯re using clean, fresh veggies. I also like to look through a bag of spach and make sure there are no wilting or soggy leaves,¡± he explained as he did just that.


    Setting aside the clean spach, he gave the kechin another stir. ¡°Everything is coming together nicely. Once we¡¯ve got the kechin cooked, we¡¯re going to just heat the cured prak through in the same pan, then we¡¯ll get going on that biscuit dough.¡±


    He did as he had said, cooking the cured prak for just long enough to get it heated, then setting aside the meats and pan.


    Chef Athan moved to a different counter and the camera switched so it was facing him again. He pulled out the bin of flour and began measuring into a bowl.


    ¡°You can really use just about any biscuit recipe here, so if you have a favorite, use that. I start with 2 cups of flour. Then I add a couple spoonfuls of sugar. Even though this is a savory recipe, giving the biscuits a little sweetness will complement the saltiness of all the other ingredients.¡±


    He mixed the flour and sugar, then added some salt and a small scoop of white powder from a little container.


    ¡°I¡¯m adding this rising powder to make the biscuits fluffy,¡± he explained, mixing the dry ingredients again.


    ¡°Now for the butter.¡± He unwrapped the golden brick and plopped it in. He took a utensil Varyna had only ever seen on cooking shows, a pastry cutter, and began using it to cut the butter into pieces while at the same time mixing those bits of butter with the dry powder around them.


    Once the butter was cut up, he pulled out an egg.


    ¡°I use one egg and ? a cup of cold milk now to turn it into a biscuit dough. If you were going for a pie dough instead, you could just leave out the rising powder and add a little cold water at this point.¡±


    He cracked in the egg with one hand, poured in the milk with the other, then plunged his hands right into the dough.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s a softer dough, you can mix it with a spoon if you prefer. I don¡¯t mind getting my hands dirty so I¡¯m just going to hurry and knead it together. Be careful though. With doughs like this, you don¡¯t want to overmix. Just enough to get all the flour incorporated.¡±


    Once he had the dough together, he washed his hands and set the dough aside.


    ¡°We¡¯re so close. Just one last thing. We¡¯re going to shred the cheese. Obviously, you can skip this step if you buy pre-shredded, but I like the freshness of cheese that I shred myself.¡±


    As he spoke, he pulled out a shredder and unwrapped the block of cheese. Placing the shredder over a bowl, he made quick work of a third of the cheese block, then set it all aside.


    ¡°And now, the moment you¡¯ve all been waiting for. Assembly time!¡± He exclaimed with a wide, cheerful smile. The audience laughed and cheered.


    ¡°We start with a standard baking pan here, size 25 by 35 cm. Now you can layer the different ingredients in the order of soup, spach, kechin, then prak, but I find it easier to mix it all together first.¡±


    As he spoke, he grabbed a good-sized bowl and poured in the creamy kechin soup from the can. He then added the spach, the kechin, and the prak. Taking a large spoon, he stirred it all together.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to save the bacon for the top, so it doesn¡¯t get soggy,¡± he explained, motioning to the plate of cooked bacon bits still waiting at the side.


    ¡°Once it¡¯s all mixed together, pour it right in.¡± He poured the creamy, chunky mixture into the pan and spread it with the spoon into an even layer.


    ¡°Now the cheese.¡± He lifted the bowl of shredded cheese and took handfuls, sprinkling them evenly over the top until the bowl was empty.


    ¡°And we can¡¯t forget our biscuit dough.¡± Chef Athan grabbed the bowl of dough from the other counter. ¡°Now if you have a thinner dough, you might be able to spread it. Since my dough is thick, I¡¯m just going to drop small spoonfuls over the top and try to get it covered as evenly as I can.¡±


    He did as he said, concentrating on the dough in silence for a minute while he plopped small bits of dough on the top. He finished and set the bowl aside, then picked up the bacon.


    ¡°Finally, the bacon.¡± He sprinkled it generously over the dough.


    ¡°Now since we¡¯re putting the bacon on top and we don¡¯t want it to get too crispy, we¡¯re going to cover this. We¡¯ll uncover it for the last 15 minutes to let it get some color on top.¡± As he spoke, he took thin metal sheeting and placed it over the top, bending it down to keep it attached to the pan.


    ¡°Time to stick this hash in the oven,¡± he said with a wide smile. The audience cheered again as he took the pan and slid it into the oven.


    ¡°We bake it at 175 degrees for for 20 minutes, then we¡¯ll take off that cover and bake for another 15,¡± he explained as he set a timer.


    The screen cut away and came back to a shot of him pulling the metal sheeting off. ¡°Now set another timer and pop it back in,¡± he said as the camera panned in close, taking in the bubbling top of the hash.


    He slid the pan back into the oven and the camera cut away again. This time it returned to a shot of the timer going off.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally time,¡± he exclaimed. The audience cheered as he pulled the pan out of the oven.


    The camera zoomed in on the browned biscuit and crunchy bacon with small spots of the bubbling hot insides showing in between.


    ¡°Now we¡¯re going to cut into it and give it a taste.¡± Chef Athan took a spoon and scooped a large helping of the hash onto a clean plate. The insides were thick and gooey, filled with chunks of kechin and cured prak and green pops of color from the wilted spach.


    The melted cheese stretched and the biscuit dough on top looked light and fluffy. The bacon bits were darker, but not burnt.


    Varyna felt her mouth water at the sight of the delicious hash. She could almost smell it through the holoscreen. ¡°This was a mistake,¡± she murmured as she watched Chef Athan take a bite of the steaming food. ¡°Now how am I going to choke down Hxlt¡¯s cooking?¡±


    She shook her head and turned off the show before she could watch him distribute the food to the audience for their reactions. She didn¡¯t need any more reason to be unsatisfied with the food available in the headquarter¡¯s kitchen.

 Chapter 35: The Shaquine

    ¡°So¡­ There are mysterious aliens that we can¡¯t see or hear or even feel who use mind tricks to slowly build up fear until they can drive us insane, take control, and then force us to go a murder rampage¡­¡± Nippy summed up in a dubious tone.


    Lus ran his hands over his face. ¡°Yes. For the third time, they¡¯re called Shaquine.¡± Even after sitting out in the open air for an hour, his companions struggled to believe that he was in his right mind, and given that the notebook with the evidence he and Wsr had found was locked in with the psychotic would-be killer and Wsr was still completely knocked out from her injury, it was his word alone they had to go on.


    ¡°Sorry, Lus. That¡¯s a little hard to believe. Are you sure that you still believe it? You¡¯ve been out of the gas for a while now,¡± Zer-Dasht said.


    ¡°There is no gas. Our suit sensors would have gone off,¡± Lusac reminded them. At this point, they were talking in circles. ¡°Look, let¡¯s get Yonnex-Quniwel back and then we can argue this. The notebook with the evidence is in the room where we left him.¡±


    ¡°With a cutter in his eye. I doubt he¡¯s still alive,¡± Nippy pointed out.


    ¡°We have to check. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that we¡¯ll be going back for a corpse,¡± Lus replied. Suns, why didn¡¯t they believe him? The evidence was all there if they could just acknowledge it.


    With a sigh, Lus realized he hadn¡¯t been all too sure about it either until saying it completed his [Quest] to discover the secret of the mine.


    ¡°Nippy, can¡¯t your system give us a hint as to what¡¯s going on?¡± Lusac asked in a sudden change of subject. If he got the [Quest], maybe the Kremel had too, but then why hadn¡¯t it completed for him yet?


    Nippy laughed. ¡°What in Suns¡¯ names would my system do? I¡¯m a [Raging Warrior]. My [Skills] are all based on fighting. We¡¯d need something like [Sixth Sense] to be sure.¡±


    ¡°[Sixth Sense]?¡± Lus¡¯s eyes went wide. That was one of the three available [Skills].


    ¡°Yeah. It gives a person the ability to sense when something is around, even if it¡¯s invisible to their other senses,¡± Nippy explained.


    ¡°So if you had [Sixth Sense], you¡¯d know where the Shaquine are? You¡¯d actually be able to interact with them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about full on interacting, but at the very least, I¡¯d know where they are and, more importantly, that they exist.¡±


    ¡°But if someone else had [Sixth Sense], they could at least avoid the Shaquine or be aware when they¡¯re nearby and trying to mess with their head,¡± Lus posed.


    ¡°I suppose, but we¡¯d need someone with a stealth or hunting [Class] for that.¡±


    Lusac swallowed. At some point he was going to have to reveal that he had a system, right? Why couldn¡¯t it be now, when they needed his [Skill]¡ªhis ability to buy a [Skill] at least. There was no defined age at which one had to get a system. Elderly people could get a system just the same as the young. It wasn¡¯t too much of a stretch for him to have suddenly gotten one.


    The Kremel¡¯s narrow eyes studied Lus, and Dasht watched him with similar curiosity.


    ¡°What if I, perchance, had a system¡­ One that gave me [Sixth Sense] as a skill,¡± Lusac said quietly.


    Nippy¡¯s face broke out into a smile. ¡°I wondered if that¡¯s what was happening. Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner, Lusac? I could have helped you figure it out.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°I was embarrassed by my [Class]. I¡¯m a [Chef] so it¡¯s kind of lame.¡±


    ¡°When did you get it?¡±


    ¡°Just after the warehouse mission,¡± Lusac supplied.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why your cooking suddenly became edible,¡± Dasht added.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, it certainly helped to have the system and the [Cooking Skill].¡± He looked at Nippy. ¡°What do you mean you ¡®wondered if that¡¯s what was happening?¡¯¡± What could have tipped the Kremel off besides his improved cooking?


    ¡°Your stats were increasing a lot faster than normal,¡± Nippy answered with a smirk. ¡°I like to monitor the stats of all the crew so I know who¡¯s a good fit for missions.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yeah. I guess I¡¯ve leveled up pretty quick with making dinner so often,¡± Lus admitted. He was more than a little embarrassed to think that Nippy had been aware not only of his low [Strength] in the beginning, but also his -1 [Common Sense] that he started out with. Luckily his current stats weren¡¯t quite as shabby.


    ¡°If you¡¯re a [Chef], how do you have [Sixth Sense]? Last I checked, [Chefs] weren¡¯t stealth or hunters.¡± Dasht stared at him.


    ¡°Oh, uh, since I¡¯m just a lowly [Chef], my system lets me buy [Skills] from other classes that could be useful. I¡¯m limited in my options, but [Sixth Sense] is available and I even have the [XP] to purchase it.¡± Lus disliked explaining that part of his system since it might lead to a lot more uncomfortable questions about the origins, and he was definitely not ready to confess to keeping a Demon in the interbox. That was a discussion for later, or hopefully never.


    Nippy frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a class that can do that.¡±


    ¡°Well have you met any other [Chefs]?¡±


    The Kremel grinned. ¡°Good point. I guess those housekeeping [Classes] aren¡¯t so useless after all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also how I know that the Shaquine are the cause of all our problems,¡± Lus said. ¡°I got a [Quest] to discover the secret of the mine, and I completed it when we found the notebook talking about them.¡±


    Both Nippy and Dasht seemed to accept this as valid reasoning.


    ¡°Very well. I can¡¯t say I still entirely believe you, but you might as well get [Sixth Sense] just in case so we can go back for Quniwel,¡± Nippy replied with a sigh.


    Lusac¡¯s smile faded as he realized he would have to use his system in front of them, and that seemed very¡­ awkward. Nippy did notice his discomfort and pulled Zer-Dasht away with him to check on Wsr and resupply the packs.


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    With a thought, the blue screen appeared before Lus. He first went to the [Quests] tab and received his [500 XP] for completing [A Step in the Shadows]. Then he navigated to the [Skill Shop] and selected [Sixth Sense]. He exhaled in partial disappointment that he was using so much of his [XP] on a [Skill] that he would only need once, but this was the only chance they had at saving Quniwel and salvaging the mission.


    Upon buying it, a small screen popped up giving an in-depth run down of the [Skill].


    [Sixth Sense]


    [Type: Passive]


    [Description: Allows the user to sense objects or creatures which would normally go unnoticed by regular senses. This includes [Invisibility] up to an equal level of the user.]


    ¡°Huh. Maybe it will come in handy later in life too,¡± Lus murmured. He stood up from the chair and walked over to where Nippy and Dasht were readjusting Wsr to take some pressure off her wound.


    ¡°Ready,¡± he declared.


    ¡°Great.¡± Nippy straightened from his crouch. ¡°You and I will go in and get Quniwel. Zer-Dasht will stay here to watch Wsr. I¡¯d rather not risk any more of us going insane than I have to.¡±


    Lus nodded, and they got their resupplied packs. This time Nippy had him lead the way into the mine. The same red and gray swirled walls greeted them, alongside a coolness that caused Lusac to curl his arms close, the lantern hanging low in one of his hands.


    They hadn¡¯t made it more than a few steps when Lus became aware of something ahead of them.


    ¡°One straight ahead,¡± he warned.


    ¡°I see it. Or rather, I saw the flash in my peripheral vision,¡± Nippy said. ¡°Maybe there is something to this wild theory.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not so wild once you think about it.¡±


    They continued in silence for the rest of the first tunnel, no more of the Shaquine showing up. Upon entering the lake room, however, Lus sensed that there were at least a dozen in the area.


    ¡°Careful. There are a lot more in here,¡± he said to his companion.


    Nippy kept a tight face as they walked among the equipment. Lus was aware of the Shaquine approaching him and recognized their effect by the strange crawling feeling on his skin or the glimpses in the corner of his vision, but knowing where they were already made it significantly less freaky. Even with his warnings, though, Nippy did not seem to be doing as well.


    ¡°So blasted creepy,¡± the Kremel said mostly to himself once they made it to the three branches.


    ¡°Focus, Nippy. Fear is how they control you,¡± Lus recited.


    ¡°Easy for you to say.¡± Nippy¡¯s voice was far more aggressive this time, and Lusac tried not to think about what would happen if the Kremel lost it the same way Quniwel had. Nippy was far more powerful, so Lus¡¯s chances of survival might as well be zero in that case.


    ¡°Tell me one of your battle stories, to keep your mind off the Shaquine,¡± Lus suggested, eager to do anything that would stem the insanity from taking over the second-in-command.


    Nippy grumbled a few complaints under his breath before complying and telling Lusac of some of his adventures when he first joined the Runners as just a teenager. Unsurprisingly, most were quite bloody, but Lus didn¡¯t mind as long as it meant Nippy was thinking about something besides the Shaquine induced fear and the flashes in the corners of their vision.


    By the time they reached the branch off that Lus originally met Yonnex-Quniwel in, Nippy was on a roll, and it was difficult for Lus to find an opening to interrupt him.


    ¡°We should be close now. I think I remember the way,¡± he said once the Kremel finished yet another gruesome tale of ripping an alien creature apart with his bare hands.


    ¡°I hope you do. This place can be a maze.¡± Nippy dug in his pack and removed his all-in cutter. ¡°Here. We¡¯ll mark the walls so we can track our path.¡±


    Lus agreed, and Nippy used the tool to carve the generic Runners symbol into the stone wall closest to them. He then did the same at every branch they took while also adding an arrow to guide them back to their starting point in case they did get lost.


    It took a few tries and wrong corridors, but eventually Lus did guide them back to the welded door.


    ¡°You unseal it. I¡¯ll stand at the ready in case Quniwel is still in his murder phase,¡± Nippy commanded while handing his cutter to Lus.


    Lusac worked efficiently, and in a few minutes the door was unwelded. He glanced at Nippy who nodded his consent and then pushed it open to reveal a disaster in what had been the neatly organized space.


    Quniwel¡¯s silent body sat in the center, surrounded by ripped apart books and the bones of the Nemarian skeleton. The desk was overturned, spilling more random objects into the fray.


    ¡°I guess being locked in didn¡¯t do much good for the whole insane thing,¡± Lus mentioned as he shone his lantern on the mess. He grimaced at the sight of the cutter still in the Nemarian¡¯s eye. If he¡¯d died, it hadn¡¯t been a pleasant or quiet death.


    Nippy pushed past Lus to kneel beside the assistant pilot. He felt the chest, his eyebrows knitted together before shaking his head.


    ¡°He¡¯s alive, but just barely. We have to get him out of here, but even with the emergency supplies we have at camp, I¡¯m not sure he¡¯ll make it unless we get back to the Argo fast,¡± the Kremel said.


    ¡°What about the artifact?¡±


    Nippy looked up at Lusac. ¡°I don¡¯t know how we can get it. Exploring further is only going to make things worse. I can feel my fear building, Lusac. I¡¯ll be lucky to make it back to the surface with my mind intact.¡±


    ¡°The Shaquine are worse down here in these tunnels,¡± Lus admitted. In this room alone he sensed five.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get Yonnex-Quniwel back to base. We can return to the Argo and explain the situation to Captain Tave. Maybe with specialized equipment-¡±


    ¡°I can go alone,¡± Lusac cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m basically immune to them with my [Sixth Sense].¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± Nippy argued as he wrapped the Nemarian¡¯s injured eye.


    ¡°Come on, Nippy. Let me do this. I have the [Skill]. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to get the artifact now so we don¡¯t have to risk anyone else on this rock?¡±


    ¡°The [Skill] doesn¡¯t make you immune to their effects, Lus. It just allows you to keep track of them.¡±


    ¡°It makes a difference. A huge one,¡± Lus assured him. ¡°Let me try at least while you get Quniwel back to the camp and stabilize him.¡±


    Nippy bit his bottom lip. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can safely get out on my own. Telling you stories is all that kept me sane coming down here. I don¡¯t know how you can stand it.¡±


    ¡°Tell the stories to Quniwel. He¡¯ll love it.¡± Lusac gestured to the unconscious Nemarian with a tool sticking out of his bandaged eye.


    The Kremel sighed. ¡°Okay. Set a timer. You have two hours. After that, come back to the surface so we can get out of here. That artifact isn¡¯t worth anyone¡¯s life.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Are you sure you can get Quniwel back alone?¡± As much as he didn¡¯t want to make the trek to the surface and then back down, he¡¯d much rather know Nippy and Quniwel were safe.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I have my stories,¡± Nippy said. He hefted Quniwel up over one shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at camp. Two hours.¡±


    Lus watched Nippy¡¯s light fade away as the Kremel walked back down the corridor, leaving him completely alone. Lusac then grabbed the fallen notebook which had miraculously survived Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s rampage and started off in the opposite direction. He used his own cutter to mark the walls the same way Nippy had as he worked his way deeper into the maze. Based on the drawings in the notebook, the temple was going to be distinctive, something he couldn¡¯t miss. It was just a matter of finding it.


    As he walked, the same hints of something in his peripheral popped up, alongside the faintest sensations on his skin, but he remained calm, even without company. As much as the Shaquine tried to mess with his head, he knew what they were and where they were, so they couldn¡¯t affect him the way they had before. He was better now.


    Lus winced at the sound of footsteps behind him, but he refused to look back and give the Shaquine the satisfaction of their distraction working. It was a trick of the mind, and nothing more.


    After about half an hour of walking and mentally reminding himself that every strange noise or sight was coming from the creatures which surrounded him, Lusac came to his goal.


    The entrance of the temple.

 Chapter 36: The Ancient Temple

    The mine shaft ended abruptly, leaving Lus standing at the edge of a cliff looking down into a vast cavern-lake. A tall red stone temple rose from the water which created a stunning sight amongst the waterfalls that fell from the cave walls surrounding it. Obelisks surrounded the perimeter, all of which held some kind of glowing crystal at the top that lightened the entire space to the point Lusac didn¡¯t need his lantern. Strangest of all, however, was the distinct lack of Shaquine. His [Sixth Sense] had been going off like crazy up until he found the temple. Now, it was eerily silent, and even his 1 [Common Sense] told him that was an ill omen.


    The miners had obviously stumbled upon this place by surprise because from where Lus currently stood, he could see only the side and top of the building, and there was no visible way down from his current vantage point.


    ¡°Luckily Nippy made sure we were prepared,¡± Lus said to himself as he swung his backpack around and began digging in it for the repelling anchor.


    He pulled the cylinder out. The base was composed of metal with a few buttons and the bottom was a few inches of glass, guarding against the wicked, barbed alunitanium metal point inside. Lus positioned the repelling anchor with the glass against the stone, the metal point facing down and activated it. The floor vibrated as the device shot the hook into the stone, creating a secure hold from which he could then use an anchor in repelling. As far as he knew, the device could penetrate any kind of rock and most types of metal which made it one of the classic adventuring tools.


    Pulling the cord from the metal half of the anchor, Lus attached it to the built in harness on his mission suit. He tested the hold a couple of times before approaching the edge of the cliff and starting down.


    The walls were slick with dew from all the misty waterfalls cascading into the cavern, making it a difficult job to descend in any kind of smooth fashion. More than once Lusac¡¯s feet slipped as he landed against the rock, and instead of gracefully bounding down another few feet, he slid against the rock before he managed to tighten his grip enough to keep from falling all the way to the floor.


    At least there was no one to see Lus¡¯s embarrassing stumbles with even the Shaquine off hiding. Perhaps they were done in their efforts now that he found the temple, or maybe the obelisk light kept them at bay. Regardless of the reason, Lusac hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be seeing them again until it came time to leave.


    There was no telling how deep the water below him was, even with the light from the pillars. The inky surface gave no hints, so as his feet hit, Lus took a breath in preparation for ending up submerged. To his surprise, his feet found solid ground only a foot or so below the surface, and as he stood, it didn¡¯t even reach his knees.


    It was bitter cold however, and the wetness easily seeped through his suit which sent chills across his whole body.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this blasted artifact and get back to the shuttle so I can warm up,¡± he said to himself and the echoing cavern.


    Wading through the water was difficult in the sodden suit, especially after an already long day of running and hauling a mostly unconscious Kremel, but Lus pushed onward, his eagerness to reach the temple and get out of the cold water outweighing his exhaustion. Unfortunately the cave he came from put him a good distance from the front of the structure, so Lus spent a solid ten minutes plodding around it in hopes of finding an easily accessible entrance.


    As the front of the temple came into view, Lusac¡¯s jaw dropped in awe. The angle he¡¯d first seen it from didn¡¯t do justice to the grandness of the ancient building.


    It was all composed of that same uniformly colored red stone he¡¯d first run into with Dasht while they explored their section, but intricate designs were covered into every part of the walls, pillars, and floor. Detail work like that would have taken a qualified team years to complete on this kind of scale.


    In a bit of pride, he recalled some of the designs as mimicking those he saw back in the museum on Vipor, placing this as a structure from the Ancient Ones, the first race to ever explore the Cinder Rock Galaxy, though they¡¯d died out millenia ago. Lus couldn¡¯t believe that this structure was still in such good condition.


    Down-sized clones of the surrounding obelisks lined a front pathway which led to a wide staircase that had smaller waterfalls cascading along the sides. The actual temple itself was blocky, composed of hard, straight lines for the roof and walls. There were no front doors, just an imposing opening at the top of the stairs leading inside.


    Lus hesitantly placed one foot on the stone pathway leading to the building, part of him thinking of all the movies where this kind of place housed a multitude of booby-traps, but to his relief, nothing triggered as he stepped up out of the water. There was still no hint of the Shaquine, which remained a constant worry at the back of his mind.


    He examined the stairs closely but saw no hint of a trap. His [Sixth Sense] didn¡¯t warn him of any invisible trip wires or anything, so Lus chose to assume that this part of the temple was safe, at least.


    Upwards he went, though he remained vigilant for any sign of trouble. As beautiful as this structure was, he refused to believe that the Shaquine were all the builders had left as guards. In fact, there was no guarantee the Shaquine were even guards. They could just be native creatures who lived underground and took the temple for their own after the Ancient Ones went away.


    The same kind of crystals which the outer obelisks held also lit the interior of the temple. It was a large, open space which seemed to have no other rooms beside the central one Lus entered. Pillars stood around the edges, supporting the roof, and all carved with the same kind of intricacies as the surrounding walls and floors.


    Sitting at the center of the room was a pedestal holding what looked like a broken piece of pottery, but Lus knew in an instant that it was his target. He still couldn¡¯t believe how simple this ended up being once he found the temple. All he had to do was grab the artifact and return to Nippy and the others.


    As Lusac¡¯s next step hit the floor, the lights went out, plunging him into complete blackness. Every inch of skin on his body began to tingle as though an army of bugs had just been dumped on him, and his [Sixth Sense] highlighted dozens of Shaquine entering the room. Even without his sight, he was sure he could see something in the corner of his eye, and every hair stood up, sensing the unseen eyes.


    Lus fumbled at his backpack where he¡¯d clipped his lantern, the fear already on the rise, even if he did know the cause.


    When he finally managed to turn the light on, he discovered that it was already dead, as nothing broke into the overwhelming darkness. He was blind, alone, and lost deep in a mine where no one would ever find him. Lus¡¯s heart raced out of control despite his attempts at controlled breathing.


    ¡°It¡¯s all a trick,¡± he said out loud to comfort himself. ¡°The Shaquine are messing with my head, but they don¡¯t control me.¡±


    He took another step forward. If he could find the pedestal, then he could make it to a wall and find his way out of the temple. They¡¯d leave him alone in the cavern, right? Something out there must keep them at bay. Why else would they have waited so long?


    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid,¡± Lusac declared in a shaky voice. ¡°I. Am. Not. Afraid.¡±


    The tingling on his skin grew worse, and his [Sixth Sense] warned him of more Shaquine nearby. They must have gathered the whole clan for this assault, but he wasn¡¯t going to let them stop him.


    Blindly Lus stumbled through the open space of the temple¡¯s interior. He knew he had little chance of finding the artifact this way, but he made the resolution that he would search as long as he needed to. Surely the Shaquine couldn¡¯t keep this up forever. He just had to outlast them.


    Footsteps sounded from a distance, probably near the entrance, and they were heavy like that of a Kremel.


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    ¡°Nippy?¡± Lusac called out with a hint of relief. Even knowing the danger this many Shaquine would pose on someone without [Sixth Sense], Lus was grateful for the company. They could keep each other sane.


    ¡°Nippy. It¡¯s me, Lus. There are a lot of Shaquine in here. Be careful.¡± He held his hands wide as he traced his way back towards the footsteps in hopes of bumping into the Kremel.


    Lus stopped dead in his tracks as a different sound hit his ears. That of an all-in cutter sparking to life. He spun to face the glimmer of light in the corner of his vision and discovered the single flame of a cutter.


    Nippy wasn¡¯t here to help after all. Taking Quniwel back alone must have been too much, and now the Kremel had lost his grip on himself. Unless Lusac got him back to his senses, he was dead. Nippy was [Level 51] [Raging Warrior]. That was an obvious winner to Lusac¡¯s [Level 5] [Chef].


    ¡°Nippy, come on. It¡¯s me. Tell me one of those battle stories. The one of ripping a Nemarian¡¯s tongue out with your bare hands. You love that one,¡± Lus pleaded.


    The light came closer as the footsteps grew louder.


    ¡°Nippy,¡± Lusac¡¯s voice was raw with terror. Why couldn¡¯t he see? Why wasn¡¯t Nippy listening to him?


    Lus started to back away, still begging Nippy to answer, but the only response he got was the cutter sparking higher. Giving up, Lusac turned around and started to run, but the footsteps followed suit, still growing louder. Something appeared in his way, catching his entire lower half, and Lus folded to the ground with a gasp. He threw his hands above his head with a shout as the flames of the all-in cutter approached him.


    Ours, a voice said in his mind. The crawling sensation on his skin turned sharp.


    Ours, the voice repeated. It wasn¡¯t exactly one voice though, rather it was a collection speaking together, almost perfectly in unison.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt me,¡± Lus whispered, still holding his hands up in protection from Nippy. He just wanted to go home.


    OURS, the chorus said once more, gleefully and eagerly, and this time Lus gave up fighting. He was too scared, too tired, and too numb to care anymore. His body began to move without him thinking about it. He sat up and moved his backpack to the front so he could easily find something in it. Lus knew he should be fighting, but the void of blackness in front of his vision reminded him that there was nowhere to go, even if he did gain back control.


    Kill, the voices commanded. Lusac¡¯s hand held the all-in cutter, and his fingers flicked the switch, bringing the flames to life. Maybe they¡¯d shove it through his eye the way he¡¯d done to Quniwel. That was just punishment.


    Kill.


    The flames moved towards his neck, readying to make the final slice and end the terror once and for all. As the heat started on his skin, something inside Lusac broke out. It wasn¡¯t fear of dying, but rather an overwhelming desire to live, a passion to keep going even against the oppressive circumstances.


    ¡°No,¡± Lusac screamed, jerking the cutter back before it could leave its mark. ¡°No. I am in control.¡±


    He threw the tool to the ground, the fire sparking one last time before it went out, leaving him to the inky blackness of before. Footsteps started up again, but he ignored them.


    ¡°Just another trick. I won¡¯t fall for it this time,¡± he told the Shaquine. Lus started to stand and rediscovered what had halted his run in the first place. The pedestal. He fumbled along the top, but the artifact wasn¡¯t there, so he instead got on his knees and crawled around the base until he found it.


    ¡°Blasted artifact,¡± he muttered to himself as he shoved it in the pack. He didn¡¯t really care about keeping it safe given everything it¡¯d put him and the team through. Besides, it was just a piece anyway. If it broke into more pieces, who cared? The buyer could handle that.


    With the pack back on his back, Lusac stood up again. The darkness remained, but now that he had the artifact, finding his way out was the easy part. It still took quite a bit of time for him to make his way to a wall and then trace it to the entrance, but once he stepped his first foot outside the interior of the temple, his vision returned to him all at once.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Lus steadied himself against the outer wall, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light. He noted that his lantern was indeed on, so it¡¯d all been part of the Shaquine tricks. [Sixth Sense] informed him that the creatures remained inside the temple, for now. He breathed in relief, not minding the cold, humid air so much. His skin itched from the long-term tingling sensation, but his suit was too thick to allow him to really get at it so he was forced to suffer.


    ¡°Just back to the anchor, and then make my way out of the mines,¡± he recited aloud to stave off the last of the discomfort. He froze and exhaled. If the Shaquine pulled that blindness trick on him in the maze of corridors, he had no chance of making it out.


    ¡°Scratch that,¡± he said. He glanced around, hoping for a better option, or even just another option. There was the path from the temple entrance which led into a dark corridor, but he had no idea where that would get him. Looking to the walls, he noticed the waterfalls, but he didn¡¯t have a breathing mask of any kind, and he doubted there would be enough air.


    ¡°Strange corridor it is.¡± Lus adjusted his backpack and then walked down the stairs. He hated the idea of taking such a risk, but it seemed better than getting permanently stuck in the mine. Besides, the Ancient Ones had to have their own way out of this place, or else what good was the temple?


    As Lusac approached the corridor, he noted that it was slightly flooded in a similar fashion to the cavern where he stood, but to a lesser depth. He unhooked his lantern to hold in front of him and then walked all the way in, readying himself for the blindness to return.


    It never came. In fact, his [Sixth Sense] remained quiet. He was completely alone in the tunnel, but he remained cautious and alert. Scanning his surroundings, Lus became aware that this one felt exactly like the entrance tunnel, with the same squareness and exactness, but he could tell that this one was leading upwards at least a little given the way the water ran down against his feet.


    Onwards Lusac went, eerily alone with only the dim light of his fading lantern to guide him. Suns knew where this would lead, but the lack of Shaquine meant it was worthwhile regardless.


    After about an hour, Lus was starting to question his decision. There were no branching paths or any kind of hint as to where he was going. Only a few minutes later, he came to the end. It wasn¡¯t a way out, because obviously his 12 [Luck] wasn¡¯t enough for that. It wasn¡¯t stone though, either. In fact, as he stared at the murky, soft substance before him, he started to think it might be water. Glancing at the floor where it met the strange wall confirmed it, small streams leaking out to create the small flood he¡¯d been trekking through.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Tentatively, Lus reached a hand out to the bubble and pressed against it. With only a little force, he broke through, allowing some water to spray out around his arm. But his hand was definitely in water.


    ¡°So the Ancient Ones were part aquatic, like the Nemarians?¡± He tried to think if he¡¯d ever learned that in school or not. ¡°But where does this lead?¡±


    He pulled his hand out and the bubble resealed, holding back the rest of the flow. Lus took a deep breath, and then plunged his head in, turning to bend at a strange angle so he could see upwards. There was a lot of water, but there was light coming from somewhere up above, and it seemed that this led to the bottom of some kind of lake or pond.


    ¡°The lake room maybe?¡± he mused. If that was the case, all he would need to do is swim up and then make a mad dash out the entrance before the Shaquine could blind him again. As stupid of a plan as it was, it was his only option.


    Tugging his head back out, Lus gasped for air. He¡¯d never been a strong swimmer, but desperation tended to produce miracles. Gathering as much air as he could, Lus shoved all the way inside the pull, becoming entirely enveloped by the frigid water. His legs pushed off the ground and upwards he swam, clawing at the water as fast as he could while attempting to only slow release the air in his lungs.


    He was only a few feet from the surface when the air ran out and his lungs began to burn. Harder he swam until at last he broke into the cool air of the pond room. Heaving, he swam to the side closest to the entrance. [Sixth Sense] buzzed as several Shaquine appeared along the edges of the room. Maybe the effects wouldn¡¯t be as strong with so few.


    Lusac pulled himself out of the water, and despite his body¡¯s call for a rest, he sprinted away from the lake and down the entrance tunnel. According to his [Sixth Sense] at least a dozen Shaquine were behind him and several more awaited him, but for some reason they weren¡¯t doing anything to him, at least nothing he noticed.


    His skin was freezing and numb, but there was no tingling, and no fear-inducing sounds reaching him. Best he could tell, the Shaquine were watching him escape and doing nothing about it.


    Sunlight greeted Lus as he launched out of the tunnel, leaving the Shaquine and their effects behind. Nippy and Dasht both stood up from where they¡¯d been taking down camp.


    ¡°Lusac, we thought you were dead or¡­ you know, insane,¡± Nippy said as he cautiously approached.


    Lus slowed down and tried to catch his breath so he could explain. Had it been more than the two hours Nippy gave him? So much of his time in the temple was hazy. Instead of saying anything, he dug into his damp backpack and removed the artifact, handing it to the Kremel.


    He then stood up, trying not to notice the surprise in Zer-Dasht¡¯s face that he¡¯d pulled it off. Lusac would have plenty of time to tell the full story on their way back to the Argo.


    He looked around at where Wsr and Yonnex-Quniwel both lay. They were both still alive, and he had retrieved the artifact. That¡¯s what he would call a success. Lus clapped his hands together. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this rock. Let¡¯s go home.¡±

 Chapter 37: Back to the Argo

    The trip to the Argo from Aschir Alpha was far shorter than the one in. Given both Wsr and Yonnex-Quniwel were in rough shape, Nippy went ahead and called the Captain to ask for the ship to meet them. Unfortunately, with their pilot out of commission, they were stuck with Zer-Dasht¡¯s rather poor skills. In general Nemarians tended to be the best pilots out of all the species, but Dasht made it clear that that didn¡¯t necessarily mean all Nemarians were good pilots.


    Lus¡¯s stomach was upset most of the day and half they traveled, but at least it didn¡¯t feel quite as cramped since two of their team members were stuck in bed, mostly unconscious. Still, it was a relief to see the gray hull of the Argo from the front window when they dropped out of their final burst of hyperspeed.


    ¡°Can you get us into the bay alright?¡± Nippy asked Dasht.


    The Nemarian¡¯s orange scales flushed an even more vivid color in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s not that hard to land.¡±


    Lus offered a feeble smile when Nippy glanced back at him, the Kremel¡¯s face speaking of some of the same discomfort from Dasht¡¯s uneven piloting. Lusac held his breath as the bay doors opened and Zer-Dasht guided them inside, holding the shuttle steadier than anytime before. The landing was less graceful, and the entire vehicle plopped onto the floor of the hangar, roughly forcing everyone against their seatbelts.


    ¡°There. Easy,¡± Zer-Dasht said as he started to turn the engines off.


    ¡°Get the doors open first,¡± Nippy growled in reminder.


    Dasht¡¯s fins rippled in displeasure, either with Nippy for pointing out an obvious error or himself for forgetting the basics of piloting a spacecraft, but he didn¡¯t say anything as he released the pressure lever, opening the back of the shuttle up for their exit.


    Doctor Tremt-Fusi, the Kremel nurse, and the orderly golem all waited in the bay. The doctor didn¡¯t even wait for Nippy¡¯s word before rushing up to where her two patients lay.


    ¡°Suns, what happened to Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s eye?¡± she asked, her hand trembling above the wad of bandages wound around his face.


    ¡°An all-in cutter,¡± Lusac hesitantly supplied. He¡¯d sort of hoped Nippy had explained everything already, but it seemed that some details of the story hadn¡¯t made the rounds yet. He was not looking forward to the rumors once people found out what he did to the ship¡¯s assistant pilot.


    ¡°A cutter? Was it on?¡± Fusi queried in horror.


    ¡°Um, yeah,¡± he admitted. The memory of shoving the tool into his friend replayed in his mind, drawing out unpleasant feelings.


    ¡°Come on, Lus. Let the doctor handle this. We have a debrief with Captain Tave.¡± Nippy gently touched his shoulder and motioned him towards the shuttle¡¯s exit.


    Zer-Dasht was already waiting out there, his face still sour. Nippy and Lus joined him, and the three then set off through the ship to the briefing room on the uppermost deck. The people they passed greeted them as normal, signaling that the story of the latest mission hadn¡¯t gotten out at all to the crew, which was surprising to Lusac. Normally mission tales circulated as soon as they were made. Was Captain Tave intentionally keeping this one hidden?


    Lusac¡¯s question would soon be answered as they arrived at the briefing room where the Captain stood at the window.


    ¡°Sit down,¡± he ordered in a cold tone as soon as the doors slid shut behind them.


    Once all three were in their seats, he turned to face them. Lus quickly looked away from him, the anger harbored in his face chilling him to his core. Nippy quietly set the wrapped artifact on the table to be centered before the Captain.


    ¡°I know you gave me a brief report when you called in, Nippy, but why don¡¯t we have Arten give us the full story, hm?¡± Captain Tave took his spot at the head of the table, and his tone was anything but inviting.


    Dasht looked at him and barely mouthed ¡°good luck.¡±


    Lusac shifted in his seat to sit up a little taller as his hands found a place on the table in front of him.


    ¡°Well, uh, what do you already know, sir?¡± It felt like he was back at basic training with the Corporates, getting grilled by his sergeant who was just itching for an excuse to punish him.


    Captain Tave stared at him. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I said I wanted the full story. Act as if I know nothing.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Lus began his report. He tried to be as open and honest about things as he could, even including the [Quest] from his system, but the Captain¡¯s glare never lessened, making it difficult for him to remain calm and coherent.


    He came to the part where he found Wsr in the room, injured and unable to continue on her own, and he did his best to explain the process of finding out the truth of what was happening, using the completion of his [Quest] as a proof. Captain didn¡¯t stop him at that part, however, and offered no questions or thoughts about the Shaquine. It wasn¡¯t until he recounted the fight with Quniwel that Captain Tave interrupted.


    ¡°And this is where I¡¯m struggling to understand. Yonnex-Quniwel was attacking Wsr, strangling her, you said. And in order to save her, you tried to kill Yonnex-Quniwel,¡± Captain summarized.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to kill him,¡± Lus said quickly. ¡°I acted on instinct. I had the cutter in my hand, and there weren¡¯t a lot of options of where to attack him without also hurting Wsr.¡±


    ¡°What did you think a cutter through the eye was going to do, Arten? You have a brain, and I fully believe you know how to use it or else you wouldn¡¯t have made it this far in life. Yonnex-Quniwel could be crippled for life depending on the damage to his brain, and he¡¯ll never see properly again.¡± The Captain¡¯s voice remained even, which unsettled Lus even further.


    Was Captain Tave going to go kick him out of the Runners? Where would that leave him? And what about Leviathan? Lusac¡¯s mind raced to try and parse how angry the Captain actually was.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? That¡¯s all you have?¡± Captain Tave accused him.


    Lus tightened his hands into fists. This man had no right to pass judgment on him when he hadn¡¯t even been there.


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    ¡°I did what I had to do to protect myself and Wsr. Quniwel was fully insane and no longer responding to us. I had to do something to keep him from inflicting more harm. I regret that it will have such a long lasting effect, but if I hadn¡¯t done that, Wsr and I might both be dead, and probably Quniwel too. The Shaquine are capable of causing a person to kill themselves as well as others.¡± Lus wasn¡¯t ashamed of what he¡¯d done. It sucked, sure, but no one else had been in that situation, and they couldn¡¯t judge him for what he¡¯d done, especially with the effects of the Shaquine.


    Captain Tave turned to Dasht. ¡°What do you think, Zer-Dasht? Were these ¡®Shaquine¡¯ really having that strong of an effect? Was Yonnex-Quniwel as insane as he claims?¡±


    The Nemarian made a face. ¡°Truthfully, sir. I can¡¯t say. I did notice some of the effects as Lusac already mentioned, but I never saw Quniwel after we all parted ways. I personally didn¡¯t feel any kind of violence tendencies like what Lus explained, but there was something strange going on in that mine.¡±


    ¡°Nippy?¡±


    ¡°I also didn¡¯t see Quniwel until Lus and I went back for him, but the effects were a lot stronger then. I¡¯m inclined to believe Lusac. If he says that this was the only way to stop Yonnex-Quniwel, I believe him, Captain.¡±


    Lus allowed himself to sigh in silent relief. At least his teammates hadn¡¯t thrown him out the airlock. He especially appreciated Nippy¡¯s vote of confidence in his story.


    Captain Tave¡¯s blue eyes turned back to Lus, as hard as ever. ¡°And you stand by your actions, Arten?¡±


    ¡°I do, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Finish your report. I understand that you went after the artifact alone. A rather risky move, but I see that it paid off.¡± He gestured to the bundle on the table.


    Lusac nodded and continued his story, only briefly touching on getting Wsr out and going back for Quniwel. At the point he separated from Nippy, he dipped into more detail, though it was uncomfortable to admit just how much control the Shaquine had gained over him while he was in the temple.


    ¡°Completely blind? But you said they could only have minor effects like flashes in the corner of your vision,¡± Captain Tave interrupted once again.


    ¡°That was in small numbers. Over fifty Shaquine congregated in the temple at the same time as me, so they were able to do a lot more. And to be honest, I was getting pretty scared after everything so that worked to their benefit,¡± Lus explained. ¡°Nippy has the notebook. It¡¯s in that old Nemarian dialect, but I¡¯m sure once we get it translated it¡¯ll have more information about the Shaquine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why that notebook is of any importance,¡± the Captain stated flatly.


    ¡°It¡¯s the only shred of solid proof of the Shaquine¡¯s existence. It documents a ton about these creatures that we¡¯ve never seen before. Isn¡¯t that important for science?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a big galaxy, Lus. What¡¯s the point in documenting creatures on an uninhabited planet? Dasht pointed out.


    ¡°Name one other type of creature that¡¯s even remotely similar to the Shaquine. This is a huge discovery,¡± he continued to argue.


    Nippy stepped in before the debate could escalate. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can see about turning the notebook over once we¡¯ve completed our current job, but right now it¡¯s best no one knows where we¡¯ve been in order to protect the sanctity of the assignment and the identity of the client.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Lus muttered as he deflated a little. He¡¯d been so excited about being part of such an important discovery.


    ¡°Eager for a little renown, Arten?¡± the Captain mused, his eyes finally breaking into a glimmer of amusement. ¡°That probably won¡¯t go over well for a Corporate deserter.¡±


    Lusac frowned. He wasn¡¯t asking for his name in the history books, just maybe a scientific article or two. Something to leave his mark on the Cinder Rock Galaxy.


    ¡°Your story,¡± Nippy politely reminded him that he hadn¡¯t finished the entire adventure.


    There were no more interruptions as he ran through his almost suicide, getting the artifact, and finding his way out. As he spoke of sprinting back out the tunnel while surrounded by Shaquine who were unable to affect him, he wondered one last time why it¡¯d been such an easy escape. Captain Tave had nothing more to say to him once he finished and instead grabbed the bundled artifact. Unwrapping it, he presented their fourth to last piece of whatever object they were putting together for the client. The Captain then dismissed Dasht and Lus to go get their post-mission medical exam so he could discuss the mission details more with Nippy.


    Lusac was more than happy to get away from the scrutinizing stare of Captain Tave, and even Zer-Dasht seemed more at ease once the briefing room was behind them.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll kick me off the crew for what I did to Quniwel?¡± Lus asked as they walked.


    Dasht shook his head. ¡°Nah. Without you, we¡¯d have never gotten that artifact. Captain was angry with the situation, not you. You did what you had to in a tight situation. It does suck that it was his eye though. He might never pilot again.¡±


    ¡°I hope that¡¯s not the case,¡± Lus murmured as they started down the ladders. Dasht attempted to cheer him up by talking about sports, but Lusac¡¯s mind was wrapped with worries for his future and his friend. What else would Yonnex-Quniwel do if he could no longer pilot? He didn¡¯t have that many other skills to offer the Argo. Pilots tended to be very focused on that one skill and nothing else given the difficulty of navigating the Astral Highway and the time required to learn to do it correctly.


    Medical remained abuzz as they entered. Clzllv, the nurse, was busy at the bed with Wsr while the medical golem was assisting Fusi as she worked on Quniwel. The doctor looked up as they entered.


    ¡°Post-mission exams?¡± she confirmed.


    They both nodded.


    ¡°The golem can run the tests, and then I¡¯ll check them when I¡¯m done with these two. Unless either of you have any concerns?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Lus said.


    ¡°No,¡± Dasht agreed. ¡°Just need the exam out of the way so we can get back to our regular shifts.¡±


    Fusi issued her commands to the golem who lumbered over to Lusac and Dasht. It was composed of light oak wood which was starting to show its age, its body just one long rounded rectangle and the legs, arms, and head almost as shapeless. When Lus was a child, he used to find golems scary, but now he¡¯d been around them long enough to see them as just another tool.


    It took Dasht¡¯s vitals and then Lus¡¯s. The golem then ran the medical scanner over Dasht before doing the same to Lus. Once it completed the tests, it walked away and returned to its task of helping the doctor.


    ¡°Efficient,¡± Zer-Dasht smiled.


    ¡°No kidding. Fastest exam I¡¯ve gotten,¡± Lus replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to go shower before dinner. I¡¯ll see you later, Dasht.¡±


    The Nemarian bid him farewell as they parted ways, and Lusac finally found the comfort of his quarters and his faithful cyclops cat waiting there for him.


    ¡°Hey Avil,¡± he greeted his pet as he bent down to scoop up the ball of black fur. ¡°Man, it was a tough week. I see Becky took good care of you.¡± Lus poked the roll of fat spilling out of his arms.


    The cat purred as he nuzzled his face against Lus¡¯s chest, and the weight of everything that happened on the mission and during the debrief melted away for a time. The two settled on the worn couch, and Lus forgot all plans of showering as he held his cat and turned on an old gladiatus match. It was incredible how much stress his pet managed to relieve.


    The door rang, and Lus stood to answer it, keeping Avil close.


    ¡°Must be Becky coming to say hi,¡± he told the cat. When he answered the summons, it wasn¡¯t Becky waiting.


    Cewi-Bano stood before him, her face lighting up in a smile as the door slid open.


    ¡°Lusac. Hi. I heard about what happened, and I was coming by to see if you wanted to talk about¨C¡± She froze, her indigo fins twitching suddenly as she caught sight of the animal resting in his arms. ¡°What in Suns¡¯ names is that?¡±


    As she spoke, the familiar ding of the system notification sounded for his ears only and a box of text popped up in the corner of his vision.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Certified Pet Owner]


    [Description: get Avil officially registered]


    [Time limit: 3 days]


    [Reward: 100 XP]


    [Reward: Skill]


    [Punishment: lose access to Avil permanently]


    ¡°Crap,¡± Lus muttered under his breath before Cewi could even finish her sentence.

 Chapter 38: Certified Pet Owner

    ¡°Well, uh, it¡¯s my cat,¡± Lus stammered to a rather perturbed Cewi-Bano. ¡°His name is Avil. He was that stowaway we had a few weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly a cat,¡± Cewi pointed out.


    ¡°Right. Well, he¡¯s close enough.¡± Lusac held out the animal. ¡°Want to hold him? He¡¯s really friendly.¡±


    ¡°Friendly or not, you have to get him registered. You know how picky the Captain is about crewmembers having pets.¡± The Nemarian gently rejected the offer by crossing her arms.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ve just been busy.¡±


    ¡°Before this last mission, you just had an entire month on ship.¡±


    ¡°And I was busy. Yrqw worked me hard, and I still cooked dinner every night.¡± Lus reminded her. And made a few recipes of my own, he added silently to himself.


    ¡°Well as the third-in-command, I oversee crew matters. Don¡¯t make me take this to the Captain. Go talk to Xwvl and get this figured out.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Lus said with a sigh as he pulled Avil close once again. Xwvl managed all the things pertaining to daily life of crewmembers like assigning quarters and issuing uniforms. When it came to ¡°non-essential¡± things, she had a reputation of being unreasonable in most matters, rarely allowing for anything that wasn¡¯t required by the Runners Guild. The chances of her allowing Lus to keep a random cyclops cat he found in the fslyan tubes seemed abysmal at best.


    ¡°Good. Now, back to my original point.¡± Cewi-Bano cleared her throat and attempted to make her voice a little less authoritative. ¡°I heard about the mission. Do you want to talk about it?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I¡¯m good. I actually just finished ¡®talking¡¯ about it with Captain Tave, so I¡¯ve reminisced enough for today.¡± Lus tightened his grip on Avil, wishing he could go back in time and stop himself from hurting Quniwel so badly. At the time, he hadn¡¯t been thinking about things like permanent disabilities. He¡¯d been in complete survival mode and done whatever it took to eliminate the threat.


    ¡°I hope the Captain wasn¡¯t too rough. I know he was pretty upset when Nippy first rang in with what happened, but you¡¯re a good kid, Lus. No one thinks you were trying to kill Yonnex-Quniwel just because,¡± Cewi comforted him. When he didn¡¯t say anything, she continued. ¡°It just sucks that it was such a tough situation. Personally, I really appreciate you saving Wsr. My understanding is that she might not have made it if you didn¡¯t get her out when you did.¡±


    Lusac shrugged. He didn¡¯t like being praised for hurting his friend, even if it was in defense of another. ¡°I¡¯m just glad they¡¯re both going to be okay. Mostly, at least.¡±


    ¡°Me too. And getting that artifact by yourself was pretty impressive too. You¡¯re a real hero.¡± Cewi lightly punched his arm, and he forced a smile in hopes of getting her to leave. He was sick of rehashing the same story over and over again, but something inside told him everyone would be asking about the expedition over the next few days.


    ¡°Alright. Well I¡¯ve got some other stuff to go do. You¡¯ll be alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks for checking in Cewi. I¡¯m going to go see Xwvl about Avil before dinner to see if I can get that taken care of now.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll see you at the cafeteria.¡± Cewi-Bano waved a webbed hand as she departed back down the corridor.


    Lus checked the time. He still had over an hour before dinner, and he didn¡¯t have to make it this time since Lbrvr was handling both shifts while he was out on missions. He was surprised that part of him missed the idea of getting into the kitchen to cook.


    With a sigh, Lus bundled Avil closer and stepped out into the hall. It would be better to get that visit with Xwvl out of the way sooner rather than later since it might take a few trips to convince the Kremel to allow him to keep the cat.


    In a pleasant turn of events, the corridor was empty except for him. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to try and explain the cyclops cat to anyone else that day. Xwvl¡¯s office was the end of the quarters to make her more ¡°accessible,¡± but Lus didn¡¯t know anyone who went to see her unless they absolutely had to. He buzzed the doorbell and when it slid open, he stepped into the heavily decorated space. A dozen posters hung on the walls, as well as a string of dim, purple lights which wrapped around to create a rather cozy atmosphere. Xwvl¡¯s desk was full of pictures and trinkets, which struck Lus as odd given her reputation for banning most non-essential requests for quarters.


    ¡°Lusac, what can I do for you?¡± she asked, swiveling her chair so her front was fully in view. A holoscreen remained up to the side with some kind of reports that Lus didn¡¯t look too closely at.


    ¡°Hi Xwvl. How are¨C¡±


    ¡°Is that a cat?¡± She cut him off immediately, her orange eyes narrowing as she caught sight of the black fur lump in his arms.


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Sort of. His name is Avil. I found him the other day in the fsylan tubes. He must have snuck onboard during a resupply. Since we have no way of tracking down if he even had an original owner, I was thinking of keeping him.¡± Lus shifted his load so Avil¡¯s face showed outward and Xwvl could see the single eye.


    ¡°And why would you need a pet? It seems a little unkind to adopt an animal when you¡¯re gone so often. Who would take care of it?¡± Xwvl clasped her hands in front of her on the desk, her posture stiff and out of place among the cozy office.


    ¡°I already talked to Becky Bright, and she agreed to help care for him. And it¡¯s nice to come back to someone after a long day of working.¡± Lusac moved closer, hoping that Avil¡¯s cuteness might soften Xwvl up a bit.


    ¡°Unfortunately, there are over fifty people on the Argo, and I don¡¯t see how all of them can have a pet in any kind of sustainable manner, therefore, it would be unfair of me to allow you to keep this creature just because ¡®it¡¯s nice.¡¯ I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to leave him on the next planet.¡± Xwvl¡¯s voice was flat as she spoke, as though she was giving a boring lecture on standardized rules.


    ¡°Come on, Xwvl. It¡¯s not like I went out and bought him. He just happened to pop up on the ship. It would be cruel to abandon him now.¡±


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    ¡°It¡¯s cruel of you to have taken him from his home at all.¡±


    Lus grated his teeth. Of course he couldn¡¯t reveal the truth of Avil¡¯s origins and him being part of the Demon housed in the interbox since that would cause an entirely different set of much larger issues.


    ¡°Please let me keep him. He has lowered a lot of stress in my life, especially since I started as the dinner chef.¡± Pleading a case for mental health might break through.


    ¡°Sorry, Lusac, but unless Doctor Fusi has specifically stated you need an emotional support animal, that isn¡¯t an acceptable reason.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you make an exception this once?¡±


    ¡°If I make an exception for you, I¡¯d have to make one for everyone.¡± Xwvl shook her head.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there some way to change your mind? Something I can do?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t suggesting an exchange of favors, are you Lusac? That would be inappropriate,¡± Xwvl¡¯s thick eyebrows raised in suspicion.


    What he had meant was something he can do to prove Avil was worth keeping around, but the look in Xwvl¡¯s eyes hinted that even though she claimed it was ¡°inappropriate,¡± this might be his only way to complete the quest and save Avil.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Lus stated in such a way that it was clear he was lying. ¡°But if you, as my friend, had something you needed done that for some reason you couldn¡¯t do yourself, then I, as your friend, might be able to do that and keep it between us. And since we¡¯re friends, you could help me out and smudge a regulation or two to allow me to keep Avil. It¡¯s all strictly friendship based, of course.¡±


    ¡°Right. Just two friends doing as friends do.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s completely appropriate.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Xwvl agreed. ¡°So as my friend, you might be interested in helping me out with a certain problem.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you need,¡± Lusac pledged, though part of him wondered if this was going to end up being a very bad idea.


    ¡°A date.¡±


    ¡°What? A-a date?¡± Lus stammered. Xwvl was not only not his type, but she was rather old for him. At least three decades older.


    ¡°Not with you, idiot. With Yrqw. But I don¡¯t want to just ask him out. I need someone to be my wingman and talk me up so he has some interest first. Ideally, he¡¯d ask me out,¡± Xwvl explained.


    Lusac breathed in relief as subtly as he could. ¡°Oh, yeah. That makes sense. He¡¯s my direct supervisor so I¡¯ll have ample chances to talk to him.¡±


    The Kremel rolled her eyes. ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m talking to you about this, Loser?¡±


    He glared at her for using that nickname he hated most. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. Give me a couple of days, and¨C¡±


    ¡°Three days,¡± she stated. ¡°That¡¯s our next stop for a resupply. I hope Yrqw asks me out by then, or else Avil will be looking for a new home. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll get you that date, Xwvl.¡± He nodded vigorously and clutched Avil a little closer. He wasn¡¯t going to lose his official system-approved companion and a new [Skill], not with such an easy task before him. ¡°Thanks again, Xwvl.¡±


    ¡°Thank me once the deal¡¯s complete.¡± She motioned him away as she turned back to the holoscreen.


    ¡°Some friend,¡± he mumbled to himself on his way out of the office. Back in the corridor, Lus quickly made his way to his quarters before he could run into anyone who would ask about the cat he carried. It was especially important now that no one knew about his arrangement with Xwvl since Cewi-Bano would surely put a stop to that kind of quid-pro-quo.


    He was in his room again and getting Avil some food when the comm unit went off.


    ¡°Lusac, can you stop by medical again? I want to double-check something from the exam,¡± Doctor Tremt-Fusi said.


    Sighing again, Lus walked over to it and pressed the button to respond. ¡°Sure. I can drop by tomorrow morning.¡± If he planned it right, he could catch Yrqw on his way to the cafeteria and get the chance to start warming the Kremel up to a date with Xwvl.


    ¡°Today. Now, actually,¡± Fusi corrected him.


    So much for his plans to save Avil.


    ¡°Alright. On my way.¡± He knew better than to argue with Doctor Fusi. As polite as she was, she could get a real temper when people were ¡°irresponsible¡± in regards to their health, and too many people were mad at Lus for other things to risk another.


    Leaving a rather sad Avil, he exited his quarters and made his way back to the medical center where the doctor waited.


    ¡°Ah, good. You were quick,¡± she said as she swiped away a holoscreen. She then motioned to the exam room. ¡°Come on. I want to give you a proper check up.¡±


    Lus went first, breathing out complaints the whole way. He didn¡¯t see Zer-Dasht which meant she¡¯d singled him out for some reason.


    ¡°How are Quniwel and Wsr?¡± he asked on their way into the room.


    ¡°They¡¯ll both pull through. You guys did a good job keeping them alive,¡± Tremt-Fusi said.


    ¡°All Nippy and Dasht,¡± Lus responded as he reached the exam table.


    ¡°Are they the ones who also treated your injury? The one you decided not to mention when I asked about concerns earlier?¡± The doctor stared at him expectantly with those black eyes.


    ¡°Injury? Oh. You mean the cut I got from Quniwel. It¡¯s been a few days, and Dasht made sure to get it patched up back on the moon so I hardly notice it anymore.¡± Lus rolled his shoulder to confirm that the cut didn¡¯t suddenly start hurting again now that he remembered it was there.


    ¡°Well as much as I trust Zer-Dasht¡¯s medical knowledge, let me take a look at it anyway, yeah?¡± Fusi asked.


    Lus nodded and tugged his shirt off. That motion did cause a little pain, but he was convinced that was only because he was thinking about the wound again. He sat on the table with his hands at his side as Fusi unwrapped the bandages.


    The doctor then did her prodding along the cut, causing a few more jolts and aches, and when she returned to jot some notes down on the computer, her face was drawn in thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, right? I mean, it was cauterized by the cutter as it happened, and it got wrapped within an hour or two,¡± Lus confirmed.


    Fusi¡¯s lips darted into a frown. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s some kind of infection or something in it. You¡¯re sure you didn¡¯t get anything in it like some dirt?¡±


    ¡°No. It was protected against all that,¡± Lusac assured her. ¡°Wait. I did have to swim at one point, but shouldn¡¯t the bandages have protected against that?¡±


    ¡°The emergency bandages aren¡¯t waterproof. Was the water clean?¡±


    ¡°It looked that way to me.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. You still might have picked something up from it. I¡¯ll get you started on some antibiotics, and I¡¯ll check it again in a couple of days. It looks rather irritated though. You¡¯re sure it doesn¡¯t hurt?¡± The doctor stopped her typing to face him.


    ¡°Not all. I hardly felt a thing until you started poking in it,¡± Lusac replied.


    ¡°And that hurt a lot?¡±


    ¡°Just a little. I think it¡¯s mostly healed.¡±


    ¡°Not from what I saw. It might be a side effect of the infection.¡± She returned to typing at the computer, likely adding that to her notes. ¡°I¡¯m going to assign you light duty again for a few days until we get it figured out. Maybe you can handle all the cooking for poor Lbrvr. She¡¯s been complaining non-stop since she had to take over for the dinner shift too.¡±


    ¡°I feel fine, Doc. I¡¯ll do fine at my regular duties.¡± When was he going to have the time to chat with Yrqw if he was spending all day in the kitchen?


    ¡°Just a few days,¡± she repeated with a smile that warned Lus against complaining any more.


    ¡°Okay. Fine. Doctor knows best, right?¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t you forget it.¡± She patted his knee. ¡°I¡¯ll grab you those pills. Make sure to take them morning and night at the same times each day for maximum efficacy.¡±


    ¡°Will do,¡± he promised. He thought of all that extra time cooking. At least he¡¯d be getting a ton of [XP] from it, maybe enough to buy another [Skill]. And as for saving Avil, it couldn¡¯t be that hard to track Yrqw down outside of his shift, right?

 Chapter 39: Cooking Pizza

    Lus stepped into the kitchen and was surprised by a feeling of contentment. It seemed like only yesterday that entering the kitchen brought a feeling of panic and inadequacy.


    While he still had a lot to learn, he had made a lot of progress. That felt good!


    Rubbing his hands together and reveling in how much more comfortable he felt amongst the dishes and appliances, he called up his system screen and moved to the [Recipes] tab.


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve got some free time today, I might as well make use of it,¡± he murmured. He planned to use the bread dough recipe to make pizza today. With a canned sauce, motsa cheese, and perroni sausage, it wouldn¡¯t take too long.


    With an hour before he needed to start dinner prep, he planned to try out another system recipe. He had been meaning to try galloping scallops, and he¡¯d finally managed to snag a half kg of scallops with his personal funds the last time he went for supplies.


    He tapped the recipe for galloping scallops and scrolled past all the annoying text about the history and who knew what else. Someday he might actually try reading it, but he didn¡¯t feel like sparing the time today.


    The ingredients list for the scallops themselves was surprisingly simple: butter, oil, salt, peppin, scallops, and fresh harvic. For the sauce, he would need more butter, ellon juice, and kechin broth.


    Lus started with the fresh harvic. He pulled four small, cream-colored, tear-shaped cloves from the bunch. He had to first peel off the papery outside layer.


    He then laid the inner part on a small cutting board and cut off the bottom where it had attached to the rest of the harvic bunch. This allowed him to peel off the final outer layer, revealing the smooth insides.


    Taking his small knife, he carefully began cutting the small clove into tiny pieces. It was a lot harder than he expected because the insides were surprisingly wet and almost slimy. As the harvic juices coated his hands, he had a hard time holding the cloves still while he cut them up.


    When he finished, he looked at his pile with a frown. At least he¡¯d managed to break the two cloves down into small bits, but the pieces were very unevenly sized. He shrugged and set the knife down so he could wash the pungent juices off his hands.


    Once his hands were clean, he pulled out a pan and set it on the stove. He poured in the oil and the butter and let them melt and heat together while he prepared the scallops.


    Scallops were small, off-white, and round. He found them wet and somewhat slimy to the touch. Grimacing at the unpleasant feel against his fingers, he took a towel and patted them dry, one at a time. Once the dried scallops were all set on a plate by the pan, he dampened his fingers and flicked the water at the oil.


    It made a nice, loud sizzling and popping sound, a sure sign that it was hot enough. He looked back at the scallops and picked up the first one to set in the pan.


    [Season first]


    The unexpected system notification stopped him in his tracks. He glanced back down at the plain scallop.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he muttered. He returned the scallop in his hand to the plate and grabbed the salt and peppin. He sprinkled them over all the scallops, then flipped the scallops over and seasoned the other side.


    Taking the now-seasoned scallops, he carefully set the first one in the pan. He hissed in pain as drops of hot oil shot out, landing on his unprotected arm.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s not ideal,¡± he said. He looked around for a moment, then grabbed a pair of metal tongs. He used those to place the rest of the scallops in the pan, careful to keep them from touching each other.


    He set a timer for 2 minutes and watched the scallops cook. Hopefully this worked. He didn¡¯t know when he¡¯d have the chance to get ahold of scallops again. As a sea creature native to Nemarian planets, they were hard to come by unless you found a Nemarian market, which was harder the farther you got from Nemarian planets.


    The timer beeped loudly, cutting into Lus¡¯ thoughts. He quickly grabbed the tongs and flipped the scallops to the other side. He set the timer again, this time for just 1 minute.


    The minute flew by and he did as the recipe instructed to test the doneness of the scallops, gently touching them. They felt firm with a little bounce, so he moved them to a clean plate.


    Now it was time to start on the sauce. He added more butter to the pan and let it melt in with the remaining oil and the small bits of harvic.


    [Remove from heat and prep other ingredients]


    He paused, then turned off the burner. He hadn¡¯t even thought about getting the other ingredients ready. This [Cook¡¯s Intuition] was already proving very handy!


    He turned and stepped away to get the ellon juice and broth, then stopped as another notification popped up.


    [Place scallops in warming pan]


    He nodded as though the system could see him. Turning back, he grabbed the plate of scallops and used the tongs to transfer them into a small, glass pan. He then placed it in the oven and turned the heat on low enough to keep from burning them while keeping them warm.


    With everything taken care of, he headed to the interbox for the large, half-full bottle of ellon juice that had been left in there by the previous cook.


    He then went to the seasonings cupboard for the powdered kechin broth. He scooped out a small spoonful into a glass dish and added half a cup of water, then popped it into the microwave heater for a minute.


    The minute was long enough to heat the water to boiling and dissolve the yellow powder, turning it into kechin broth.


    Lus carried the glass container carefully back to the stove and set it next to the ellon juice bottle.


    The butter in the bottom of the pot had started to solidify. He turned the heat back on and watched it melt. Once the clear liquids in the bottom were hot again, he dumped in the broth, then measured a half cup of ellon juice.


    He stirred the liquids together until they began to simmer, then set another 2-minute timer.


    When the sauce was done, he turned off the burner again and pulled the scallops out of the oven.


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    Placing the scallops back on their plate, he got out a spoon and used it to drizzle the sauce over them.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    He smiled and got himself a fork. Stabbing one of the scallops, he dragged it through the sauce on the plate and popped it into his mouth.


    A feast of new flavors burst out in his mouth. The scallop had a subtle flavor that tasted like seafood without the fishiness he was used to. The butter, harvic, and ellon married with the scallop¡¯s flavor in a beautiful symphony.


    He swallowed, then glanced up at the clock. He had half an hour until he really needed to start the pizza, so he let himself take time to savor the rest of the scallops and sauce.


    When he was finished, he put the plate and fork next to the sink, then cleared away the rest of the dishes from his personal cooking session. Once he had it cleaned up, he was ready to get started on the pizza.


    He clicked out of the [Galloping Scallops] and into [Tasty Buns].


    Gathering the yeast, sugar, flour, baking fat,salt, and flour, he set them all on the counter. He grabbed the largest bowl and started the dough.


    First the warm water, then the yeast and sugar. As the mixture began to bubble, he measured in the baking fat and stirred until it was reduced to small,pea-sized bits.


    The salt and flour went in last, and he dug in with his hands. He found it relaxing to knead the dough together. His hands flew as he pushed and pulled until it was smooth all the way through.


    Placing a damp towel over the bowl, he set it in the oven and turned it on as low as the settings allowed. While the dough was rising, he got busy with the toppings.


    He pulled two large jars of pre-seasoned red tamo sauce from the cupboard of canned foods. He planned to make seven pizzas. Hopefully that would be enough to feed the entire crew.


    Lus then went to the interbox and grabbed a huge block of motsa cheese. He had seen it at the market and decided that it would be fun to try his hand at making pizza, since he had a dough recipe.


    Now that he had the huge block of cheese in his hand, he decided it was a little too much to shred all at once.


    He cut open the wrapper and pulled it back. The cheese was soft and wet, but not slimy like the scallops. He broke off a large chunk and found the shredder.


    Setting the large, silver implement on top of one of the largest plates he could find, Lus began shredding the cheese. His hands moved up and down, faster than he had ever moved before. The [Speed] gained from the [Galloping Scallops] was incredible. His arm ached as the cheese disappeared under his vigorous shredding.


    He was moving so quickly, he almost sliced his finger with the last of the cheese.


    ¡°Wow, galloping indeed,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°Just as long as I don¡¯t cut off a finger.¡±


    Lus grabbed another chunk of cheese and continued his ultra-efficient shredding. He made it through the entire block of motsa much faster than he could have imagined. He was just about to start slicing the perroni when another notification popped up.


    [Check the dough]


    ¡°Right,¡± he said, snapping his fingers. He¡¯d forgotten to set a timer for the rising dough. He peeked into the oven and saw the cloth rising in the middle, pushed up by the dough.


    Pulling out the warm bowl, he lifted off the cloth and pulled out seven of the large baking sheets. Breaking off pieces of dough, he tried to get it into even sevenths. He ended up with too much on the first tray, so he kept breaking off little bits to move to the others until they finally all looked at least similar.


    He grabbed the rolling pin and began rolling out the dough in the pan. It worked better than he had expected, though he had to use his fingers to push the dough all the way to the edges.


    With the dough ready for another round of rising, he scrubbed his hands clean and turned his attention to the perroni sausage. It was in the canned food cupboard because the wrapper said that it didn¡¯t need to be kept cool until it was opened.


    Lus held the long, stiff sausage for a moment, then brandished it around like a blade. He flinched as it caught on the now-empty dough bowl, knocking it to the floor with a loud clatter.


    ¡°Oops,¡± he said. He set the perroni on the counter and picked up the bowl, setting it next to the sink with the dirty dishes from his scallops.


    Washing his hands again to remove the grease from the perroni, he grabbed a clean cutting board and knife. There were no cutting boards long enough to fit the entire perroni, so he started by cutting it into fourths, which just barely fit.


    Grabbing the first piece, he began carefully slicing it as thinly as possible. As he got into a rhythm, his hands began to speed up. He watched the knife flash and began to wish that he could somehow turn off the effects of the scallops, because this was terrifying.


    He somehow managed to make it through the first quarter of perroni without cutting his hand. Breathing a sigh of relief, he got out another large, clean bowl and scooped the large pile of somewhat uneven perroni slices into it.


    The next quarter went more quickly and he found his cuts becoming more uniform as he went. He also found the quick flashing of the knife less daunting.


    The third piece sped by. Now that he was getting the hang of using his speed, he appreciated that he was finishing up the perroni so quickly. He hadn¡¯t expected the cheese shredding and perroni slicing to take so long and he didn¡¯t want the dough to over-rise.


    He was almost finished with the last quarter of the perroni when his fear came true. The speeding knife caught him on the fingernail, leaving a small gash.


    Lus pulled his hand up quickly, before any blood could contaminate the food. Wrapping his uninjured hand around the bloody finger, he looked around frantically until he caught sight of the emergency aid kit on the wall.


    He washed his hands and wrapped a clean towel around his finger, then pulled the kit down and quickly dressed his wound with ointment and liquid-proof bandaging.


    With that taken care of, he returned to the cutting board and began carefully slicing again. It took far more effort than he expected to move more slowly. He had to actively fight the effects of the scallops.


    When he finally finished chopping, he was ready to turn his attention to assembly.


    First he pressed the fluffy dough back down in the pans. He then spooned out the sauce, putting two spoonfuls on each pizza until he had evenly divided up the two jars.


    Only once he began spreading the sauce did he realize that he might have put on too much. Shrugging, he spread it to all the edges on each pizza and reached for the giant plate of shredded cheese.


    [Preheat the oven]


    ¡°Right,¡± he answered. He quickly turned both ovens up to the proper baking temperature, then grabbed the plate of cheese.


    Using the same method as the sauce, he sprinkled two handfuls of cheese on each pizza, then started back at the beginning until they were all evenly cheesed.


    Finally, the perroni went on. He carefully placed twenty slices on one pizza, then the next. He added ten more to each, then ten more.


    When he realized that all the pizzas were well-covered in perroni slices, he decided to save the rest. He set the bowl aside with a mental note to move it to a smaller container and put it in the interbox once he had the pizzas in the oven.


    Making sure the ovens were heated, he opened them and slid in all seven pans. It was a tight fit, but he managed to get them all in.


    ¡°Now how long should I bake them for?¡± he wondered aloud. Did they take as long as the rolls? Or longer, since a pizza is much bigger than a roll?


    [Start low and add time]


    ¡°Of course, of course. That¡¯s what I was going to do,¡± he muttered. While he appreciated the help from the system to remember things he forgot, he felt like the system was somewhat underestimating his own thinking abilities.


    ¡°Better too much help than too little, though,¡± he decided, shrugging it off. He set a timer for fifteen minutes, then set to work putting away the leftover perroni and other ingredients and moving the dirty dishes closer to the sink.


    When the timer went off, he checked the pizzas. The cheese was starting to melt, but the crust was still pale, so he added another ten minutes.


    The time crawled by slowly since he didn¡¯t have anything else to do. The smell of pizza slowly filled the kitchen and he kept turning on the oven lights to check the progress of his creations.


    Finally the timer went off. He opened the oven doors to find melted cheese, perfectly golden crust, and crisp-looking perroni slices.


    Grabbing the protective gloves, he pulled each pan out and scrambled to find somewhere for all seven pans of pizza to cool. Once he was done, he looked around in awe.


    ¡°I did this,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°I made pizza!¡±

 [V]Chapter 40: A Killer of a Case

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem,¡± Hxlt said, setting a holoscreen down on the table between Varyna and Opun, then rubbing his bald, gray-green head.


    The three COPS sat around a table in a small meeting room with the Kremel team lead at the head. They met this way weekly to go over their tasks for the week or to plan a trip if they had an assignment on a far-off planet.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Opun asked as Varyna turned the holoscreen to her and began scanning the information. Her fellow Human Officer asked a lot of questions. That seemed to be his main role on the team. He was a well-built, middle-aged man with light hair and dark eyes that didn¡¯t miss a thing.


    ¡°A series of suspicious murders out on Imadrin. Looks like we may have a serial killer on our hands.¡±


    Varyna¡¯s eyes widened, and she looked up at the senior officer. She had seen quite a few different kinds of crimes back at the Capitol, but she had never personally handled a serial killer case before.


    ¡°What¡¯s the approach?¡± Opun asked, turning the holo to himself and skimming over it. He didn¡¯t seem particularly unfamiliar with the situation.


    ¡°That¡¯s the strange thing,¡± Hxlt answered. ¡°The victims are all completely different. We¡¯ve got a female Nemarian, a male Kremel, and a male and female Human.¡±


    ¡°Then why do they think they¡¯re connected?¡± Varyna asked.


    ¡°They were all killed the same way, four stab wounds to the same location. Then tied up postmortem with varying styles of holiday ribbon and left in front of random gift and souvenir shops,¡± Hxlt explained.


    ¡°Were they locals?¡± Opun pitched in.


    ¡°No. All tourists there to see the Haunted Cave.¡±


    Opun nodded. He was no longer looking at the holoscreen. Instead, he had pulled out his holopen and was scribbling furiously in the air next to him. The pen would store his writing and project it onto any desired surface when he was ready to read it again.


    ¡°So what do we do first?¡± Varyna wondered.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to start by trying to retrace the victims¡¯ steps,¡± Hxlt declared. ¡°The most recent murder that we have a record of was a week and a half ago, so we may find more victims when we arrive.¡±


    ¡°Why did they wait until the fourth victim to report this?¡± Opun asked. ¡°I would think three victims with the same MO would have been more than enough to call us in.¡±


    ¡°Apparently the local doctor has to travel to other towns occasionally, so the bodies were all waiting on ice for her. Once she confirmed that the cause of death was the same, the local law enforcement decided it was over their heads, and sent for us.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯ll be dealing with the local enforcement as well.¡± Varyna frowned. Her past experience of working with planets¡¯ law enforcement agencies was less than great. They were always lazy, belligerent, and uncooperative. And these yokels were already showing their colors, waiting on a doctor¡¯s opinion to recognize an obvious serial killer.


    ¡°When do we leave?¡± Opun jumped in, clicking his pen off.


    ¡°As soon as possible. Go pack and meet me at the shuttle dock.¡± Hxlt rose from the table and Opun and Varyna followed. They split up after leaving the room. While Varyna appreciated the quiet and the privacy of being the only person using the woman¡¯s wing, it was inconvenient as well. She always had to go farther than her fellow officers to get to and from her room.


    Still, the privacy meant that she didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone accidentally stumbling upon her investigation into the Runner who¡¯d stolen Leviathan.


    Varyna jogged to her room. When she arrived, she packed quickly and efficiently¡ªa skill she had learned early on after entering the COPS academy. With her pack on her shoulders, she made her way back across the station to the shuttle dock, where she found Hxlt and Opun waiting by a mid-size shuttle.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Opun teased.


    She rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder hard enough to hurt, but soft enough to pass as a joke. Ever since she had complained about having to jog everywhere since her quarters were farther away, her teammates had taken to teasing her about it.


    They all stowed their bags in the small luggage compartment and took their seats. Hxlt was the most experienced pilot, so he took the helm. Opun took navigation as he was more familiar with the sector, and that left Varyna in charge of weapons, which was her preferred role anyway.


    The trip out to Imadrin went smoothly. The little rock floating in space was the smallest planet Varyna had seen. It was also greener than she expected. As they entered the atmosphere and descended towards the main landing area, she could hardly see any buildings through the tall, thick foliage.


    The landing pad appeared below them and they followed the directions from the control station, taking a spot near the edge. The pad was surprisingly full, the first sign that the planet was busier than one might expect from its location.


    Once they landed, they grabbed their luggage and made their way out of the landing station. A rather rickety looking crawler was waiting for them at the entrance. It was a tight fit for Hxlt to get in and Varyna and Opun had to squish beside him on the back seat.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    A Human male and Nemarian female sat in the front seats. The Human glanced back as soon as they closed the doors.


    ¡°Welcome to Imad, the capital of Imadrin. I¡¯m Peacekeeper Ershel and this is Peacekeeper Benou-Alf. We¡¯ve been the ones working most closely on this case, so we¡¯ll get you up-to-date on our way to the clinic.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± Hxlt answered politely.


    ¡°Peacekeepers?¡± Varyna muttered under her breath. That was the first time she¡¯d heard such a pretentious name used for a local law force.


    Wasting no time, Ershel and Benou-Alf began recounting the details of the case as they drove. Most of it was already familiar from Hxlt¡¯s briefing that morning and the case notes they had read, but as they had feared, more bodies had been found since the report had been sent to the COPS.


    ¡°A male Kremel was found last week and a female Nemarian was found two days ago,¡± Ershel explained.


    ¡°And is there any pattern to the time between bodies?¡± Opun asked, his holopen already out.


    The two in the front seat shared a look, then the female Peacekeeper answered. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen a set pattern,¡± she said. ¡°The shortest time between bodies was two days and the longest was almost a full week.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like this Serial Killer is an opportunist,¡± Hxlt said thoughtfully. ¡°We just need to figure out how they¡¯re choosing their targets. Clearly it¡¯s not about species or gender. Do the victims have any physical similarities?¡±


    Ershel snorted. ¡°What kind of similarities are you expecting to find between Nemarians, Kremel, and Humans of different genders?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be an inherent quality,¡± Opun answered, cutting Varyna off before she could snap back at the rude ¡®Peacekeeper¡¯. ¡°Even something like having similar piercings, tattoos, wearing the same color of clothing or the same style of shirt can be meaningful in a case like this.¡±


    Ershel made a doubtful sound, but he didn¡¯t say anything more. Varyna made no attempt to conceal her scowl. These yokels had already failed to solve the case and yet had the gall to treat the COPS with such a superior attitude.


    Hxlt, sensing her anger, quickly cut in with another question before she could take the condescending Peacekeeper to task.


    ¡°Did you save all the clothing and effects of the victims, I assume?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We also have pictures of the crime scenes. I know we are not standard COPS, but we¡¯re not as inept as you seem to think.¡±


    ¡°Ershel,¡± Benou said in a warning voice. She looked back with an apologetic frown. ¡°The Clinic is nearby. Our Doctor is waiting to brief you on her findings.¡±


    Varyna resigned herself to a curt nod, and Opun smiled his gratitude at the Peacekeeper for ending the argument before it got any worse.


    They all spent the last few minutes of the ride in tense silence. It was clear that Peacekeeper Ershel didn¡¯t approve of their presence, but Benou seemed to be happy to have them there.


    Varyna expected the Doctor to be as standoffish as Ershel. Instead, she found a female Kremel with a kind smile and tired eyes.


    ¡°Thank the Suns you¡¯re here,¡± Doctor Srxw said after they had finished introductions.


    ¡°What can you tell us about the bodies?¡± Hxlt asked, jumping right in.


    Predictably, Opun had his holopen out, taking notes. Varyna just listened carefully to Srxw¡¯s explanation of her findings, trying to piece together any similarities that might connect the victims.


    After she had briefed them on her findings, Srxw took them to a small back room. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t offer more space, but this will give you the best access to our data. We¡¯ve got a holoscreen here with all the crime scene and autopsy photos. We¡¯ve also got the reports. If you want to go through their personal effects yourself, I¡¯ve got that all bagged in this room back here.¡±


    She led them to a larger room with shelves full of boxes. Each box was labeled with a name, body number, and case number. Srxw pointed out which ones went to the victims and Hxlt directed Opun and Varyna to help him carry those boxes directly into their workspace.


    They set all five boxes on their large table and put gloves on, then began going through them, carefully handling the clothing, jewelry, and other personal belongings of the victims.


    ¡°Has anyone notified their families?¡± Varyna asked as she pulled out a small locket that had belonged to the Human female. It had a small holoscreen inside that played a video of the woman kissing a man.


    Opun and Hxlt shared a look, then shrugged.


    ¡°You should go check with Benou-Alf,¡± Opun suggested.


    Varyna nodded. She put the items she had been going through back in the box and removed her gloves, then left the small, cramped room.


    She found the Peacekeepers in the lobby, chatting with the Doctor.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt,¡± Varyna said, stepping up to them.


    They both stopped talking and turned to her. ¡°No worries. I was just about to go anyway,¡± the Peacekeeper answered.


    ¡°Actually, I had a question for you. Has anyone contacted the families of the deceased?¡±


    Benou sighed and ran a scaly hand over her fins. ¡°That¡¯s the weird thing. Somehow the victims targeted were all visitors with no immediate family. We¡¯ve tried to contact the nearest relatives- mostly cousins, aunts, or uncles.¡±


    Varyna paused. ¡°Really? The Human female had a locket with a holoscreen-¡±


    Doctor Srxw nodded and Varyna stopped, looking at her expectantly. ¡°We thought the same, that she had a husband, but he apparently passed away a few months ago. She actually came here because this is where they met.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Varyna frowned. ¡°But how would the killer know who had close family and who didn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°That is the question,¡± Benou said. ¡°Perhaps tomorrow, I can show you and your fellow Officers around the town, introduce you around a bit. You have a fresh perspective, so maybe you can figure this out.¡±


    Varyna nodded. ¡°That would be very helpful. Thank you.¡±


    She returned to her temporary headquarters and relayed what she had learned to Hxlt and Opun. They both seemed very interested and Opun immediately put away the effects he was looking at so he could pull out his holopen and take more notes.


    ¡°We should clean this up for now and get settled for the night,¡± Hxlt said, glancing around. ¡°We¡¯ll leave the boxes here. I want to have them close at hand, just in case. Tomorrow we¡¯ll start getting to know the people. For tonight, we need to focus on getting a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±


    They headed to the lobby and Doctor Srxw called Ershel to show them to their lodgings. The Peacekeeper was just as annoying and condescending as he had been earlier, but he limited his conversation to brusque directions.


    Soon Varyna found herself in a small, cramped hotel room. It was not the smallest or dingiest place she¡¯d stayed in her life, but it was certainly lacking compared to the COPS stations she had stayed at in her previous assignment.


    She sighed and put her stuff away, making sure to leave her blaster well within reach of the bed, just in case.

 [V]Chapter 41: Ominous Portends

    The next day was cloudy and Varyna worried that rain was going to dampen the COPS¡¯ outing with Peacekeeper Benou-Alf. Thankfully, everything remained dry as they met up with her after a surprisingly filling breakfast of warm oratmeal with a variety of toppings provided by the small hotel.


    Benou showed up without the rickety crawler, instead taking them right out onto the street and walking briskly away from the hotel.


    ¡°Downtown is just a couple blocks this way. Visitors and tourists stay and shop mostly in that area, so it¡¯s the best place to retrace our victims¡¯ steps,¡± she explained. She was full of energy, likely enjoying the heavy humidity that hung naturally in the air. Her mistter wasn¡¯t even running, a rare sight for a Nemarian out of water. Varyna, on the other hand, found the wet air to be stifling and sticky.


    As the group walked the blocks to the downtown shops and hotels, Opun took out his pen and began asking Benou questions and taking notes. He asked for a list of the shops that had bodies found in front of them, the list of shops that hadn¡¯t, which hotels the victims had stayed at, and if there were any particularly popular places that the majority of tourists visited.


    Watching him, Varyna was reminded of Quoppi. He would look exactly the same in this situation, no doubt. Without a care of how annoying he was being, simply furiously scribbling notes and committing every single detail to memory.


    Benou-Alf patiently answered all of Opun¡¯s questions and promised that she would point out all the points of interest he had asked about.


    Finally, they reached downtown. For Varyna, who was used to the sky-high buildings and constant bustling of the Capitol, it was quite underwhelming. There was only one street, which stretched for probably four or five blocks, lined with shops packed tightly together.


    Oddly, gardens were well-kept and the streets were incredibly clean, Varyna noted. She quickly caught sight of the reason, however. A small team of very old golems worked their way down the street, one sweeping out the gutters and another the street. Two more were trimming and watering the plants.


    Benou noticed Varyna¡¯s gaze and explained, ¡°Our planet was a farming planet for generations before it became a tourist destination. We¡¯ve managed to repurpose some of the old farm golems to help upkeep the city.¡±


    ¡°It looks like they do a great job keeping everything nice,¡± Hxlt nodded. ¡°Rare to see such clean streets on a small planet like this. No offense.¡±


    ¡°None taken,¡± Benou beamed. ¡°Now, shall we begin the tour?¡±


    Most of the shops were still closed, so the Peacekeeper started with the crime scenes, which had been cleaned up as soon as Peacekeeper Benou-Alf had taken pictures and got the bodies moved to the clinic to wait for the doctor.


    ¡°Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have the resources to collect and process evidence like the COPS. The best we can do is take documentation photos and go over the bodies and effects,¡± Benou explained with a disheartened sigh.


    ¡°But we¡¯ve somehow managed to persevere until now anyway,¡± a familiar voice broke in. Peacekeeper Ershel joined them, his expression slightly less sour than it had been the day before.


    ¡°Hello, Ershel,¡± Benou-Alf greeted her fellow Peacekeeper. Hxlt and Opun greeted him as well. Varyna offered a curt nod.


    ¡°I know we got off on the wrong leg yesterday,¡± he muttered. ¡°I certainly am a little frustrated to have to call in COPS, but that¡¯s not your fault. I just- I grew up here, and it was such a peaceful, happy place that we didn¡¯t even need law enforcement. The most the Peacekeepers had to deal with back in the day when my father was a Peacekeeper was a squabble over kechins or some poaching.¡±


    ¡°What changed?¡± Opun asked, looking around. In the time they¡¯d spent visiting the crime scenes, the street had started to wake up. Tourists were out walking around, some alone and others in groups. They seemed to be enjoying the cool morning, taking in the quaint clean streets and shops and stopping at the cafes that were starting to open for breakfast.


    ¡°The Haunted Cave,¡± he answered in a darker tone, scowling.


    ¡°You don¡¯t approve of it?¡± Hxlt asked.


    Ershel shrugged. ¡°I know it¡¯s brought in business, which is good, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth the price we¡¯ve had to pay.¡±


    Varyna and Hxlt nodded while Opun scribbled furiously with his holopen.


    ¡°There are few who see it that way,¡± Benou countered. ¡°While there has been a slight increase in crime and it¡¯s gotten harder to keep the streets clean, everyone is doing better financially and our community is growing and progressing. We have far greater access to technology and resources for teaching the younger generation that we didn¡¯t have before.¡±


    Ershel shook his head. ¡°We got along fine without fancy technology and lots of money for generations before this tourism thing started.¡± He sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, as my partner pointed out, there are few who agree with me. Most are enjoying the ease that comes with running a tourist town instead of pulling our living out of the ground.¡±


    ¡°But there are others?¡± Varyna frowned.


    ¡°Certainly there are others,¡± Ershel answered.


    Before they could pursue the lead further, Benou-Alf interrupted. ¡°Here¡¯s someone you should meet. Khrwm!¡± she called.


    A male Kremel a couple buildings down turned and greeted them with a large, friendly smile. ¡°Well now, who have we got here?¡± he asked in a warm, booming voice.


    ¡°These are-¡± Ershel began, but Khrwm interrupted him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me! I recognize those COPS uniforms. Welcome Officers! We don¡¯t get such distinguished guests in this area very often.¡± He shook all of their hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯re here on vacation,¡± Ershel snorted. ¡°In case you¡¯ve forgotten, there¡¯s a serial killer on the loose.¡±


    Khrwm¡¯s expression changed so quickly, it was like a light going off. The warm smile disappeared under a grave frown. ¡°I know it, and I¡¯m as concerned as anyone, but it certainly makes me feel better to have some trained COPS here. No offense to our own law enforcement of course,¡± he added, nodding to Benou and Ershel.


    He turned his attention back to Varyna, Hxlt, and Opun. ¡°You Officers let me know how I can help. I want to see this cleaned up as soon as possible.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Well, the Peacekeepers tell us you¡¯ve got a pretty good finger on the pulse of the town,¡± Hxlt said. ¡°Perhaps after we¡¯ve had a chance to meet the other people the Peackeepers have in mind, we can come sit down with you and pick your brain, help us get a feel for how things stand.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely. You see the restaurant there, Krln¡¯s Nest? That¡¯s my place. Come by when you¡¯re ready and we¡¯ll have a meal and a chat, on the house.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hxlt shook Khrwm¡¯s hand, then the large Kremel gave everyone else a warm goodbye before heading back to his restaurant.


    ¡°Shall we continue?¡± Benou asked, gesturing down the street.


    Everyone nodded and she led the way. She stopped to greet a few of the shopkeepers, introducing the COPS each time. Some of the shopkeepers were polite, some were openly hostile, but none were quite so friendly as Khrwm. (Nor as cold as Ershel.)


    About halfway down the first side of the street, they found a particular souvenir store packed full of tourists.


    ¡°Well, looks like Yana is making out all right,¡± Ershel scowled.


    ¡°Yana?¡± Varyna echoed.


    ¡°Go on in. You¡¯ll see what I mean,¡± he sighed, motioning to the crowded doorway. Benou-Alf led the way through the crowd. Varyna remained at the back, in the gap Hxlt left behind him.


    Right when he reached the front of the crowd, however, the Kremel froze, causing Varyna to walk straight into him.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± she grumbled quietly, rubbing her nose as she peeked around him.


    The shop was full of tshirts and other nicknacks. It seemed ordinary enough, until Varyna took a closer look at the images plastered on all the merchandise.


    ¡°Umpgh,¡± she gagged, throwing a hand to her mouth.


    Bodies, distorted and covered in dried dirt and blood, graced the front of each shirt and every trinket. People of all species rummaged carelessly through the items, their fingers brushing countless rotting wounds and dead soulless eyes before finding their preferred gruesome image.


    ¡°Where did she get those pictures?¡± Varyna grimaced.


    Opun just shook his head, but Benou overheard and answered. ¡°Yana is always up early in the morning, so she found about half of the bodies herself. Instead of reacting like a normal person, however, she took photos and-¡±


    ¡°And made them into souvenirs?¡± Varyna growled at a tourist reaching to grab a holonecklace next to her, featuring what seemed to be the serial killer¡¯s third victim. The tourist pulled their hand back with a glare and turned to a row of bracelets instead.


    In the midst of it all, without a single care nor doubt, stood a middle-aged woman with bright pink hair and thick-rimmed glasses. She chatted gaily as she ringed up customers and praised them for their ¡®taste¡¯. Her smile fell, however, when she caught sight of Ershel and his entourage.


    ¡°What can I do for you, Peacekeeper Benou-Alf?¡± she asked in a gratingly fawning tone. ¡°Make room, everyone, make room. These brave law enforcers are the ones working to keep our streets safe.¡±


    Hxlt, Opun, and Varyna joined Benou-Alf at the counter.


    ¡°These are the COPS, here to help us find the killer,¡± Benou-Alf said brusquely, stepping aside so the Officers could take over.


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Yana answered, rubbing her hands on her brightly patterned pants before reaching out to shake everyone¡¯s hand. Hxlt was the only one who offered his hand to the woman, but he flinched when she grabbed it. He introduced himself and his comrades, and the shopkeeper smiled a brittle smile, clearly uncomfortable with their presence in her store.


    ¡°How can I help you, Officers?¡± she asked. ¡°Naturally I¡¯m as anxious as anyone to see this killer stopped.¡±


    Varyna raised a disbelieving eyebrow, but it was Hxlt who spoke. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve taken advantage of the situation,¡± he remarked, struggling to keep his tone unaccusatory.


    ¡°Well, a soul¡¯s got to make a living, you know,¡± she answered, rubbing her hands on her pants again. ¡°And I figure, the more aware everyone is, you know, the more cautious they¡¯re going to be.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. A kind of public service, is it?¡± Varyna spat. Hxlt shot her a warning look.


    ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s it exactly,¡± the woman answered again in that sickly sweet tone.


    ¡°Ha! You-¡± Varyna started, stopping when Opun stepped gently on her foot.


    ¡°Perhaps you can help us out then,¡± Hxlt broke in. ¡°Since you¡¯re already working to spread the word, maybe you can help us distribute these flyers here.¡± He pulled out a small stack of papers that he had shown Opun and Varyna last night.


    They were contact cards to let people know how to best contact the Officers with information about the case or an emergency line for those who felt they were in danger.


    Yana took the cards and read through the top one. ¡°Certainly Officers. I¡¯m happy to help.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± Hxlt forced a friendly smile before spinning on his heel and quickly making his way out of the souvenir shop of horrors. Opun followed suit and Varyna reluctantly trailed behind them, though there were plenty more things she wanted to say to the disgusting woman who was profiting off the deaths of innocent tourists.


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s the killer herself. Found a nice way to make a bunch of cash,¡± Varyna snorted.


    Opun shook his head. ¡°She strikes me more as an insensitive opportunist, but you¡¯re right, she certainly has a motive.¡±


    They followed Peacekeeper Benou-Alf down the street, meeting more shopkeepers and restaurant owners as they went along. To Varyna¡¯s surprise, the Peacekeeper led them right past one small shop that appeared to be open.


    ¡°What about this place?¡± Varyna asked, wondering if Benou had missed it.


    The Nemarian looked back with an alarmed look that surprised Varyna, but before she could say anything, the door to the shop opened.


    The Nemarian who walked out was even more eccentric in appearance than Yana. All kinds of piercings littered the fins on his head, and he wore a bright yellow toga that shimmered when he moved.


    ¡°Ah, Zebulon. Nice to see you,¡± Ershel said. His eyes darted between the bizarre-looking shopkeeper and his partner, who had her arms crossed.


    ¡°I knew you would be by this morning,¡± the man mused absently. His eyes passed over them, but seemed to see right through them instead of actually focusing on them.


    ¡°Yes, well, we were just showing these visitors around-¡± Benuo started, clearly trying to get out of any conversation with Zebulon.


    ¡°Ah, the COPS,¡± he said, nodding. His gaze traveled back over them, stopping on Varyna. His dark eyes widened as he looked and her and his expression changed, becoming more aware and more focused.


    ¡°This one is the one who can find the source.¡± His voice changed, becoming deeper and rhythmic. ¡°She will track down the demonic energy that has taken over the town,¡± he continued, staring straight into her eyes.


    Then he blinked and the dreamy expression returned. ¡°Well, it was lovely to meet you, Officers,¡± he said in his normal voice, as if nothing had just happened. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll see you around.¡±


    With that, he turned and walked back into the shop, leaving them all staring at each other in confusion.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Varyna raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh, he does that,¡± Ershel said.


    ¡°He¡¯s insane, but for some reason, a lot of people buy into his mystical fortune telling and potions and spells mumbo jumbo,¡± Benou spat, showing the hint of anger Varyna had seen in her since they met.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s certainly an interesting character,¡± Hxlt said.


    ¡°What do you think he meant? About the Demonic energy?¡± Opun asked.


    Varyna didn¡¯t have to wonder herself, because the answer popped up in front of her eyes.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Demonic Origin]


    [Description: find the source of the Demonic energy on Imadrin]


    [Time limit: 5 days]


    [Reward: 1000 XP, New Skill]


    Her eyes widened. She¡¯d never received a quest worth so much XP, nor had she received a quest that came with a [Skill].


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be difficult,¡± she muttered.

 Chapter 42: Scheduling a Date

    Between cooking breakfast and dinner, and his other daily tasks while on ¡°light duty,¡± it was almost impossible for Lus to get a good chance to talk with Yrqw.


    It¡¯d been a full day and a half since he met with Xwvl, and he was keenly aware that he only had one day left to get Yrqw on board with the whole ¡°date¡± thing before he lost all hope of keeping Avil around.


    ¡°I have a little time before I have to start dinner. This is the perfect chance to drop by Systems Control and chat with him,¡± he said to himself and Avil as he stood in his quarters reordering his uniform after his brief afternoon nap. The addition of the breakfast shift was ruining his sleep schedule, but luckily he didn¡¯t have that much to do outside of the kitchen so it was easy to sneak some extra sleep in during the day.


    He bent down and scratched behind Avil¡¯s ears. ¡°I promise, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to keep you around.¡±


    The cat purred in response, his twin tails flicking back and forth in unison.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡± Standing, Lus exited his room and started towards the lower deck where Yrqw hopefully waited. As [Luck] would have it, he ran into his target even sooner, and Yrqw was alone walking towards the quarters when Lus met him.


    ¡°Yrqw,¡± he called out, smiling broadly as he fell in line with him. ¡°How are you? I haven¡¯t seen you in ages.¡±


    The old Kremel cracked a grin. ¡°Hi, Lus. You¡¯ve been so caught up in missions and injuries, you¡¯re never around anymore.¡±


    Lusac shrugged. ¡°I would happily be back in the tubes, but you know how Fusi is about even the most minor injury.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She took you off duty for that sprained shoulder too a while back. I think that this is more of your problem, Lusac.¡± Yrqw patted his back. ¡°Say, what¡¯s for dinner tonight? I¡¯d almost allow them to take you from my team to cook full time if you keep up with the kinds of dishes you put out last night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re enjoying them. The whole [Chef] class really helps.¡± Lus smiled, happy that his talents were being properly recognized now.


    ¡°Oh yeah. I heard you got a system. I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t mention it right off. Do you know how nice it is to have two people with a system on board? Between that and this mega job, the Argo is bound to get a bump in recognition. We might even be able to move into a better territory after this,¡± Yrqw said.


    Typically, Runner ships took over all the jobs in a specific section of one sector. The more internal and external recognition a ship got, the better the territory they were allowed to run. The Argo was smack dab in the middle of renown, but Yrqw was right that their fame after this might push them to one of the higher paying territories.


    ¡°Say, I was having a discussion with Dasht the other day about the beauty standards for each species. Obviously I¡¯m pretty familiar with what makes Humans attractive, and Dasht explained the basics of ¡®pretty¡¯ for Nemarians for me, but I was wondering if you could tell me what Kremel look for in that sense?¡± Lusac changed the topic suddenly, but he was worried that if he didn¡¯t start down this path soon, Yrqw would get carried away talking about the ins and outs of territory snatching, and that was not helpful in Lus¡¯s goal.


    ¡°Huh. An interesting question. I can¡¯t say I speak for the whole species, but I suppose I could tell you what I like in females.¡± Yrqw rubbed his chin with one green hand, though as far as Lus knew, Kremel didn¡¯t grow any kind of facial hair. ¡°I would say tall, at least my height or more, and bald preferable. Hair is for the males, and I don¡¯t like the new trend in women growing it out too. Obviously a wide figure, but that¡¯s a standard desire for all Kremel. In general, a female like that would catch my attention, assuming she¡¯s age appropriate.¡±


    Lus thought back to Xwvl. She had hair, but it was buzzed quite short so that was probably close enough. As for the rest, well Lus thought all Kremel were tall and wide, so he couldn¡¯t say for sure if she checked out against Yrqw¡¯s test.


    ¡°Oh, so someone like Xwvl?¡± he said, pretending he¡¯d only just thought of the name. ¡°She keeps her hair buzzed so it¡¯s like she¡¯s bald, and she¡¯s super tall.¡±


    ¡°Xwvl?¡± Yrqw echoed. He blinked a couple of times. ¡°Huh, I guess I never noticed. She may not be bald, but she does keep her hair at a respectable shortness. I would say she fits the bill.¡±


    ¡°You should totally ask her out or something.¡± Lusac tried to keep his voice light and joking. He felt silly, like a teenage girl or something, with this kind of discussion, but he reminded himself over and over again what was at stake.


    Yrqw laughed, and Lus offered his own weak chuckle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a lesson I learned years ago when I was part of the army, Lusac. Don¡¯t date within the ranks. It never ends well.¡± He slapped Lus¡¯s back roughly, still laughing. ¡°Ask her out. You make it sound like we¡¯re in middle school again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious, Yrqw. What have you got to lose? Xwvl is fun and attractive by your own admission. Surely you don¡¯t want to spend the rest of your life lonely? You¡¯re getting old, pal. I want to see you happy.¡±


    The Kremel laughed even harder. ¡°I had no idea you were so concerned about my dating life, but let me assure you, I make sure to satisfy my needs.¡±


    Lusac¡¯s face became one of horror. ¡°Not like that! I¡¯m not talking about¡­ Ugh. Why would you bring that up?¡± This was definitely not going as he planned, and he was starting to wonder if this was worth it after all. Now he had an image of Yrqw in his brain that he was going to have spend days trying to forget.


    Yrqw shook his head, his grin wide enough to split his face in half. ¡°Humans and Nemarians are so shy about such a basic thing. I¡¯ve never understood it.¡±


    ¡°Nevermind about that. I¡¯m talking about just a simple date. You know, dinner or something.¡± Lus attempted to regain control of the conversation before Yrqw could get on his soapbox about how the other species need to lighten up.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you? You¡¯ve never once talked about dating before in all the years I¡¯ve known you. Why now?¡± Yrqw slowed his walk and looked at Lus with questioning eyes.


    ¡°Oh, well, uh, I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Is this about Becky?¡± Yrqw raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Becky?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re looking for permission to ask her out, you can just ask, Lusac. No need to do all this hoop jumping. There are no rules about two crewmembers dating as long as neither is a direct supervisor of the other. You¡¯re fine to ask Becky out. In fact, I think you two would make a good couple.¡±


    Heat rushed to Lus¡¯s face. How could Yrqw think this had anything to do with his friendship¨Cand just friendship¨Cwith Becky?


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Thanks. Um, yeah. I appreciate that. But I wasn¡¯t really asking about that. We¡¯re just friends.¡±


    Yrqw rubbed Lusac¡¯s head, ruffling his head. ¡°No need to be so shy about it. You can take her to dinner during our next resupply. I know a great restaurant on the planet. I¡¯ll give you the details later, but right now I¡¯ve got a meeting I¡¯m running late for. Good chatting with you, Lus.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Good talk,¡± Lus said as the Kremel rushed off.


    He pounded a fist against his forehead. How had that gone so poorly? And how was he supposed to fix it within the next day? Now Yrqw thought he was chasing Becky, and those were rumors he did not want to fly around the ship.


    With a sigh, Lusac checked his watch. He still had a little bit of time before he needed to start dinner, but it wasn¡¯t enough he could make a full system [Recipe] first, so that left him with few options.


    As if answering his calls, an announcement went out across the ship. ¡°Lusac Arten, please seek the nearest communicator and call medical.¡±


    ¡°What now Fusi?¡± he murmured as he went to the end of the hall to where a comm unit waited. He pressed the button and dialed the doctor¡¯s office.


    ¡°Lusac,¡± she said. ¡°Wsr is awake and wants to see you. You should drop by before dinner, and I¡¯ll give you a check up too.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good, Doc. On my way.¡± Not like he had any other choice. Still, seeing Wsr might help cheer him up. She¡¯d been unconscious most of the time since he first got her out of the mine.


    When he arrived at the medical bay, he found several others had beaten him to visiting hours. Cewi-Bano and Zer-Dasht both stood by the bed where Wsr was fully awake and sitting up, a grin on her face as she spoke to them and her arm in a sling.


    ¡°Lus,¡± she cried out when she noticed him. ¡°My hero finally comes to visit.¡±


    He smiled as he approached them. ¡°How are you feeling Wsr? You sure took a long nap.¡±


    She laughed as she ran free her hand through her short black hair. ¡°I was just catching up on all the hours I¡¯ve been missing since I joined the blasted Runners.¡± She motioned him closer. ¡°Come and tell me what happened after we left the room behind. Dasht tried to spoil it for me, but I told him I wanted the tale from you.¡±


    Lusac appreciated the omission of anything to do with Yonnex-Quniwel, but he dreaded the idea of having to recount everything again, especially with Quniwel¡¯s unconscious form nearby.


    But Wsr¡¯s smile won him over. He huddled in close with Cewi and Dasht and relegated the story starting from getting her out of the mine. He only briefly touched on going back to retrieve Quniwel and kept most of the focus on his heroics while in the temple and getting the artifact.


    Wsr nodded thoughtfully at the end. ¡°You mean to tell me that we could have avoided most of our problems if we¡¯d just thought to dive into that lake?¡±


    ¡°Pond,¡± Dasht quickly corrected her.


    She rolled her eyes as Lus chuckled.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we could have known about that secret entrance, but yeah, I guess we should have thought to check it out. Especially Dasht. I mean, you breathe under water for Suns¡¯ sakes,¡± Lus pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah, Zer-Dasht. What were you thinking, not checking out the pond first thing? You¡¯re always complaining about the lack of underwater facilities onboard ships,¡± Cewi added.


    ¡°Forgive me for not diving into every strange body of water I see,¡± Dasht replied with his own smirk. ¡°We can bring you along next time to do that for us, Cewi.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just glad we¡¯ll never run into the Shaquine again. You couldn¡¯t pay me a million cryptin to step foot on that moon ever again.¡± Wsr put her one free hand behind her head. ¡°It¡¯s good to be back on the Argo. I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d see it again until Lus found me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just glad we both had the same idea for a hiding spot.¡±


    The conversation was approaching too close to having to discuss Quniwel, so it died there. Wsr started to ask about the happenings on the ship while she was out, but Doctor Fusi came to pull Lus away for his own check up. In the private exam room, she once again pulled off the bandages and gently prodded around the wound, and this time it hurt a whole lot more.


    ¡°Ow, careful,¡± Lusac growled.


    ¡°I¡¯m being as soft as I can,¡± she promised. When she returned to taking notes at the computer, she wore a lighter face. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s starting to heal finally. Those antibiotics are doing the trick. It¡¯s a slow process, however, so you¡¯ll be doing light duty for at least three days or more.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Doc. Maintenance work can¡¯t be that bad for it,¡± Lus argued, eager to get rid of the breakfast shift. As nice as the extra [XP] was, he was ready to get to sleep in again.


    ¡°A few more days,¡± she reiterated.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he agreed.


    Tremt-Fusi rewrapped the injury and then sent him on his way. Dasht was nowhere to be seen when he left the exam room, and Wsr was busy chatting with Cewi-Bano, so Lus didn¡¯t feel like interrupting. He started towards the kitchen, figuring it was about time to start on dinner when he bumped into someone he¡¯d been hoping to avoid for at least a little longer after his chat with Yrqw.


    ¡°Hiya Lus,¡± Becky greeted him with her usual bright smile. ¡°I was just coming to find you. Yrqw mentioned there was something you wanted to talk to me about.¡±


    Lus ran his hands over his face, partly out of frustration and partly out of embarrassment. ¡°No. It¡¯s nothing. Yrqw misunderstood.¡±


    Becky nodded, a knowing look on her face. ¡°Yrqw actually said he thought you were going to chicken out and told me that you supposedly wanted to ask me on a date.¡±


    Red heated Lusac¡¯s face for the second time in only an hour. ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Becky. I was trying to get Yrqw to ask Xwvl out, and he somehow spun it to be that I wanted to ask you out and that¡¯s why I was talking to him about dating at all, and it¡¯s just one big mess.¡±


    She laughed, the bottom half of her dark curls now dyed a neon green. ¡°I figured Yrqw was pranking me or something, but this is even better. How did you land yourself into this trouble, Lus?¡±


    He shook his head, laughing as well, though mostly from relief. ¡°You know me. Anyway, I¡¯m sorry he got involved. I didn¡¯t mean for that to happen.¡±


    ¡°No worries. Though can I ask why you¡¯re trying to get Yrqw to ask Xwvl out?¡±


    Lusac trusted Becky. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll give you the full story, but you can¡¯t tell a soul.¡±


    She made the motion of locking her lips, and Lus then told her about Cewi discovering Avil and going to meet with Xwvl only to be given what now seemed like an impossible task.


    She was smiling again by the end of it, clearly amused by the predicament he found himself in.


    ¡°You know, the misunderstanding with Yrqw actually works in your favor,¡± she said.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°He wants you to ask me out. Tell him that you¡¯re nervous to go on a date with me, and you want to make it a double. That then explains why you wanted him to ask Xwvl out and also makes it a lot more likely that he¡¯ll do it just to help you out.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯d fake being my date for the night?¡± Lusac confirmed.


    ¡°Sure. I happen to like Avil too, so I¡¯ll sacrifice this one time for you,¡± she promised.


    ¡°Great. Maybe I¡¯ll track Yrqw down now and get him on board,¡± Lus said.


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve got to at least ask me properly,¡± Becky protested. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, but I expect you to be a gentleman about it.¡±


    He nodded, hoping the blush on his face wasn¡¯t too prominent. ¡°Becky, would you like to have dinner with me next time we resupply?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to. I never say no to free food,¡± she replied with a wink. He waved as he departed to then go find Yrqw. He managed to intercept the Kremel on his way out of Systems Control and pull him aside for a private conversation.


    ¡°Yrqw, about earlier,¡± Lus started.


    ¡°So Becky found you?¡± he smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m super nervous about the date. The reason I was wondering if you¡¯d ask Xwvl out is to see if you two would come with and make it a double date. It would really help me out,¡± Lus pleaded.


    Yrqw nodded slowly. ¡°I can do that. But maybe I¡¯ll ask someone you know better to make it less awkward.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lus said hurriedly, startling the Kremel. ¡°I just mean, I already know Xwvl quite well. Our paths have crossed some while I¡¯ve been on light duty. I feel very comfortable around her, you know?¡±


    The Kremel smiled and put a meaty hand on his shoulder. ¡°Very well, Lus. Let¡¯s plan to meet at the restaurant tomorrow at 7 pm. I¡¯ll stop by Xwvl¡¯s office now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Yrqw. I really appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°Anything for young love,¡± Yrqw vowed as he stepped away.


    Lusac smiled back, one step closer to completing his quest and saving Avil.

 Chapter 43: Shopping

    Only two days later, Lus was back in his quarters getting ready for the date. He was lucky enough to have gotten on an earlier shuttle down to the planet so he had some time to shop and get a few things he needed for some of the fancier recipes his system [Recipes] required. Scallops would be handy for the [Galloping Scallops] recipe which in turn would give him a nice speed boost to whatever else he did that day.


    Avil waited by his feet as he buttoned his dress shirt, the only thing close to ¡°nice clothes¡± he had even after two years on board. Lusac didn¡¯t really go anywhere that required formal dress, but he knew enough about dating to know that he couldn¡¯t show up in his usual casual clothes. The button down was actually repurposed from his Corporate military uniform, but he¡¯d long ago torn off the insignias that denoted it as such, so now it was a simple black button up shirt.


    ¡°How do I look?¡± He stepped back and spread his arms wide, presenting the entire outfit to his cat who gave him little more than a passing glance.


    ¡°That good?¡± Lusac asked with a smile as he reached down to pet him.


    The door chimed, and Lus begged the Watcher that it was anyone but Tremt-Fusi. The doctor finally seemed to be getting close to putting him back on regular duty, but Lusac was tired of the daily check ups.


    As he answered it, he stiffened upon finding Xwvl. She was still in her Runners uniform, but her face held no ill-will. She held out a piece of paper.


    ¡°The registration for Avil. I put him down as a ¡®cat¡¯ since he¡¯s close enough to one,¡± the Kremel explained.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lusac squeaked out in disbelief as he took the paper. As his hands grasped it, a notification popped up in the corner of his vision.


    [Quest Complete: Certified Pet Owner]


    Xwvl nodded. ¡°I guess I should have specified I wasn¡¯t interested in a double-date, but I¡¯ll take it anyway. Next time, however, I expect that you¡¯ll clarify that kind of thing before you go ahead with it.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Xwvl,¡± Lus replied, though he¡¯d already promised himself to never end up in that kind of situation again.


    She grunted a goodbye, and Lus shut the door with a sigh of relief. The first thing he did was set the certificate on his desk where he knew it would be safe. Then, he held Avil up to his face and explained the good news. The cat offered his usual screechy meow in response, though Lus suspected it might actually be more of a protest of the hold rather than a celebration of the good news.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check out that new [Skill].¡± Lus said as he set a disgruntled Avil back on the ground. He called up the blue screen of the system and went to the [Quests] tab to complete it and claim the [XP] and [Skill] rewards. Back on his homepage, next to his stats was the list of his current [Skills].


    [Cooking]


    [Chef¡¯s Intuition]


    [Sixth Sense]


    [Summon Companion]


    ¡°[Summon Companion]? What does that do?¡± He glanced down at the cat. ¡°Oh, right. Probably exactly what it sounds like.¡± That 1 [Common Sense] was coming in handy yet again. ¡°But how do I use it? Why would I use it?¡± It wasn¡¯t like Avil was all that powerful¡­ Unless he could transform into that huge cyclops form at will. In which case, this was a very useful [Skill] in tight situations.


    As much as Lus wanted to experiment with the new [Skill], he needed to get going to make his shuttle. They were in orbit around Zaxo which boasted a city with one of the largest open air markets in the entire Juno sector, and Lusac was excited to see what he could find in regards to ingredients for his [Recipes]. The next system [Recipe] he planned to make was the [Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich] he earned from his [Quest] against Relf. When he last checked the ingredients, most of them were common, but he did need a paral fruit which they didn¡¯t often buy. Since it was for himself, he was going to go ahead and get it himself with his personal funds.


    Saying goodbye to an indifferent Avil, Lus stepped into the corridor, a few small chunks of valer in his pockets to pay for things as he went through the market. He also carried his cryptin card to give him access to the digital currency he had stored up, but all the Runners knew they could only use their cards a couple times a year or else they ran the risk of being tracked. Valer was much safer and untraceable, making it the go-to form of currency.


    It was a relatively quick walk down to the shuttle bay where the others waited. Poor Oaty was stuck piloting the craft and back and forth to give everyone a chance to get down to the planet if they wanted. Normally he and Yonnex-Quniwel shared the duty, but for obvious reasons, Oaty was running it solo.


    The man came up to Lus, his black hair pulled out of his face by a sports headband. He was around ten years older than Lus, but his age had never been a barrier to their friendship.


    ¡°Lusac, about time. We were going to leave without you,¡± he joked.


    ¡°Hi, Oaty. How¡¯s it going? Enjoying being a taxi driver?¡± Lus asked him with a smile.


    ¡°Oh sure. It¡¯s way better than racing,¡± Oaty replied.


    ¡°Come on, Oaty. Some of us have appointments down there. Enough chit-chat,¡± a disgruntled Nemarian called out.


    Oaty rolled his eyes. ¡°I hate resupply days.¡± He turned around to face the small crowd. ¡°Alright, everyone onboard. It¡¯s a quick flight down so I¡¯ll have you guys in Viccian in no time.¡± The other eight people coming on the flight loaded up, but Oaty made sure Lus got the secondary front seat next to him instead of having to squish between the Kremel and Nemarians behind them.


    The shuttle engine hummed to life, the doors closed, and soon they were sprinting out of the Argo and towards the planet. Even with the speed and some fancy flying, it was still a very comfortable shuttle journey, especially after having to deal with Dasht¡¯s skills for several days. Oaty¡¯s former days as a racing prodigy were what landed him the gig with the Runners (that, and his desertion from the Federal military). From Lus¡¯s understanding, the Runners had grown significantly thanks to the influx of willing crewmembers due to military deserters and the increased number of jobs due to broken trade routes.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    True to Oaty¡¯s estimate, they were landing on Zaxo within ten minutes, and everyone prepared to disembark.


    ¡°Are you going to get a chance to get out and see the city at all?¡± Lusac asked his friend as he undid his seatbelt.


    Oaty shrugged. ¡°Not this time. In fact, we may have to get a new assistant pilot if Quniwel doesn¡¯t recover properly. Fusi isn¡¯t too sure he¡¯ll be able to take up piloting again with his missing eye and the slight brain damage.¡±


    Lus bit his lip, unhappy with the news. ¡°That sucks. I hope it works out better than that.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯d rather stick a cutter in my own eye than be the only chauffeur during the next resupply.¡± He chuckled and slapped Lus¡¯s back. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll see you later tonight. You sure are spending a long time on the planet. What¡¯ve you got going on?¡±


    ¡°Just some shopping and dinner.¡±


    ¡°A date?¡± Oaty asked with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Yeah. Sort of,¡± Lus admitted. Everyone else was out of the shuttle, giving him the privacy needed to admit such a thing.


    ¡°With Becks?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We are doing a double-date with Yrqw and Xwvl.¡±


    Oaty smiled wide. ¡°Well make sure to give everyone a kiss from me. Especially Becky, eh?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Lusac stood up before the pilot could tease him further.


    The man smacked his butt as he stepped away. ¡°That¡¯s right. Atta boy. Go get ¡®em.¡±


    ¡°Bye Oaty,¡± Lus called back without turning around. The last thing he needed was for the playful pilot to see his red face.


    Outside, the afternoon sun shone on the colorful city of Viccian. It had plenty of buildings, though most weren¡¯t towers or skyscrapers but rather short, wide buildings that were covered in beige clay and painted with brilliant designs. The streets were composed of different shades and sizes of bricks laid in a complex pattern while green trees and flower beds lined the sides, providing plenty of shade and natural beauty. In terms of cleanliness, it easily ranked within the top ten cities Lus had been to.


    It seemed to be late summer with the way the heat permeated everything. Being out in the sun reminded Lus that he was wearing a black, long sleeve shirt. He was regretting that he hadn¡¯t worn something lighter for the weather, but all he could do now was hope he wasn¡¯t going to sweat through it before the date.


    From the vantage point of the shuttle landing pad, Lus was able to see deep into the city streets and directly into the heart of everything where the open market lay. The colors of the tent stalls and flags waving around made the painted buildings look dull in comparison. The streets were designed to funnel people directly from the landing site to the market since it marked the biggest tourist attraction Viccian had.


    Lus dipped into the stream of people wandering that direction, happy to go with the flow as they approached the plaza. Zaxo had been colonized by a mixture of species, mainly Kremel and Humans, which was reflected in the population. Very few Nemarians passed by Lus, but that wasn¡¯t surprising given the lack of humidity in the air. It was nice to have a similar experience to Rika, where he didn¡¯t feel like he stuck out just because of his species.


    All the buildings seemed to be in good repair, which was a surprising sight for a city this large, but the people clearly went to great efforts to present such a stunning atmosphere. Of course, something like an open air market would require enjoyable scenery to become as famous as this one.


    The crowd Lusac had buried himself in split apart the instant they entered the market square. Dozens and dozens of stalls stretched out before him, the rows spaced apart enough for people to stand at a stall at either side without inhibiting the flow of walkers between them.


    ¡°Where to start?¡± Lusac asked himself. He knew he needed scallops and a paral, but trying to find either in the chaos of the plaza seemed like an almost impossible task.


    The market did seem to be organized into various sections since all the vendors closest to him were selling cooked foods that made Lus¡¯s mouth water. He reminded himself that he was going to dinner and that would be just as tasty, so he quickly left that area behind. The next section he came to overwhelmed his nose with the scent of various spices. Bags of colorful powders were lined up on the tables of each stall, with vendors loudly proclaiming the pure origins of their products. Lus gave in and bought himself a small bag of stifel, a yellow-colored smoky seasoning, since the one they had on board the Argo wasn¡¯t anywhere near as fresh.


    After the spices came the section Lusac was looking for: fresh foods. He bypassed the butchers with all the hanging animal carcasses and bolted straight to the produce stalls with various fruits and vegetables waiting. Many stalls were selling similar products, so Lus just chose one at random to start with. The vendor was a female Kremel who smiled brightly as he approached.


    ¡°You have good eyes for a Human,¡± she said. ¡°Brrc¡¯s offers the best produce found in all of Viccian. You¡¯re looking for something familiar, no? Like garoots or nabras?¡±


    ¡°Paral actually,¡± Lus corrected her. ¡°But I don¡¯t see any.¡±


    ¡°Bah, Nemarian fruit isn¡¯t as good as Kremel and Human. You want a cvrt or a kixi. Those are proper fruits.¡±


    ¡°I need a paral specifically,¡± he replied firmly. ¡°Thank you for your time.¡±


    He stepped away as she shooed him off, obviously unhappy she couldn¡¯t provide something for his money. The next stall offered almost the exact same selection, lacking parals to both his and the vendor¡¯s disappointment. On his third attempt, Lusac found someone selling parals, but the quality was not quite what he hoped.


    ¡°Parals are difficult to find. They don¡¯t grow well here on Zaxo with our dry climate,¡± the Human running the stall explained. ¡°These are from a greenhouse near the coast where the humidity is enough to keep the trees alive. You won¡¯t find better unless you travel to a Nemarian world.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll take two,¡± Lus said as he dug in his pockets for a small valer. The man accepted his payment and handed him a mesh bag with the two fruits. Lus waved as he dipped back into traffic to seek out some seafood stalls, though based on his luck with the parals, he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d find one.


    Still, even if he didn¡¯t, he appreciated the chance to explore more of the market. He passed more food stalls, and his taste buds got the best of him. After handing over a sliver of valer, he received a deep fried dough ball covered in a red glaze. Lus took a large bite, discovering a nutty spread inside which oozed from the ball. The soft flavor of the filling combined with the sharp, fruity sweetness of the icing balanced out nicely with the simple dough that brought it together. In another two bites, the treat was gone, but Lusac was satisfied with his purchase.


    He¡¯d continued to walk while he ate, and just as he finished and threw away the carton, he discovered a small grouping of stalls with tanks holding lobsters and fish.


    ¡°Finally,¡± he said to himself as he walked over, wiping the last of the stickiness from his treat onto his pants. The first vendor he approached was a Nemarian who wore a traditional toga. His maroon fins flickered as Lus approached, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good sign or not.


    ¡°Hi. Do you have any scallops?¡± Lus asked.


    ¡°Sure. I have a few. They¡¯re fresh from the Minneso Sea to the south,¡± the Nemarian confirmed with a wide grin.


    ¡°Great. I¡¯ll take a pound.¡±


    ¡°Are you going directly back home?¡± the merchant queried, not yet moving to fulfill the request.


    ¡°No. I have some other business in the market and city still,¡± Lus answered, though he didn¡¯t quite understand.


    ¡°Scallops don¡¯t stay well in this heat. I can throw them in a cooler and properly pack them with ice if you¡¯d like for an additional cost.¡±


    Lus hadn¡¯t even considered that his food would need to be maintained. ¡°Yeah. That would be great.¡± Now he regretted wasting some of his funds on that dessert, but at least he¡¯d know his scallops were safe to eat.


    The Nemarian launched into action, and only a few minutes later, Lusac had his cooler of scallops. Wandering the market had taken up a good chunk of the day, and the sun was hanging lower in the sky. With a sigh, Lusac realized his next stop was going to be the restaurant for his unwanted date.

 Chapter 44: Going on a Date

    The cooler with the scallops was uncomfortable to carry, especially since Lus had to balance the mesh bag with his two precious parals on top. Being in the crowds only made his situation more inconvenient.


    The market was getting busier as the sun went down. String lights hung between all the stalls started to turn on, providing ample light for the evening shoppers. Lusac found it difficult to squeeze between people as he attempted to escape the square. He only hoped he properly remembered Yrqw¡¯s directions to the restaurant. As much as he didn¡¯t want to go, showing up late and ruining everyone¡¯s evening was still something he¡¯d rather avoid if possible.


    His stomach was rumbling, drawing his attention to the vendors selling delicious smelling meals as he reached the edge of the plaza, but he forced himself onward with faith that Yrqw¡¯s taste in food would be equally delectable. As Lus stepped out of the market place and onto the streets, he discovered that they were almost as bustling as the square had been. It appeared the entire city of Viccian came alive for the night.


    Pushing through more throngs of people, Lus made his way to the address Yrqw had given him the day before. What he came to wasn¡¯t really a building, but rather a grand patio complete with tall arches which looked like they could support a roof if the need came. Tonight, however, with the perfectly clear skies, the colors of the sunset was all the ceiling the restaurant had. Low hanging bare bulbs from the arches and various torch stands with holofire provided light to the tables spaced out on brick flooring that had been painted with designs robust enough to compete with the murals on the surrounding buildings. It was also shockingly busy, and Lus couldn¡¯t see a single available table.


    ¡°Sheesh, Yrqw. Pick a popular enough spot?¡± he muttered to himself as he glanced around for any of the other date participants. His arms were growing tired of carrying his purchases from the day at the market, and he was eager to get a chance to sit down and dig his teeth into some real food after his small snack from earlier.


    ¡°Lusac,¡± someone shouted, and he turned to see Yrqw already at a table, waving to him. He wore traditional Kremel garb, mostly dark colors with an animal hide cape tossed over his shoulders and his black and gray hair slicked back.


    Lus hoisted his cooler to a better position and made his way to his friend. He set the cooler on the ground under the table and slid into the seat next to the Kremel, leaving the two chairs on the opposite side of the table available for their dates.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed you managed to get a table. This place is packed.¡± Lusac had to half shout over the noise around them.


    ¡°It always gets like this at night, but the food is the best in the whole city,¡± Yrqw assured him. ¡°I came an hour early just to be sure we¡¯d get a spot. The crowd showed up only half an hour ago.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for that.¡± Lusac adjusted in his seat and straightened his shirt a little in hopes of seeming at least somewhat presentable for the occasion.


    Yrqw smacked him on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m happy to help a couple of friends finally take things to the next level.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lus chuckled awkwardly. ¡°We¡¯ll see if this goes anywhere, but I think we should try to keep the evening casual, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Lus. I¡¯m a great wingman.¡± Yrqw continued to smile, sinking what little hope Lus had of enjoying the meal.


    ¡°Do you know where Becky and Xwvl are? I thought they¡¯d be here by now.¡± He changed the subject to something that wasn¡¯t Yrqw imagining a relationship that didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°Women are always late to these types of things. Haven¡¯t you ever been on a date before?¡±


    Lusac shrugged. ¡°Just when I was a teenager back on Treft, but I always went with a couple of other friends. Going out on a regular, solo date meant you were in a committed relationship.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve never been out on a single style date?¡± Yrqw asked in surprise.


    ¡°Dating isn¡¯t actually a common thing among Runners,¡± Lus reminded the Kremel.


    ¡°It is on bigger ships. The Argo is small enough that gossip spreads like wildfire when people go out. When you get moved up to one of the Gemini crews, then you¡¯ll have plenty of opportunities. A lot more Humans on these crews too,¡± Yrqw explained.


    ¡°Why would I ever move from the Argo?¡± Lus queried. He¡¯d never really looked into transferring ships, and during the time he¡¯d been with Captain Tave, he knew of no one on the crew who had done so either.


    ¡°Better pay, mostly. The ships who take on the most dangerous territories also get the biggest chunks of valer and cryptin.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re still on the Argo,¡± Lusac pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t know of anyone who''s even trying to leave the crew.¡±


    ¡°Captain Tave is a good leader. A lot of ships aren¡¯t so lucky. I¡¯m with him because I prefer the quieter, safer jobs. I spent a few years with Captain Sqhw handling jobs out of the central Gemini sector, and it was more than enough stress to last me the rest of my life. I wouldn¡¯t trade the safety of the Argo for the money no matter what.¡±


    Lus had never heard Yrqw speak so openly about the trouble of being in the richer sectors. He struggled to imagine how much more dangerous Gemini could be after everything the Argo had been through the past few weeks. Being in one of the rural territories meant that instead of facing COPS or the military, they dealt with dangerous creatures, some of which were completely unknown like the Shaquine. And thanks to this wide spread task they¡¯d undertaken to get all the pieces of some artifact, they still had their own troubles with law enforcement.


    ¡°Well it sounds like I should just stick with the Argo.¡± Lusac happened to like the crew, and he didn¡¯t see why Yrqw thought he¡¯d be eager to leave. He made plenty of money under Captain Tave, especially since he was on the mission roster and got hazard pay for each off-ship adventure.


    ¡°You say that now, but wait until other captains start showing you their offers. I know many ships that would pay a pretty valer for someone with a system.¡±


    ¡°My system isn¡¯t all that great, remember. Nippy¡¯s the one who will get poached before me.¡±


    ¡°Nippy¡¯s already turned down more money in bonuses than I¡¯ve probably made in my lifetime. That man is loyal to Captain Tave and the crew, through and through,¡± Yrqw said with a smile.


    Lus nodded in understanding. Yrqw came to the Argo not long after Captain Tave took over, so he was easily one of the five most knowledgeable crewmembers when it came to understanding the dynamics of the ship and its leadership.


    Before Yrqw could continue on about all the details he knew of what happened behind the scenes on the Argo, their dates finally arrived.


    Xwvl had shaved her head completely and had earrings covering the edges of her double-pointed ears. She too wore traditional Kremel garments, with black pants and a spotted, furry vest.


    Becky walked right alongside her, dressed in what Lus found to be far more tasteful apparel. She wore a blue patterned dress that came to her knees with short, puffed sleeves and a wide, round neck at the top. Her black and green hair was left down in tight ringlets, with just a few strands pulled up and out of her face, allowing the torchlight to reflect brilliantly in her deep, brown eyes.


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    ¡°Hi guys,¡± Becky greeted them as she walked up.


    Xwvl seemed a little less pleased with the situation, but she grunted her own ¡°hello¡± as well.


    Yrqw stood with a beaming smile. ¡°Xwvl, you look ravishing tonight.¡± His elbow (in a very not subtle manner) hit Lusac¡¯s side.


    ¡°Looking good, Becks,¡± Lus said as his hand went to rub his sore ribs.


    Lusac caught only a hint of the displeased glare Yrqw shot at him, but he still had enough manners to jump out of his seat and slide Becky¡¯s chair out for her. Yrqw did the same, showering Xwvl with even more compliments.


    Once they were all seated, a Human waitress came to their table, holding a small holoscreen in her hands.


    ¡°Hi. Welcome to Driftwood Stars, what can I get started for you all?¡± she said in a false cheery voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a glass of blood wine and then a thing of fried claws for the table,¡± Yrqw began without hesitation.


    ¡°Blood wine for me as well,¡± Xwvl echoed, barely glancing up from her menu.


    It was Lus¡¯s turn. ¡°A beer please. Whatever you have on tap is fine.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± Becky replied with her usual happy demeanor.


    ¡°Great. If I could just confirm ages with some kind of ID for the two Humans,¡± the waitress said, pulling a scanner from her pocket.


    Lusac¡¯s stomach dropped. He¡¯d forgotten that they would have to ID him for alcohol since he was still fairly young, but he hadn¡¯t brought his physical card to keep his chip from being scanned. Yrqw and Xwvl were obviously old enough to drink, but he and Becky were still close enough to twenty that it was questionable as to whether or not it was legal.


    Becky held her wrist out, her eyebrow shooting up when Lus didn¡¯t do the same.


    ¡°Uh, can I just get water actually?¡± he muttered from the depths of his embarrassment. The only thing that could make this date worse was if he got the entire ship in trouble again from his mismatched ID chip that he had yet to get fixed.


    ¡°Change mine to a lemonade,¡± Becky requested with a smile of sympathy.


    The waitress made the adjustments to their order and walked away.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your chip?¡± Xwvl asked bluntly.


    ¡°Zer-Dasht and Vlqtrn pranked me when I first joined by changing my ID to show up as a female Kremel. I keep forgetting to get it fixed,¡± Lus explained with a sigh. The only good news is that it had kept him safe when he ran into that COP, Varyna, back on Rika, but in situations like this, it really stank. ¡°Not that I could use it anyway. With my background, I still have to use a fake ID so I normally keep my physical card on me for situations like these, but I forgot it this time.¡±


    Since Becky didn¡¯t go off-ship for missions and had joined the Runners without a criminal background, her chip was safe to remain attached to her actual ID.


    ¡°Ah, I remember that. Didn¡¯t you get kicked out of like three different bars from it?¡± Becky reminisced.


    Lus grimaced and nodded. ¡°Four if you count the store I tried to get some beer from as well.¡±


    ¡°To be young again,¡± Yrqw mused with a grin. ¡°I managed to find someone to kill off my original identity so I could attach a new one to my current face to make my chip safe again.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t have one,¡± Xwvl stated flatly. ¡°I joined back when we didn¡¯t have the tech to interfere with the assigned identities so we cut ours out.¡± She held her hand up to showcase the thin scar marking the chip¡¯s removal.


    ¡°So what are you ordering, Yrqw?¡± Becky asked. She nodded to the tables around, reminding everyone about the many listening ears if they weren¡¯t careful in their conversation. Lusac appreciated the chance to do something besides dwell on his embarrassment.


    ¡°I find that this place has phenomenal meat. Their chef is a grilling master, so I recommend something heavy on the protein, light on everything else,¡± the Kremel replied as he reopened his menu.


    Lus looked over the dish options, finding many unfamiliar with strong Kremel words. He supposed he wasn¡¯t all that surprised that a Kremel had chosen a Kremel-based restaurant. Reading through the descriptions, he noticed that every dish was almost entirely meat based with little options for anything besides animal protein.


    The waitress returned with their drinks, sending another wave of shame through Lus as he and Becky received their kids drinks and the Kremel got their wine. She then waited to take their orders for the meal, going in the same order as before.


    ¡°Grilled prak chops with a side of charda prootas,¡± Yrqw said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have perman kechin kabobs,¡± Xwvl said after.


    Lus faced the waitress, trying not to remember his previous embarrassing encounter from only a few minutes before. ¡°I¡¯ll take a gervin steak, medium rare.¡±


    ¡°Pasil kechin for me,¡± Becky said to wrap up the order as they all handed their menus to the waitress.


    After she walked away, Yrqw started up a new conversation by asking Xwvl about her time on the Runners ship, Fared, run by the Nemarian captain Vera-Weler. Xwvl used to have a far more exciting job than managing crew quarters it turned out, and she captured everyone¡¯s attention with her stories of smuggling goods while in the Apollo sector. Lus was almost a little disappointed when the food came and interrupted her tales, though his stomach was beyond excited to finally get something substantial in it.


    Four steaming plates were set down, and Lus had to admit that the presentation was appealing, even though it was mainly piles of meat on top of each other. Yrqw dug into his food in an instant, forgetting some of his high manners he¡¯d been putting on the whole night, but it gave Lus the license to dive into his food immediately too. His steak was just the right amount of pink and each bit gushed with flavor, the marinade and grill char working in conjunction to bring life to his tongue.


    Little was said as they all tore through their food, everyone seeming to be as hungry as Lusac was, and the food even better than Yrqw had claimed. By the time they all finished, the sun had completely set, leaving a brilliant sky of the raw Cinder Rock Galaxy above them.


    ¡°This place is incredible,¡± Becky said, leaning her head back to stare up at the stars above them.


    ¡°The food isn¡¯t half bad either,¡± Xwvl added with a smile, the first sign of humor Lus had detected from the Kremel all evening.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad everyone enjoyed it.¡± Yrqw put his cryptin card on the table for the waitress to take since he and Lus had agreed beforehand that Lus would pay him back in valer. ¡°Unfortunately we¡¯ll have to rush to make the last shuttle off-planet. I didn¡¯t expect the kitchen to take quite so long getting our food out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll sprint back after a meal like this,¡± Lus concurred with the sentiment shared by the others.


    They all laughed as the waitress took the card and closed their check. As the four stood from the table, Lus recalled his earlier shopping and dug his cooler out from under the table.


    ¡°Some ingredients for a couple of personal practice dishes,¡± he explained as the others gave him questioning looks.


    No more was said on the subject as they exited the open air restaurant back into the still busy streets of the city. They¡¯d only made a couple of blocks when Yrqw loudly cleared his throat.


    ¡°Say, Xwvl, there¡¯s this Kremel memorial I wanted to show you before we head back. It¡¯s only a little out of the way. What do you say? Should you and I go check it out while these two go back to the shuttle and convince Oaty not to leave us behind?¡±


    Xwvl smiled, obviously excited about getting some alone time with her crush. ¡°Yes. Sounds lovely, Yrqw.¡±


    As the pair split off, Yrqw shot Lus a wink and motioned him onwards.


    With a reddening face, Lusac turned back to an expectant Becky. She rolled her eyes and giggled upon noticing his blush.


    ¡°Come on, Lus. Let¡¯s go before Oaty leaves all four of us behind. He wasn¡¯t in a very good mood when he brought my group down.¡± She grabbed his hand and led him onward as though she was taking a child for a walk.


    ¡°Sorry about Yrqw. He¡¯s convinced we¡¯re in love or something,¡± Lus apologized as they walked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, [Chef] boy. You forget that I¡¯ve worked under Yrqw longer than you. He even tried to set me up with Relf when I first came on to the crew,¡± Becky comforted him.


    ¡°Ugh. That sounds miserable.¡±


    She squeezed his hand a little tighter. ¡°You make for a better date by far.¡±


    He laughed lightly, though a new sense of nerves hit him as the crowds around them thinned out, leaving only them as they approached the landing pad. They were close to the shuttle when Becky pulled him to a stop.


    ¡°Fake date or not to save your cat, Lusac, I still had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you.¡± She leaned in and kissed his cheek before he could stumble out his own gratitude, and then she turned away and walked to the shuttle.


    He stood there for a second, rubbing the spot she kissed and wondering if maybe there was something to this dating thing after all. When she waved him up to join her on the platform with Oaty, he jogged to pair, a smile on his face. It seemed that his system was starting to pay off in more ways than one.

 Chapter 45: Cooking A Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich

    The next day, Lus was in the kitchen early so he could try out the new recipe he¡¯d gotten from beating Relf in a fight. It sounded delicious and easy, the ideal combination.


    Opening the screen and clicking on the recipe list, he selected Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich. He scrolled past all the text, stopping at the ingredients list.


    ¡°Oh Watcher, that¡¯s a lot of ingredients,¡± he said in surprise. He had expected the ingredients list to be short, since the name of the recipe literally included the word ¡°simple¡±.


    Shrugging, he read through. Bread, charda cheese, sliced paral, oil, egg, flour, salt, and thinly sliced cured prak. He had a loaf of bread leftover from the other night¡¯s homemade bread and soup. He definitely had charda, oil, eggs, salt, and flour.


    Stepping over to the interbox, he first reached into the fresh fruit drawer for one of the parals he had gotten yesterday.


    He set it on the counter and moved on to the meat and cheese drawer. Pulling out the block of charda, he set that by the paral and dug through the various opened cheeses and pre-cooked meats. Near the back he found an open package of cured prak.


    Opening it, he took a tentative sniff. It smelled like he expected. He took another, deeper sniff and still didn¡¯t smell anything amiss, so he added it to his growing pile. He pulled out an egg, then closed the interbox.


    The bread was in a breadbox and the flour was in a large bin. The salt and oil were sitting out already, since they got such frequent use.


    Once he had everything set up on the same counter, he read the first step of the recipe. ¡°Add 2 cm of oil to a pot and put it on medium heat.¡± He rummaged through the dish cupboard for a mid-sized pot and set it on a burner, then poured in the oil.


    [Slice ingredients before heating pan]


    The notification came just as he touched the knob to turn up the burner. He nodded at the wise advice and pulled out a cutting board and knife.


    ¡°Which should I do first?¡± he wondered aloud. He¡¯d have to do the bread separately so he didn''t get anything on it, so he took care of that, quickly slicing off two somewhat even-sized pieces.


    For the charda cheese, he used a cheese-slicer that cut off two even slices in two quick motions.


    Replacing the knife and cutting board, he turned to the cured prak and paral. It felt wrong to slice the meat first, but if he sliced the fruit first, he would get paral juices all over the cured prak. He decided to start with the meat. Since it was going into the same sandwich as the fruit, it probably didn¡¯t matter.


    Before he began cutting, he paused, waiting for a notification to tell him that he was making the wrong choice, but nothing came. He worked slowly and carefully and managed to get three thin, even slices. Setting them aside, he repackaged the prak and placed the paral on the cutting board.


    He started with the fruit slicer, which cut out the core and left eight even-ish slices of the green-skinned, firm, white fruit. He then cut the wedges into thinner slices.


    With all the slicing done, he was about to turn on the heat when he stopped. ¡°Maybe I should actually read all the steps first,¡± he decided.


    Looking ahead, he realized that he needed to have a few other things ready. He first took the egg and cracked it into a shallow baking dish large enough to dip the assembled sandwich in. He grabbed a fork and scrambled it into a frothy, light orange-yellow mixture.


    Next, he measured out the flour onto a medium-sized plate. He added the salt and stirred them together with another fork.


    With everything finally prepared, he returned to the stove and turned on the heat. While the oil warmed up, he began putting the sandwich together.


    First a slice of bread. Next, the two slices of charda. Then came enough slices of paral to cover the charda. Finally, the three slices of cured prak and the other slice of bread.


    Once it was all put together, he took small wooden toothpicks and stuck them in to hold it together, as the recipe instructed.


    Now came the more complicated part. Grabbing a pair of tongs from the utensil drawer, he used them to lift the sandwich and lower it into the egg mixture. He flipped it to get the other side coated as well, then dipped all the edges.


    With the sandwich dripping in egg, he set it in the flour mixture. He coated each side, then once again dipped all the edges.


    Once the sandwich was completely coated in egg and flour, Lus set it down and turned his attention to the pot of oil.


    Grabbing a small thermometer, he checked the temperature. It wasn¡¯t quite hot enough, so he turned the heat up a bit.


    [Return to medium heat]


    Frowning, he did as instructed, though he didn¡¯t understand why. Instead, he put the egg dish by the sink. When he returned, he took the temperature of the oil again and found it right where it needed to be.


    Taking the tongs again, he picked up the sandwich and carefully lowered it into the oil. Bubbles rose around it as it began to cook and Lus set a timer for 3 minutes.


    While he waited, he cleared away more dishes and put away the charda and cured prak. The timer went off just as he was closing the interbox, so he hurried back to the pot. Grabbing the tongs, he flipped the sandwich. The bottom was pleasantly browned. He set another timer, this time for 2 minutes.


    Lus got out a clean plate and a fork and knife. He didn¡¯t usually eat sandwiches with utensils, but this one would be very greasy and hot and he didn¡¯t want to risk burning himself.


    As soon as the timer went off, he was ready with the tongs. He pulled the sandwich out and plopped it carefully on the plate. He turned the heat off under the oil and picked up the fork and knife.


    Slicing the sandwich in half, he slid the halves apart and admired the strings of melted cheese. He cut off one of the corners and lifted the bite to his lips. He blew on it a couple times to make sure it was cool enough to eat.


    The bite was warm, sticky, and chewy. The paral still had a little crunch and sourness to balance out the sweet and savory flavors. The breading added some crunchy texture to the outside.


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    He swallowed and followed the bite up with another. The sandwich quickly disappeared, leaving him pleasantly full and smiling.


    [-5 Common Sense]


    ¡°Wait, what? MINUS 5? How can I be losing Common Sense?¡± He nearly shouted and looked around for something to hit. Before his fist landed anywhere, his eyes caught on the interbox.


    ¡°Might as well take this to the source,¡± he muttered, stalking to the screen. ¡°Leviathan,¡± he said loudly. When the Demon¡¯s face didn¡¯t immediately appear, he growled. ¡°This is serious, you stupid Demon!¡±


    ¡°Bold words for someone with [-4 Common Sense],¡± the familiar voice answered with a malicious chuckle as the red eyes and jagged mouth appeared.


    ¡°Why did that sandwich take away my Common Sense! I thought system recipes were supposed to be useful!¡±


    ¡°And you can¡¯t think of any use for food that harms the consumer?¡±


    ¡°I- but- are you saying that this recipe is to feed to someone else?¡±


    ¡°Well, I certainly would not have chosen to eat it myself, but you often seem to choose the more difficult path.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I knew this would happen,¡± Lus answered in exasperation.


    ¡°Well you can¡¯t blame me for that. You¡¯re the one who seems to have some kind of hatred for reading.¡±


    ¡°Hatred for¡­ wait. Are you telling me that the information about what the food does is in the text?¡±


    Leviathan just looked at him with more disdain than Lus thought possible for a face on a screen.


    ¡°I thought it was just history and¡­ useless stuff,¡± he answered sheepishly.


    Leviathan just continued to glare silently. Lus was about to slink away to read the recipe description when he remembered something else.


    ¡°Also, why did I get a notification this time about the effects of the food? This is my, what, fourth or fifth system recipe? That¡¯s never happened before! And it would have been really handy, too!¡±


    Leviathan¡¯s glare turned into a defiant, almost sullen expression. ¡°Well naturally the system needed time to adjust to you. It¡¯s not as though I grant systems like candy at a parade.¡±


    Reading between the lines, Lus made a guess as to what the Demon was really saying. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that you forgot?¡±


    Leviathan glared again. ¡°I am an all-powerful Demon! I do not simply forget. It merely happened to be beneath my notice for a time as I focused on more important tasks.¡±


    Lus laughed. ¡°Sure, sugarcoat it however you want, poor Mr. Ancient-and-out-of-practice.¡±


    Instead of answering, Leviathan left, leaving a blank screen behind.


    Lus shrugged and turned back to the empty kitchen. Pulling up the recipe again, he scrolled back to the top and began skimming the long paragraphs of information.


    As he remembered, there was a paragraph on the history, another about the ingredients and what they added, and a third about appropriate substitutions.


    ¡°That¡¯s actually pretty helpful,¡± he murmured, scrolling down. Next came a paragraph about the best accompaniments to the dish. Finally, he reached the paragraph about the ability.


    ¡°Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwiches are the perfect weapon against an opponent if you want to give yourself a slight edge, especially in a battle of wits or a survival arena. Dealing temporary damage of -5 Common Sense, this delicious dish will hit them where it hurts without drawing any suspicion your way,¡± he read aloud.


    There was another paragraph after that about how to store leftovers. The last paragraph explained what the resulting dish should look and taste like, along with a few common mistakes.


    ¡°So it¡¯s still mostly useless information,¡± he said. ¡°But at least now I know where to find out beforehand what the ability is.¡±


    Turning his attention back to the kitchen once again, he realized something else. ¡°There¡¯s no way I can try something new tonight with such low common sense.¡±


    He had planned to try and make a savory version of the Tasty Buns, replacing the sweet fruit filling with a meat and cheese combination, but making homemade bread dough didn¡¯t sound like such a great plan anymore.


    ¡°Something simple,¡± he said thoughtfully, stroking his chin. If he had more bread, he could make more sandwiches, but he didn¡¯t have nearly enough to feed the entire crew.


    It was time to dig back into his pre-System arsenal. Hopefully with [Chef¡¯s Intuition] and his improved [Cooking] skill, he would be able to elevate them into something actually enjoyable to eat. Or at least edible.


    ¡°No pasta or bread, so I¡¯ll need to use something on hand¡­ rice? Rice is easy. I messed it up a few times, but¡­ I¡¯m a better cook now.¡±


    Smiling, he headed to the dry goods cupboard and pulled out the bin of rice. He then moved to the canned goods cupboard and dug through, looking for something to pair with the rice.


    After carefully examining two of the shelves, he exclaimed in triumph as he pulled three jars of sweet Tarik sauce from the third.


    The bottles were old and somewhat dusty, but they smelled fine when he popped off the caps and took a quick whiff.


    ¡°Tarik sauce, rice, I can use the pre-chopped vegetable mix¡­ and ground gervin meat?¡± He thought about it for a moment. It wasn¡¯t a combination he had ever heard of before, but it certainly sounded like it would go together well enough.


    Lus pulled the ground gervin meat out of the nitrobox. It was frozen, so he had to thaw it in the microwave heater. He could only thaw a few kgs at a time and it took about ten minutes each, so by the time he had finished thawing all the meat, he was running behind.


    He pulled out the largest pan he had and threw in as much gervin meat as he could fit. While the meat heated, he pulled out the two largest pots and filled them with rice and water according to the directions on the back of the rice bag.


    Once the rice was going, he grabbed a spatula and began breaking up and stirring the gervin meat. He cooked the meat until all the pink was gone, then scooped it out with a long-handled strainer and dropped it in a bowl. He plopped in more meat and waited for it to cook.


    [Check the rice]


    His eyes shot over to the pots. He pulled a pot holder out of the drawer and lifted the lid off the closest rice pot. He couldn¡¯t see any liquid and the rice looked white and fluffy.


    Grabbing a small spoon, he stirred the top, then tasted it. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s done.¡±


    Turning off the burners, he removed both lids and used a big spoon to stir and fluff the rice. He left the spoon to the side and turned his attention back to the meat.


    After another two rounds, he was done cooking meat. The pan was full of grease, which he dumped, leaving just a little to cook the vegetables in.


    He then filled the pan with the frozen vegetable mix. It cooked more quickly than the meat and he soon had a large bowl of cooked meat and another of cooked vegetables.


    Lus looked from the bowls to the jars of sauce, then to the pan on the stove. There was no way he could put it all together, but he needed it all together.


    He stepped away from the counter and began wandering the kitchen. He knew there was something he could use. He was sure of it. He just couldn¡¯t figure out what it was.


    His eyes scanned the kitchen. The familiar cupboards, the interbox and nitrobox, the ovens and large stovetop, the counters. None of it was helpful.


    Finally his eyes caught on the auto-pot. ¡°Oh! Right, that would work,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°And I probably would have figured that out a lot sooner if my Common Sense hadn¡¯t taken such a hit,¡± he muttered as he pulled the wheeled, auto-heating pot over to the counter.


    He dumped in the meat, veggies, and the three bottles of sauce and used a big spoon to stir it all together. Turning on the auto-pot, he let it heat while he carried the pots of rice out to the dining room with pot-holders to set them on.


    Returning to the kitchen, he stirred the sauce mixture again, then took out serving spoons for the rice.


    Another stir for the sauce.


    Out went the plates.


    Another stir.


    The forks.


    Finally, he took a smaller spoon and scooped up a taste of the sauce. It was hot enough to burn his tongue and he began breathing out, desperately trying to cool down the bite of burning food sitting painfully in his mouth.


    Once it was cool enough to actually taste, he chewed for a moment and swallowed. The meat didn¡¯t have a lot of flavor and the vegetables were maybe a little crunchier than he preferred them, but the sauce was delicious and at least it was a fairly balanced meal.


    Rolling the auto-pot out to the dining room, he breathed a sigh of relief and promised himself that he¡¯d never eat another Simple Sandwich again.

 [V]Chapter 46: A Suspect List

    Varyna sighed and leaned back in her seat. She and her two squadmates had just finished a late lunch at Krln¡¯s Nest, a restaurant owned by the friendly Kremel, Khrwm, they had met the other day. He had fed them some of the best food she¡¯d had in months and had shared a lot of useful information about the community, the business owners, the locals, and the favorite tourist spots.


    She should be thrilled that they¡¯d gotten good food and a number of good leads, but her [Quest] was hanging over her head. Trying to track down a killer was hard enough, but now she had to find some source of Demonic energy as well and the clock was ticking. The two of them had to be related somehow. If she could find the killer, maybe she¡¯d have a better idea of where to find the Demonic source.


    ¡°Officer Rhine!¡± Hxlt said loudly, breaking into Varyna¡¯s thoughts. She looked up in surprise to find the Kremel studying her. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± he asked.


    She frowned. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just shaking the table,¡± Hxlt pointed out.


    Varyna¡¯s bouncing legs came to a sudden stop and she felt her cheeks flushing. She hadn¡¯t even realized that she was moving. It was a habit she had worked hard to get rid of and thought she had put well behind her.


    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m just thinking about the case.¡±


    ¡°Any thoughts you want to share?¡± Hxlt asked. ¡°Because there are a lot of directions we can take this investigation.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Opun jumped in. ¡°We can retrace the steps of the victims, we can interview everyone who had contact with them, we still haven¡¯t really examined the holograms of the crime scene.¡±


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t necessarily all need to stick together,¡± Varyna pointed out. ¡°I¡¯d like to do some street interviews and retrace the victims¡¯ steps.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Hxlt decided.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll tackle the holograms,¡± Opun volunteered. ¡°And maybe pick the doctor¡¯s brain, see if she has any insights.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. Then let¡¯s-¡± Hxlt said, starting to stand.


    ¡°But one of you has got to take some notes,¡± Opun demanded.


    Varyna and Hxlt rolled their eyes and laughed, but promised that they¡¯d keep a record of their interviews.


    Opun nodded gravely and left, heading back up the street towards the clinic where they had set up their base. Varyna and Hxlt looked around at the crowds of tourists.


    ¡°Khrwm did suggest we go check out the Haunted Cave and get familiar with some of the tourist attractions,¡± Hxlt said. ¡°So let''s start there.¡±


    Varyna nodded, but her eyes were busy scanning the street. What would a source of Demonic power even look like? As her eyes skimmed over the gardens, she paused, remembering the team of decrepit golems that had made their way down the street just that morning.


    Golems are obviously a source of Demonic energy. Could that be it? She wondered. When her System didn¡¯t respond, she sighed. Obviously not. That¡¯s way too easy.


    Turning, she followed Hxlt towards the Haunted Cave. There were plenty of signs pointing them in the right direction. Soon the regular shops and restaurants turned into tourist businesses. They  advertised things like: ¡°The most scenic hikes on Imadrin¡±, ¡°Exclusive Haunted Cave Tours¡±, ¡°Mountain Climbing for All Levels¡±, and more.


    ¡°Are we going to talk to all of these?¡± Varyna asked.


    ¡°Unless you have a better idea,¡± Hxlt answered.


    ¡°Divide and conquer?¡± she suggested.


    He frowned doubtfully.


    ¡°If I promise not to make a scene?¡± she added.


    ¡°And to take notes?¡± he reminded her.


    ¡°Right. And I¡¯ll take notes,¡± she agreed. She glanced between the sides of the street and gestured to the side opposite where they stood. ¡°I¡¯ll take that side, you take this one?¡± she suggested.


    Hxlt nodded and they split up. The first business on her side was the mountain climbing one. She entered the rustic-looking building and found a small waiting room full of people. A female Nemarian at the reception desk called her over.


    ¡°Do you have an appointment or are you here to set one up?¡± the receptionist asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Officer Varyna Rhine with the COPS Crime Division, and I¡¯m here to interview your staff regarding the recent deaths in town,¡± Varyna answered, flashing her identification.


    ¡°Oh my,¡± the Nemarian answered. ¡°Just give me a second.¡± She reached down and pressed a few buttons on the communicator in front of her, then spoke softly into a headset she had connected to it.


    ¡°Mr. Zat, we¡¯ve got a COPS Officer here to talk to us about those poor souls who were killed.¡±


    Varyna couldn¡¯t hear the response, but the receptionist nodded and said, ¡°Of course, Sir.¡± She pressed another button on the communicator and looked back up at Varyna.


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    ¡°Mr. Zat will be with you shortly. He just needs to finish up with his current customer, if you can take a seat?¡± She gestured at the waiting room.


    Varyna frowned. ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone else I can talk to? Someone available now?¡± If she had to wait on every single business owner like this, she¡¯d never finish.


    The receptionist gulped nervously. ¡°Well, he is nearly done. It will only be another minute or two. Can I get you something to drink while you wait? Or maybe an energy bar?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± Varyna sighed, stepping to the side of the counter to wait. After what seemed like an eternity, the communicator beeped.


    The receptionist pressed a button and listened for a moment, then gave a sigh of relief and looked up at Varyna. ¡°He¡¯s ready for you now. Just head through the door on your right. It¡¯s the office at the end of the hall.¡±


    Varyna strode through the door and down the short hallway, brushing past a Human male who was headed out of the office.


    She found a male Nemarian inside the spacious room, sitting behind a large desk. He stood at her entrance. ¡°Welcome. I¡¯m Wrestu-Zat, owner of Haunted Climbs. You must be the Officer here to talk about the recent murders,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Varyna was doing a poor job at hiding her annoyance of having to have waited so long already.


    The Nemarian cleared his throat. ¡°Will you sit?¡±


    She gave a brusque nod and took the offered sea then slid out her holopen and used it to show him the images and names of the victims.


    ¡°Do you recognize any of these people?¡±


    ¡°Aside from the memorials that were done and Yana¡¯s execrable souvenirs?¡± he asked with a bitter smile that quickly fell away. ¡°Yes. They all booked climbing expeditions with me, though three of them died before their scheduled climb.¡±


    ¡°Can I see your records?¡± Varyna asked.


    ¡°Certainly.¡± He quickly typed on his holoscreen for a moment, then a series of documents popped up. He slid it over to Varyna and she began carefully reading through liability releases. Each of the victims had signed their name, releasing Mr. Zat from any responsibility in case they were injured on their climb. They had also all listed an-


    ¡°Emergency contacts..¡± Varyna murmured, reading through the line in each document that detailed the person to be notified in case of an emergency. There was a field to designate ¡®relationship¡¯, and all of the victims had put aunts, uncles, cousins, or friends. Not a single one had listed immediate family members or significant others.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Mr. Zat said uncertainly. ¡°It¡¯s a fairly standard procedure for activities that contain an element of risk, such as climbing. I assume most of the businesses around here use something similar.¡±


    Varyna nodded thoughtfully. Taking out her holopen, she captured the documents, then scribbled a few notes down. ¡°This was very helpful. Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I could help. If you need anything else from me, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± He stood again and shook her hand before she rushed out of the building. She only had to wait a couple minutes for Hxlt to appear from the first business on the other side. As soon as he stepped out, she jogged over to him.


    ¡°Already got something?¡± he asked, his forehead scrunching in surprise.


    ¡°Emergency contacts!¡± she answered excitedly.


    He frowned, not seeing the significance, so she pulled out her holopen and showed him the documents.


    ¡°They all list a distant relative or friend as an emergency contact,¡± she answered.


    His eyes widened in understanding. ¡°And you think that¡¯s how the killer knew who to target to avoid those with close relatives.¡±


    ¡°It makes sense. The question is, how many of these businesses ask for that information, and how many of these businesses did each of the victims visit?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s something solid to ask about,¡± Hxlt answered.


    With a new plan, they again split up to visit the rest of the businesses on the street. Varyna had expected to find at least one other enterprise that each of the victims had visited and left emergency contact information with, but in the end, only Wrestu-Zat¡¯s climbing company fit the bill.


    She and Hxlt briefly compared notes when they finished their canvassing before returning to the clinic to join Opun.


    They found their third team member bent close to a holoscreen, examining one of the crime scene holograms closely. He looked up at their entrance and blinked a few times.


    ¡°Any luck?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a good lead,¡± Varyna smiled. ¡°You?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Nothing much. Whoever did this managed to get close to the victims without being suspected, because the wounds are from the front and show no sign that the victims were running. Potentially that means it was something they at least were familiar with, but it could also just be someone who is good at hiding their knife.¡±


    ¡°Something they¡¯re familiar with tracks with what we found,¡± Hxlt said, sinking into the largest of the chairs at the small table.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± Opun said, pulling out his holopen.


    Varyna pulled hers out as well and showed him the documents. She explained their theory that the emergency contacts were what tipped off the killer as to which tourists lacked close relatives.


    ¡°A solid supposition,¡± Opun agreed. ¡°That gives us one potential suspect then, correct? This-¡± He paused to look at Varyna¡¯s notes. ¡°Wrestu-Zat.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not the only one though,¡± Varyna pointed out. ¡°He may have information that puts him in a good position to be the killer, but what¡¯s the motive? Ruining the tourism industry here hurts him.¡±


    ¡°As far as motive goes, Yana has a solid one,¡± Hxlt pointed out with a frown. ¡°Anyone willing to profit off of murder can¡¯t be far above committing it.¡±


    Opun and Varyna nodded their agreement as Opun added the name to the list he was making.


    ¡°There¡¯s another solid motive,¡± Varyna ventured. ¡°And we know of at least one person in town who has it.¡±


    When her fellow Officers stared at her blankly, she sighed. ¡°Peacekeeper Ershel clearly wants to see the tourism industry here die so the planet can return to their rustic roots.¡±


    Opun and Hxlt shared a look, then slowly nodded. ¡°But he said he¡¯s not the only one.¡±


    ¡°Which means we have even more suspects,¡± Varyna pointed out. She glanced over at Opun. ¡°Are you not going to add him to the list just because he¡¯s a ¡®Peacekeeper¡¯?¡± she asked in frustration.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not adding him to the list because we need to avoid offending him if we want him to continue to cooperate with us, and we¡¯ll need that if we want to look into who else shares his anti-tourism sentiments.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just throw around accusations without a shred of evidence,¡± Hxlt added. ¡°That¡¯s a quick way to make enemies.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Varyna answered in exasperation. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we have to go accuse him right now. I just want to know that you¡¯re not going to give him a free pass just because of his position.¡±


    ¡°We would never do that,¡± Hxlt said firmly. ¡°I can certainly understand your suspicion and I agree that he deserves watching alongside Yana and Wrestu-Zat.¡±


    Varyna nodded. ¡°As long as we¡¯re all on the same page.¡± She glanced out the small window at the fading sunlight. ¡°We¡¯ve got a killer to catch.

 [V]Chapter 47: Following the Trail

    Varyna woke up to the buzzing alarm on her communicator. It had been a late night. First, she and her fellow Officers had joined the Peacekeepers at another popular restaurant, where they shared their suspect list (exempting Peacekeeper Ershel).


    Then the Peacekeepers took the COPS to see the Haunted Cave, insisting that they couldn¡¯t properly investigate the case if they didn¡¯t first take time to see what had drawn the victims to the planet in the first place.


    The Haunted Cave was a natural series of large caverns with strange formations along the walls. With the flickering light of fake torches casting moving shadows among the rocks, the cave held an eerie feeling. That, combined with the dripping water and other strange sounds that apparently occurred naturally in the cave, created an atmosphere that was indeed haunting.


    Because they¡¯d gone in the evening, they had found huge crowds waiting to get in. Thankfully, because the employees running the Cave recognized Ershel and Benou-Alf, they let the Peacekeepers and their friends cut ahead of the line.


    After their jaunt through the cave, they had all returned to a bar among the downtown businesses. Varyna had hoped that Ershel would drink enough to loosen his tongue and dull his memory, but he kept a tight rein on his consumption, stopping after only two small drinks.


    Though he wasn¡¯t drunk, she took advantage of the casual atmosphere to ask about others who shared his sentiments regarding tourism. Hxlt overheard and joined the conversation, clearly not trusting her to keep it subtle, which she didn¡¯t appreciate.


    Still, it was effective. They managed to get a list of names of people to talk to who shared his sentiments, expanding their suspect list. Now they just had to narrow it back down.


    They had plenty of people with motive, but the only person with the information to choose the victims that had been targeted didn¡¯t have a motive. Wrestu-Zat also showed no signs of being a source of demonic energy, though Varyna wasn¡¯t really sure how to figure out something like that.


    Well, she thought, I¡¯ll tackle that today. She had decided last night that she would chat with Wrestu-Zat and see if anyone else had access to his records. If she could find a connection between his records and someone with motive, that would give her and her fellow Officers a stronger lead to work with.


    With that in mind, she quickly dressed and met Hxlt and Opun at the small breakfast bar off the lobby of the hotel. She enjoyed a warm bowl of simanin oratmeal with chunks of sweet darre mixed in to add some texture and sweetness.


    After eating, they split up. Opun wanted to continue going over the crime scene holograms while Hxlt wanted to start finding and interviewing some of the names they¡¯d gotten from Peacekeeper Ershel the night before.


    Varyna made her way back to Wrestu-Zat¡¯s business, hoping to find him there in spite of the early hour.


    She got her wish. The business was closed and locked, but when she knocked at the door, she heard footsteps inside. She knocked again, not stopping until the door swung open.


    ¡°We¡¯re not ope- oh.¡± Wrestu-Zat stepped aside to let her in. ¡°I apologize, Officer. I thought you were an overzealous tourist.¡±


    ¡°I assumed as much,¡± she answered, stepping into the empty waiting room. He closed the door and faced her, running a hand over his fins.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°I was wondering who has access to your files. Who else might have seen the release forms that you have your clients sign?¡±


    He sighed and motioned for her to follow him back to his office. Instead of the neat space from the previous day, it was a bit of a mess, with papers and pens scattered about.


    ¡°Pardon my mess. I do a round of organizing every day before I open. Now let¡¯s see, you want to know who else has access to the documents?¡± He sank into his chair behind the desk and motioned for Varyna to take one of the open chairs across from him.


    ¡°Reshla-Ursil, of course. My secretary,¡± he added at Varyna¡¯s blank look.


    ¡°Ah, of course.¡± She pulled out her holopen and quickly took notes.


    ¡°Uh, I send them all to a legal representative from Urith. He takes care of me if I ever have someone file a legal complaint.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s his name?¡±


    Varyna quickly copied it down, though she didn¡¯t expect much from that direction.


    ¡°Okay, is there anyone else at all that might have access? Even just someone who spends time in your office when you¡¯re not around?¡±


    He tilted his head thoughtfully. ¡°Well, my niece occasionally hangs out here after closing. I gave her a key so she can come here when she needs some space. My sister, her mother, is¡­ difficult at times.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s your niece¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Eurlin-Opel. I can give you her address as well, though I¡¯m sure she has nothing to do with all of this mess. She¡¯s a good girl.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right, but she may still be able to help me with this,¡± Varyna answered, taking down the girl¡¯s information.


    When further pressing failed to reveal more names, she bid Wrestu-Zat a good day and headed out of his office. She found Reshla-Ursil at the reception desk, setting down her stuff and getting settled in for her workday.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Varyna said.


    Reshla-Ursil jumped and spun around, a hand over her heart.


    ¡°Officer! You startled me! I didn¡¯t expect anyone except Mr. Zat here this morning.¡±


    ¡°I apologize,¡± Varyna answered. ¡°I just came to follow up with him about some information that he shared yesterday. Speaking of which, I need to ask you as well. Have you ever let anyone into his office when he wasn¡¯t around or shared any of his documents with anyone?¡±


    ¡°Oh no! I would never!¡± she answered vehemently. ¡°Mr. Zat has been far too good to me for me to betray his trust like that.¡±


    Varyna nodded. ¡°Of course. I didn¡¯t think you would do anything to harm him intentionally, but perhaps you might know of any unusual visitors or circumstances.¡± Catching sight of the receptionist¡¯s nervous expression, Varyna sighed and handed her a small chip. ¡°If you think of anything, just contact me and let me know. I would hate for your boss to get in trouble for someone else¡¯s crime just because they took advantage of his business.¡±


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    Reshla-Ursil¡¯s eyes widened in understanding and she nodded. ¡°Of course. If I think of anything, I¡¯ll let you know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Varyna left, feeling like she hadn¡¯t found what she was looking for but unsure what else she could do. I¡¯ll follow up with the niece, she decided, checking the address Wrestu-Zat had given her.


    She checked her watch as well and decided first to check in with Opun so her fellow Officers would know where to find her.


    Her squadmate was bent over a hologram, just like she and Hxlt had found him the previous evening. He looked up at her entrance.


    ¡°Come tell me what you think about this,¡± he said, motioning her forward.


    She stood next to him, leaning in as he pointed out some marks next to one of the bodies.


    ¡°They look like¡­ footprints?¡± she said thoughtfully. ¡°Not very clear prints,though.¡±


    ¡°Just smudges but¡­ well¡­ they¡¯re a little small, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    She squinted. ¡°If those were left by the killer, I think we can safely rule out all the Kremel over the age of four,¡± she answered.


    Opun chuckled briefly. ¡°I think they were left by the killer. I just can¡¯t figure out why they left smudged prints like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, if they killed the victims somewhere else, they¡¯d obviously have to move them to get them in front of the business. Perhaps the footprints are tracking something from where the murders took place?¡±


    Opun nodded. ¡°We should talk to Hxlt, and maybe bring in the Peacekeepers. They might recognize the material.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Varyna answered. ¡°I¡¯ve got another lead to follow up on. Apparently the owner of the climbing business gave his niece a key to the building, so if she¡¯s brought in any of her friends, that expands our list of people who had access to the documents.¡±


    He gave her a brief nod. ¡°You go do that. I¡¯ll let Hxlt know and perhaps we can discuss everything over lunch in-¡± He glanced at a clock. ¡°Two hours.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± she agreed.


    She left the clinic behind and waved down a passing Crawler for Hire. She directed the driver to the address Wrestu-Zat had provided.


    The small house sat in the middle of a large field, on a very low-traffic street, far from any neighbors. She felt a jolt of understanding for why Wrestu-Zat would want his niece to have a refuge from a place that provided no other safe haven if one were to need a break from their family.


    Varyna¡¯s knock at the door was answered by a Nemarian female who looked to be no older than Varyna.


    ¡°Are you Eurlin-Opel?¡± she asked.


    The Nemarian nodded, glancing shyly away. ¡°Wh-who are you?¡± she stammered, dragging her gaze back up to Varyna¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯m Officer Varyna Rhine with the COPS, here to investigate the murder victims that have been found downtown.¡± Varyna kept her voice even and gentle. ¡°I think you might be able to help me.¡±


    ¡°M-m-me?¡± Eurlin asked in surprise.


    ¡°Yes. Your uncle keeps records of his clients and I believe the killer may have seen those records. He told me that you have a key and I was just wondering if you ever take any of your friends or any visitors with you when you visit your Uncle¡¯s business?¡±


    ¡°Y-you think it-t was one of my f-f-friends?¡± Eurlin¡¯s face reflected the panic she seemed to be feeling.


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Varyna answered quickly. But it might be someone that your friends are connected to. Information can travel much further than you think. If one of your friends saw those documents and told one of their friends, who shared it with someone else, it could be someone you don¡¯t even know. But I have to retrace where that information has gone.¡±


    Eurlin nodded and bit her lip. ¡°I oc-casionally take friends there to hang out, esp-pecially the friends my mom doesn¡¯t get along with,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°Could you give me some of those names?¡± Varyna asked.


    ¡°You promise I¡¯m not g-going to get them in tr-trouble?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll only be in trouble if they did something wrong. And you wouldn¡¯t want your friends to get away with doing something that might hurt your Uncle, would you?¡±


    Eurlin¡¯s eyes widened and she shook her head. ¡°Of c-c-c-course not. I-I¡¯ll tell you everyone I r-remember.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Varyna quickly pulled out her holopen and began copying down names as fast as Eurlin stemmered them out. The fourth name was one that she recognized from Ershel¡¯s list and she was just gloating over the new lead when she heard a name she hadn¡¯t expected.


    ¡°What was that last one?¡± she asked, looking back up at Eurlin.


    ¡°Oh, it w-was B-Benou-Alf.¡±


    ¡°The Peacekeeper?¡± Varyna asked.


    Eurlin nodded with a bright smile. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s b-been helping me g-get applications written to leave Im-madrin. M-Mom doesn¡¯t ap-prove of leaving, b-but I want to see wh-wh-what¡¯s out there.¡±


    Varyna nodded. ¡°She does seem very kind. And she helps you at your Uncle¡¯s business?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah. He lets me use his holoscreen for it so M-Mom doesn¡¯t f-find out.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Well, thank you for all your help.¡± Varyna ended the conversation and said goodbye to the girl, then turned and looked at the empty road. She needed to contact someone to pick her up, but first she needed somewhere to think. She made her way down the road a bit and sat on a rock tucked under some large trees.


    Why is Benou-Alf spending time with Eurlin-Opel? Varyna wondered. The Peacekeeper wasn¡¯t ancient, by any means, but she had to have at least a decade on the younger Nemarian. It seemed an unlikely friendship.


    And why didn¡¯t she tell me that Wrestu-Zat¡¯s niece brings people to his office? That sat bitterly on Varyna¡¯s mind. She tried to reason that the Peacekeeper just didn¡¯t want to throw her young friend under the bus, but if she had truly been trying to protect the shy Nemarian, she would have told the Officers what she knew and acted as the go-between to keep Eurlin safe.


    Varyna pulled up her list and looked at the last two names. She finally had a solid lead, someone who had access to the records and she already knew shared Ershel¡¯s dislike of the tourists that had flooded Imadrin.


    But the name below it kept nagging at her.


    ¡°I need to talk to her, get her side,¡± Varyna decided.


    Almost as if summoned by her thoughts, a familiar Crawler appeared. It jolted to a stop at her side and the driver¡¯s window opened.


    ¡°Need a ride?¡± Benou-Alf asked.


    Varyna nodded and went around, climbing in the other front seat. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, trying to shake the ominous feeling hanging over her.


    ¡°Something on your mind?¡± Benou-Alf asked in her usual warm, friendly tone.


    ¡°Just thinking over some new leads,¡± Varyna answered. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that your friend was letting other people into Wrestu-Zat¡¯s office?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess I just didn¡¯t think about it,¡± she answered casually.


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± It was a weak excuse, and it set alarm bells ringing even louder in Varyna¡¯s mind. ¡°Has anyone ever asked where you were on the nights of the murders?¡± she asked, going for the attack and hoping that Benou-Alf would have a solid alibi.


    ¡°I was at home asleep, like any sane person.¡±


    So no alibi, then.


    Varyna let out a slow breath, deciding to let it wait until she could consult with Hxlt and Opun when she noticed something.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± she asked. They had turned onto an unfamiliar road that definitely wasn¡¯t headed back towards town.


    ¡°I just wanted to show you something.¡± The Peacekeeper was as warm and friendly as ever, but Varyna couldn¡¯t ignore the signs any longer. She waited for a rocky stretch of road and, using the clankings of the Crawler as cover, she quietly undid her buckles.


    The moment they got over the rocks and into a flat, wooded area, Varyna threw open the door and jumped out, rolling to her feet and darting into the trees.


    Branches whipped past her face as she ran. She didn¡¯t know which direction she was headed, she just knew that she needed to get away from Benou-Alf.


    Behind her, she heard a crash and glanced back, nearly stumbling as she caught sight of the Crawler bowling over and through the trees.


    ¡°Blast and boil,¡± she muttered. She needed to get somewhere that the Crawler couldn¡¯t reach, but where? Crawlers were made to handle the roughest terrain.


    Before she could decide, she felt a small prick in her neck. Her vision began to spin and she staggered, trying to keep her footing as her legs began to give out.


    ¡°What-¡± she started to ask and then the world went black.

 [V]Chapter 48: Uncovering the Killer

    Varyna¡¯s head felt like it was hosting a full on Gladiatus tournament and her eyes were too heavy to open. She groaned and slowly managed to pry her eyelids apart, wincing at the bright light that nearly blinded her.


    Once her vision adjusted, she surveyed her surroundings. The light shone in through a small window near the top of a stone wall, lighting up a small, nearly empty room. She was laying on a small, rickety cot below the window. She tried to move and found her hands cuffed together with old-fashioned metal cuffs. Her ankles were also cuffed.


    A single question pushed through the fog in her mind. How did I get here?


    She closed her eyes, trying desperately to remember what had happened before she blacked out. She had been running through the woods, trying to escape from¡­


    The Crawler! Benou-Alf!


    The Peacekeeper must have shot her with some kind of drugged projectile. It was a common tactic for restraining runaway minors and non-violent criminals.


    But why would she-


    Suddenly her conversation with Benou-Alf came back to her.


    She''s the killer.


    Varyna¡¯s eyes shot open and she looked around again in panic, worried the Nemarian might be waiting to finish her off.


    Where is she?


    With another groan of pain, she managed to raise herself to a sitting position. The walls around her were made of stone with a metal door set in the wall opposite the small window. She stood and waited a moment for her head to stop spinning, then shuffled over to the door.


    Turning, she tested the handle with her bound hands. Of course it was locked.


    Her eyes made another pass over the room, hoping to find something she could use to escape her shackles. The dated metal cuffs were notoriously easy to unlock if you could find the right tool. Who knew those history classes at the COPS academy would actually prove to be so useful?


    Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t see anything in the room besides the cot, so she focused her attention there. Looking for any loose nails, screws, or other bits that might be useful.


    She managed to pry off a loose piece of metal without losing her fingernails entirely, though they had become a bloody mess. Getting the metal shard positioned to unlock the cuffs was more difficult, but she got there eventually.


    With a click, the cuffs finally fell off. She sighed in relief and stretched her arms, loosening up the tight muscles before getting to work on the cuffs around her ankles.


    Thank you Professor Xavvy. I take back everything I ever said about your class being a waste of time. She sent out silent gratitude to her old history professor as she rubbed her sore legs.


    Free to move, Varyna turned her attention to the door. There was a manual lock that looked like she might be able to maneuver it open. She set to work with the metal piece, trying to turn the lock.


    After probably twenty minutes of work, she managed to get the right sequence of turns and angles, and the lock clicked open.


    Looking around the room one more time, she decided to grab one of the sets of cuffs in case she had the chance to use it. She also gripped the metal piece tightly in her hand. It wasn¡¯t as sharp as a knife, but it would make a passable weapon¡ªher raw fingertips could attest to that.


    Opening the door slowly and quietly, she found herself in a narrow, dim hallway. The only light came from a few open doors that appeared to lead into rooms just like the one she had been trapped in.


    She crept forward, keeping her metal shard raised in a defensive position. A distant sound drew her to a stop. She froze and looked around cautiously. The noise had come from somewhere ahead of her, but she didn¡¯t hear it again, so she kept moving with silent even steps.


    The hallway ended in a solid door. She pressed her ear against it, listening to find out if anything was happening on the other side. When she had waited for a few minutes without hearing any sound, she tried the handle and found it unlocked.


    Continuing slowly and cautiously, keeping her metal shard at the ready, she pushed it open. Inside, she found another nearly empty room, though much larger than the one she had woken up in. It seemed this was an old abandoned storage building.


    Varyna¡¯s eyes were drawn to the floor, which was covered in some kind of dark dust, likely left over from whatever the building was used for in times past. Something about the dust pulled at the edges of her mind. It felt important, but in her still-hazy, post-drugged state, she couldn¡¯t quite remember why.


    She stopped and leaned against the wall for a moment to try and settle her spinning thoughts. Her eyes again ran over the dust on the floor, and the thoughts that had been floating hazily at the edges of her mind came forward.


    The dust- the footprints at the crime scenes.


    If this was Benou-Alf¡¯s secret hideout, it made sense that she would track the dust to the crime scenes, especially if she handled the bodies here before leaving them downtown.


    Varyna did one more check to make sure nobody was hiding in the large, empty space, then began making her way around the edge, keeping her back to the wall. She checked for doors, not wanting to give her captor any chance to sneak up behind her.


    Her goal was the far wall, which was lined with windows and doors. She got to the corner and turned to follow the side wall, her eyes constantly moving around, watching all the other entrances.


    She reached the first door on the new wall and found it cracked open. Peeking inside, she found herself looking at Benou-Alf, standing with her back to the door. She was leaning over a metal table, but Varyna couldn¡¯t see what was on it.


    A cool breeze slid out of the crack into her face. As it washed over her, a strange, ominous tingling spread from her scalp down to her fingertips.


    What is this? She wondered. Shaking it off, she made to move past the door. Instead of confronting the murderous Peacekeeper, she thought it would be better to escape and come back with reinforcements, especially since she didn¡¯t have any weapons and Benou-Alf likely did.


    Varyna had only taken a couple steps past the door when she heard footsteps. She spun around, getting into a defensive stance just as the door swung open and the Nemarian stepped out.


    ¡°Officer Rhine, so good to see you up and about,¡± Benou-Alf said with her usual warm smile, completely unbothered to see Varyna uncuffed and (somewhat) armed. Her eyes were hazy, almost a little unfocused and Varyna wondered if the Nemarian was using some kind of drug. If so, that would give Varyna an edge in a fight.


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    ¡°I wish I could say the feeling was mutual,¡± Varyna answered, watching for an opening to attack. Unfortunately, while the Peacekeeper projected an air of casual camaraderie, she positioned herself for a fight, keeping her stance low and her hands near her belt, where her weapons were stored.


    ¡°You wound me. I thought we had gotten off to such a good start.¡±


    ¡°Well, finding out that your acquaintance is a murderer does tend to put a damper on the relationship.¡±


    Benou-Alf chuckled. ¡°Murderer. That has such a negative ring to it, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Varyna¡¯s eyebrows rose a fraction as she took a small step back, hoping to distance herself from the Peacekeeper. ¡°Well then, what would you call it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a Visionary,¡± the Nemarian answered with a chilling smile.


    Varyna¡¯s eyes widened. It was a strange phrase to use, but it tickled something in her memory. She felt like she had read about it somewhere. Of the hundreds of Demonology books she¡¯d read, some particular phrases and images were coming to her mind.


    Images of people surrounding strange altars.


    Visionaries.


    Prophets.


    Harbingers of Change.


    Right, that¡¯s what they called themselves according to the books. That¡¯s what the Demon Worshippers called themselves..


    She must be in a contract with a demon, Varyna¡¯s eyes widened as she made the realization. That¡¯s why her eyes are glazed, why she doesn¡¯t seem quite like herself.


    ¡°Wait, does that mean I finished the quest?¡± Varyna mumbled to herself. She half hoped a screen would pop up congratulating her, but of course it couldn¡¯t be that easy. Surely the demonic energy was contained in a vessel of some sort. She needed to find that¡ªwherever and whatever it was.


    Right, she reasoned. It¡¯s so simple, facing down an armed adversary and destroying her most treasured object without getting killed.


    Firming up her determination, Varyna returned her attention to Benou-Alf, who hadn¡¯t seemed to notice her distraction. Instead, the Nemarian¡¯s eyes had gone even more unfocused and she seemed to be murmuring something under her breath, having some kind of conversation with herself.


    Or with the demon.


    Taking advantage of her captor¡¯s temporary diversion, Varyna leapt forward. She managed to plunge her metal shard into Benou-Alf¡¯s arm before the Nemarian could react, but the Peacekeeper was quick on her feet and she jumped away before Varyna could continue her attack.


    Pulling out a blaster, she aimed it right at Varyna.


    Varyna came to a stop and raised her hand, dropping the metal piece.


    ¡°You¡¯re quick,¡± Benou-Alf said, panting slightly and glancing briefly at her bleeding arm. ¡°But you¡¯re out-armed, and I think you¡¯re smart enough to realize that this is where your little bid for freedom ends.¡±


    Varyna glared at her captor for a moment before she decided to try another tactic. ¡°I know why you¡¯re doing this.¡±


    Benou-Alf¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, then she chuckled. ¡°Do you, now? So confident, Officer. I¡¯d love to hear your hypothesis.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a hypothesis. It¡¯s pretty obvious you¡¯ve been connected to a source of demonic energy.¡±


    Benou-Alf¡¯s smile got wider, making her look nearly insane. ¡°Very good, Varyna. Consider me impressed.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get it?¡± Varyna asked, hoping to distract the Nemarian enough to make another move, either an attack or a bid for escape. Benou-Alf didn¡¯t start ranting or telling a long, involved story, but her eyes darted down for a moment.


    Varyna glanced down as well, noting a small bulge in one of her pockets.


    Is that the source? She wondered.


    As though the Peacekeeper could read Varyna¡¯s train of thought, she turned slightly, moving the pocket out of Varyna¡¯s direct line of sight and confirming Varyna¡¯s suspicions.


    ¡°Well, as fun as this has been, I think it¡¯s time to end thi-¡± Benou-Alf began, tightening her grip on her blaster.


    ¡°We have you surrounded!¡± a loud, familiar voice called from outside. ¡°Put the blaster down. If you kill her, your life is forfeit.¡±


    It was Hxlt. Varyna nearly cried out in relief. She¡¯d never been so happy to hear her coworker¡¯s voice before. Glancing over to the windows, she caught sight of at least one Crawler. Hxlt was peeking in and she assumed Opun and hopefully other reinforcements waited at the doors waiting for the Kremel¡¯s signal to enter.


    While her attention was briefly diverted, the Nemarian lunged forward. With incredible speed, one arm wrapped around Varyna¡¯s waist while the other positioned the blaster against her forehead.


    ¡°Come on in,¡± Benou-Alf invited in a voice that was likely supposed to sound cheerful, but mostly came across as frantic.


    With a loud bang, one of the doors flew open and Opun, Ershel, and Hxlt rushed in, all leveling blasters at Benou-Alf and, by extension, Varyna.


    ¡°Let her go and we won¡¯t kill you,¡± Hxlt promised.


    ¡°What assurance do I have of that? I want more than just life, I want freedom,¡± Benou-Alf answered. ¡°I cannot be contained like this. Do you know how powerful I am?¡±


    While they talked and negotiated, Varyna carefully moved, trying to reposition herself without drawing the Peacekeeper¡¯s attention. She only had one shot, so she had to do this right.


    Once she was ready, she struck, slamming her elbow down towards the Nemarian¡¯s pocket with such speed that Benou-Alf didn¡¯t have any time to react. Before her captor could pull the trigger of the blaster, Varyna felt a small, round object smash under the force of her elbow.


    The Peacekeeper let out an animalistic shriek and staggered backwards, her arms falling away from Varyna.


    Varyna darted forward, sprinting until she was close enough for Hxlt to grab her and shove her behind his protective bulk.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± he called.


    ¡°I destroyed the source of demonic energy that was possessing her,¡± Varyna answered, distracted by the screen that had finally popped up.


    [Quest Complete: Demonic Origin]


    While her partners apprehended a very wilted Benou-Alf, Varyna quickly navigated to her [Quest] tab and accessed her rewards. The moment she clicked on the new [Skill], another notification popped up.


    [New Skill Acquired: Demonic Intuition Level 1]


    The moment the screen disappeared, she noticed the change. She could see dark tendrils oozing off of Benou-Alf, along with a dark cloud around the pocket where the destroyed source still resided.


    Stepping forward now that the Peacekeeper¡ªformer Peacekeeper¡ªwas fully restrained, she reached into the pocket and pulled out the pieces.


    The ¡®Demonic Origin¡¯ had been a small jar made of some kind of ancient pottery material. The outside was marked with black ink in strange patterns.


    ¡°We should make sure this is properly taken care of,¡± Varyna cautioned. ¡°It still contains a lot of demonic energy.¡±


    ¡°We can contact the Demon Division and let them know. They might want to come check it out for themselves.¡±


    Varyna felt a small spurt of excitement. The Demon Division, coming here? She might get to meet them in person, get her name out there. This could be the step she needed to get in.


    Before she could get carried away by her excitement, Opun brought her back down. ¡°We¡¯ll need your statement about what happened.¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t come with you. I shouldn¡¯t have let you go out alone.¡±


    Varyna shrugged. ¡°None of us could have known this would happen. Besides, you got here right on time.¡±


    He gave her a half-smile, but she could tell he was still bothered by how close of a call it had been.


    ¡°How did you find me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°We owe it to Peacekeeper Ershel. He recognized the material the foot smudges were made of and led us out here. Things really kicked into overdrive when you never came back from your excursion and we couldn¡¯t get ahold of you.¡±


    Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ¡°Wait, how long was I gone?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a full day,¡± Opun answered.


    ¡°Oh. I thought it had only been a few hours.¡± She stretched her arms again. ¡°No wonder I¡¯m so sore.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be even more sore when I¡¯m done with you,¡± Hxlt answered with a half-serious glare. ¡°What were you thinking, taking on a serial killer by yourself?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to,¡± Varyna protested. ¡°But she came by while I was going over some evidence and offered a ride, and I had no reason to say no.¡±


    Hxlt held up a hand. ¡°Save it for your statement. We¡¯ll hear it all in the Crawler on our way back to town, then you can clean up and get some rest. You¡¯ve earned it.¡± He smiled. ¡°Good job, Officer.¡±

 Chapter 49: Cooking Filled Buns

    Another day, another dinner that Lus had to somehow come up with.


    He¡¯d already done all his usual meals over the last few days, and he knew the crew would be grumpy if he repeated something he¡¯d done too recently.


    While everyone enjoyed his improved cooking, it was clear that they were ready for something new.


    As he was thinking over what to make, the lights flickered. He looked up in surprise, then jumped as his name rang through the kitchen.


    ¡°Lusac Arten!¡±


    He sighed and spun to face the cartoonishly devilish face on the interbox screen. ¡°Leviathan.¡±


    ¡°Why are you wasting the wealth of knowledge and opportunity that I have benevolently placed before you?¡± the Demon boomed.


    Lus clapped his hands over his ears and hissed. ¡°Can you keep it down?¡± he whispered, as though lowering his own voice would balance out the high volume of the Demon.


    ¡°Foolish mortal! How dare you try to silence the all-powerful Leviathan!¡±


    ¡°Do you want to get both of us in trouble?¡± Lus asked, still keeping his voice low.


    ¡°Answer my question. Why do you mock my gift and neglect the recipes I have given you?¡± Leviathan answered, his voice dropping to a much more reasonable volume.


    Lus straightened up and faced the screen, his brows drawn down in disbelief. He glanced around the kitchen, then back at the demon.


    ¡°I have to cook for an entire crew of people. I can¡¯t just be giving them random stat boosts and special abilities if I don¡¯t want to get caught,¡± he answered. ¡°And in case you haven¡¯t noticed, I¡¯ve only got four recipes to choose from.¡±


    ¡°There are plenty more to buy.¡±


    ¡°Sure, if I had endless XP available. Do you know how long it takes to earn enough for a new recipe? You¡¯re just going to have to be as patient as you¡¯re forcing me to be.¡±


    ¡°What is of greater import than acquiring more [Recipes]?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ [Skills], obviously,¡± Lus answered.


    Leviathan did a simulation of rolling his red eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try and get another [Recipe] soon,¡± Lus promised, trying to placate the Demon.


    Leviathan seemed to know that Lus was just telling him what he wanted to hear, but he still gave a small bob up and down, an impressive simulation of a nod, and disappeared.


    ¡°Now back to the problem of dinner,¡± Lus muttered. He sighed and pulled up his System, quickly moving to the [Recipes] tab. Hopefully something there would inspire him.


    He saw the same list that always greeted him.


    [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup]


    [Galloping Scallops]


    [Tasty Buns]


    [Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich]


    ¡°Pasta or bread?¡± he asked himself. That was usually the question he fell back on. He didn¡¯t know how to customize the soup to make it something completely different, and scallops were obviously out of the question, so he alternated between pasta with different sauces; stir fries, which he had actually gotten pretty good at; and bread-based dishes like pizza and¡­ really just different types of pizza.


    ¡°So maybe something with bread that isn¡¯t just pizza? But what?¡±


    Then he remembered that when he had first made [Tasty Buns], he had considered the idea of doing them again with a savory filling.


    Heading to the interbox, he pulled it open and surveyed his ingredient options. He needed meat of some kind and the ground gervin called his name, so he tossed a large box of it onto the counter.


    Vegetables, of course. They needed to restock, so he didn¡¯t have a lot of fresh options, but there were multiple round, green balls of kabrage. He hadn¡¯t ever used it because he didn¡¯t really know how, but he knew that Wsr had often incorporated it with cooked meat.


    ¡°Today¡¯s the day I learn, apparently,¡± he decided, pulling out all ten kabrage heads. They had a few dark spots, but he was sure he could just cut those out and they would be fine.


    ¡°Kabrage, gervin meat, bread dough¡­ what else? Is that enough?¡± he wondered. He tried to think of something else to go with it, but all that came to mind was salt. And peppin. Maybe some powdered onnin and harvic.


    Shrugging, he carried the kabrage heads to the sink and began rinsing them. He pulled out a knife to cut out the dark parts while he was there.


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    With his usual nod of gratitude, he ran the knife in a circle around the large, pale stem. It took some serious hacking to get it out and it wasn¡¯t a pretty cut, but it was his first try after all.


    The tenth head was marginally better than the first. Apparently hacking out the stem of a kabrage head was not an easy skill to pick up.


    He could only hope and pray that cutting it into pieces would be easier.


    Pulling out a cutting board and his largest, sharpest knife, he set to work. It was easier to slice the kabrage lengthwise, but it took some work to get all the long shreds that resulted from slicing into small, even pieces.


    By the time Lus finished the last head, his wrist was sore, and he was grateful that he hadn¡¯t decided to include any other elements in this dish.


    He moved to get the bread dough done next, but was interrupted.


    [Cook the meat and add the kabrage first]


    Shrugging, he switched tactics, grabbing a couple large frying pans and setting them on the stove.


    He had cooked enough ground gervin at this point to do it quickly. He had to do two rounds in each pan, but the meat was well-thawed, so it went quickly.


    Soon he had all the meat cooked and seasoned with salt and peppin. He pulled the last two panfuls out with a spatula so the grease could drain off, then added it to the large bowl with the rest. He dumped the grease and set the frying pans by the sink.


    ¡°Now how do I cook this?¡± he wondered aloud, looking at the large bowls of fresh kabrage bits.


    [Add to a large pot with gervin meat, cover and cook for at least 45 minutes]


    Lus whistled and glanced at the clock. Good thing he¡¯d gotten in the habit of starting meals as early as he could. He would hopefully have just enough time to cook the kabrage, make the dough, assemble the buns, and bake them.


    It took his four largest pots to fit all the kabrage. He split the gervin up between the pots as well, then added more salt and peppin, as well as onnin and harvic. The lids went on and he turned his attention to the bread dough.


    He moved quickly through the now-familiar process. Measure the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Mix in the baking fat. Add the salt and flour and mix by hand.


    Next came the kneading, working the sticky, powdery mixture until it became smooth and elastic.


    Finally, he covered the large dough lump with a damp cloth and placed it in an oven set a bit above room temperature.


    Before he could wonder what to do next, his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] gave him the answer.


    [Stir the filling]


    With a large spoon, he lifted the lid off each large pot and gave them careful stirs. The pots that had been full nearly to the top were now only about ? full. As it cooked, the kabrage was shrinking at a rate that Lus had not expected.


    He replaced all the lids, then looked at the clock. He still had a few minutes before the dough needed to be checked and the filling was only half-cooked. Looking around, he tried to think up something useful to do.


    As his eyes landed on the cupboard that housed baking sheets, he decided to pull out a bunch and spread them over one of the unused counters. That done, he leaned against the counter and relaxed for a few minutes before giving the pots of filling another round of stirring.


    He continued to meander around the kitchen, fidgeting and rearranging random appliances, stopping every few minutes to stir the filling.


    With another ten minutes left to wait, he realized that the buns on their own was a rather plain meal. He didn¡¯t have time to make something else, but he could at least add some fresh fruit. If there was anything edible left, that is.


    He dug through the fruit drawer and came up with a large bag of questionably fresh goinges. The orange fruits had a thick skin, but could be quickly sliced into quarters for easy serving. This would make the soft, juicy inner flesh accessible without having to peel off the entire outer layer.


    Lus took a stir break, then washed the goinges. He grabbed a knife and began quartering them. He piled all the slices into another large bowl. By the time the timer for the filling went off, he had gotten all the goinges cut up.


    Turning off the buzzing timer, he took the pots of filling off heat. The filling had shrunk enough for him to dump the two smaller pots into the two larger pots. He took the two full pots of filling and set them at the edge of the stove, then pulled the dough out of the oven.


    It had been quite a while since he made Tasty Buns, so it took him a few rounds to get into the rhythm he had established then, but he eventually got it down.


    Fill a sheet with rolls.


    Take a finished sheet out of the oven and set it on a far counter to cool.


    Put the currently rising sheet in the oven and set a timer.


    Set the finished sheet on the other counter to raise.


    Start filling another sheet with rolls.


    Repeat.


    The smell of the baking bread and the savory insides soon filled the kitchen, making Lus¡¯ stomach rumble.


    ¡°If the taste matches the smell, these are going to be a hit,¡± Lus murmured to himself with a proud smile.


    Soon he pulled the last of the seven trays of beautifully browned rolls from the oven and set it on the last flat surface in the kitchen.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 50]


    He sighed. The worst part about cooking his own recipes was that he got only half the XP, but the extra 50 XP wasn¡¯t worth the hassle of cooking the System recipes properly more often.


    While he waited for the rolls to cool a bit more, he moved all of his dirty dishes to the washing area, then carried clean plates and forks out to the dining room.


    The bowl of goinge quarters went next, along with a small set of tongs to serve them.


    Finally, he began bringing out the sheets of rolls. He briefly considered removing them from the baking sheets for presentation purposes, but a glance at the clock nixed that idea.


    With all the baking sheets, some spatulas for serving, and dishes for the crew out, he was ready.


    And just in time. Nippy stepped in, followed closely by Relf, Cewi-Bano, and Becky. The rest of the crew filed in after, all chatting happily as they picked up their plates and served themselves.


    ¡°Smells good, Lus,¡± Becky called as she walked past.


    He smiled and nodded his thanks.


    Once everyone had gone through and picked up their food, he stepped in and served himself. He joined Becky at her table near the back corner and found her already halfway finished with her second roll.


    ¡°These are great,¡± she said around a mouthful of food.


    ¡°Are they?¡± He smiled his thanks and took a big bite.


    The gervin and kabrage filling was well-seasoned. The bread was still warm and soft, slightly sweet against the savory insides.


    ¡°It is good!¡± he said as he swallowed, mentally adding it to his meal rotation list. One more meal successfully finished, he thought with a satisfied smile.


    He washed his bun down with a few fresh slices of goinge, which paired perfectly with the buns.

 Chapter 50: Preparations

    ¡°Another mission already? Suns, they¡¯re running you guys ragged with all this. You¡¯ve barely been back from that crummy mine a week,¡± Becky said as Lus sat with her at breakfast¨Ca breakfast he hadn¡¯t had to make for the first time since getting back now that he was on regular duty again, and Lbrvr was back to doing her share of the cooking.


    Lusac shrugged as he took a bite of undercooked scrambled eggs. Maybe he should be full-time chef if this was the best Lbrvr could do after all these months as breakfast cook.


    ¡°It¡¯s only going to be a day or so at the most, unlike the past few. We¡¯ll take a shuttle directly down to the planet, grab the artifact from the ship, and then be back by dinner,¡± Lusac said, trying to sound light-hearted about it. After what happened back on Aschir Alpha, he knew better than to trust that it would be that easy, but he hoped he was wrong about that.


    ¡°If this artifact is so easy, why didn¡¯t we get it earlier?¡± Becky questioned.


    ¡°It took a long time to track down where this one ended up. The ship that was carrying it went down, so finding out which planet and then making sure no one else had looted it took weeks of research,¡± Lus answered, using the information he¡¯d been given in his briefing the evening before.


    ¡°When do you leave?¡±


    ¡°In half an hour. Can you check on Avil if you get the chance today? He gets lonely if he¡¯s left alone too long,¡± Lus requested.


    ¡°I thought this was a short mission,¡± Becky replied with a grin.


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you just spoil him.¡±


    She and Lus both laughed as they finished up their meal. He took his last swig of coffee to wash down his final bite of egg. They walked together to drop off their trays for the golem to worry about later. The cafeteria was full as the entire day shift crammed in to get something solid in them before they started work, and Lusac was happy to leave it behind for the less crowded corridors. Becky waved as she turned towards Systems Control, leaving Lus standing there, unsure what to do.


    There was an awkward amount of time left before he needed to be in the hangar with the others, leaving him too little time to do anything, but making it too early for him to show up there already. Nippy was running this one again, and Lus wanted to see the second-in-command as little as possible, especially during unstructured time when the Kremel would try to ¡°chat¡± with him.


    Now that Lus had revealed his system, all Nippy ever wanted to do was give him pointers and tell him that he was doing everything wrong if he ever wanted to amount to anything. Not to mention that Nippy asked a lot of questions, and Lusac struggled to keep his answers vague enough as to not draw suspicion to the origins of his powers. Keeping Leviathan secret remained one of his paramount goals, especially now that there was a corrupt COPS officer on his trail.


    In the end, Lusac decided to drop by medical and see what news there was about Yonnex-Quniwel who had yet to wake from his coma. Apparently taking an all-in cutter to the eye did a little more brain damage than Lus had intended.


    He walked into the bay and instantly regretted his choice when he saw the orange-scaled Nemarian sitting up in his bed, his remaining eye staring straight at the doorway where Lus stood.


    ¡°Oh, uh, hi, Yonnex-Quniwel. How are you feeling? I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re awake,¡± he said with a forced smile. Would it be too cruel if he just turned around and left? Surely the Nemarian didn¡¯t want to see him.


    ¡°L-lusac,¡± Quniwel stammered quietly.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied emphatically. Who knew? Maybe the Nemarian had forgotten everything that transpired on the planet. That would make things less awkward between them.


    ¡°K-killer.¡± Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s face turned angry, at least as angry as the bandages wound around a third of his head would allow.


    ¡°What? No. That¡¯s not what happened,¡± Lus said. ¡°It¡¯s not like that at all, Quniwel.¡±


    ¡°KILLER!¡± The Nemarian screamed it at the top of his lungs, lurching forwards in the bed as if he meant to grab Lusac.


    The noise summoned the doctor who sprinted into the room. She grabbed Quniwel and forced him to sit back again.


    ¡°No, Yonnex-Quniwel. Remain still,¡± Tremt-Fusi said in a soothing tone. She looked over her shoulder at Lus. ¡°Get out of here, Lusac. What were you thinking coming in here like this and disrupting him? Haven¡¯t you done enough already?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He swiftly turned around and walked back out, a lump in his throat as he thought of his friend. Former friend. Yonnex-Quniwel would never forgive him, and honestly, Lus couldn¡¯t blame him.


    No longer caring about being too early, Lus went directly to the shuttle bay. He was already in his mission suit, and any gear he would need was down with the shuttle so they could all double check their bags together.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    This was going to be his first mission in nearly a year that hadn¡¯t included Wsr since she was still on injury leave for her shoulder, and the idea of going anywhere remotely dangerous without her made him nervous. She¡¯d always been like an aunt to him.


    It turned out that the rest of the team had nowhere else to be either that morning since Lusac was the last one to arrive while still being there ten minutes before their scheduled meeting. Nippy was talking with Zer-Dasht while Hlnwr stood to the side, his eyes trained on the floor.


    Lus didn¡¯t know Hlnwr all too well. The main reason was because the Kremel worked in the cargo division alongside Relf so in general Lus avoided him. He was big, even bigger than Nippy, with rippling muscles that came from the fact that he spent almost all of his freetime in the gym, lifting weights. Apparently the Captain thought they would need muscles for this mission, not brains, since Hlnwr also had a reputation of being among the most gullible of the crew.


    ¡°Lusac,¡± Nippy said as soon as he entered. ¡°You¡¯re actually on time for once.¡±


    He rolled his eyes. Yrqw had obviously been complaining again.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually early. What are you guys all doing here already? I thought I¡¯d be the first,¡± Lus said as he walked up to the Kremel.


    ¡°Some of us like to be prepared before we go on missions, Lus. We don¡¯t all have fancy [Chef] classes to back us up,¡± Zer-Dasht replied, a note of jealousy in his voice. He¡¯d hardly spoken to Lus since returning from the trip from Aschir Alpha.


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous you don¡¯t have a system,¡± Nippy responded. ¡°But between Lus and I, this mission will be a piece of cake.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± the Nemarian said. ¡°Since we are all here, maybe we should do our final pack checks now so we can get down to the planet a little sooner.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking.¡± Nippy turned and motioned to Hlnwr. ¡°Come on, Hlnwr. Let¡¯s do this thing.¡±


    The large Kremel lumbered up to the trio, his orange eyes strangely void of any kind of emotion. Nippy then gestured to where four backpacks waited, two Kremel sized, and two Human/Nemarian sized. They all walked over there with him.


    ¡°Alright. I think everyone here is familiar with all the gear, but if you have any questions, go ahead and ask.¡± Nippy read off the list of items they should have one by one, and they all searched through their bags to confirm each one was there. It was a pretty standard set of equipment, with an anchor, cutter, rations, heavy duty winter gear, and ropes.


    ¡°Great. Now for the final item, guns,¡± Nippy said with a grin. He then motioned to the weapons rack behind them. ¡°Dasht will take his usual rifle. Hlnwr, you¡¯ll get a pistol and an ax. I¡¯m going to take a sword. Lus,¡± the Kremel smiled at him, ¡°you get dual pistols, courtesy of Cewi-Bano. She upgraded, so she was kind enough to donate her old set since you managed to blow your original gun up.¡±


    Lus chuckled weakly, trying his best not to remember his time in the mine shaft with an insane Yonnex-Quniwel. It¡¯d been an effect of the Shaquine that had actually caused the weapon to malfunction though, not an error on his part.


    They each took the weapons as Nippy handed them out. The pistol for Hlnwr was extra large so as to fit his meaty hands, and the ax was strapped to his back. Nippy¡¯s sword was at his side and he also took a set of valer chips which would allow him to charge the swords with different energy patterns to make it useful in a variety of situations. Lus had even heard stories of people using their charged weapons as welding tools in a pinch.


    Zer-Dasht took his finely crafted rifle and slung it on his shoulder as Lus fitted the double holster belt around himself, a little nervous about trying to use two weapons at once. He was a poor shot with one pistol, and he didn¡¯t think adding in a second one was going to do much, but he took both weapons from Nippy anyway.


    They were beautiful and well-cared for despite their obvious excessive use. The grips were rewrapped in some kind of leather, and the hold was different than what Lus was used to since these were designed for the webbed-hands of Nemarians, but it felt nice to hold something of such high quality.


    ¡°Stop gaping, and put them away. We¡¯ve got places to be Loser,¡± Zer-Dashter snapped at him.


    A little embarrassed everyone saw him admiring the blasters so close, Lus quickly holstered them and grabbed his pack. He noticed that it was heavier than he expected, so he swung it to his front and looked inside to discover that it contained double the amount of rations it should.


    Nippy smacked him on the back. ¡°I added some extra weight to yours to help beef up your [Strength] next time you level up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks,¡± Lusac said with a fake smile. Nippy was determined to turn him into a Human version of himself, mega-[Strength] and all. Lus had spent a lot of time at the gym over the past few weeks, and he was already at 7 [Strength] so he was sort of thinking about working on other things like his [Speed] or [Health] for the next level up, which he was actually getting close to, but he didn¡¯t dare express that to Nippy who disregarded his opinion on anything relating to system stuff.


    He only needed [200 XP] more to level up, and he had [1300 Current XP] which meant he could even buy a new [Skill] or a new [Recipe] if he wanted. He was just waiting until he hit [Level 6] to see if any new options in either department would show up. It was hard work earning all that [XP].


    Lus readjusted the backpack to sit squarely on his shoulders and then followed the Kremel into the shuttle where Zer-Dasht sat at the helm, prepping for launch. It was one of the small ones which barely fit the four of them, but it was only for the quick trip down to the planet and back.


    ¡°Oh man. Can¡¯t we get a real pilot in here?¡± Lusac teased as he took his seat.


    ¡°Well given that you nearly killed one of them, no,¡± Zer-Dasht said flatly.


    Lus frowned. ¡°Well I think I¡¯d still take a one-eyed Yonnex-Quniwel over you, Dasht.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d like to fly, Loser, you¡¯re more than welcome to,¡± the Nemarian said, sliding away from the controls.


    ¡°Oaty has been promising to teach me for a while,¡± Lusac replied. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get some early practice in.¡± He stood up, and Zer-Dasht immediately latched himself onto the wheel.


    ¡°As if. We need to get there in one piece,¡± he muttered as Lusac sat back down with a grin. He didn¡¯t mind teaching Dasht a lesson or two when he could.


    ¡°Everyone buckle up. Dasht, get us out of here. I want to be home in time for dinner,¡± Nippy declared as he settled into his front seat with the co-pilot controls.


    The Nemarian continued to murmur complaints under his breath as he started the engines and closed the rear door. The shuttle jolted upwards before slowly gliding forwards and out the bay doors into the black void of space.

 Chapter 51: Shipwreck

    ¡°See? I¡¯m not half-bad,¡± Zer-Dasht proclaimed as the shuttle propelled away from Argo. Several screens surrounded the front window, some displaying real-time images of other areas around the shuttle and the rest displaying sensor data.


    The rear view camera showed the graceful form of the Argo fading away as they approached the ball of white and blue below them. Beni Delta, a small, rocky planet with such a harsh climate, not even the Kremel had bothered trying to colonize it. Its two seasons were winter and blizzard-winter, the climate never reaching above freezing.


    ¡°This shipwreck happened decades ago, but as far as we can tell, we¡¯ll be among the first to attempt any kind of extraction from it,¡± Nippy informed them. ¡°The weather can be very touch and go, so if a blizzard-level storm forms anywhere within a hundred miles, we¡¯re to return to the shuttle and fly into orbit until it passes. Captain Tave wants to take as little risk with this mission as possible.¡±


    He was just regurgitating all the information from their briefing the night before, but Lusac didn¡¯t mind the reminders. It was smart to stay fresh on everything, even if it did force him to remember the unfortunate incident back in the mine with Quniwel.


    Still, Lus remained firm that he¡¯d done what he had to to keep himself and Wsr safe then, and obviously the Captain trusted him some amount still or else he wouldn¡¯t be back in the field so soon.


    ¡°How sure are we that we¡¯ll even have access to the wreck?¡± Dasht asked as the ship approached the planet¡¯s upper atmosphere.


    ¡°Very. That radiation emitted by the engines that we were able to track to get the coordinates will have kept things warm inside the ship and around it.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing only you and I will be able to enter the wreck, Mister Nippy,¡± Hlnwr glanced at Lus and Zer-Dasht in a very obvious manner. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want the weaker ones getting radiation sickness.¡±


    Nippy laughed. ¡°It¡¯s only a problem if they¡¯re exposed to it for more than a couple of days. The few hours we¡¯ll be searching the ship won¡¯t hurt anyone. We wouldn¡¯t have brought them if they couldn¡¯t take it.¡±


    Dasht shot a quick glance over his shoulder to Lus that showed equal discomfort about going into the radiation. Captain Tave had made it sound more like a fuel leak during the briefing, but this sounded a lot less safe, especially for Zer-Dasht who would be the most sensitive to that kind of thing.


    ¡°Everyone hold on. This atmosphere isn¡¯t the most friendly,¡± Zer-Dasht grimaced as he refocused on piloting the shuttle. Out front they all had a clear view of the heavy storm clouds their shuttle was plunging into.


    Lusac grabbed the arm rests on his chair, though they were awkwardly far apart for him since the seat was designed to fit a Kremel, and he did his best to convince himself that Zer-Dasht was actually a good pilot as their ship began to rock back and forth, heavily jostling the occupants.


    ¡°I thought we were going to avoid the storms,¡± Hlnwr said with a tight voice.


    ¡°There are always storms on this planet. This one is actually on the light side for what it normally produces,¡± Nippy replied.


    ¡°I¡¯d hate to see¨Cugh¨Cwhat a real blizzard is like on this rock then,¡± their pilot added in, his eyes bouncing between the window and all the screens. ¡°Maybe we should return to orbit until this clears up.¡±


    ¡°All our data suggests this is the best window we¡¯re going to get,¡± Nippy¡¯s eyes were on the front window, and his posture was tense. ¡°Keep going.¡±


    The shuttle continued to shudder against the winds and clouds, throwing Lus against his seatbelt.


    ¡°Dasht?¡± Nippy said with clenched teeth, voicing the concerns on everyone¡¯s minds.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ve got it,¡± he assured them, but the way the shuttle bounced told a different story.


    Hlnwr made a noise, and Lus glanced over to see bits of green coming from his mouth as the vomit surfaced. He¡¯d never known a Kremel to get airsick, especially not one who had the tough reputation of Hlnwr, but it did explain why Hlnwr was so rarely called upon to join the off-ship mission teams even with his excessive strength.


    They cleared the clouds but only to drop into a whirlwind of white as the snow storm raged around them.


    ¡°Coming in a bit fast, don¡¯t you think?¡± Nippy said as the shuttle dove downwards towards the steady blanket of white that Lus interpreted to be the ground.


    ¡°No¨Cargh¨Cbackseat piloting please.¡± Zer-Dasht¡¯s face contorted with effort as he tugged hard on the steering stick.


    Lus was no expert in piloting, but he happened to agree with Nippy that the ground was coming rather fast.


    No, scratch that.


    It was coming in really fast.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Blast it all. The landing thrusts froze up. This shuttle wasn¡¯t meant for these kinds of conditions. Everyone brace for impact,¡± Zer-Dasht called out.


    Lusac closed his eyes and looked away as the shuttle tipped up just enough to avoid landing headfirst into the snow. Instead they skidded across the sheet of white, a spray of white covering the entirety of the front window and cameras.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± Nippy shouted. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have happened. Dasy-Jonil inspected this shuttle just last night to confirm it would hold up.¡±


    Smoke floated through the air, making the entire interior of the shuttle hazy and bringing the acrid smell of melted plastic with it.


    ¡°The temperature is way below what we were told to expect.¡± Zer-Dasht motioned to one of the few sensor screens that hadn¡¯t gone offline. ¡°Someone somewhere screw up, Nippy, but it wasn¡¯t me. This was impossible to navigate. Not even Oaty could have handled this.¡±


    Lusac undid his seatbelt, ignoring the aching in his ribs from the crash. ¡°I¡¯m going to check out the damage. What systems are offline?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be easier to tell you what still works,¡± Zer-Dasht said dryly. ¡°Minor sensors and lights.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± he muttered as he went back to the small maintenance hatch. Part of the reason he¡¯d been brought on this mission at all after what happened back in the mine was because of his technical skills in repairs. They were supposed to come in handy on the abandoned ship, but nature had other plans for the team it seemed.


    As he unlatched the door to the closet that held access to all the systems, black smoke poured into the space. Coughing, Lus grabbed one of the air masks and slung it over his mouth and nose before grabbing the headlamp and toolkit that waited on the inside of the door.


    He glanced around, counting the number of charred panels he saw and realizing that he was way out of his depth. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t handle major repairs, but this was essentially rebuilding the shuttle¡¯s entire circuitry from scratch, which was beyond his maintenance skills. Given enough time he could probably figure it all out, but he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d last that long.


    Food wasn¡¯t a concern thanks to the extra rations Nippy stuck in his backpack for [Strength] training, but there was little chance this small, damaged shuttle could sustain them against the raging weather outside.


    Lus considered their situation and decided the two most important things would be life support to clear out the smoke and keep the interior warm against the blizzard outside and communications so they could get help from the Argo.


    When he stepped back out of the hatch to inform the others of his diagnosis, he found Nippy already waiting at the back with crossed arms.


    ¡°Will you be able to fix it?¡± the Kremel asked.


    Lusac shook his head as he pulled the air mask off. ¡°Not everything, not with our limited resources and time. At best, I can repair the systems we absolutely need to sustain us until the Argo sends help. I think life support should be the top priority, and then I¡¯ll worry about communications.¡±


    Nippy nodded. ¡°I agree. Let us know what you need.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± Lus replaced his air and stepped back into the closet which was still leaking heavy amounts of smoke. Sighing, he dug into his bag to remove the necessary tools and began his work.


    He started by sealing off anything leaking smoke and then moved on to actual repair work. It was slow going. Not only was he trying to salvage burned out wires, but he also had to find creative ways to reroute power without blowing himself or the shuttle up. The air in his mask got stale towards the end of it, so Lus simply took it off and dealt with the fumes until he finished getting life support mostly on.


    The heating wasn¡¯t going to be able to run above fifty percent of its usual power, and the carbon scrubbers were struggling to clear the smoke out, but they would have some amount of clean air and heat to keep them alive for a few hours until the Argo rescued them.


    Lus stepped out of the closet to give himself a few breaths of slightly fresher air and update the others on his progress.


    ¡°Good job, Lusac. You actually managed to get something to work,¡± Zer-Dasht said.


    He coughed for a few seconds as Nippy slapped his back before responding. ¡°Not my fault you made such a mess, Dasht.¡±


    ¡°How close are you to getting comms back up?¡± Nippy asked.


    Lus shrugged. ¡°I haven¡¯t touched it yet. I wasn¡¯t kidding when I said it was a mess. Hopefully it won¡¯t take too long, but I can¡¯t make any promises yet.¡±


    ¡°Well maybe you should be working on that instead of wasting time out here,¡± Hlnwr said from the chair he had yet to move from.


    ¡°Sure. Because I wouldn¡¯t want to inconvenience you at all, Hlnwr,¡± Lusac rolled his eyes. He took a few more deep breaths of the clean air. ¡°Alright, yeah. I¡¯m going to get back in there. Wish me luck.¡±


    Back in the closet, Lusac pulled open the covering to the communication wiring and silently cursed. It was even worse than he expected. There was no way he could fix the whole system, but he might be able to get the direct comm back to the Argo up, which is all they really needed.


    It took even longer to get anything functioning in the circuit board, and eventually Lus had to face the facts. The comms system was beyond repair with the parts they had on hand. If they were going to contact the Argo, they¡¯d need to find a new internal antenna as well as some extra fretrics.


    Taking another air break¨Cthe closet had horrible ventilation¨CLus returned to where the others waited in the main area of the shuttle. Nobody looked happy, so what he had to say was only going to suck more.


    ¡°I can¡¯t fix it,¡± Lusac declared as he wiped his greasy hands on his suit. ¡°The internal antenna is completely shot. We¡¯re not sending any messages until we get a new one.¡±


    Nippy stood up, slapping his knees as he went. ¡°I guess that leaves only one option: everyone suit up. We¡¯re going to the wreck.¡±


    Hlnwr followed suit, but he obviously had no idea why Nippy was suggesting this. Zer-Dasht, however, was a lot less eager and remained in his chair.


    ¡°And why do you think that death trap will do us any good?¡± he asked as he stared up at the mostly blank screens.


    ¡°Where else are we going to find a new antenna? Besides, it¡¯ll be good for us to get up and move, and it¡¯ll save power too,¡± Nippy explained.


    Lus understood the logic, and while he was as hesitant as Zer-Dasht about going into the radiation field, he didn¡¯t know that they had any other choice if they ever wanted to escape this planet. Without comms, the Argo would never find them, and Lusac wasn¡¯t willing to die here. He¡¯d had things to do with his life, like becoming the most powerful [Chef] alive.


    They all pulled on their winter gear and then followed their fearless leader out into the blizzard.

 Chapter 52: Going to the Wreck

    Blinding, white snow swirled in every direction, making it impossible for Lus to see more than a few yards before the scene melted into the blizzard. The others seemed to be faring no better, even with their superior eyesight. A thin alunitanium rope stretched between the four of them, Nippy at the head and Hlnwr at the rear with Dasht and Lus in the middle two spots.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to die out here,¡± Dasht said from behind Lus, his voice barely audible through the layers of clothing and half carried away by the wind.


    ¡°Have a little faith, Zer-Dasht. Nippy¡¯s got the scanner. He¡¯ll get us to the wreck safely,¡± Lusac assured his friend.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even use a mistter,¡± the Nemarian pointed out unhappily.


    ¡°What do you need one for? Look at the moisture in the air.¡± Lus gestured to the swirling snow, really wishing Dasht would lighten up a little. The guy was acting like he was going to freeze to death if a single flake touched him.


    For Lus, snow was still something of a wonder. He¡¯d never seen the stuff until joining the Argo¡¯s crew. Treft was too barren after the strip mining that occurred when he was still just a baby, and even knowing how deadly snowstorms could be, Lusac couldn¡¯t help but marvel a bit at the beauty of the white around them.


    It helped that he was bundled up in a heavy coat, snow pants, and boots with a scarf wrapped around his face. Plus his alunitanium suit was designed to deal with all kinds of weather, the fibers keeping his body well-insulated against whatever drafts made it through the outer layers.


    Zer-Dasht was wrapped up similarly, with two scarves at his neck and over his nose while the Kremel each only had the basic coat, pants, and boats. Hlnwr didn¡¯t even have his hood up, his hair more white than black from the flakes sticking to it.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Nippy shouted from the front. ¡°Hang on a little longer, Dasht. I promise there will be plenty of warmth once we get to the ship.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, warmth I¡¯ll get to enjoy for a couple of hours as the radiation eats my body away,¡± Dasht bit back. ¡°Suns, I never should have agreed to this mission. It¡¯s an even bigger disaster than Aschir Alpha.¡±


    ¡°Cheer up. I have enough [XP] to buy a new [Skill] so I can save the day again,¡± Lus replied as they continued their trek through the shin-high snow.


    ¡°You and that blasted system,¡± the Nemarian muttered.


    The wind picked up, drowning out the last of Zer-Dasht¡¯s complaints to everyone¡¯s relief, and they trudged on in relative silence. Lus was so distracted trying to match his steps to Nippy¡¯s large prints in hopes of saving some amount of effort, he didn¡¯t notice when the Kremel stopped and bumped right into him.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he murmured, but Nippy wasn¡¯t paying any attention. Lus looked around his hulking frame to see that they¡¯d arrived at their destination. Thanks to the heat/radiation which kept the wreck from being buried, there was a lot less snow flying through the area, giving the team a clear view of their target.


    The shipwreck was huge, the original ship having been at least twice the size of the Argo, if not triple, resulting in a massive crater within the neverending field of snow. The ship stood in two completely separate pieces, obviously ripped apart, with about a quarter of a mile between them. They represented what Lus estimated to be about two thirds of the ship, with the remaining third scattered around the crater in pieces, jagged pieces of hull and fractured beams protruding from the snow.


    Hlnwr whistled as he and Dasht joined them at the edge of the crater, looking down at the decades old wreck. The largest chunk of the ship lay to the left, with thick, round engines at the back that provided a red glow to the entire scene.


    ¡°So I vote we avoid the glowing half,¡± Dasht joked. ¡°You know, since I still might want to have kids someday.¡±


    Nippy smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and Lusac take the front half, and Hwnlr and I will explore the part with the radiation?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it''s a good idea to split up?¡± Lus interjected. ¡°I mean, we don¡¯t know for sure what¡¯s down there.¡±


    Hwnlr laughed. ¡°Afraid of finding a few critters in the wreck, Loser? Aren¡¯t you mission goers trained to deal with the occasional pest?¡±


    Lus glared at the Kremel. ¡°Sometimes we run into a lot worse than pests.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way anything big lives out here. Look at this place,¡± Nippy gestured to the raging storm around them. ¡°What would animals eat? They need more than water to survive.¡±


    ¡°We made a similar assumption back on Aschir Alpha,¡± Dasht replied, agreeing with Lus for once.


    Hwnlr growled. ¡°Well why don¡¯t you two hand over your all-in cutters, and then we shouldn¡¯t have to worry too much about anything like Aschir repeating.¡±


    ¡°Drop it,¡± Nippy commanded. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to explore all this together, and not to mention that Hwnlr and Dasht make a good point: it should be the species that can actually endure a little radiation going near the source. I want you two safe,¡± he pointed to Lusac and Dasht, ¡°so I¡¯m sending you to the safer part of the wreck. Understand?¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lus and Dasht both offered their hollow agreements to the situation.


    ¡°Great. Let¡¯s get down there and then settle on details of meeting back up,¡± Nippy dropped his oversized backpack to the ground and began digging in it. He pulled out his repelling anchor and another set of rope.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He motioned to the others to do the same.


    Lus used his foot to paw around on the ground, finding that he wasn¡¯t on solid ground, but rather frozen snow that was so old and condensed, it acted as ground for walking, but he had his doubts about it holding up to the anchor and then repelling.


    ¡°Nippy,¡± Dasht said before Lus could say anything. ¡°This ground won¡¯t work for that. The anchor needs rock to be fully stable. We have to figure something else out.¡±


    ¡°The anchor has built in safeties for this kind of thing. It¡¯s meant to be versatile.¡± Nippy dismissed their concerns with a wave of his hand. ¡°Let me show you.¡± He plunged the anchor deep into the snow and then held the safety trigger down as he pressed the release button. There was a faint vibration as the metal hook jammed its way into the ground.


    The Kremel attached his own thicker rope to the top of the anchor instead of using the provided cord that was only rated to work in more temperate climates. He gave it a hard pull upwards, but the anchor stayed put.


    ¡°See?¡± Nippy said. ¡°You two worry too much.¡±


    He attached the rope to the harness hook buried under his coat and stepped to the edge of the crater. Smiling, Nippy took the first step over the edge and plunged downwards towards the floor of the crash site. In a few moments, his voice echoed in the comms, informing the rest of the team he¡¯d made it down safely.


    ¡°You or me next?¡± Zer-Dasht asked Lus with a dubious look in his eyes as he stared at the hole where the anchor lay.


    ¡°Your choice,¡± Lusac answered, finding some amount of confidence in the device. If it held Nippy, it would have no problems with the others.


    Dasht elected to go next, and after Hwnlr hauled all the rope up, Lus dug into the snow to reset the device for the Nemarian¡¯s descent.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Lusac assured his friend as he stood at the edge.


    ¡°Easy for you to say.¡± Dasht took one last breath and then stepped backwards, starting his own journey down.


    Lus paid close attention to the anchor, remaining close in case it did decide to release unexpectedly, but it remained completely solid through Dasht¡¯s journey.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go last,¡± Hwnlr offered, and Lus happily agreed since his faith in the anchor holding the Kremel was a lot less than his faith in it holding him.


    They repeated the steps as before, and then it was Lus¡¯s turn to stand at the precipice. He gave Hwnlr a nervous smile as he leaned back and repelled off the edge of the crater.


    It was harder than it was to repel against stone since the walls were slick and a bit mushy, but Lusac made it down with relative ease and communicated to Hwnlr that the coast was clear for him.


    The crater blocked a lot of the snow, making it a little less miserable down by the wreckage.


    The thick rope disappeared up the wall, and a few moments later, the Kremel appeared above them, making his way downwards. Everything was going fine until about two-thirds of the way down when the rope lost its tautness and Hwnlr came speeding to the ground.


    Thinking of his own safety, Lusac dove out of the way alongside Dasht and Nippy as the Kremel crashed into the snow, making his own mini-crater.


    ¡°Hwnlr!¡± Nippy ran to him as the rest of the rope as well as the anchor dropped nearby.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± the other Kremel groaned as he sat up, shaking the snow from his body. ¡°At least the landing was soft.¡±


    ¡°No injuries?¡± Dasht confirmed from a few yards.


    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m a Kremel, not one of you fragile Nemarians,¡± he scoffed. He accepted Nippy¡¯s hand up. ¡°And since I¡¯m the last one, it¡¯s not a big deal anyway that the anchor failed.¡±


    ¡°Until we have to get back up.¡± Lus stared upwards at the fifty foot wall that now separated them from their shuttle.


    ¡°We¡¯ll worry about that when the time comes. I¡¯m sure as we explore, we¡¯ll find another way out of here.¡± Nippy was as confident as ever about things. Lus only wished he could find it in himself to feel the same.


    ¡°How long should we spend exploring before meeting back up?¡± Zer-Dasht asked as he stared out across the wreckage.


    ¡°Two hours should provide enough time to thoroughly search through things. I want you two to worry about finding the parts we need to repair our shuttle comms while Hwnlr and I search for the artifact,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Lusac adjusted the straps of his backpack to fit a little closer in preparation of entering the wreckage. He was a little worried about having Dasht with him given the Nemarian¡¯s obvious apprehension to the whole mission, especially after the shuttle crash, but it was better than going it completely alone.


    ¡°Great. Now I can get my eye stabbed out,¡± Dasht said quietly as he followed Lusac towards the smaller part of the wreckage where they hoped to find things like the bridge and other key systems.


    ¡°Only if you try to kill me.¡± Lus shot a glare over his shoulders.


    The Nemarian rolled his black eyes and then walked faster to push past Lus and take the lead. There was less snow on the ground here, but it still rose above Lus¡¯s ankles, slowing their progress as they made their way to the decrepit ship hull.


    The red glow of the engines provided less light the closer they got, leaving them to their lanterns and the single headlamp Lus borrowed from the shuttle. The dark, broken structure reminded Lus of more than one horror film he¡¯d watched in recent years, and he did his best to put those memories from his mind.


    ¡°Where to first?¡± Zer-Dasht said as he came to a stop right before the interior of the ship.


    Lusac gaped up at the rubble and questioned the safety of entering the wreckage when it looked so close to collapsing in on itself. From what he could see of the unburied section, there were at least fifteen visible decks, most of them completely out of reach from where they stood.


    ¡°I have no idea. Let¡¯s get inside and look around a bit until we find something to orient us,¡± Lusac suggested. He started towards the closest, safe entrance that led to one of the many dark corridors of the ship.


    Dasht was just behind him, muttering a complaint with every step, but Lus couldn¡¯t blame him. It was going to take a lot of work to find what they were looking for. If they could find what they were looking for that was.

 Chapter 53: Inside the Wreckage

    The interior of the wreck was in even worse shape than the outside. Wires hung from the ceiling while the walls held large holes that displayed the inner supports. The smooth floors were slippery from the constant snow storms, making it difficult to traverse along the broken corridor.


    ¡°Do you remember what this ship was? Before this?¡± Lus asked Zer-Dasht as he carefully made his way along the edge of the first exposed hallway, near the wall where he had supports to grasp to hold himself up.


    ¡°Just a cargo ship I thought,¡± Dasht answered, his voice tense as he followed in Lusac¡¯s steps.


    ¡°Yeah, but Corporate or Federal?¡±


    ¡°Neither. It¡¯s older than the war,¡± the Nemarian responded. ¡°Not that it matters anymore.¡±


    ¡°It looks like it was designed with Kremel in mind.¡± Lusac gazed at the wide corridors and doorways. That didn¡¯t necessarily mean it only hosted Kremel, but clearly it wasn¡¯t meant for only Humans and Nemarians.


    ¡°Good eye, Captain Obvious,¡± Dasht said. ¡°Honestly, Loser, I think sometimes you just talk for the sake of hearing your own voice and¨C¡±


    Lus rolled his eyes. Of course it was Zer-Dasht of all people lecturing him about talking too much, as if the Nemarian didn¡¯t spend every waking second looking for chances to tell his own stories.


    ¡°And?¡± Lus realized that Dasht had never finished his rant. There was no response.


    ¡°Dasht?¡± Lusac stopped and spun around to see that the Nemarian was frozen in his tracks, staring into the black void of one of the open doorways they passed. Lus hadn¡¯t seen anything in there when he passed, but his eyes weren¡¯t nearly as good as the Nemarian¡¯s.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked as he walked back to him.


    Dasht¡¯s black eyes blinked slowly, still trained on whatever they saw in the next room. Lus stepped up next to Dasht and swung his lantern past the doorway to illuminate the whole room so he could actually see. He immediately regretted his decision as he caught sight of what shocked Zer-Dasht so much.


    The space had been some type of mess hall or other recreation room based on the scattered tables and large, broken windows at the back, a thin layer of frost covering everything. But it wasn¡¯t the disarrayed furniture that bothered Lus and his friend.


    It was the bodies.


    Over a dozen of them, of all three species, littered the floors. They weren¡¯t whole bodies, though. Just fragments, torn apart by impact, with many of them missing limbs or even their head. All of them were ripped up at the torso area as well, and blood and gore covered the floor and walls, some bits even decorating the ceiling.


    ¡°Watcher save us.¡± Lus murmured the familiar prayer of his childhood, unable to fathom how violent the crash must have been to cause this. He tried to pretend he didn¡¯t notice the exceptionally small bodies strewn with the others, ones that were far too little to be adults for any of the species.


    ¡°It¡¯s a massacre,¡± Dasht whispered, still gazing into the room alongside Lus.


    ¡°I¡­ Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡± Lusac turned away. When Dasht didn¡¯t follow suit, he grabbed the Nemarian¡¯s arm and forcefully pulled him away from the disturbing scene. ¡°Let¡¯s just find what we need and get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we bury them or something? It feels wrong just to leave them there, like that,¡± the Nemarian argued.


    ¡°Bury them where? In the snow? And with what? Our hands?¡± Lusac¡¯s heart raced and his stomach curdled as he remembered the scene. As much as he wanted off this ship, they had to find the parts or else they¡¯d end up as four more bodies in the collection.


    They walked in silence up the corridor, their pace much faster than before. About five minutes passed before Dasht spoke again.


    ¡°What do you think did that to them?¡±


    ¡°The crash,¡± Lus answered tersely. ¡°The inertial dampeners must have cut out at some point, ripping them apart when they hit the ground.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the aftermath of shuttle crashes with dampeners, and the bodies looked nothing like that,¡± Zer-Dasht said.


    ¡°What else could it be?¡± Lusac pointed out.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­ there¡¯s something alive that did that to them¡­ Or that the survivors did that?¡±


    ¡°I have [Sixth Sense], Dasht. I¡¯d know if there was something around stalking us. We¡¯re safe,¡± Lus assured his friend despite his own doubts. Those bodies did look mangled in a way different from not having dampeners, but the Nemarian was already starting to spiral, and they needed to be focused on their own survival at the moment.


    ¡°I thought that only applied to [Invisible] creatures like the Shaquine,¡± the Nemarian said, his voice soft.


    ¡°You have the better eyes. Do you see anything walking around this wreck besides us?¡± Lusac gestured to the eerie hanging wires around them.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then that settles it. There¡¯s nothing else here, [Invisible] or not. If there is, one of us will know, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Dasht didn¡¯t sound convinced, but his voice held a little more strength to it, which was the best Lus could ask for after that grisly sight.


    ¡°Great. Now let¡¯s keep going. I¡¯m hoping we can find a Systems Control area or Bridge to help us orient ourselves. It¡¯d take weeks to comb through this whole wreck just to find the antenna and fretrics.¡± Lusac looked around with a sigh. It was getting cold, even with all his layers. The sooner they could get out of here and back to their shuttle, the better.


    Silence resumed as they continued their trek towards the front of the ship. The damage they passed only grew in intensity, and after another few minutes, they were climbing over and through debris, entire walls and beams laying in their path. It slowed their progress immensely, but it did work up a good sweat, and Lus even considered loosening his scarf and coat a bit to cool off.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Do you have any clue where we¡¯re going?¡± Dasht asked when Lus stopped to tug his scarf off and regain his breath.


    ¡°To the front,¡± Lus answered honestly. ¡°I figured that¡¯s where anything important would be.¡±


    ¡°Great. So we¡¯re literally just wandering this graveyard of a ship, hoping we bump into what we need. Awesome plan, Lus,¡± the Nemarian grumbled.


    ¡°Knock it off, Zer-Dasht. All you¡¯ve done is complain since we landed on this planet. It¡¯s not doing anything to help, so either offer a real suggestion or just shut up.¡± Lusac¡¯s patience was running low after dealing with that horrific scene earlier. It¡¯s not like he enjoyed climbing through the derelict ship either, but his desire to survive outweighed his distaste.


    The Nemarian was quiet once again as they resumed their trek. It wasn¡¯t long before Lus¡¯s 12 [Luck] decided to show up, and they ran into a set of double doors, the sign denoting it as the ship¡¯s secondary system control center.


    ¡°See? My plan worked out after all,¡± Lusac exclaimed as he shimmied through the thin parting of the doors to step into the room.


    ¡°Dumb luck doesn¡¯t count,¡± Dasht said.


    ¡°It does when it¡¯s system [Luck].¡± Lus looked back over his shoulder to grin at his friend.


    ¡°You and that blasted system. It¡¯s just not fair.¡±


    Lusac was through the door and ready to respond when he stopped in his tracks, his voice caught in his throat.


    ¡°Lusac?¡±


    ¡°There are more bodies in here,¡± he said in the most calm tone he could manage.


    This room wasn¡¯t nearly as messy as the previous room they looked in, but there were plenty of corpses, all of them perfectly preserved. There were some spots of blood, and most of the bodies were clearly broken in some fashion, but they were all intact, limbs and heads attached to whole torsos.


    ¡°This is bad,¡± Dasht murmured from beside him, startling Lusac who hadn¡¯t realized the Nemarian made it inside already.


    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near as bad as the other one.¡± Lus was a little surprised Dasht found this to be more disturbing.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s bad because it¡¯s proof that someone or something was eating those other bodies. We¡¯re not alone here,¡± the Nemarian said with a shaky voice.


    ¡°We should warn the others.¡± Lusac¡¯s hand went to the comm unit on his backpack. ¡°Nippy, Hwnlr, come in. We¡¯ve got news.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Nippy¡¯s voice responded, sounding a little choppy due to interference from the storm.


    ¡°We¡¯ve found some bodies that look like they were torn apart by something so we think there might be wildlife to contend with. Be on the lookout,¡± Lus replied.


    A few seconds of silence passed before their team leader spoke again.


    ¡°We found some bones, but we assumed that was what was left of the corpses. You¡¯re sure that it isn¡¯t just rot?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s cold enough to preserve the bodies. We¡¯ve found some intact ones in a spot that the animals couldn¡¯t get to,¡± Dasht jumped in.


    ¡°Alright. You two stay on the lookout and call in the second you need help. Hwnlr and I are in the more dangerous part it sounds like but we¡¯re better prepared for a fight, so I suggest you guys continue gathering parts while we finish our search here.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Good luck, Nippy.¡± Lusac was happy to let the two Kremel deal with the threat of ravenous beasts while he and Dasht handled scavenging. That sounded like a good deal to him.


    Lus dropped the button on his communicator and turned to Zer-Dasht. ¡°Let¡¯s each take a side and start looking around. If we can find a console that¡¯s in good enough shape, I have an emergency travel generator I can hook up to it so we can get the schematics to find what we need.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go right, you take left.¡±


    The two separated, and as Lus crossed through the room, he was careful to avoid stepping on any of the bodies. It was difficult to ignore the twisted faces staring up at him, a thin layer of frost doing little to obscure the details.


    Unfortunately the room was a mess, and every control console he passed showed such obvious damage, he didn¡¯t think it worth trying to power it up and risk it blowing up or ruining his generator.


    ¡°Lus, over here. I think I found one that will work for us,¡± Dasht called out.


    Eager to escape the room, Lus once again danced around the strewn bodies, forced to look at his feet as he went to keep from desecrating the dead. Dasht¡¯s side of the room sustained far less damage, and he found the Nemarian clearing frost from a perfectly intact console.


    ¡°Good eye.¡± Lusac slid his backpack off and dug around for the generator he took from the shuttle emergency storage. It was right on top, but he had to dig in farther to gather his tools so he could properly set up his temporary power source.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty skilled with this repair stuff for a Fsylan crawler," Dasht noted as Lusac tugged off the front panel of the console and set to work inside the wiring.


    ¡°What does that mean? All I do all day is repair stuff,¡± Lusac joked.


    ¡°Yeah, but Fsylan crawlers typically handle light weight stuff like splicing wires and repairing fuses. You can hack into security systems with a circuit closer,¡± the Nemarian continued.


    ¡°Becky¡¯s even better than me at that kind of stuff. I think you just don¡¯t know the job very well,¡± Lusac said. ¡°But that makes sense since you¡¯re so busy on the bridge helping run weapons.¡±


    ¡°I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is that you¡¯ve impressed me these past couple of years. When Cewi-Bano first put you on the off-ship mission roster, I thought she was crazy, but you¡¯ve proven yourself over and over again. I¡¯m happy to have you around.¡± Dasht¡¯s voice was genuine as he spoke.


    Lusac paused his work for a moment. ¡°Thank you Zer-Dasht. That means a lot.¡± He had never expected such kind sentiment from his friend, especially not now of all times, but it was nice to hear, especially after everything that happened on Aschir Alpha.


    ¡°Get back to work. I¡¯m going to freeze to death at this rate.¡± Dasht¡¯s tone regained his usual tone of complaining and teasing.


    Lus laughed as he turned on his all-in cutter and resumed his task. Only a couple of minutes later, he had the generator hooked up, and the console hummed to life.


    Standing up, Lusac allowed Dasht to take over in navigating through the various screens on the console until at last they had a full map of the ship from when it was in one piece.


    ¡°Welp,¡± Lus said as Dasht pulled the maintenance overlay showing all major systems and their sections. Comms was located in the rear half near the engines which meant they would have to join Nippy and Hwnlr in the more radiation heavy section to find the antenna and fretrics.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Like Nippy said, as long as we¡¯re only there for a few hours, we¡¯ll be okay.¡± Dasht sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Lus at that point.


    Lusac nodded. ¡°Do we need anything else before I shut this down?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Go ahead.¡±


    Returning to the open panel, Lus carefully removed the generator and replaced all the equipment in his backpack before zipping it and putting it back on his shoulders.


    ¡°Ready?¡± he asked Dasht.


    The Nemarian nodded, though his face was hard to read through the double scarves. Together they made their way back through the graveyard and to the door where Dasht shimmied through first, followed by Lusac.


    The trek back through the ship was eerie, and Lus did his best to keep his eyes forward so as to not think about how many more bodies might be scattered throughout the rooms behind each door.


    They finally reached the broken end and stepped back into the snowy crater when a growl sounded from the side.


    Lus reached for his weapon as he whirled around, coming face to face with the beasts that had desecrated the bodies inside the crash.

 Chapter 54: New Friends

    The beasts were large.


    So large that Lusac understood why the bodies in the System Control room had been untouched: these animals couldn¡¯t fit in there. In fact, it was surprising they¡¯d been able to fit into the rec room.


    They stood on all fours, with wide, clawed paws beneath them while their snouts bore long, vicious fangs, and at their rear were short, stubby tails, similar to a type of bear. There were a dozen of them, white fur camouflaging them into the snow surrounding the scene. The hungry look in their yellow eyes cemented itself into Lusac¡¯s brain.


    He and Zer-Dasht were going to be bear chow unless they figured something out fast. Despite the hugeness of the animals, Lus was willing to bet those legs had more than enough power to outrun him and the Nemarian both, and it was obvious they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance in a fire fight. There was no way the two of them could kill all twelve before the animals converged on them.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Dasht muttered from beside him, clutching his rifle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot,¡± Lusac hissed. ¡°We don¡¯t stand a chance against all of them.¡±


    ¡°So then what do we do?¡± he repeated.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lus admitted, remaining still with a single pistol in his hand.


    He studied the animals, and they studied him right back. Now would have been a very convenient time for Nippy or even Hwnlr to show up. With just one of the Kremel joining the fight, the odds would be tipped in their favor. But as the Watcher would have it, the two remained alone, facing down beasts that could tear them apart in an instant, and based on the posture of the animals, they likely would if given the chance.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we run?¡± Dasht suggested.


    ¡°They¡¯ll catch us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s our only chance. If we make it back into the ship, we can slip into a room where they can¡¯t reach us,¡± the Nemarian pressed.


    ¡°Fine. But if I die, I¡¯m coming back to haunt you,¡± Lus said. Chances were that he was faster than Zer-Dasht, but he wasn¡¯t looking forward to finding out for sure under these circumstances.


    Dasht slowly spun back to where they¡¯d just exited and then cursed.


    ¡°There¡¯s more.¡±


    Lus glanced over to see that three more arctic bears had appeared, standing between them and their only chance of safety. He turned the other way and bit his lip in thought.


    ¡°We can make for the other half of the ship. Then we can join Nippy and Hwnlr,¡± he said. ¡°That way is clear.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a long distance to keep ahead of these guys.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a better plan?¡±


    ¡°On the count of three?¡± There was a clear note of fear in Dasht¡¯s voice.


    Lusac nodded, and they counted off together.


    As soon as the ¡°three¡¯ left his lips, Lusac sprinted towards the second piece of the wreckage, more than two hundred yards away. Dasht was just behind him, and only a second later, a series of roars informed him that the bears were coming too.


    It was difficult to run at his top speed in the snow, but Lus didn¡¯t allow himself to stop to think about it as he ran. He continually checked over his shoulder to confirm that Zer-Dasht remained close, but each time he glanced back, he discovered the bears slowly gaining ground.


    ¡°Faster,¡± Lusac shouted as his legs churned with new power. The huffing from behind meant that Dasht was doing his best to comply with the order.


    They were about two-thirds of the way to their goal when Dasht went down with a scream.


    Lusac stopped and pivoted sharply to reach down and grab his friend only to see the mouth of one of the bears clamped on the Nemarian¡¯s leg.


    Without thinking, Lus raised the pistol he¡¯d been carrying and released several shots into the animal, not caring about enraging the others. He wasn¡¯t going to sit by and let Dasht die so he could live. They were in this thing together.


    The blaster bolt exploded the bear¡¯s face, spraying gore onto Dasht.


    ¡°Agh,¡± the Nemarian said as Lusac reached down and pulled him to his feet, forcing the Nemarian to keep running despite his injury. When Dasht started to slow him down, Lusac slipped his pistol into the Nemarian¡¯s hands and hauled him up on his shoulders, suddenly wishing he¡¯d done more to level up sooner and get a boost to his [Strength].


    ¡°Come on.¡± Lusac did his best to run even with the awkward load. ¡°Dasht, keep them off us until we get to safety.¡±


    The Nemarian murmured something that might have been a complaint, but it was drowned out by Lus¡¯s ragged breathing and the sound of the pistol firing. Even though he couldn¡¯t run as fast while carrying Dasht, the death of one of their own had given the bears something to consider, and they stopped chasing so closely.


    When Lusac reached the broken opening of the next section of the ship, he dropped Dasht and removed his own weapon, prepared to make their final stand. Only the animals weren¡¯t chasing at all. What Lus had thought was the bears slowing down was actually them coming to a complete stop.


    ¡°They stopped chasing us? Why didn¡¯t you say something,¡± Lus said between breaths, glancing at Zer-Dasht as he leaned against a nearby wall, his leg bleeding profusely.


    ¡°I tried. You didn¡¯t listen,¡± the Nemarian explained. ¡°They started after us, but I laid down cover fire, and that stopped them in their tracks.¡±


    ¡°What are they doing to that dead one?¡± He motioned to where the bears all huddled around the bleeding body they left behind.


    ¡°Beats me. But let¡¯s not waste time.¡± Dasht turned towards the dark corridor leading into the engine section.


    ¡°Wait a second. Look.¡± Lus grabbed his arm. He pointed to where the bear-creatures were howling, a type of mourning ceremony he didn¡¯t know animals could be capable of. His wonder turned to horror though as they began eating their dead friend.


    ¡°Better him than us.¡± Dasht motioned Lusac forward into the new section of ship.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find Nippy first.¡± Lus pressed the button on his comm unit. ¡°Nippy, come in. Dasht and I ran into some of those animals that ate the crew, and they pushed us over to your section of the wreck. Where are you?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    There was only static in response.


    ¡°Nippy?¡± Zer-Dasht tried on his unit.


    Still no response.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the radiation,¡± Lusac said, trying to remain hopeful.


    ¡°Radiation that didn¡¯t affect their comms ten minutes ago?¡±


    He shrugged. It was a happier explanation than thinking about their friends being eaten by the bears.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find them somewhere in here,¡± Dasht said, limping along the wall for support.


    ¡°Okay. But we should try to find a safe place to rest so we can take care of that leg,¡± Lusac pointed out.


    Dasht muttered his agreement, and together they set off through the unfamiliar ship, the hallways in better repair than the section they¡¯d just come from. They passed several rooms that Lus thought would be perfect for a break, but Zer-Dasht insisted on moving deep into the wreckage, his mind still set on finding Nippy and Hwnlr.


    Twenty minutes passed before Lus finally convinced his friend of the need to sit down and take care of the wound on his leg. They settled into a small room that had two beams blocking direct access, making it difficult to get in or out of. Based on the style, it must have been an office of some kind before the wreck.


    Lusac left Dasht leaning against a wall, the visible scales on the Nemarian¡¯s face looking less orange than Lus thought they should, as he went about setting up a comfortable medical station. He righted two of the chairs in the room and managed to get some pieces of the desk to hold the shape of a small table for his work.


    Dasht limped over to the set up and took a seat in the larger, more comfortable looking of the two chairs while Lus dug in his pack for the medical kit. It wasn¡¯t anything special, and Lus was no medical tech, but he¡¯d learned well enough how to care for injuries.


    He sat in the other chair and pulled Dasht¡¯s leg up onto the makeshift table so he could examine the injury. Two rows of deep wounds were in the Nemarian¡¯s calf, all of them still bleeding.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to put some antibiotic cream on these and then pack them to try and stop the bleeding,¡± Lus explained.


    ¡°Thanks, Doc,¡± Zer-Dasht huffed. ¡°Just wrap it so we can get out of here. We need to find Nippy and the parts and then get off this rock.¡±


    ¡°More like a snowball,¡± Lus mused as he prepared the cream. Dasht winced plenty as he applied, often trying to jerk his leg away from Lusac¡¯s hands, but that was minor compared to his reaction when Lus began packing the individual wounds with bandages designed to work as full stops to bleeding injuries.


    ¡°Ow. Suns kill me! Enough Lus!¡± Dasht shouted as he repeatedly tried to pull his leg back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet. Hold still. This isn¡¯t going to kill you.¡± Lus firmly held his foot down with one hand as the other stuffed the wounds.


    Several curses and insults later, Lus finished and Dasht had a nice, plump bandage around his lower leg.


    ¡°There you go.¡± Lusac patted his work.


    Zer-Dasht growled as he ripped his leg free. ¡°You¡¯re a horrible doctor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the best available,¡± Lus reminded him. ¡°I¡¯m going to try Nippy again. We¡¯re never going to find those two if we just keep aimlessly wandering around this joint.¡±


    Dasht kept murmuring insults about Lusac to himself as Lus tried his comm unit again.


    This time, they got a response, though it was broken and hard to make out everything.


    ¡°Lus¨Cgood to¡ªyour voice¡ª-trouble¡ª-engine room¡ª-hurt,¡± Nippy¡¯s choppy voice said to them.


    ¡°Nippy, repeat. We didn¡¯t catch that,¡± Lusac said urgently. If Nippy or Hwnlr were hurt, that was going to make things a lot harder. Finding the parts would take ages with half the team out, not to mention worrying about the bears which could be coming in at any time.


    ¡°We ran¡ªtrouble¡ªin the engine¡ª-Hwnlr¡ª¡± Nippy repeated.


    ¡°Engine room. We¡¯ll meet you there,¡± Lusac said.


    ¡°We¡¯re on our way, Nippy,¡± Dasht confirmed with his own unit. Dropping the button, he looked to Lus. ¡°Some mission this is turning out to be.¡±


    ¡°No kidding. Still not as bad as the mine though,¡± he responded as he stood up and held a hand out. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get down to the engine room and see what¡¯s going on with all this.¡±


    Dasht accepted the help up, grimacing with every step.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be able to make it there, or do I need to carry you?¡± Lusac asked with a smirk.


    ¡°Knock it off. You didn¡¯t get your leg half eaten by a bear just now,¡± the Nemarian replied sourly.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it was ¡®eaten¡¯ given that the majority of your leg was intact.¡± Lus took Dasht¡¯s pack off, adding it over the top of his own. ¡°At least let me take that off your back. I¡¯ll handle the bags, you worry about getting yourself around.¡±


    ¡°You may not be entirely worthless after all, Loser.¡±


    ¡°What happened to me being a talented mechanic?¡± Lusac reminded him of his earlier compliment.


    ¡°That was before you led me to almost becoming a bear¡¯s dinner.¡±


    Lus crossed through the blocked entrance first and then turned to help Dasht through, but the Nemarian dismissed his hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m not an invalid. I can do this myself.¡±


    Holding his hands up, Lusac backed away and watched as the Nemarian struggled his way through the small hole that served as the door. Once he was safely through, Lus took the lead in their trek through the ship, finding it easy to navigate to a target as large as the ship¡¯s engines.


    It wasn¡¯t long before they came to a dead end at the far side. Lus put his hand on the wall and found it warm to the touch.


    ¡°The engines are just on the other side of this so the engine room has to be around here. Should we go left or right first?¡±


    ¡°Left,¡± Dasht said. Lusac tried to ignore the strain in his voice and the sweat on his brow. Once they regrouped with the rest of the team, they could worry about taking a proper break for Zer-Dasht.


    Going in the direction his friend suggested, they wandered through a more-or-less intact corridor full of doors, but without power, none of the doors they passed would open.


    Once they reached another dead end, Lus took them in the other direction.


    ¡°You notice how there aren¡¯t any bodies?¡± Dasht said.


    ¡°The other section didn¡¯t have many laying around either,¡± he replied.


    ¡°But Nippy said they found bones here. Shouldn¡¯t we have run into something by now?¡±


    Lusac shook his head. ¡°Nah. I¡¯m sure the bones were closer to the outer part. Don¡¯t think too much about it. Animals have weird habits.¡±


    Nothing else was said as they retraced their steps and then continued past where the original corridor to go to the right side of the shipwreck. They hadn¡¯t made it very far when Dasht shouted out a warning.


    ¡°Behind us,¡± he said.


    Lus spun around to see a mound of white fur. The bears had come for them after all it seemed. As he reached for his blaster, he found himself slowing and questioning his own sanity.


    ¡°Dasht, do you see¨C¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s freaky. We need to go,¡± the Nemarian cut him as he backed away from the animal.


    No, monster. While it was recognizable as having once been one of the bears like those they faced before, this one was different. Its eyes had changed from yellow to a murky purple, and its fur was patchy, revealing swatches of black skin, much of which held discolored pockets of pus. The fur it did have actually emitted its own light, but worst of all were the additional legs it carried in its midsection, giving it a total of six, though the two new ones held misshapen claws. All of it together made the beast some type of glowing freak.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Lusac started to back away as well. The bear-thing roared as it leaned down to crouch, and Lus wasted no time pulling Dasht¡¯s arm around him and sprinting away. The sound of claws against metal came from behind, warning that the beast was giving chase.


    Lus used his free hand to turn on his comm unit. ¡°Nippy, we need you. There¡¯s something in here.¡±


    He had no idea if the Kremel could hear him, especially this close to the engines giving off their radiation, but it was their only chance.


    A new sound joined the fray, that of a door sliding open, and Lus looked ahead to see an opening. Urging Zer-Dasht onward, he continued to half drag his friend until they reached the safety of the room. He dove inside, taking Dasht down to the floor with him just as the bear-monster reached them, but something cleaved at it, and Lus felt blood spray across him. He glanced back to see the door slide closed, cutting off the view of the monster covered in blood as its corpse started to bubble.


    Lusac sat up with a groan, his chest aching from his fall and discovered Hwnlr leaning against one wall, bandages along his abdomen and a determined Nippy standing at the door with his sword.


    ¡°Glad you found us,¡± the Kremel said with a smile.

 Chapter 55: Making a New Plan

    Lus sighed in relief as he stood up, untangling himself from Zer-Dasht who remained in a moaning heap on the ground. The door was closed, saving him from having to think about the mutant bear that had just been chasing him which Nippy managed to kill just in time.


    ¡°Thanks for saving us,¡± Lusac said. ¡°I¡¯m happy you got my message.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear most of what you said, but we could hear the roar of the monster, so I gathered you were in trouble,¡± Nippy replied. He patted Lus¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Did you get any of the parts you needed?¡±


    ¡°No. We were looking for you and then ran into the creature. What was wrong with it?¡±


    ¡°Radiation.¡± The Kremel grimaced. ¡°This part of the ship is heavily irradiated, but luckily the engine room is shielded.¡±


    ¡°Barely,¡± Hwnlr said from where he leaned against the wall. ¡°Nippy and I might make it a few days in here, but you and the Nemarian are toast if you stay longer than a couple of hours.¡±


    ¡°I think Zer-Dasht could use a small break, but maybe we can find somewhere safer for him to rest while I go scavenge the parts,¡± Lus suggested.


    Nippy shook his head. ¡°No. The bears will tear us all apart if we separate. I can¡¯t protect you and the injured.¡±


    ¡°There are more?¡± Dasht said from where he now sat on the floor, checking his bandages.


    Scratching sounded from the door, the pawing of a creature outside.


    ¡°Worse than that¨Cthey come back to life. As far as I can tell, they¡¯re unkillable,¡± Nippy said, his lips in a frown. ¡°Suns knows how we¡¯ll make it out of here with that one outside our door. We¡¯ll have to figure that out in addition to planning our escape, but the good news is that Hwnlr and I found the artifact piece.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we make it out of the wreckage if we don¡¯t get the parts to contact the Argo,¡± Lus reminded them.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you rig something from what the shuttle has? Or use a substitute that we might be able to find in the other wreckage?¡± Nippy asked.


    ¡°Not a chance. Maybe if we had a real mechanic here, but I¡¯m not capable of rigging something like that. I need those parts if we¡¯re going to repair the shuttle comms,¡± Lus answered.


    The Kremel sheathed his large sword. ¡°Very well. Everyone get a little rest while I come up with a plan.¡±


    As Lusac was bending down to help Zer-Dasht to his feet, a notification popped up from his system.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [What Makes a Leader]


    [Description: help Nippy regain his confidence]


    [Time limit: 1 day]


    [Reward: 500 XP, New Recipe]


    [Punishment: death]


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Lusac muttered.


    ¡°This situation? Yeah. Tell me about it,¡± Dasht said as he leaned against Lusac and they crossed towards one of the walls.


    Lus looked around making sure there was no one else within earshot. ¡°Not that. I just got a [Quest] about helping Nippy regain his confidence.¡±


    ¡°Is that really a priority right now?¡±


    ¡°Apparently so. If I don¡¯t complete it within the next day, I die,¡± he said. ¡°If I had to bet, we¡¯ll all die if Nippy doesn¡¯t get his mojo back.¡±


    ¡°That sucks,¡± Dasht replied flatly. ¡°Just what I wanted to hear: another impossible task we have to pull off if we want to escape this blasted planet.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. You should rest. I¡¯ll figure it out,¡± Lus encouraged him as he released the Nemarian¡¯s arm and allowed him to sink down against the wall.


    ¡°Good luck, Lus. Don¡¯t mess this up.¡± Dasht smirked up at him and then leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll try,¡± Lus murmured. He was exhausted after all the climbing and running, but he didn¡¯t dare rest yet until he figured out how Nippy was doing with everything. He¡¯d never known the Kremel to be anything but confident, overconfident if anything.


    Leaving Zer-Dasht to rest, Lusac wandered over to where Nippy sat against one of the broken consoles, staring absently at the closed door keeping them safe from the mutant bears.


    ¡°Hey Nippy. How are you doing?¡± Lus started up casually.


    ¡°Hi Lus,¡± the Kremel replied. ¡°Fine. How are you? Did you get hurt at all?¡±


    ¡°Nah. Zer-Dasht got a small bite, but he¡¯ll be fine. How is Hwnlr?¡±


    ¡°Not great. He got some pretty deep slashes on his stomach from when we ran into the mutants.¡±


    ¡°Crazy that the radiation did that. But the bears¨Cat least the normal ones¨Cseem fairly intelligent. They wouldn¡¯t follow us into the radiated part of the wreck.¡±


    ¡°Smarter than me,¡± Nippy sighed.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± Lusac chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve never led us astray before.¡±


    ¡°Except on Aschir Alpha. And now here,¡± he said sullenly.


    ¡°Neither have been your fault,¡± Lus assured him. ¡°Nobody knew what to expect on Aschir Alpha nor here. How could we have predicted the Shaquine or blasted mutant bears?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in charge of both missions, Lusac. When things go completely wrong, and people get hurt, someone has to take the blame.¡±


    ¡°I was on both missions and so was Zer-Dasht. Let¡¯s blame him.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Nippy placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Thanks for cheering me up. Why don¡¯t you go get some rest? I¡¯m going to check on Hwnlr.¡±


    Lus exhaled heavily as the Kremel walked away. This was going to be harder than he thought, and if he didn¡¯t come up with a way to get Nippy to believe in himself again, they were all going to die and rot in this radiation cell. Or worse, become the mutant bears¡¯ next meal. Neither was a pleasant thought.


    He watched as Nippy knelt down next to Hwnlr and delicately checked the bandages along the other Kremel¡¯s body. Then he noticed that he was getting hot all wrapped up in his coat this close to the engines which were giving off massive amounts of heat and radiation.


    After taking his two packs off, he took off his coat and set it on top of them, leaving a mound of stuff sitting near the broken console.


    Lus then sat down against an empty wall and thought about how to escape this disaster. He thought hard, considering everything from cooking a meal for the mutant bears to serve as a distraction to trying to cook something then and there to level himself up. But maybe he didn¡¯t need to level up. He had enough [XP] to buy a new [Skill] as it was.


    With a thought, he called up the blue screen of his system, not caring if the others could see it and clicked on the [Skill Shop] tab.


    The same three [Skills] as before sat there, though [Sixth Sense] was already purchased leaving [Night Sight] and [Dash].


    [Night Sight] wouldn¡¯t be much help in this situation since the bears were very easy to spot, but [Dash]... That might be worth something. The [Shop] didn¡¯t present any information about it, but luckily he knew just the guy to ask.


    Swiping the screen away, Lus stood up and went to where Nippy now sat alone, gazing emptily at a wall.


    ¡°Nippy, maybe I can buy a new [Skill] to help. What does [Dash] do?¡± Lusac asked as he sat down in front of the Kremel.


    Nippy blinked several times as his focus returned and looked at Lus with a half-smile. ¡°Exactly what it sounds like. It gives you a short burst of speed, making you exceptionally fast.¡±


    ¡°For how long?¡±


    ¡°Depends on the level. For someone at your level, maybe a minute.¡±


    ¡°That would be helpful, right? Then I can easily outrun the bears,¡± Lus suggested.


    The Kremel shook his head slowly. ¡°No, Lusac. Your system isn¡¯t going to buy our way this time. You¡¯d be able to outrun the bears for a minute, but the [Skill] would have to cool down before you could use it again, and then you¡¯d be mutant chow.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yeah, that wouldn¡¯t be good,¡± Lus muttered, disheartened to hear that it wasn¡¯t quite as easy as it first appeared. ¡°So I shouldn¡¯t buy that one yet?¡±


    ¡°What are your other options?¡±


    ¡°Just [Night Sight], but I¡¯m hoping when I level up again, I¡¯ll get access to at least one more option,¡± he explained.


    Nippy nodded. ¡°I¡¯d suggest waiting. There¡¯s no going back once you buy a [Skill], right? So you need to make sure you spend your [XP] wisely.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t your system do anything?¡±


    Again, the Kremel shook his head. ¡°Not beyond what it has done. I¡¯m a [Raging Warrior], but it¡¯s not very good for defending others, just killing. I¡¯m confident I could get myself out of here in one piece, but it¡¯s you and the others I have to worry about.¡±


    Lusac bit his lip. ¡°Good point. I wouldn¡¯t want to face those bears without you. You¡¯re our only chance of surviving this.¡±


    ¡°As if we have any chance left,¡± Nippy murmured. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a little rest, but maybe we can talk system stuff later.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Lus replied as he stood up to return to his own section of the engine room, giving the Kremel the space he wanted.


    As everyone sat in silence, Lusac turned the problem they faced over and over in his mind. Nippy was their only chance of escaping from the bear mutants, but until he had his confidence back, he¡¯d never be brave enough to take the necessary risks. Zer-Dasht and Hwnlr were both basically out of commission for fighting purposes, which left just him and Nippy.


    Not to mention they still had to find the parts if they were ever going to escape. He supposed they could try waiting for the Argo at the wreckage, but dying slowly of radiation poisoning seemed worse than freezing to death.


    ¡°The bears can¡¯t go everywhere I can,¡± Lus said quietly. Talking to himself could be helpful in times like this. ¡°So I don¡¯t need to outrun them forever, just long enough to get somewhere safe. Then Nippy can get the others out, using my run as a distraction, and once those two are to safety, he can come back to help me once I get the parts. That would work.¡±


    He waited a while before he approached Nippy again, mulling over his plan and ironing out at potential wrinkles to make sure it was perfectly presentable. Even with his coat off, he was getting hot again. Glancing at Zer-Dasht, he noticed a clear sheen of sweat on the Nemarian¡¯s brow, something that wouldn¡¯t be from the injury.


    The radiation. It was killing them both, and after it was through with them, it would take Nippy and Hwnlr too. They couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    Lus stood up once more, his body complaining about its break being cut short yet again. Nippy was just where he left him, staring at nothing with an unamused look on his face.


    ¡°Sorry to bother you again, Nippy, but I have an idea,¡± Lusac said.


    The Kremel looked up at him with a face of annoyance but gestured for him to continue.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get [Dash], and then I¡¯ll leave the engine room first and use it to run and distract the bears so you can¨C¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Nippy cut him off. ¡°I learned my lesson this time. No more splitting the team. We¡¯re sticking together, and that¡¯s final.¡±


    ¡°But¨C¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he shouted. ¡°Enough, Lus. I don¡¯t want to hear anything else from you the rest of the day.¡±


    ¡°Nippy¨C¡±


    ¡°Loser, go sit down and leave me alone. That¡¯s a blasted order!¡± Nippy roared.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lus said softly as he turned away. Just because the Kremel was unhappy with how the mission was going didn¡¯t mean he needed to take it out on Lusac for trying to help.


    Watcher curse him. Couldn¡¯t Nippy see that they needed to be doing something if they were going to get out of here? Lusac¡¯s mind grasped a new idea. A version of his old plan but with a certain modification, one that Nippy couldn¡¯t say no to. It was probably a horrible idea, but it was better than wasting away in the engine room, waiting for the radiation to kill them.


    Instead of the wall he¡¯d been resting at, Lus returned to his stuff, put his coat back on despite the layer of sweat he already wore, and dug through his pack to pull out a ration kit. Once he had that safely stored in one of his coat pockets, he double checked that his two pistols were at his sides, ready for action.


    Keeping his back to the others, Lusac called up his system screen and navigated to the [Skills Shop] where he spent [1000 XP] to buy [Dash]. As with the last time, a new screen popped to give him a run down of his new [Skill].


    [Dash]


    [Type: Active]


    [Usable Time: 50 seconds]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    [Description: Gives the user a burst of speed equal to their level multiplied by 10 seconds with a cool down of 5 minutes between uses.]


    ¡°Exactly like Nippy said,¡± Lus breathed. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how to activate the [Skill], but he didn¡¯t want to waste it yet.


    Swiping away the screen, Lusac scanned the room to see that everyone was still lounging about, waiting to die. That wouldn¡¯t do.


    ¡°Everyone up,¡± Lus yelled. ¡°It¡¯s time to eat.¡± He pulled open his backpack and held up one of the many rations waiting there. ¡°But you guys have to come get them. I¡¯m no waiter.¡±


    ¡°Lus,¡± Nippy growled.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to move around a bit,¡± he replied with a smile. ¡°It¡¯ll help us think of ideas.¡±


    Grumbling, both Zer-Dasht and Nippy pushed their feet.


    Good. They didn¡¯t suspect a thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Lus encouraged them, dropping the rations on the broken console. ¡°Let¡¯s feast.¡± The fewer of those he was carrying around, the better.


    Once he was sure the rest of the team was awake, with Nippy and Dasht both prepping their rations, he slunk over to the door. There was no scratching against it which meant he might not die immediately.


    ¡°Here goes nothing,¡± he whispered to himself. He then turned back around to where the others ate.


    ¡°Nippy,¡± he called out. The Kremel looked at him in confusion. ¡°This is for your own good. Get the others out, and I¡¯ll meet you at the wall of the crater with the parts we need.¡±


    ¡°Lusac, no!¡± Nippy cried, but it was too late. Lusac¡¯s fist slammed on the button next to the door, opening it. Before anyone could stop him, he ran into the hallway, ignoring the calls from his companions.

 Chapter 56: [Dash] Saves the Day

    The hallway was a lot cooler than the engine room, but since he was running, Lus hardly noticed. Having the coat and backpack on made it a lot less convenient to sprint, but so far, he hadn¡¯t run into anything that he needed to run from.


    Nippy and Dasht were still yelling for him to come back, but when he glanced over his shoulder, he noticed that they didn¡¯t dare stray from the room. It took a few seconds for him to realize that their yells weren¡¯t about coming back. They were more like ¡°watch out.¡±


    ¡°Watch out?¡± he wondered, facing forward again only to discover his path blocked by two of the mutant bears. One seemed to be the original one he and Dasht faced, with the extra legs and a fresh patch of missing fur along his head from where Nippy¡¯s sword hit, but the other was even more intimidating¨Clarger than its companion, it had a second pair of ears along its neck and a third eye on its left cheek. Its paws held extra claws, and some of its teeth had grown past its lips to dangle beneath its jaw.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± he said, his eyes darting around the corridor to find a way around the beasts. Unfortunately it seemed the only way past them was through them, and he would just have to hope his [Dash] would work as well as he expected it to.


    His eyebrows knitting together in concentration, Lus thought [Dash] really hard, but he sensed no change in himself.


    ¡°What does it take to activate a [Skill]?¡± he cried as he slowed down before reaching the hungry-looking animals. The larger of the two took a step towards him, its three eyes glowering with danger.


    ¡°Come on, system! Just let me [Dash]!¡± he said.


    Still nothing.


    The mutant polar bears continued their prowl towards him, and Lus realized that unless he got his [Skill] to work soon, he would be dead. The only good news about that is that he wouldn¡¯t have to face Nippy and the others with his epic failure of a plan.


    ¡°Maybe I can outrun them normally,¡± he muttered to himself, recognizing that was likely only going to lead to a faster death. Taking a breath, Lusac charged forward, screaming as he ran towards the bears. His hands found the pistols at his side and he pulled them out, shooting off as many bolts as he could.


    The shots of energy blew parts of the animals¡¯ flesh away, but Lusac got a clear, horrific view of their bodies almost instantly mending themselves, sickly skin bubbling back over the burn marks from his shots.


    He was very close to the bears when he reholstered his guns and tried one last time to get his new [Skill] to activate.


    Calming his mind, Lus very clearly thought of the command, Activate [Dash], and to his relief, the stupid system decided to respond this time.


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    Immediately, Lusac felt the change in his body, and the world around him seemed to slow down. He looked up at the giant mutant paw bear swiping down towards him, but it was going so slow, he easily ducked underneath it and danced around the two white mounds impeding his path.


    As soon as he was past the bears, Lusac bolted down the next corridor that would take him away from the engine section, wanting to give the rest of the team a clear path to escape. He hoped Nippy was going to be brave enough to take this opportunity, or that Zer-Dasht would find a way to bully the Kremel into it.


    Lus ran for what seemed to be several minutes, his footsteps echoing through the corridor, and a glance behind showing that the bears were on his trail, even if he was easily outrunning them. For now. His [Dash] wouldn¡¯t last that much longer, and he needed to be somewhere safe before it ran out or else he was looking at the whole dying thing again, something he was still hoping to avoid.


    He scanned the walls and doors as he went, knowing that he would need access to the maintenance shafts if he was going to get the parts they needed. That 12 [Luck] held out for him once again as he caught sight of a loose ceiling panel that would surely lead to where he wanted to go. It also looked far too small for any of the bears he¡¯d come across, mutant or not, so surely he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything but gathering parts while he was in there.


    Stopping below it, he then realized his problem of not having a way up to the panel. Since the ship had been designed to fit Kremel, the ceiling was far above his reach, even if he jumped.


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    ¡°Blast me,¡± he murmured as the roar of the bears reached his eyes. He did not have long to figure this out, and there was nowhere else to hide.


    Lusac turned to see the two monsters racing towards him. He did a brief mental calculation and cringed at his second horrible idea of the day. It was a long shot, but he didn¡¯t know what else he could do in such a short span of time.


    He ran backwards a few steps and then crouched down, preparing to sprint towards the incoming bears. There was a high chance he was going to lose his foot or something in doing this, but he was willing to bank on his [Luck] which so far had done a lot to save him. If only he had a batch of [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] on him. That would make this far easier.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The first of the bears reached what he deemed a worthy condition, and Lus took off in a run, racing to meet his foe. As the bear reached its snout out to bite Lusac, he jumped upwards, landing on the bear¡¯s head.


    Thanks to the boost from the large creature, it was only one more small hop upward to get his hands on the edge of the ceiling shaft.


    Lus hung there, pulling his legs close as the bears below tried to swipe at them. He cursed himself for not cooking more to level up sooner and gain extra [Strength] as he attempted to pull himself up into the crawl space.


    His arms burned as he hauled himself to safety, cursing the coat and backpack he wore for the extra weight, but after a few moments of intense effort, Lus was safely in the crawl space, the howls of the bears below warning him that they were unhappy to have lost their dinner.


    Lus turned his headlamp on, sending a brilliant beam of white light out to illuminate the small space. It was roomier than the fsylan tubes but not by much. He sighed and carefully maneuvered himself to get a look back down into the hallway he¡¯d left behind where the two bears from before paced, now alongside another one of their companions.


    ¡°Good. The distraction seemed to have worked,¡± he sighed to himself. Reaching up, he pressed the button on his communicator to try and talk with the others.


    ¡°Nippy, Dasht. I¡¯m safe in the maintenance tubes, and I can see three of the bears. You guys should have an easy escape if you leave now,¡± he said. He then repeated the message three times in hopes of getting the majority of it through the interference caused by the broken engines.


    ¡°Lus¡ªyou blasted¡ª-killl¡ª-but¡ªleaving now¡ªsee¡ªwall,¡± Nippy¡¯s broken voice responded.


    Lusac waited several seconds, but nothing more came through the radio. Hopefully that meant they were on their way.


    He glanced back down at the bears who were still staring up at him intently, and he realized that another two had joined their companions, making for a total of five mutant bears. All them were disfigured in unique ways, ranging from extra appendages to mutated faces. One even seemed to be growing a second head.


    ¡°Glad we¡¯re getting away from the radiation,¡± he murmured as he ran his hands along his body to ensure no new arms or legs were forming. He¡¯d rather not end up like the bears. Finding himself still a plain old Human, Lus breathed in relief and turned his attention back to the bears. He had no way of knowing how long it would take Nippy and the others to escape, and he wanted to make sure to keep these monsters distracted until he was confident he was the only one in the wreckage.


    All at once, the bears swung their heads down to stare at the corridor, and one even let out a growl.


    ¡°That must mean they can hear the team,¡± Lus told himself. He needed to find a way to keep the bears¡¯ attention on him without putting himself in too much danger. Grabbing his two pistols again, he leaned over the open panel and fired into the mutants.


    The attack sent the animals into a frenzy, and they began roaring and jumping up at the panel as the blaster bolts rained down on them, marring more of their bodies with the oozing flesh that regrew with each hit.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Keep your eyes on me,¡± Lusac said with a smile, congratulating himself on a job well down. Once Nippy, Dasht, and Hwnlr were safe, he could go find the parts, and then make his escape with his recovered [Dash]. After that it would be the simple matter of repairing the shuttle communicator and waiting for the Argo to send help. This mission wasn¡¯t going to turn out so bad after all.


    His happy thoughts were interrupted by a bear claw swiping at the gun in his right hand, nearly knocking it from his grip.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± he yelled, backing up as another paw appeared within the hole he¡¯d been leaning over. The bears¡¯ anger had fueled their athletic ability a lot more than he anticipated.


    He waited another minute, watching as claws grabbed the air he¡¯d only recently been sitting in, before deciding that was enough of a distraction for Nippy and the others. He needed to go find the parts, and he didn¡¯t want to see just how capable the bears could become if he kept antagonizing them.


    ¡°I hope you made it out. My distraction has run out,¡± Lusac said into his communicator. As before, he repeated it several times as he crawled along the unfamiliar maintenance shaft. It was a mess, with loose wires and jagged edges everywhere the eye could see. It was going to be tough to find the parts in this disaster, but at least that was his only real concern for now.


    Unlike the fsylan tubes back on the Argo, these tubes had no kind of markings to denote what section he was in or where in the ship he was, which made his task far harder than it should have been. It took a lot of trial and error at random circuit boards before he found one that lit up a small holoscreen with a map of the wreck¡¯s fsylan tubes.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± he said, memorizing the path to the communication section where the antenna and fretrics would be.


    After he was sure about where to go, he resumed his crawling journey amongst the cramped shafts, finding it more difficult to get around with all the broken walls and supports protruding into the space.


    He was about halfway to his next stop when he ran into a full blockage of his path.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± He stared at the beam which lay across the entire tube. From what he could see, the tube did continue on the other side, but there were several tons of alunitanium in his way.


    Sighing at the delay, Lusac pulled out his all-in cutter and began the agonizingly slow work of cutting a hole in the beam that would allow him through. It took nearly an hour to get through all the heavy metal with only a standard cutter, but eventually he finished his work and was able to worm his way past the beam (without his backpack, which he had to pull through after).


    He was getting antsy with how long it was taking just to get to the communication section, and by the time he arrived, he was very tired of being in the freezing cold tubes. The task of getting the antenna and fretrics went much faster than cutting through the beam, and within half an hour his backpack was stuffed full of the equipment as he plotted his course to the nearest exit of the fyslan network.


    When he reached the closest exit panel, he removed it and checked that there was nothing waiting nearby. Finding the hallway empty from what he could see, Lus sat at the edge and then dropped down to the broken floor. The mutant bears were probably still where he left them, waiting for him to return or something. He didn¡¯t think their irradiated brains could figure out that he wouldn¡¯t be coming back anytime soon.


    Now all he had to do was reach the exit of the wreck and see if Nippy and the others were waiting at the crater wall for him. There was always a chance they¡¯d decided to go back to the shuttle¨C


    Out of nowhere, a white mound rammed into Lusac, knocking him to the ground. He¡¯d been so concerned about figuring out a way out of the wreck, he hadn¡¯t noticed the mutant bear approaching.


    Shouting, Lusac grabbed the slobbering mouth of sharp teeth that was descending towards his face. His body was exhausted from his earlier sprint and then handling all the tasks in the tube, and even with the extra [Strength] from the adrenaline in his system, Lus realized that there was no way he could beat this thing.


    He was going to die.

 Chapter 57: What Makes a Leader

    Lusac shouted as the teeth grew closer to his face. This was not at all how he wanted to die, but it seemed his [Luck] had finally run dry.


    Why hadn¡¯t he had enough sense to make [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] again before this mission? Hadn¡¯t he learned his lesson back on Aschir Alpha about assuming that easy-sounding missions were never as simple as they seemed?


    The bear attacking him was the one with the third eye on its cheek, the yellow orb staring down at him with total insanity. His arms burned, and his hands were bleeding from the teeth as he shielded himself from the mutant trying to eat his head. There was nothing he could do¡­


    Except [Dash]. He didn¡¯t know that it would do any good, but he figured he might as well try.


    Grimacing as the bear thrust its head closer to chomping range, Lusac thought the magic words, activate [Dash].


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    Instantly the world slowed down.


    There was still a giant, freakish polar bear sitting on top of him, crushing the air from his lungs and very nearly about to eat his face off, but Lusac now had the wonderful privilege of watching his own death in slow-motion.


    [Dash]-enhanced squirming did nothing to free himself from the load of meat and fur pinning him to the ground, and the [Skill] did nothing to replenish his fading [Strength].


    Time ticked by slowly as Lusac struggled against the animal, his will to live proving not to be enough to keep him alive this time, and just as he was about to give in and allow the beast to feast, something new appeared in the corner of his vision.


    Turning his head slightly, Lusac caught sight of a new player in the game, a large Kremel with a fiery sword charging towards him and the bear.


    Nippy.


    Nippy had come back for him, and if Lusac could hold out just a little longer, he might not die after all. It was a miracle. Or maybe his [Luck] really was that good.


    With his newly found second wind, Lus forced his tired arms to push harder against the bear, shoving its deadly face away from his. He locked his elbows and begged the Watcher for just a few more seconds of [Strength] as he waited for Nippy¡¯s approach.


    It might have been an eternity of him waiting there, arms shaking against the foaming mouth they held at bay, until at last he got the glorious notification:


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    The world returned to regular speed, and it was only a moment later that red blood sprayed down on Lus as the mutant bear¡¯s head split in half. The monster toppled over, and Nippy pulled Lusac out from under the mound of bubbling flesh and to his feet.


    ¡°Nippy, you saved me. Thank you,¡± Lusac said.


    ¡°Save your gratitude until we¡¯re out of the ship,¡± the Kremel growled. He turned, sword raised high, as two more bears converged on their location. ¡°I¡¯ll blast myself before I lose another member of my team.¡±


    Lus smiled as new notifications filled his view.


    [Quest Complete:What Makes a Leader]


    The real Nippy was back. They were going to make it out of this alive. Probably.


    The Kremel raced forward to meet the incoming bears, slicing both down with a set of fluid motions.


    ¡°Behind you!¡± Lus shouted as a third bear appeared behind him, but Nippy was already spinning to face the beast. Another swing later, and it too was a bloody heap on the ground.


    ¡°Come on, Lusac. They¡¯ll be coming back very soon. We have to get out of here,¡± Nippy called to him.


    Lus wasted no time jogging up to join the Kremel who then took off at a rather fast pace that he found difficult to replicate with his much smaller legs and tired body. The roar of the bears behind them encouraged him to ignore his exhaustion for a little longer.


    Another bear appeared in their path, but Nippy leapt over it, his sword reaching below him to cut the monster down before it could strike. Lusac ran past the bubbling corpse, wishing he still had his [Dash] so he could try to do something helpful.


    Nippy knew exactly where to go, or at least he pretended well, because he didn¡¯t hesitate at a single intersection, his steps sure in their path. Lus was a lot less confident that they were actually going towards the exit, but he was too busy trying to keep up with the Kremel to worry too much about it.


    After a few minutes, Nippy did stop near a four way intersection, and Lusac gratefully took the chance to lean against the wall to catch his breath. The Kremel didn¡¯t like this apparently, and he raised his flaming sword towards him.


    ¡°S-s-sorry,¡± Lus stammered. But Nippy¡¯s eyes were angry and distant.


    ¡°Duck,¡± the Kremel hissed.


    Immediately Lusac dove to the floor, his arms covered his head as Nippy jumped over him. Lus sat up and watched as the Kremel engaged with five of the mutant bears.


    As powerful and [Skilled] as Nippy was, he was no match for all of the monsters at once, and Lus watched in horror as one of the animals cut long gashes along the Kremel¡¯s back.


    ¡°Nippy!¡± He took a step forward but realized he had nothing that could help. His blaster did almost nothing to the bears. Still, his hands found the weapons and pulled them from the holsters despite the pain from the bleeding holes in hands. Doing almost nothing was better than truly doing nothing and watching Nippy die before his own turn came.


    ¡°Over here,¡± Lusac called out, gaining the attention of one of the bears. He raised both pistols and unleashed as many bolts as he could into it and those around it, taking only enough aim to be sure he wasn¡¯t going to hit Nippy by mistake.


    As before, the bolts burned the flesh, but the mutant bears quickly recovered. The others that had been hit also turned their attention to Lusac, and soon three of the beasts were stalking towards him as an injured Nippy attempted to fight off the other two.


    He continued to shoot at the animals, but the shots didn¡¯t even slow the animals as they approached him.


    ¡°Watcher protect me,¡± he whispered as he stared into three sets of hungry, murderous eyes.


    Hope resurfaced inside him when Nippy¡¯s bleeding form appeared behind the three monsters. Heaving his sword with a pained look, the Kremel slaughtered the bears before leaning against the nearest wall with a gasp.


    Lusac ran to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him up.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°We gotta keep going, Nippy. They¡¯re already reforming.¡± He nodded to the bubbling carcases surrounding them.


    ¡°Too¡­ many,¡± he muttered. ¡°Use your [Dash], Lusac. Get out of here. I¡¯ll hold them off.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lus said fiercely. ¡°We¡¯re making it out together.¡± He tugged Nippy harder. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two started to run again, but slower than before. There was no chance they¡¯d survive this unless they made it to the crater before the bears caught up again. Whether it was his [Luck] or Nippy¡¯s previous navigation, he would never know for sure, but they did reach the end of the wreckage before the mutated beasts caught them.


    Plowing into the snow, Lus continually glanced back to see Nippy trailing behind. Now that they were in the field of white, he cringed at the black stains his friend was leaving behind.


    ¡°Come on,¡± he encouraged the Kremel as he caught sight of the mutant bears coming down the hallway. ¡°We¡¯re so close, Nippy. We just have to make it up the wall of the crater.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t fight them again, Lus,¡± Nippy admitted. ¡°Not in this condition.¡±


    ¡°Then run faster,¡± he replied as he looped Nippy¡¯s arm around his shoulders, taking on as much of the Kremel¡¯s weight as he could. He forced his feet to churn in the snow as they ran towards the silver line waiting against the snowy wall of the impact site. There was no way they were going to make it. Those bears were fast.


    ¡°Oh, come on. Can¡¯t we catch a break?¡± Lusac complained as he noticed the non-mutant bears coming from the other side of the wreckage towards them. Those ones would stay dead at least, but stopping to fight them would allow their twisted friends to catch up and kill them anyway.


    ¡°No¡­ Chance,¡± Nippy breathed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. We¡¯re almost there,¡± Lus lied as he continued to drag the second-in-command forward. Another glance over his shoulder showed that both sets of bears were due to converge on them at any moment. Grimacing, he threw Nippy off of himself and pulled the large sword from the Kremel¡¯s hands. It was huge and heavy, making it far too unwieldy for Lus to properly use, but he held it up anyway, pressing the button to activate the power of the Valer chip.


    Orange flames leapt up along the sides of the sword as Lus turned to face their enemies, dedicating himself to one last stand in a battle he knew he would lose.


    He took a deep breath through his mouth as his arms shook from the effort of holding the sword.


    A few more seconds, and all the bears would arrive. He moved the sword into position, but before the animals reached Lus, both packs veered in a different direction to face each other.


    Releasing a shocked sigh, he turned the sword off and lowered it to the ground as he watched the mutant bears begin attacking the non-mutated ones, an all out battle starting up between the two sides. It seems that in their eagerness to kill each other, they¡¯d both forgotten about their original target.


    Dragging the sword in the snow behind him, Lusac returned to where Nippy knelt in the snow. He sheathed the sword on the Kremel¡¯s back and then helped him to his feet again.


    ¡°Something is looking out for us,¡± Lus informed him as they staggered towards the rope that represented their safety.


    ¡°Or it¡¯s that 12 [Luck] you have. I¡¯ve never seen someone with such high [Luck] at such a low level,¡± Nippy confessed.


    ¡°Whatever it is, I¡¯m not going to complain.¡± They reached the alunitanium rope, and Lus set Nippy up to go first. Once the Kremel was at the top of the crater, he dropped the rope so Lusac could hook it to his own harness. The line tugged him upwards, and he craned his neck back to watch the last of the fight between the bears. Both sides took heavy losses, but in an strange turn of the events, Lus saw no sign that the mutant bears were coming back to life. The remnants of both sides staggered away to their respective homes, leaving a field of red gore and torn corpses behind.


    ¡°Maybe they need to be close to the radiation to recover,¡± Lus said to himself. He never got to see if any of the dead bears revived. As he soon reached the top of the crater, he and Nippy strode towards the shuttle, neither one wanting to look back at the wreck that had nearly been their grave.


    It was only a short trek later that they arrived at the shuttle where Zer-Dasht and Hwnlr both waited. Hwnlr was lying on the floor while Zer-Dasht sat with his injured leg elevated. It wasn¡¯t nearly as warm in the shuttle as he expected, and both the Kremel and Nemarian were still wearing their coats.


    ¡°Suns, Loser. Why does everyone around you get hurt?¡± Dasht bit at him when he noticed the black blood dripping off Nippy.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t exactly make it out uninjured myself,¡± Lus replied bitterly as he held up his bleeding hands. ¡°Get Nippy taken care of while I see about installing the parts.¡±


    ¡°Let me wrap your hands first. Last thing we need is them getting infected,¡± Dasht said flatly. The Nemarian limped to the open medical kit and motioned Lusac over. He efficiently wrapped the bleeding gashes before turning his attention to Nippy¡¯s much more serious injury while Lusac went over to the maintenance closet to begin his work.


    With the bulky bandages on his hands, doing something as intensive as replacing entire components was difficult, time consuming work. More often than he would have liked, Lusac had to take breaks to let the pain in his hands die down. First he replaced the antenna which proved the simplest of the tasks, and then he moved on to dealing with the four fretrics. They were small, delicate chips, and each wire had to be connected in a very specific manner for them to work, which was hard to do right with his injuries.


    Lusac got through two of the fretrics replacements before he finally gave in to his inclination to take a real break. He stepped out of the closet and collapsed in the nearest seat, finding his entire body sore.


    ¡°Finished?¡± Dasht asked eagerly from the pilot¡¯s chair.


    Lus shook his head. ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m getting close.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Lus. We¡¯re running low on power. We¡¯re going to freeze death at this rate,¡± the Nemarian said.


    He held up his bandaged hands. ¡°I¡¯m doing the best I can, Dasht. It¡¯s not my fault I had to hold off a bear as it tried to gnaw my face off.¡±


    ¡°It kind of is. You¡¯re the idiot who took off into the hallway in some stupid plan.¡±


    ¡°It worked, didn¡¯t it? We¡¯re all alive and safe with the artifact and the parts we need.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t matter if we die before you fix the system,¡± Dasht snapped.


    Lusac frowned as he stood back up. ¡°I¡¯ll get it fixed in time. Suns, you¡¯re annoying.¡±


    ¡°And see if you can fix the heating at all while you¡¯re back there,¡± Dasht added.


    Grumbling as many curses as he could think of towards the Nemarian, Lus returned to the closet and resumed his task. That small break, even with the ever-irksome Zer-Dasht complaining, had done a lot for his hands, and he found it easier to replace the other two fretrics. Within half an hour he was finished, and he had enough momentum going that he did see about tuning the life support system to boost the heater¡¯s power.


    Exiting the closet, Lus happily closed the door and turned to Zer-Dasht.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m finished. See? That didn¡¯t take too long.¡±


    ¡°Good thing too. Hwnlr doesn¡¯t look too good,¡± Dasht said, nodding to where the Kremel lay with his pale skin.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time,¡± Nippy jumped in, sitting up from where he¡¯d been sleeping. He winced as he moved. ¡°Contact the Argo, Dasht. Let¡¯s see how soon they can send help.


    The Nemarian nodded and swiveled his chair to face the controls. His gloved hands danced across one of the panels and the familiar clicking of the long distance radio filled the room.


    ¡°Argo, come in. This is Shuttle Two,¡± Dasht said. ¡°Our shuttle crashed in the storm during our descent, and we are in need of immediate assistance.¡±


    They all waited for a moment before Cewi-Bano¡¯s voice sounded.


    ¡°Shuttle Two, this is Argo. We read you. You¡¯ve had us worried for a while. We already have another shuttle prepped. Dasy-Jonil believes that a heavier shuttle will withstand the cold better. Give us five minutes to triangulate your signal, and then we¡¯ll send rescue,¡± she said.


    Lus sighed in relief as he sat back down in his chair to await the next shuttle. He used the time to pull up his system screen and officially finish the [What Makes a Leader Quest], receiving enough [XP] to level up and a new [Recipe] called [Power Burger]. With the level up, he was now a [Level 6] with another 5 points add to his stats which now read:


    [Stamina: 8]


    [Intelligence: 9]


    [Strength: 8]


    [Charm: 7]


    [Health: 10]


    [Speed: 9]


    [Common Sense: 1]


    [Luck: 13]


    [Luck], [Stamina], [Intelligence], [Strength], and [Speed] all increased by 1. Nippy would hopefully be happy with the [8 Strength] he now possessed, and ideally, the Kremel would stop trying to make him gain anymore. He was a bit disappointed that his [Common Sense] remained at 1, but he supposed he should just be grateful it wasn¡¯t -1 anymore.


    He swiped the screen away and leaned back, enjoying the true break from his labors for a while.


    An hour later, Yrqw radioed them to inform them that the other shuttle had landed only half a mile away. Soon the rescue crew reached the crashed shuttle, and Yrqw and one of the other Kremel helped Nippy and Hwnlr up and outside while Lus assisted Zer-Dasht in limping along to the next shuttle.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you in one piece,¡± Yrqw said from over his shoulder as he held Nippy¡¯s arm around his shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be in one piece,¡± Lusac replied with a grin.


    Soon they were all comfortably in the other shuttle and lifting off to the Argo. Lus was more than ready to go home and warm up.

 Chapter 58: Cooking Power Burger

    Lus sighed and looked around the kitchen, then looked down at his injured hands. This was going to be interesting. He had considered spending his extra time resting, but if he wanted to keep leveling up, he had to keep cooking.


    Besides, after reaming Leviathan for not giving him enough recipes, he would feel guilty if he wasted the chance to try his newest reward.


    The [Power Burger] sounded delicious and useful, though he hadn¡¯t taken the time to read exactly what it did for him yet. He just hoped it wasn¡¯t another [Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich] situation.


    Pulling up the [Recipe] tab, he opened the new recipe. He skimmed the history and found his way to the paragraph about the power.


    ¡®The Power Burger is powerful in flavor and boost. This burger imbues you with a generous [+10 Strength] and [+5 Stamina]. Almost as generous a gift as the homemade sauce is to your taste buds.¡¯


    Lus shook his head at the wording that sounded like an advertisement. ¡°It¡¯s not like I need to be convinced,¡± he muttered. [+10 Strength] and [+5 Stamina], huh? That was a powerful burger indeed.


    He scrolled down to the ingredients list, praying that he had everything he needed. It had been a bit since they¡¯d had a full resupply, but they still had a good stock of ingredients.


    ¡°Sliced bread or rolls, raw gervin meat, salt, peppin, harvic, cherda cheese, raw kabrage, pickled cumbers, amyo, yellow stumard, and fresh tamos,¡± he read.


    Lus headed to the interbox to check. He knew he had gervin, salt, peppin, harvic, cherda, and at least one more head of raw kabrage, so he quickly got those out and piled them on the nearest counter.


    He found a questionable jar of pickled cumber slices after some digging. He opened it and gave it a sniff, wrinkling his nose at the familiar, strong scent. It smelled like pickled cumbers, as far as he could tell, so he put the lid back on and added it to the counter with the other ingredients.


    Amyo and stumard were on the door. He had never used them himself, but Dasy-Jonil often set them out with the lunchtime sandwiches.


    Finally, he began searching all the produce drawers for fresh tamos. He knew what they looked like, though he¡¯d never used them for his cooking. He found a half drawer of them and blinked in surprise for a moment before remembering that these were also a common sandwich ingredient.


    With everything he needed out, it was time to dive into the prep. He skimmed through the instructions to get an idea of what all he¡¯d need to do. The recipe made four burgers, so he decided to try one now and save the other four.


    Can I freeze them? He wondered.


    [No]


    He nearly laughed aloud at the very blunt, brusque [Chef¡¯s Intuition] answer.


    What if I just store the cooked meat patties in the freezer and make up new condiments when I¡¯m ready to eat them? He thought.


    [Acceptable]


    Nodding, he set to work. Since the condiments didn¡¯t need to be a certain temperature, he started with chopping. He sliced just enough cheese for one burger and set it on a clean plate. Next, he rinsed the head of kabrage and sliced just a small piece off, not worrying about cutting out the stem since he didn¡¯t need much.


    Lus used the shredder to shred the piece of kabrage. He added the shreds to the plate with the cheese.


    The tamos were next. It was harder than he expected to cut the tamos into even slices. The skin was thick and hard to cut cleanly through and the insides were squishy, with pockets of goo and seeds that made it difficult to get an even slice without just smashing the whole vegetable. The tamo juice also stung his cuts, making him wince.


    He managed to get a few nice slices. The rest he just ate as a snack, enjoying the mild, cool taste. The cutting board was covered in tamo juice and seeds, so he threw it in the sink, rinsed his hands, and grabbed a clean one.


    Lus turned his attention to the pickled cumber slices. He had to chop them into small pieces. He used a fork to pull them out of the acidic pickling liquid and set them on the new cutting board, just getting out a few. He was quartering the sauce recipe, so he only needed three pickled cumbers.


    The cumbers hurt his hand even more, though he tried to be careful and only touch them with his fingertips. Once he had them finely chopped, he dropped them in a small bowl and rinsed his hands again, sighing at the relief of the cool water on his cuts.


    He then measured in a small teaspoon of amyo and a half teaspoon of stumard. He mixed it all together into a pale yellow sauce with chunks of pickled cumber.


    Now it was time to do the actual cooking.


    Not wanting to go through the pain he¡¯d had to endure as he sliced the pickled cumbers, Lus looked around for some kind of protection. His eyes fell on an old pair of gloves hanging on the wall. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    He wasn¡¯t sure whose they were or what they were used for, but the material looked slick and easy to clean, so he decided to give them a try. They slid on easily and were a little loose, but he figured he¡¯d make them work.


    Grabbing a scale, he set a clean plate on it and began pulling out chunks of raw gervin meat to weigh. Once he had a full half kilogram, he put it in a bowl and cleaned up before washing his gloved hands. He then added salt, peppin, and harvic, then mixed it in with his hands.


    The gloves made his movements a little awkward, but he didn¡¯t care. The relief of not having meat juices leaking into his cuts was worth it.


    Once the seasonings were mixed in well, he separated the meat into four equal parts and rolled them into balls, then flattened them into meat patties.


    He should have had a hot pan ready to just throw them into, but he hadn¡¯t planned that far ahead. He briefly wondered why his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] hadn¡¯t reminded him. He¡¯d have to bug Leviathan about that later.


    For now, Lus had to get his hands cleaned off again. He washed off the gloves, then removed them and set them aside to dry. Pulling out a big frying pan, he set it on the stove and turned on the heat.


    He waited a couple minutes to let it heat up, then used a spatula to lift the patties into the pan. They didn¡¯t sizzle as much as he¡¯d hoped, letting him know that the pan should have heated a bit longer. He just shrugged, since it was too late to fix it.


    He checked the instructions and set a timer for the burger patties. While he waited, he began preparing the rest of the ingredients.


    Lus didn¡¯t have any rolls, so he just took two slices of bread from Dasy-Jonil¡¯s sandwich stock. He set them down and slathered on all of the sauce, then arranged the slices of tamo and the shredded kabrage.


    With the base ready, he just needed to wait for the burger itself. The timer to flip them went off just as he turned his attention back to the pan.


    He grabbed the spatula and gave them a flip, then set another timer. The sides that had just finished cooking were deliciously browned.


    While the burgers finished cooking, Lus wandered around the kitchen. The timer that always seemed to go too quickly when he was trying to muti-task dragged on forever when he didn¡¯t have something to do.


    Finally it went off and he returned to the pan. He turned off the heat and scooped up one of the patties with the spatula, carefully setting it on the prepared bread. He set the other slice on top, then admired it for a moment before the notification appeared.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    Smiling, he took a large bite.


    The burger was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The cheese and tamos paired perfectly with the richness of the meat. The kabrage added a nice crunch that contrasted with the softness of the other ingredients while not changing the flavor profile drastically. The sauce was savory with a bite from the pickled cumber.


    He savored the bite with a groan of appreciation. The only thing that could make the burger better came right after he swallowed.


    [+10 Strength]


    [+5 Stamina]


    He felt maybe slightly less tired, but otherwise not that different. Looking around for something to test his newfound strength, his eyes fixed on the auto-pot. It was on wheels because it was too heavy and unwieldy to carry around. He had tried lifting it once and nearly pulled a muscle.


    Now, he strode forward with confidence and gave it another try. It was still heavy and he still had to strain to get it off the floor, but he could really feel the increased strength.


    Setting the auto-pot carefully back down, he headed to the Interbox.


    ¡°Leviathan,¡± he said softly.


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Come on.¡± He tried increasing his volume.


    Still no response.


    He waited for a minute, then sighed and turned around. ¡°I just wanted to thank you, stupid Demon,¡± he muttered as he walked away.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I missed that. What did you say?¡± the familiar voice asked in an extra-smug tone.


    Spinning, Lus stalked up to the cartoonish red face watching him from the interbox screen.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Well, all I ever seem to get out of these conversations of ours is a list of complaints.¡± The Demon rolled his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who complains. You do plenty of that yourself.¡±


    Leviathan continued as though Lus hadn¡¯t spoken, ¡°Now back to what you were saying¡­¡±


    Lus decided to shove aside his pride. ¡°Thank you for giving me another recipe. This one is very helpful. I appreciate that you listened to me.¡±


    Leviathan¡¯s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ¡°Are you trying to get some kind of extra reward out of me? Hoping that I¡¯ll generously reward your gratitude.¡±


    ¡°Why is it always a fight with you?¡± Lus threw up his arms in defeat. ¡°I just wanted to let you know that I noticed that you took my feedback.¡±


    ¡°Feedback!¡± the demon spat angrily. ¡°I do not take feedback. I am all-powerful and all-knowing. You simply hadn¡¯t given the System long enough to realize its full potential.¡±


    Lus rolled his eyes. ¡°Whatever you say, oh great, wise, all-knowing, all-trapped-in-an-interbox Leviathan.¡±


    With that parting shot, he turned and walked away. Leviathan shouted insults at his back, but he was done with the conversation. He had thought he might be getting somewhere with the prickly demon, but it was so hard to build rapport with someone who had such a fragile ego.


    Instead, Lus turned his attention to taking care of the leftovers. He put the burgers in a small container and hid them in the nitrobox somewhere he was certain that nobody else would find them.


    The other ingredients were easy to put away, except the head of kabrage. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could just toss it back in with a piece cut off.


    As he dithered, his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] came to the rescue.


    [Wrap loosely in damp cloth to preserve freshness and put in a bag]


    He found a thin towel and got it wet, then wrung out all the excess water. Wrapping it loosely around the kabrage, he put it in a bag and returned it to the interbox drawer with the rest.


    With everything put away, he gave the kitchen one more glance, nearly jumping out of his skin when he found a pair of red eyes glaring at him from the interbox screen.


    ¡°Are you trying to give me a heart attack?¡± he asked in surprise, staggering back.


    Leviathan grinned wickedly and disappeared without a word.


    ¡°Stupid demon,¡± Lus muttered, shaking his head. Of course Leviathan had to have the last word, even if he hadn¡¯t said anything.

 Chapter 59: Abandoned

    When Lus woke, the world was a blurry haze through the pain raging inside his body. His skin felt like it was on fire, and his head must have been used as the ball in a game of hyperball for the way it ached.


    Blinking away his delirium, Lus waved his hand over the holoscreen on his end table to turn on the lights.


    But the lights didn¡¯t turn on. He remained in darkness, only the light of the few stars outside his window providing any means of seeing.


    ¡°Is the power out?¡± he asked aloud, sitting up.


    A chirpy meow answered him as Avil raised his head, the single glowing eye at the center of his forehead staring up at Lus from where he lay curled up at the foot of the bed.


    ¡°Yeah. I guess you wouldn¡¯t know either,¡± Lus replied with a smile.


    He bent over to scratch Avil¡¯s head, and grimaced as jolts of pain shot out from the wounds on his hands. They had yet to heal at all despite being back from the wreckage for three days, the first hint that the infection he picked up on Aschir Alpha hadn¡¯t been cured. He¡¯d seen Doctor Tremt-Fusi only the day before about it, and she¡¯d discovered he was also running a low grade fever which seemed to have escalated during the night.


    As Lusac pushed himself out of bed, the old wound he received from Yonnex-Quniwel back in the mine began to ache with shocking intensity. Rubbing it and stretching his shoulder, Lusac groaned as the hurt increased. It must be connected to the infection.


    But shouldn¡¯t the antibiotics have started to take effect? Tremt-Fusi gave him the strongest ones she could find, the kind that made him drowsy enough to sleep for twelve hours at a time whenever he took a dose, but it appeared a single dose, even of the strongest kind, was not going to cure him immediately.


    Once he was free of the tangle of sweaty sheets, Lus went to the wall controls and manually triggered the lights. To his dismay, they remained off, confirming his suspicions that something was wrong with the power.


    Lusac pressed a few points on the comm unit to direct his call to Yrqw¡¯s personal communicator that he kept on him during his shift.


    ¡°Yrqw, what¡¯s going on with the lights? Why is the power out? Do you guys need help down there?¡± Lus asked.


    He waited for a response, but none came.


    ¡°Yrqw?¡± he tried again.


    Figuring that the Kremel must be busy fixing it, Lus rang Becky¡¯s unit, but she too didn¡¯t respond. Neither did the next three crew members he reached out to, including Zer-Dasht, Dasy-Jonil, and Wsr.


    Something weird was going on.


    Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Lus used his regained strength to cross back across the dark room to where his clothes from the day before lay strewn across the couch. If the lights were on, he might have bothered to find something clean, but he didn¡¯t have the energy to undertake that task in the dark.


    Once he was dressed, Lus grabbed his emergency flashlight from his desk¨Canother difficult task to do in the dark¨Cand returned to the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a bit, Avil. I wanna check what¡¯s going on,¡± Lusac informed the cat who remained on the bed, mildly perturbed at the interruption of his sleep.


    He turned the flashlight on and stepped into the hallway. Emergency lights bathed the corridor in pale, yellow light, but the hall was empty as far as he could see in either direction.


    ¡°Huh. I guess the power outage isn¡¯t too big of a deal,¡± he said to himself. With the power out, all the digital clocks were off, leaving Lus to wonder what time it was. Perhaps he¡¯d woken earlier than he expected and it was still the middle of the night. That would explain why nobody he called on the comm unit was answering¨Cthey were all sleeping.


    ¡°But I definitely feel like I slept a long time,¡± Lus reminded himself. And even if that was the case, shouldn¡¯t the night shift be out and about? Lusac saw no signs of life anywhere around him. He was completely alone in the dim hallway, accompanied only by the subtle buzzing of the emergency lights.


    His stomach growled. There was no way it¡¯d only been a couple of hours. His body told him it was supposed to be daytime, and he was willing to trust his gut on this. If he went to Systems Control, he¡¯d figure out what was going on pretty quick. Surely they would be happy for the extra help, as feverish as he might be.


    Starting down the hallway, Lus felt a chill go down his spine despite the fever raging inside. Was the heating off as well? He glanced at the walls but saw no sign of damage. There was no way the Argo got into some kind of intense battle and then the crew abandoned ship without him, right? They wouldn¡¯t forget him.


    Insides churning, Lusac continued through the hallway as his mind came up with a million different scenarios to explain the odd situation he now found himself in.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    He stopped dead in his tracks as his [Sixth Sense] triggered.


    There was something [Invisible] nearby, he was sure of it. His [Skill] didn¡¯t lie. But, what could it be? A stupid thought crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it. The Shaquine were back on Aschir Alpha, and there was no way any of them hitched a ride back since Lus¡¯s [Sixth Sense] would have triggered long before now. So it had to be something else.


    Perhaps something from the planet with the ship wreck? But his [Sixth Sense] hadn¡¯t triggered there either. Whatever was onboard must have come from somewhere else, some place he hadn¡¯t been, or else he would have been alerted to its existence immediately.


    But at least it gave him some idea of what was going on. There was some [Invisible] creature or person onboard messing with things. That was something he could fix at least, and if he got his hands on a weapon, he might even be able to eliminate the problematic entity entirely. It was incredible how useful that one [Skill] was proving to be.


    Lus trudged onwards through the corridors of the Argo, and, since he didn¡¯t trust the elevator, he took the ladders down to the bottom deck where Systems Control was located, pausing often to catch his breath. It was shocking how draining this simple infection was.


    When he made it to the last deck, he stepped into the hallway and found another member of the crew lurking in the corner. A Kremel he didn¡¯t know well was huddled against the walls, his orange eyes wide and wild as he glanced around.


    ¡°Get away from me!¡± he shouted when he caught sight of Lusac. ¡°I won¡¯t let you hurt me.¡±


    ¡°Easy there,¡± Lus replied with his hands up in a peaceful gesture. ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you. I promise. Can you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re everywhere,¡± he murmured, his eyes darting around wildly. ¡°The shadows will kill you. Stay here, where it''s safe.¡±


    The fear in the man¡¯s tone sent shivers across Lus¡¯s body. ¡°Right. Here it¡¯s safe,¡± he tried to assure him, sounding very unsure himself. It couldn¡¯t be Shaquine, regardless of how similar it was. That just wasn¡¯t possible. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep going. To find the others and bring them to safety.¡±


    The Kremel shook his head vigorously. ¡°No. No others. Stay away from the others.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You stay here, and I¡¯ll come check on you when I get the chance.¡± Lusac took a cautious step away from the Kremel, his body tensed in case the Kremel chose to strike him suddenly, but he remained in his corner, watching Lus but never making any aggressive moves.


    Lus left the terrified Kremel behind, and he made it only a few steps when something flashed in the corner of his eye and he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he discovered the hallway empty, but inside his head was the unmistakable feeling of his [Sixth Sense] warning.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be,¡± he breathed to himself despite the evidence before him. It was all too familiar. It had to be the Shaquine, but how in Suns¡¯ names were they on the ship? It didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°Maybe they hid somewhere, somewhere that my [Sixth Sense] couldn¡¯t detect them, and now they¡¯re free,¡± he said as he tried to puzzle out how this could have happened. ¡°But there can¡¯t be too many free. Surely I would have sensed a large number of them stowing away on the shuttle.¡±


    Lus stopped in the hallway, ignoring the chills across his skin which he now knew to be from the Shaquine. There was only one in the hallway with him so it wasn¡¯t too big of a concern. One per deck wasn¡¯t too bad. He could deal with that, he just had to figure out their weakness.


    The Shaquine hadn¡¯t bothered him on his way out of the temple once he had the artifact. He didn¡¯t know why, but it must work as a repellent of some kind.


    ¡°I need the artifact piece again. That will at least keep me and those around me safe from their effects.¡± He sighed as he glanced around the eerie yellow hallway. Something like that would be kept in the Captain¡¯s office or maybe even his quarters, both of which were located on the upper decks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the [Stamina] for this,¡± he murmured, his sore shoulder and hands throbbing at the thought of more ladders. He grinned. ¡°But I know where I can get some.¡±


    He¡¯d taken care to make extra [Power Burgers] for a reason a couple of days ago, and if there was ever a time to use one, it was now. Besides, Leviathan might have some ideas of how to help him get rid of the Shaquine permanently, before they could spawn more and do irreparable damage to the ship and crew¨Cassuming they hadn¡¯t already.


    His exhausted body was still unhappy with the thought of climbing only half the amount of ladders to get back up to the deck with the kitchen, but the thought of eating something that might ease some of his suffering was enough motivation to get him there.


    This time when he exited the ladders, he found not one crew member, but three all hunched together. Two Nemarians and a Kremel. All three looked at him when he stepped into the hallway, and his blood ran cold as he noted streaks of black blood along their clothes. His [Sixth Sense] warned him of several Shaquine in the area.


    ¡°Another,¡± one Nemarian said, his voice shaky.


    ¡°A sacrifice,¡± the Kremel added with distant eyes.


    ¡°No thanks.¡± Lus put his hands up. ¡°I know that you guys feel crazy, but it¡¯s not you. There¡¯s these creatures around making you feel that way. Snap out of it.¡±


    ¡°Kill him,¡± the last of the trio declared.


    Lus darted forward, avoiding the tangle of arms reaching towards him and took off at the fastest pace possible through the corridor towards the kitchen. The others were following him, and it was only thanks to the adrenaline pumping through his body he was able to keep ahead.


    He reached the kitchen, ducked inside, and slammed his hand on the emergency lockdown button which caused the door to slide close and remain that way despite the banging of fists from the other side.


    ¡°That was a close one,¡± he muttered.


    The kitchen was a mess, with dishes and pans and utensils strewn everywhere. He did a quick scan, but he saw no one else around so he crossed to the nitrobox and grabbed out one of the frozen servings of the [Power Burger] from a couple of days earlier.


    He stuck it in the microwave heater to defrost, setting the time on a couple of minutes to make sure it heated all the way through. Hopefully reheated food still gave him the same stat boost.


    As he waited, he went over to the interbox and tapped the screen.


    ¡°Yo, Leviathan. Are you there? I could use some help, and don¡¯t be a jerk about it. Saving the ship means saving you too, bud.¡±


    The screen remained dark.


    ¡°Great. I guess I¡¯m on my own,¡± Lus murmured to himself. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how the Shaquine got on the ship. Especially this many of them.¡±


    While he watched the [Power Burger] reheat in the microwave heater, he got his answer.

 Chapter 60: Shaquine Spawn

    Intense pain gripped Lusac as he stood in the kitchen, waiting for his [Power Burger] to finish. It was as if all the fever in his body coalesced into a few points, a large one on his shoulder and small ones at each wound on his hand.


    Lus cried out as he fell to his knees, his head starting to swim. He heaved ragged breaths as he felt his skin bulge and twist in odd ways.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­ happening?¡± he questioned between gritted teeth in the empty room.


    All at once the pain reached its peak, hot jolts shooting through his body, and then came a tearing feeling along his skin at his old shoulder wound as well as the gashes in his hands.


    Something was coming out of his body, something that was very much alive.


    The worming sensation ended, and Lus groaned as he collapsed all the way to the ground. Tears stung his eyes, but at least it was over.


    A cold chill crossed his body as his [Sixth Sense] activated in response to five different beings in the room.


    ¡°Shaquine,¡± he murmured as the realization set in. ¡°I carried them onboard inside myself. I¡¯m the root cause of this.¡±


    Glimpses of something flashed in the corner of his eyes as the aliens started their work of trying to drive him insane. Lus mustered enough [Strength] to sit back up and feel along his shoulder where two of the Shaquine had spawned, but he found the skin closed. How that worked, he didn¡¯t know, but he was grateful that at least he wasn¡¯t bleeding out.


    ¡°I have to fix this. I¡¯m the one who did this. It must be that infection, but how do I stop it?¡± he said to himself, ignoring the sounds of footsteps coming from behind.


    The timer on the microwave heater beeped, reminding him that he wasn¡¯t out of tricks yet. Forcing himself to his feet, Lus went to the freshly heated [Power Burger] and pulled it out of the microwave heater. He gave it a few seconds to cool while grabbing the spare condiments he had from last time. He then put it together and took a very large bite.


    It wasn¡¯t nearly as good as it had been fresh, but he was pleasantly surprised with how well it kept its flavor after being frozen and then reheated. The texture was all wrong, but he could ignore the mushiness in favor of reminding himself what he would get once he finished.


    The Shaquine attacks lessened as four of them found escape routes from the kitchen.


    ¡°Go join your friends in terrorizing the others. I¡¯m basically immune,¡± Lus declared to the creature around his last mouthful of burger.


    As he swallowed, the notifications popped up.


    [+10 Strength]


    [+5 Stamina]


    With them, Lus could feel the change in his body, the exhaustion gone and his body eager for the next challenge.


    ¡°Just get the artifact and clear the ship. And find the doctor and get her help with the whole spawning invisible aliens thing,¡± Lus said. He would only have a few hours with this extra boost to his stats, but that would be more than enough time to fix everything.


    After adjusting his bandages to ensure they remained over the wounds in his hands, Lusac went to the door and listened for sounds of the others outside of it. He couldn¡¯t hear anything out in the hallway, so he was willing to bet that those four had gone off to find other victims.


    His stomach clenched in remembrance of the blood. They hadn¡¯t killed anyone, right? Surely the killing hadn¡¯t started yet, or perhaps their victim had gotten away. Kremel were quite tough.


    ¡°Save the ship first. That¡¯s how you keep anyone else from getting hurt,¡± Lusac reminded himself. Once he had the artifact, he could scare off the Shaquine from Nippy and Cewi-Bano and Captain Tave and then they could figure out what to do from that. He just had to get some of the crew back to normal.


    Taking one last breath, Lusac disengaged the emergency lock and opened the door to the corridor. It was empty from what he could see, but there were black and green streaks of blood along the walls.


    ¡°Those were probably there before, and I just didn¡¯t notice them,¡± he reassured himself, finding the words hollow. He shook his head. No need to worry about this now. He needed to get to the upper deck and track down the artifact.


    Lus jogged through the corridors, his eyes constantly moving in case someone tried to surprise attack him. He came to the ladders and eagerly started upwards, grateful for the boost to his stats from his snack.


    He reached the second deck where the Captain¡¯s quarters were and exited the ladder system. He was torn between checking Tave¡¯s quarters and his office first, but he figured it was slightly more efficient to start with the one he was closer to so he didn¡¯t have to traverse the ladders quite so much.


    This deck was eerily quiet and lonely, and half of the emergency lights were out which made it hard to see any details clearly. Lus had never been to the Captain¡¯s quarters; he only knew where they were from memorizing the ship¡¯s map. Nobody could be mad at him for invading personal space when the fate of the entire ship was on the line.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    As he walked through the hallway, he had an uncomfortable question cross his mind.


    When will the next batch of Shaquine pop out of me?


    It was unpleasant to think of going through that again, especially when he considered the ramifications of unleashing another five of the Shaquine onto the crew. Who knew how many were already out? He assumed there were at least fifteen by now, but he had no way of knowing for sure.


    He was getting close to the Captain¡¯s quarters when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Lus jumped back and spun around with his fists up to defend against the attacker.


    ¡°Oh, Quniwel. It¡¯s you.¡± He tried to sound relieved but in truth this was like a repeat of his worst nightmare.


    The Nemarian stared at him with his one good eye, unblinking and a gun leveled at his chest.


    ¡°Quniwel. You remember what happened on Aschir Alpha, right? Somehow those creatures got onboard, but you understand how they work so you can fend them off,¡± Lusac assured him as he slowly backed away, hands in the air. If he could reach the quarters, he could use the emergency lock to protect himself from the Nemarian who was surely insane once more.


    ¡°Lusac,¡± Yonnex-Quniwel said in a shallow voice.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s me. We¡¯re friends,¡± he replied with a smile. He was careful in his movements, worried that if he did anything sudden, the Nemarian would shoot.


    ¡°Killer.¡± Quniwel¡¯s eye remained trained on him.


    ¡°No. I wasn¡¯t trying to kill you, Quniwel. I was protecting Wsr, and you even. You have to believe me,¡± Lusac pleaded. His [Sixth Sense] warned him of several Shaquine in the area.


    ¡°Killer,¡± Yonnex-Quniwel insisted.


    ¡°Come on, Quniwel. The real you is in there. Fight it,¡± Lus encouraged him. A shiver passed over his body as one of the Shaquine went by.


    A tear formed in Quniwel¡¯s eye, and his hand tightened on the trigger. ¡°Kill the killer.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for any of this to happen, Quniwel. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lusac stopped moving, recognizing that he was never going to make it in time.


    The only good news was that if he died, his body might stop producing Shaquine, not that that would be helpful anymore. He could only hope someone else had enough possession of themselves to figure a way out of this mess.


    Lus closed his eyes as he waited for the blaster bolt. Maybe he did deserve this after what he¡¯d done to Quniwel.


    A shot sounded, and Lusac¡¯s eyes popped open in an instant when nothing blasted into his chest. A strangled gasp escaped his throat as he watched Yonnex-Quniwel with the few remnants of his head fall to the ground.


    ¡°He was referring to himself this time,¡± Lus said quietly, his eyes fixated on the remains.


    Footsteps came from behind, but he was well trained in ignoring such things, something he regretted when a body bulldozed into him.


    ¡°You killed Quniwel!¡± Yrqw gestured to the body.


    Lusac pushed himself off the floor. ¡°No. That¡¯s not what happened.¡±


    ¡°Murderers deserve death,¡± the Kremel replied. Black blood streamed from a cut on his head. Yrqw was clearly as under the effects of the Shaquine as anyone else.


    ¡°Yrqw, listen to me.¡± Lus held his hands up. ¡°It¡¯s an alien. It¡¯s driving you crazy, but none of it is real. Wake up.¡±


    Yrqw cried out and raised his fists up. Lusac darted out of the way and then dashed to the door of the Captain¡¯s quarters. He got inside and hit the lockdown button, slamming the door closed before Yrqw could reach him. The Kremel screamed and pounded on the door, but Lus was safe¡­ for now.


    Breathing hard as tears formed in his eyes, Lus set his head against the door, listening to each thud. This was all his fault. Quniwel was actually dead, no doubt about it, because of him. Trying to control his shaky breathing, Lusac turned back around to examine the room he now stood in.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± he muttered as he noted the mess. Broken pieces of pottery littered the ground alongside ripped up paintings. Someone else got here first it would seem. Here was hoping they hadn¡¯t taken what he needed yet.


    Lusac carefully stepped through the disaster, watching his feet to ensure he didn¡¯t break anything important¨Cat least more than it already was. Hopefully the artifact piece was still intact. Surely they were more durable than these former vases. They had been around for thousands of years already after all.


    Lus sighed in relief as he caught sight of a familiar looking piece of ¡°pottery.¡± It was one of the artifact pieces, though now that they¡¯d gathered quite a few, he wasn¡¯t sure which one this was.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to collect them all,¡± he said as he scooped up the first. The next few minutes constituted a treasure hunt as he wandered the room, picking up all the other artifacts from their recent missions.


    Once he had them all in hand, he glanced around the room. He couldn¡¯t very well carry an armful of artifacts around the ship like this. He needed a bag.


    His eyes settled on the closest door and lightly stepped over to it. He pressed a button and the door opened revealing an array of nearly hung uniforms. Didn¡¯t the Captain keep a backpack or something around? Or was he too high of rank for something as mundane as carrying things?


    Lus shifted his load to be held against his body with only one arm while his free hand reached into the closet to dig around some. He¡¯d just barely touched the first uniform when a new hand shot out and grabbed his arm.


    Yelping, Lus jumped back and dropped the pile of artifacts. The hand and the person attached to it came along, and he found himself staring into the bloodstained, ragged face of Captain Tave.


    ¡°Captain. Sorry. I didn¡¯t realize you were in here,¡± Lus stammered.


    The Captain bared his teeth with a growl.


    ¡°Look, Captain. We¡¯re dealing with the Shaquine, I¡¯m sure of it. One of these artifacts¨Cmaybe all of them even¨Cwill protect us from their effects.¡± He gestured to the pile of objects he¡¯d left behind.


    As he spoke, his [Sixth Sense] triggered, alerting him to two Shaquine in the room.


    ¡°Look. There are even two in here with us now. You probably feel chills or see flashes of light or hear weird noises, but that¡¯s just the Shaquine. It¡¯s a lot easier to fend off their attacks once you know what they are,¡± Lusac explained, a hint of a smile on his face in hopes of easing the angry face before him.


    Lus noted a flash of light in his peripheral, and Captain Tave turned to look as well, sensing the same thing.


    ¡°See. That¡¯s them,¡± he said.


    In the next instant, Captain Tave screeched and launched himself into Lusac, tackling both of them to the floor.

 Chapter 61: Captain Tave Can Hit

    ¡°Captain¨Cugh¨Cplease,¡± Lusac cried as he attempted to wiggle out from underneath Captain Tave. This was very much not how a Captain should behave.


    Tave didn¡¯t answer, all his focus was on wrestling Lus. He was stronger and taller than Lus, both of which gave him a distinct advantage in the fight. Lusac did everything he could to free himself from the body on top, but he was also very concerned about not injuring the Captain.


    Lus narrowly avoided one punch to the face by flinging his head to the side, and with that opening, he jabbed his hands against Tave¡¯s chest and pushed upwards, trying to heave the man off of him and get a clear escape route.


    [Dash] was going to do nothing if he was still caught in the hold since Lus wasn¡¯t willing to see what happened when he hit someone while using the [Skill], not against the Captain at least. Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s death, and everything which led to it, remained fresh in his mind.


    Captain Tave slammed a fist into one of Lusac¡¯s elbows, and his arms collapsed down, bringing the entire weight of the man onto his chest. The Captain then used his chance to push Lus¡¯s arms down and get his knees over them, pinning Lus to the floor. With that handled, he then put both hands on Lusac¡¯s throat and began to squeeze.


    Even the boost from the [Power Burger] wasn¡¯t enough to get Lus out of this one, especially with the sickness he was already battling.


    ¡°[Dash],¡± Lus muttered with his fleeting breath, giving up on his earlier goal of not causing harm to the man. If he died, all hope of saving the Argo from the Shaquine died with him. He made sure to think hard, activate [Dash] too, to ensure it actually went through.


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    Everything slowed, as a breathless Lusac stared up into the murderous eyes of the man who once offered him a second chance at life. With the increased [Speed], he found that he could finally worm his way out of the hold and jerk free of Tave¡¯s hands.


    Gasping for air, he climbed to his feet, leaving the slow-motion Captain trying to follow suit. Lus wasted no time collecting a couple of pieces of the artifact and then running to the door. As he opened it, he cursed as he found Yrqw still waiting, hands already reaching towards him.


    Thanks to his [Dash], it was a simple matter to dance away, and Lus started back down the corridor, his mind busy thinking of where he could safely go to figure out how to use the artifacts as a defense against the Shaquine.


    His feet slowed as he glanced back and noticed Yrqw entering Tave¡¯s quarters. A terrible thought crossed his mind, causing him to turn back.


    Those two were probably going to fight each other to the death, and he wasn¡¯t willing to lose another friend¨Cor worse, his Captain¨Cto the Shaquine. He ran back to them, and just as he reached the doorway, his [Dash] ran out.


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    All at once the world returned to normal speed, and Yrqw charged forward to meet Captain Tave in the center of the destroyed room.


    ¡°No, Yrqw,¡± Lus shouted as he grabbed the Kremel¡¯s arm in a futile attempt to separate the two.


    Yrqw shook him off with ease, squaring up against the much smaller form of the Captain who still held murder in his eyes. This was going to be bad regardless of who won¨Cthough Lus would bet his cryptin on Yrqw if he had to.


    ¡°Even with that [+10 Strength], there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to stop them,¡± Lusac murmured to himself. He needed someone who could contend with Yrqw¡¯s size, but all the other Kremel were just as insane and murder-happy as his superior. He could always try dragging Captain Tave out of the room, but Tave was going to try and kill him too so that seemed like it gained him nothing.


    What Lus needed was someone he trusted completely, someone immune to the effects of the Shaquine, like him, someone who could step in to help during a fight¡­


    Not someone¡­


    Something!


    Channeling all his thoughts into one simple command: [Summon Avil].


    Relief filled him when the notification appeared:


    [Activating: Summon Avil]


    As Yrqw and Tave screamed and punched each other, a lump of disgruntled black fur appeared in Lusac¡¯s arms. Avil¡¯s single yellow eye stared up at him, his face sleepy.


    ¡°Come on, Avil. Time to earn your keep. Become a cyclops and stop this fight.¡± Lus set him on the floor and gestured to the battle.


    Avil looked at where he pointed and then back to him. He yawned and arched his back in a big stretch.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°No. No sleeping, Avil. I need you to help me.¡± Lusac crossed his arms, refusing to pet the gentle being rubbing up against his legs.


    The cat curled up at his feet, and Lus sighed as he bent down and scooped up the ball.


    ¡°Fine. You¡¯ve forced my hand, cat.¡± Avil in his arms, he went over to where the two remained locked in their intense fist fight. Tave¡¯s nose was crooked and leaking blood while Yrqw had a deep gash on his arm which looked suspiciously like a bite wound.


    ¡°Break it up, but don¡¯t hurt either of them,¡± Lus commanded Avil before launching into the mix. The cat screeched as he flew through the air, twisting wildly until he landed directly on Yrqw¡¯s shoulder.


    The Kremel used one meaty hand to swipe the cat away. Avil dropped down with a yowl just before Yrqw kicked him to the nearest wall. He thudded against it and then collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°Avil!¡± Lus started towards his companion, but Tave got in the way, throwing a fist into his stomach.


    As Lusac faced his opponent, he noticed a familiar black gloop pile where Avil originally laid that was expanding rapidly. He ducked under another punch from the Captain and landed his own blow into the man¡¯s shoulders, knocking him back a few steps. Lus took his chance to run away just as the full cyclops form of Avil rose up from the floor.


    It wasn¡¯t quite as large as the final form Lus faced all those weeks ago in the cargo bay, but it was still bigger than Yrqw and probably any other Kremel on board. Avil was black and furry still, but with rippling muscles underneath it and four legs to give him extra support.


    Avil roared as Yrqw lashed out at him and grabbed the Kremel¡¯s fist before using it to throw his entire body to the floor. Yrqw tried to regain his feet, but two of Avil¡¯s legs stomped on his chest.


    ¡°Careful, Avil. Don¡¯t hurt him too bad,¡± Lus chided. ¡°We can¡¯t seriously injure anyone, okay?¡±


    The cyclops growled, leaving his feet on Yrqw to hold the Kremel down but not taking any further action to harm him.


    This left Tave who had analyzed the new threat and chosen to continue after his original target. He dashed towards Lus with a sharp piece of broken pottery in his hand. Lus ducked a swing that would have slashed his neck and grappled Tave, forcing his arms behind his back.


    ¡°Enough of this Captain. You¡¯re better than the Shaquine. Snap out of it,¡± Lusac urged him.


    Tave struggled against him. ¡°N-no. It¡¯s too much.¡±


    ¡°I can help. We just need the artifact piece. It¡¯ll protect us.¡± Lus¡¯s eyes scanned the ground until he found one of the pieces which had been scattered during the earlier brawl. He walked himself and Tave over to it.


    ¡°Pick it up.¡± He forced Tave to the ground.


    The Captain whimpered as he did as he was told, gently grasping the piece in his hands.


    ¡°Better?¡± Lus asked. His [Sixth Sense] warned that more Shaquine had joined them in the room, bringing the total count up to four.


    ¡°No,¡± the Captain snarled.


    Before Lus could react, he leapt upwards and once again grabbed Lus in a chokehold.


    ¡°A-avil,¡± Lusac stammered as he futilely tried to push the Captain¡¯s hands away. Tave¡¯s grip remained firm as he squeezed down, crushing Lus¡¯s airway.


    Spots were dancing before Lus¡¯s vision when all at once he could breathe again. Coughing, he absently watched cyclops-Avil rip Tave away and threw him onto Yrqw.


    ¡°Separate. Can¡¯t hurt¡­ each other,¡± Lus whispered, hoping the cyclops kept the sensitive hearing of a cat.


    Apparently he did, because Avil picked Captain Tave up in one hand and tossed him into the closet. The cyclops then returned his attention to the dazed Yrqw, ensuring the Kremel remained on the floor as Lus went to the closet door and locked it, keeping the Captain safe¨Cfor now.


    Avil then followed him out the door and into the hallway. Lus did a quick short circuit of the door mechanism to keep it closed, thus ensuring Yrqw wouldn¡¯t be a problem going forward either. It was only drops in the bucket for what really needed to happen, but at least he was doing something to help after having caused this entire mess.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Lus said as they walked through the hallway. He tried not to think of Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s body just behind them. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the artifact work? Last time it protected me. I can¡¯t imagine it only works for people with a system. Maybe it was only on the planet?


    ¡°I need a break.¡± He sighed as he realized that the exhaustion was already starting to return. And he was still running a fever, resulting in his clothes being drenched in sweat. ¡°And a shower. Or a bath. Dousing myself in cool, refreshing water sounded wonderful right¨C¡±


    Lusac stopped walking. The artifact wasn¡¯t the only change on his return from the temple back on Aschir Alpha.


    ¡°There were no Shaquine outside the temple where all the water was. Or any in the flooded hallway. I didn¡¯t run into them again until the pond room, after I swam up to the surface and was soaking wet¡­¡± He slapped his forehead. ¡°Avil, it¡¯s not the artifact after all. It¡¯s water. We have to get everyone wet.¡±


    The cyclops offered a throaty screech in reply that Lus took to mean ¡°whatever you say.¡±


    He bit his lip. Getting water on everyone was going to be hard, and he technically didn¡¯t know for sure that regular water would work. What if it needed to be the infection water from Aschir Alpha? Then they were screwed.


    The first thing they needed to do was test this theory out. And if he was right, doing so would give him someone with a clear enough mind to help him puzzle out how to accomplish the rather large feat of dousing everyone on the ship with water in a timely fashion and then figuring out how to get the Shaquine off the Argo permanently.


    ¡°Who should it be,¡± Lus murmured as he resumed walking.


    He¡¯d need to find a water source. The kitchen would work for that, or the garden deck. He could always go back to Tave¡¯s quarters where Yrqw waited. The only problem would be getting the water. Most quarters were only equipped with a small fill station for getting drinking water since all bathroom facilities used the hyper technology with air waves to do things like flush toilets and wash hands.


    But the garden deck would have a lot of access points and hoses which would make the task far easier. He would just use whoever was there¨Cunless it was Relf. Not even a ship-wide crisis could convince him to work with that lug.


    ¡°Garden deck is down a few floors. You might want to shrink down, Avil.¡± Lus looked back at his hulking cyclops companion.


    The cyclops snarled and remained as he was. They reached the ladders down without any problems and descended several floors to Deck 5 where the garden space was. There were several crewmates in the hallway who all sulked into the shadows upon seeing Lus and Avil, no one willing to take on such a large threat.


    They soon arrived at the garden deck and inside they discovered Lus¡¯s next test subject.

 Chapter 62: Soaked Through

    The garden deck was a long room with rows and rows of grow boxes placed directly under white UV lights. Bushy green plants sprouted from them, and the space felt a lot more Human-like than most of the ship thanks to the extra lighting brightening up the space.


    Perhaps it was that quality which attracted Becky Bright to it in the first place during such a horrific time.


    ¡°Becks,¡± Lus smiled at his friend. This was probably the best case scenario. She wasn¡¯t exactly a fighter, and once he snapped her out of the murder-haze, she would be a huge help in figuring out a solution to the crisis they now faced.


    Becky grinned back, but it was the psychotic kind that signaled that she was well under the influence of the Shaquine. His [Sixth Sense] triggered in warning of a single Shaquine in the space.


    Lusac glanced around at what was nearby. He needed a hose, and fast. The last thing he wanted was for him or Avil to hurt Becky. Luckily Avil seemed to recognize his babysitter, and he made no motions of aggression.


    She dove towards him as he jumped towards the nearest water spigot which held a hose. He grabbed it and slammed his hand on the ¡°on¡± switch.


    Water flooded out of it, and he faced the end towards the angry woman rushing towards him. She slowed down as the water gushed against her, eventually stopping and putting her hands to her face to protect it.


    ¡°Suns, Lus. Enough,¡± she called out.


    Lus lowered the hose so it sprayed at the floor and stared warily at Becky. That sounded very non-Shaquine, but he wasn¡¯t so sure he should trust her yet. There was a flash in his peripheral from the Shaquine, and he tightened his hand on his hose, preparing to fight Becky if it came to it.


    ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± Becky looked at him expectantly.


    ¡°Well, there are a bunch of Shaquine on the ship driving everyone into crazy murder sprees. Captain Tave tried to kill me.¡± Lusac nervously tapped one foot.


    ¡°Yeah. There was that emergency announcement about dangerous aliens on board and everyone needing to shelter in place, but all sorts of creepy things were happening. I got chased in here by Dasy-Jonil when she lost her mind.¡± His friend reached up and wrung out her neon green curls. ¡°How did you figure out that water provides protection?¡±


    Lus explained what happened on Aschir Alpha and his original suspicions about the artifacts. ¡°That¡¯s why I went to Captain Tave¡¯s quarters to gather them. Then it didn¡¯t work, and he tried to kill me, then Yrqw tried to kill him, which is why I called Avil in to help stop the fight. Once we got that taken care of, I realized that it was the water that protected me from their influence, not the artifact.¡±


    Becky nodded. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you douse yourself then too? Just to be safe.¡±


    He held the hose out. ¡°I figure you deserve some payback.¡±


    She happily accepted the weapon and wasted no time spraying Lus down quite thoroughly.


    ¡°Enough,¡± he gargled through the stream across his face after she¡¯d wetted down every inch of him three times over.


    The stream died down as Becky turned it off at the spigot. She glanced back at Avil¡¯s hulking form waiting near the door. ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t realize his cyclops form could get that big.¡±


    Lus blinked in surprise. ¡°You knew he could change from a cat?¡±


    Becky shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve catsat a lot for you. Does he need to get doused too?¡±


    There was a story there that she wasn¡¯t sharing, but Lusac decided now was not the time to try and get it out of her. He looked at their companion. ¡°Avil, can the Shaquine affect you?¡±


    The cyclops growled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a ¡®no.¡¯¡± Lus looked back at Becky. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t want to deal with crazed-cyclops Avil if he loses his mind, Lusac.¡±


    ¡°Would you rather deal with crazed-cyclops Avil when he has to get sprayed with water?¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Becky crossed her arms. ¡°What¡¯s the plan now? How are we going to douse the rest of the crew? And how do we get rid of the Shaquine once we¡¯re safe from their influence? They tried lockdown, but those creatures can get anywhere it seems like. I wonder how they got on the Argo in the first place without someone noticing.¡±


    Lus ran the toe of his boot through one of the many puddles on the floor. ¡°I was hoping you could help me come up with some ideas.¡± He needed to tell her about how he was the one spawning Shaquine, but he decided to save that conversation until after they figured out their next steps. It wasn¡¯t like they could do anything to stop it from here.


    ¡°Okay. We can come up with something.¡± Becky glanced around the room. ¡°Why don¡¯t we sit while we think? Avil can watch the door.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Lus nodded and followed her through the rows of garden beds to where a small collection of chairs waited. It was peaceful surrounded by all the plants, the closest thing to a park they had on the ship.


    ¡°The easiest thing would be to lure everyone in here and then spray them with the hose as they enter,¡± Becky noted.


    ¡°Honestly not a bad idea. But we¡¯d have to keep spraying people to keep them wet. I¡¯m assuming that drying off will allow the Shaquine to take control again.¡±


    Lus leaned back in the chair, grateful for the chance to sit down for a few moments. His fever was still running rampant, and his hands and shoulders had yet to stop aching. ¡°And as we gather people here, the concentration of Shaquine to crew members increases, giving them more control over those who aren¡¯t under their influence. That could turn ugly.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that we need to find a way to douse everyone at the same time?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°There might be a way to make it rain inside the ship if we mess with life support enough.¡± Becky ran a hand through her hair. ¡°But even then, I¡¯m not sure that we¡¯ll have enough water on board to keep everyone properly soaked for more than a few hours¨Ca day at most. We need an end plan of dealing with the Shaquine once and for all.¡±


    Lusac bit his lip. She was right, of course. But that would prove complicated considering the source of their problems. ¡°Becky¡­ About how the Shaquine got on the ship in the first place¡­¡±


    She turned to him with those deep brown eyes, and he sighed.


    ¡°They came from me. Like¡­ inside me. I got an infection on the planet, and Tremt-Fusi gave me antibiotics which seemed to work, but the new wounds I got down at the shipwreck caused it to spring up again. Not too long ago I was in the kitchen, looting for supplies, and it happened.¡± Lus nervously wrung his bandaged hands together.


    ¡°That must have hurt,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°Yeah. But the point is that we can¡¯t permanently rid ourselves of the Shaquine until we figure out how to get rid of the infection inside me causing them to spawn,¡± Lus replied.


    ¡°Sounds like our next stop should be medical. We¡¯ve got to solve this problem from the root cause. Let¡¯s fill some buckets to take with us. With any luck, Fusi will still be in the medical center. We can douse her and get her help in figuring out how to cure you.¡± Becky stood up, and he followed suit.


    Avil was still waiting at the door, one of his four legs bouncing up and down in annoyance.


    ¡°We¡¯re hurrying, buddy,¡± Lusac promised his cat-cyclops.


    Becky grabbed a couple of buckets from nearby and began to fill them up as Lus went in search of more containers. The more water they could take with them, the safer they would be. Maybe they¡¯d find someone else to help, like Nippy or Wsr or Cewi-Bano.


    He brought back two more buckets and three smaller containers that had lids on them. He wasn¡¯t too worried about weight since Avil could easily carry anything that he and Becky couldn¡¯t.


    Becky filled those up as well, and once she finished, they sprayed each other again to ensure they remained thoroughly soaked. His [Sixth Sense] was no longer triggering, so whatever Shaquine was in here originally had given up trying to bother them for now and gone in search of better hunting.


    Avil carried all the containers in his wide, muscular arms, and the trio set off from the garden bay.


    The hallway was empty and dark except for the faint yellow emergency lights. He¡¯d forgotten how dark things were after spending time in such a well-lit area. Becky led the way, her steps light and swift as they walked.


    As with before, anyone they did encounter cowered away at the sight of Avil, making for an uneventful journey to the medical center. Unfortunately, medical was in rough shape, tables overturned, lab equipment spilled everywhere, and several of the lights broken, creating a dismal scene.


    Lus¡¯s [Sixth Sense] also warned that there were three Shaquine waiting, though he wasn¡¯t sure if it was because they could understand enough to know about Lus and Becky¡¯s plan or simply because they¡¯d found such great success in the room.


    They made it only a few steps inside before a raging Kremel barreled towards them¨CClzllv, the ship¡¯s nurse.


    Avail stepped in immediately, already having set the water containers on the floor. He grabbed Clzllv by the shoulders, threw him to the ground, and placed two of his thick legs on the Kremel¡¯s back to ensure he stayed put.


    ¡°Good boy, Avil,¡± Lus praised him as he walked to the Kremel¡¯s head. He looked back at Becky. ¡°Do we have enough water to douse him too?¡±


    ¡°Probably. If worse comes to worst, Avil and I can go back to get more,¡± Becky said as she hefted up one of the buckets and went to join Lus at Clzllv¡¯s head.


    Lus stood on guard as Becky slowly poured the contents out onto the Kremel, going through three buckets to get him properly soaked. When she was finished, Avil lifted his feet just enough for Clzllv to raise his head and look at them.


    ¡°T-that was so strange. I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t control myself,¡± the Kremel said in his soft voice.


    ¡°All good, Clzllv. It¡¯s happened to all of us,¡± Becky assured him. She motioned to Avil who removed his feet completely from the nurse¡¯s back. ¡°Where¡¯s the doctor? We need to get her soaked too.¡±


    ¡°Locked in her office.¡± Clzllv motioned to the closed door. ¡°Yonnex-Quniwel escaped during the mess. I might go try to find him.¡±


    Lus wrung his hands together, disliking the memory which replayed in his mind. ¡°I already ran into him. The Shaquine got to him, and¡­ he killed himself.¡±


    The Kremel nodded. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s get to Tremt-Fusi then. Suns know we could use her.¡±


    The four of them walked to the office door. Clzllv hit the open button, but unsurprisingly, the door remained in place. He then tried knocking on it and calling out to Fusi, explaining that they had a way to help her.


    When that didn¡¯t work, Lus and Becky tore off the nearest wiring panel and set to work hacking the controls. Becky did most of the work given the state of Lus¡¯s hands, and soon they¡¯d bypassed the locking mechanism.


    The door slid open to reveal an even more disrupted state in the office, including blood smeared walls and broken holotablets. The doctor was huddled in a corner, crying.


    Clzllv went to her first, his gentle nature far more reassuring than Avil¡¯s cyclops form or Lus¡¯s feverish face. Becky returned to the front of the medical center to retrieve the water they would need.


    The Kremel managed to coax Fusi out of her corner just enough for Becky and Lus to begin the job of soaking her through with the water. She sputtered under the stream, but her tears stopped.


    ¡°Suns, that was awful,¡± the doctor said as she shook her scaly head. ¡°Ah, but the water does feel good.¡±


    ¡°Glad you¡¯re better, Fusi. We need your help.¡± Becky motioned to Lusac. ¡°We¡¯ve got a big problem for you to solve.¡±

 Chapter 63: Solution to the Shaquine

    Tremt-Fusi tapped one of her webbed fingers against her cheek in thought as they all sat in the whirlwind disaster that her office had become.


    ¡°And you have no idea how often they come out?¡± Fusi confirmed.


    Lusac nodded. ¡°It¡¯s only happened once while I was awake, and that was about an hour or so ago.¡±


    The Nemarian shook her head. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe the infection caused all this. Let me check through some research and see what I can dig up about curing this on a faster timeline. Clzllv, I could use your help with it.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Doctor.¡± The nurse ducked his head.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave you two in peace. Lus and I need to soak ourselves again anyway, and after that we might have to go back for more water.¡± Becky stood from the wall where she leaned.


    Lus followed her out of the room to where Avil and the waterbuckets waited. The cyclops gave them a deep throaty screech in greeting, and Becky walked up and scratched his arm as though he were still a cat.


    ¡°Good to see you, Avil. You¡¯re doing such a good job,¡± she said in a baby-voice.


    Lusac smiled as he grabbed one of the buckets and lifted it up, getting ready to pour it over himself.


    ¡°Stop, Lus. That¡¯s such a waste of water.¡± Becky grabbed his arm.


    He lowered the bucket. ¡°How else do you suggest we easily soak ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Watch and learn.¡± She knelt next to another bucket and scooped handfuls of water up and onto her face and body. After her upper half was sodden, she stood and did the same to her legs.


    ¡°That¡¯s a waste of time,¡± Lusac muttered as he set his bucket on the ground and did the same. As annoying as it was to perform, it did save a lot of water, using only half the bucket¡¯s contents instead of all of it.


    ¡°What now? It seems like Fusi and Clzllv might take a while.¡± He looked around the destroyed medical center. Most of the beds were locked onto the floor in case of problems with the artificial gravity, but everything else from medical scanners to vials of medication were strewn across the floor. ¡°Maybe we should go find Nippy or Captain Tave and free them from the Shaquine while we wait.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea since we still have to figure out how to soak the rest of the crew and permanently get rid of the Shaquine.¡± She moved towards the door, but paused before she reached it and looked over her shoulder at Lus. ¡°You should actually stay put, Lus. The last thing we need is for you to spawn a bunch of Shaquine while we¡¯re out there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like they can hurt us.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°But the process hurts you, and it¡¯s going to be dangerous enough out there without me trying to worry about keeping you safe if it happens. Avil and I will go find someone. You stay here and wait for Fusi to finish. And make sure they stay soaked.¡±


    Lusac crossed his arms, but unfortunately her logic was sound. Last time he spawned the Shaquine, the pain had been blinding enough he hadn¡¯t considered the time it took for the process to happen. He gave Avil a smile and nod as the cyclops looked between him and Becky, trying to decide who to join.


    ¡°Go with her, buddy. I¡¯ll be okay,¡± he promised his guardian.


    Avil gave another screech, grabbed a few water containers, and then followed Becky out into the hallway, leaving Lus alone in the torn apart medical center to wait.


    It was a painful wait, too.


    Being in the room reminded him about Yonnex-Quniwel and then that drew further into his memories, all the way back to Aschir Alpha when he plunged the cutter into Quniwel¡¯s eye and then facing dozens of Shaquine alone at the ancient temple and nearly doing the same thing to himself.


    An involuntary shiver crossed over him as he remembered the darkness and the fear. It was a good thing he woke up when he did, so he could solve this crisis before it became too bad.


    The door to Tremt-Fusi¡¯s office slid open, pulling Lusac from his dark, spiraling thoughts.


    Clzllv exited first, followed closely by the doctor.


    ¡°Where are Becky and the cyclops?¡± the Kremel asked with a confused look on his face.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to track down and free one of the commanders or the captain from the Shaquine influence so we have a little more help in coming up with a plan to rid the ship of the Shaquine entirely.¡± He nodded over to the remaining water buckets. ¡°You two should resoak yourselves, just to stay safe.¡±


    Clzllv immediately followed his direction, and before Lus could say anything to stop him, the Kremel dumped an entire bucket over himself. Luckily the Kremel was so large that what was an inefficient method for Lus and Becky worked well for Clzllv, wasting hardly any of the water.


    Tremt-Fusi was more careful, using the hand method like Becky had. Lus wondered if it was some trick all females of every species learned, or if he was just being dumb because of his 1 [Common Sense].


    ¡°So, did you guys find a solution?¡± Lus wrung his hands together in a mixture of nerves and lingering guilt.


    Fusi turned back to him with a grin. ¡°We did. And the best part is that it¡¯ll be completely painless too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ great.¡± He hadn¡¯t been aware they were even considering a process that would be painful, but he decided to be grateful those methods hadn¡¯t won out.


    The doctor motioned to bed in the exam area. ¡°Take your shirt off and sit down. I want to examine your shoulder one last time and clean the wounds on your hands again before we start.¡±


    Lusac walked over to the bed and tugged off his comfortable t-shirt which was still thoroughly soaked. Goosebumps formed on his skin from being wet and uncovered, and he held his arms close. ¡°What exactly is the process then?¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Tremt-Fusi walked to the bed with a scanner in hand as Clzllv went around gathering materials from the floors and shelves.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to dose you with as many kinds of antibiotics as we can, and a recently published paper suggests that adding in some Kremel growth hormones will increase the reaction speed, killing the infection off completely in a matter of hours rather than days,¡± the doctor explained.


    ¡°Kremel growth hormones? Is that safe?¡± Logically, he knew the doctor wouldn¡¯t suggest something that was going to permanently harm him, but an eerie picture of him with green skin and Kremel ears appeared in his mind, so he asked anyway.


    ¡°For a short time, yes. The problem is that a Human body trying to process alien hormones is known to be an excruciatingly painful process, but luckily none of the drugs we¡¯re going to give you react with anesthesia, so we¡¯ll be able to sedate you and keep you from experiencing that part.¡± The doctor moved from her scans to unwrapping his hands.


    Clzllv came over to them with a tray holding fresh bandages and some antiseptic.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be unconscious then? The whole time?¡± Somehow the idea of being knocked out for the whole experience was uncomfortable. Perhaps because the last time he slept, he woke to an abandoned ship full of murder-happy crewmembers.


    ¡°The whole time.¡± Tremt-Fusi smiled at him reassuringly as she cleaned the holes in his right hand.


    Lus grimaced, but he didn¡¯t say anything about the small jolts of pain as she worked. Once the doctor finished with the right hand, Clzllv started to wrap it in new bandages while she moved the wounds on the left hand.


    When they were done, Fusi pressed on Lus¡¯s shoulder and motioned to the rest of the bed.


    ¡°Lay down so we can prep you.¡±


    He gulped, and his mouth ran dry. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re doing it now? Right now? Maybe we should wait for Becky. And I should probably douse myself with more water, just to be safe.¡±


    Clzllv grabbed him before he could slip off the bed. ¡°Come on, Lusac. You¡¯re going to be fine. Besides, you¡¯ll be under such heavy anesthesia that the Shaquine won¡¯t be able to bother you. Probably.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be just like going to sleep. The sooner we start it, the more likely it is that we rid you of the infection before you can spawn more of your friends.¡± Tremt-Fusi¡¯s webbed hand pressed on his chest, and Lus complied with her wishes, lowering himself to lay back on the bed.


    It would be fine. He trusted Fusi and Clzllv, right? Lusac always struggled with the idea of being put under by medical personnel, an irrational fear which spawned from a horror movie he watched when he was very, very young.


    ¡°Relax, Lus.¡± Tremt-Fusi placed an injection site right below his collar bone, and when she pressed the button, he felt the usual sharp pinch of the tubes going into his body. Clzllv handed her tubing which led up to a very full bag of clear fluids, and Fusi connected it to the injection site.


    Lus shivered once more as the cold liquid entered his body, forcing himself to keep his hands at his sides instead of hugging around his torso like he wanted.


    Fusi used a small holotablet to change a few settings on the injection site, determining the rate of the medicine¡¯s drip, and Lus watched her as his heart pounded in his chest.


    The doctor then nodded to Clzllv. ¡°Anesthesia is set. Count down from one-hundred, and then we¡¯ll start the antibiotics and hormones.¡±


    The nurse began to count immediately, and Lus bit his lip. One hundred wasn¡¯t going to be enough. He didn¡¯t even feel¡­ tired.


    Almost as soon as he thought the word, his eyelids began to droop. His heart wasn¡¯t racing quite so much, and he was suddenly aware that his hands didn¡¯t ache anymore. He wasn¡¯t cold anymore either. Suddenly he felt so warm and cozy. He blinked slowly, his eyes finding Tremt-Fusi¡¯s one last time.


    ¡°Have a good nap, Lus.¡± She patted his arm.


    Lus tried to keep his eyes open, but the drugs won out. He thought one last prayer to the Watcher as consciousness left him.


    ***


    Lusac was slow in returning to the waking world. He became aware of his body, but there was a weird floaty feeling inside and part of him wanted to just go back to sleep.


    Sounds reached his ears, and enough of him was awake to realize that it was voices. All at once, the memories of the Shaquine on the Argo returned, alongside his panic and worry.


    He tried to leap out of bed, but the best he could do was open his eyes and half sit up before hands caught him and pushed him back down.


    ¡°Easy there.¡± Becky¡¯s face was right above his, a warm smile on her lips. ¡°Welcome back to the land of the living, Lus. We missed you.¡±


    ¡°Becky. Is it¡­? The Argo, the crew¡­¡± Lus interrupted himself with coughs due to his dry throat.


    Zer-Dasht handed him a glass. ¡°Try this.¡±


    Lusac eagerly gulped down the water, ignoring the stares of everyone in the room. Becky, Zer-Dasht, Tremt-Fusi, and Nippy were all there.


    Once he finished, he cleared his throat and tried again. ¡°So, uh, what did I miss?¡±


    Everyone laughed, and Nippy took point on the explanation.


    ¡°Becky and Avil found me in the mess hall and freed me from the Shaquine influence. After that, we confirmed that Tremt-Fusi had found a way to keep you from spawning anymore Shaquine, and then we rigged the ship¡¯s life support system to up the humidity to 200%, soaking the rest of the crew.¡±


    ¡°But how did you get rid of the Shaquine? I¡¯m assuming we¡¯re not just going to spend the rest of our lives soaked.¡± Lusac sat up a little more, rolling his stiff shoulders out.


    ¡°All Becky¡¯s idea. She put on a space suit, allowed herself to dry off, and then stood alone in the shuttle hangar. With all the other crew members immune to them, all of the Shaquine gathered at the hangar to focus on her. Once we were sure none remained on board, we opened the doors and jettisoned them into space,¡± Nippy concluded.


    ¡°We¡¯re all alive today thanks to Becky,¡± Zer-Dasht added.


    ¡°She¡¯s a real hero,¡± Nippy agreed.


    Lusac forced a smile. He wasn¡¯t so petty that he needed to point out that Becky was only able to do anything because of him, but it did sting that his contributions were overlooked so heavily. His smile faded as he realized something. ¡°But how do you know all the Shaquine are gone? I thought I was the only one who could sense them.¡±


    His [Sixth Sense] wasn¡¯t triggering now, but that only meant that there wasn¡¯t one in the room with him. The ship could still be housing several.


    Nippy shrugged. ¡°Our best guess. It¡¯s been twelve hours since we jettisoned, and we have people all over the ship making repairs or cleaning, but there have been zero reports of any Shaquine-like symptoms. Once you¡¯re on your feet again, we¡¯ll have you do a thorough check of the ship to confirm.¡±


    ¡°I can go now.¡± Lusac again started to move from the bed, but those around him stopped him.


    ¡°Not yet, Lus. You¡¯re going to be here a couple more days so I can make sure you¡¯re infection free and there are no lasting side effects from the Kremel hormones.¡± Tremt-Fusi crossed her arms and looked down at him.


    ¡°Aw. I don¡¯t know. I kind of like those ears on him,¡± Becky said.


    Lus¡¯s hands shot up to his ears, terrified that he was about to discover the oversized pointy ones like those he saw on Nippy. Everyone else laughed as he breathed in relief, finding his normal, rounded ears.


    ¡°Consider that payback.¡± Becky lightly punched his arm.


    ¡°Alright, alright. You¡¯ve all had your fun. Get out of here, and let him rest,¡± Fusi demanded.


    Everyone filtered out of the room, and Lus wrapped the blanket closer around himself, finding he was still shockingly tired after having been asleep for more than twelve hours. Even Fusi left, giving him a little time alone to process things.


    He was glad the ship was saved, but he had to admit, he was a little disappointed he¡¯d missed all the important stuff.


    With a sigh, Lus leaned back. Two days, and then it would be back to business as usual.

 Chapter 64: Baking Chocote Chunk Cookies

    Lus looked around the kitchen and breathed a sigh. It was his first day back on regular duty after being released from the medical center. He hadn¡¯t had time for his extra cooking with all the work he had to catch up on today, but he needed more XP. Tired of cooking the same things over and over again, he opted to spend [500 XP] and get a new [Recipe].


    [Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies]. So here he was, right when he should¡¯ve been in bed. Instead, he got to cook. Or bake, as it were.


    Calling up the screen, he clicked the [Recipes] tab and selected [Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies]. He began reading through the information. He skipped the paragraphs about the history, ingredients, substitutions, and accompaniments, stopping once he reached the part about the abilities.


    ¡°Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies live up to their hype while bringing you all the fame you could desire. These cookies give you a temporary boost of [+15 Charm], making everyone in your vicinity take notice of you in the best way. This ability can be very useful when you need to make a good impression on a group.¡±


    Lus nodded. He wasn¡¯t sure how much he needed a boost in popularity right now, but he could gain the XP at least. And maybe he¡¯d just eat one cookie and save the rest for later.


    With his plan set, he moved on to the ingredient list. Flour, sugar, butter, eggs, rising powder, salt, niva flavoring, and of course, chocote chunks.


    Assuming that there weren¡¯t just chocote chunks hanging around the kitchen, he¡¯d taken some of the chocote he kept in his room for emergencies and chopped it up into chunks. He just hoped the System would count it the same as purchased chocote chunks.


    The flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and salt were all easy to find. The rising powder was surprisingly close to the front of the seasonings cupboard.


    The niva flavoring was harder to find. Lus had to dig to the very back of the seasoning cupboard, a stark reminder that he really needed to make some time to reorganize and familiarize himself with the contents of the cupboards.


    Thankfully, he managed to find a small, clear bottle half-full of a dark liquid. He hadn¡¯t seen niva flavoring before, though he had had niva flavored desserts a few times in the past. They were sweet, but lighter and less rich than chocote desserts.


    It took a few minutes to shove the contents of the seasoning cupboard back in, especially because he needed to make sure that the ones he used most often stayed near the front.


    Finally, he closed the cupboard and turned to his pile of ingredients. He had never baked cookies before and his anxiety was almost back to pre-Leviathan cooking levels.


    ¡°But if I mess this up, it¡¯s not going to have any major consequences,¡± he reminded himself.


    ¡°Except ammunition for me to use to remind you how truly stupid you are.¡± Leviathan¡¯s familiar sneering voice filled the kitchen.


    Lus thought about answering, but he didn¡¯t feel like engaging with the demon. Instead, he pointedly avoided looking at the interbox and ignored the taunt. He rearranged the ingredients on the counter and tried to focus on the recipe.


    ¡°Coward,¡± Leviathan muttered grumpily.


    Lus risked a glance over his shoulder and found the interbox screen dark again. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned his attention back to the system screen in front of him.


    He needed a small bowl for dry ingredients and another, larger bowl for the wet. He grabbed the only two bowls in the cupboards that weren¡¯t huge and set them on the counter.


    Into the smaller bowl, he quickly measured flour, salt, and rising powder. He almost added the chocote chunks, but a second read-through of the recipe stopped him. Apparently those went in at the very end.


    Instead, he stirred the dry ingredients together with a large spoon, then set to work on the wet ingredients.


    He first had to cream together the butter and sugar. Because apparently cream was a verb and not just a much thicker version of milk.


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± he wondered aloud, then waited for a moment for the expected answer.


    [Using a whisk or mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy]


    His brows furrowed. Light and fluffy? That seemed strange, but he didn¡¯t have any reason to doubt it, so he shrugged and set to work.


    He grabbed the butter that he had pulled out of the fridge and was about to put it in the bowl when another notification popped up.


    [Soften butter first]


    ¡°Soften butter¡­ how in Watcher¡¯s name am I supposed to soften it? I mean¡­¡± he trailed off. Obviously butter that sat out got soft, but there wasn¡¯t enough butter in the container that sat out for cooking use.


    I can¡¯t just wait until tomorrow¡­ so I just need to heat it up.


    He glanced over at the microwave heater. He couldn¡¯t put the metal bowl in, so he pulled out the cold chunk of butter and put it in a small glass bowl used for eating and stuck it in the microwave heater.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lus pressed a few buttons and watched the bowl turn. He was going to let it go for a full minute, but a notification popped up shortly after he started the microwave heater.


    [The butter should not be melted]


    ¡°Oh no!¡± He quickly stopped the microwave heater and pulled out the bowl of butter. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t melted. He poked it. It also wasn¡¯t really any softer.


    Sticking it back in, he let it go for a few more seconds before checking again. This time, he felt a little give when he poked it, so he decided to call it soft enough.


    Moving the butter back to the large bowl, he then measured in the sugar. He then grabbed a whisk and started trying to stir the butter and sugar together.


    Apparently he hadn¡¯t softened the butter enough, because he couldn¡¯t seem to get the mixture smooth. It turned into large chunks of butter stuck inside the whisk.


    Lus frowned in frustration, wondering what he should do.


    [Use an auto-mixer]


    His brows furrowed in confusion. He didn¡¯t even know what an auto-mixer was or where to look for it. Deciding it had to be better than what he was currently trying, he began to comb through the various cupboards of appliances.


    He found a variety of things that he didn¡¯t recognize, including a few appliances that he made mental notes to check into later.


    Near the back, he found something promising: it had a small body and two sturdy whisks sticking out of it. Is this an auto-mixer? He wondered.


    [Yes]


    He smiled, glad that his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] had provided the answer yet again. It was like having his own little helper constantly in his mind when he needed help with something. As long as that something was cooking related, of course.


    Heading back to the bowl, he used a spoon to scrape the butter chunks out of the whisk, then set to work with the auto-mixer. It broke the butter up in moments, quickly turning the stick into a smooth mixture.


    Once the butter was smooth, he measured in the sugar and the niva flavoring. Because he was curious, he licked the last few drops of the brown liquid out of the measuring spoon and nearly gagged.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t taste like niva at all,¡± he choked, hurrying to the sink to rinse his mouth out. Once he had washed away the nasty flavor, he returned to the bowl. Has it gone bad? He wondered.


    ¡°Does it just always taste this bad?¡± He asked, thinking of other ingredients he¡¯d used in the past that tasted awful by themselves but surprisingly delicious when used in a recipe.


    [Yes, it always tastes this bad]


    Even though his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] didn¡¯t have a tone, he almost felt like it was mocking him. He sighed and set back to work, using the auto-mixer to quickly mix the sugar and niva flavoring into the butter.


    Once the contents of the bowl were smooth and fluffy, he turned off the auto-mixer and glanced back at the instructions.


    Next the eggs went in. The fluffy mixture turned into something wetter and it was time to turn his attention to the dry ingredients. He used a spoon to stir the dry mixture again then scooped some into the wet batter.


    It took a while to mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Because the instructions just said to add the dry ingredients gradually, he went slowly, one heaping spoonful at a time.


    He was able to continue using the auto-mixer, though it got more difficult the thicker the dough got.


    Finally, he had everything in. The dough was a pale tannish/cream color. He double-checked the recipe before finally dumping in the chocote chunks.


    They were hard to mix in, even with the auto-mixer, but he kept it going until he felt like the chocote was fairly evenly distributed.


    With the dough finished, he still needed to get it baked. He had never baked cookies before, so he read through the instructions twice to make sure he felt confident about what he needed to do, then he turned on the oven.


    While the oven heated, he pulled out a sheet pan and a measuring spoon. He used the spoon to scoop out a chunk of dough, then tried to drop it on the sheet.


    It didn¡¯t come out.


    Lus tried to get it out, waving the spoon up and down to try and flick it onto the pan, but no luck. His eyes skimmed the instructions again.


    ¡°Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the pan,¡± he read aloud. Glancing at the tablespoon full of cookie dough that wouldn¡¯t come out, he sighed and decided to take matters into his own hands- literally.


    Using his fingers, he pried the chunk of dough from the spoon. It was pretty malformed, so he rolled it in his palms until it was nice and round, then set it on the baking sheet.


    Since that seemed to work well, he continued the pattern with the rest of the cookies. He kept them the full 5 cm apart that the recipe recommended, which meant that he could only fit 15 dough balls on the pan.


    Once the pan was full, he slid it into the oven and set a timer. While he waited, he pulled out another sheet pan and set to work filling it with dough balls. Now that he had a rhythm, he could move pretty quickly and he had the pan full by the time the timer went off.


    Lus pulled out the finished cookies, breathing in the sweet smell as he set them on a counter to cool. He popped the next sheet into the oven and set another timer, then began filling a third sheet pan.


    The third sheet pan went quickly, so he had a couple minutes to check on the now-cooled cookies. He used a spatula to scoop one off the tray and quickly ate it.


    It tasted sweet with a hint of the salt. It was perfect, and he looked down in wonder, unsure how the bitter niva flavoring hadn¡¯t ruined this masterpiece.


    Lus was so focused on the taste, he¡¯d nearly forgotten that these cookies came with an ability until the notification popped up.


    [+15 Charm]


    Thankfully, since he was going to be heading right back to bed after this, he didn¡¯t have to worry about how it would affect him.


    He ate two more of the warm, gooey cookies before he managed to stop himself. The extra cookies didn¡¯t increase his charm, thankfully. Though [+45 Charm] would have been quite something.


    Instead, he worked his way through the rest of the dough and then spent twenty minutes putting the cookies into a large container and hiding it in the nitrobox. Once the cookies were taken care of, he moved all the baking dishes to the empty sink.


    Lus hadn¡¯t even considered that he would have to do his own dishes. The cleaning golems had retired for the night with everyone else. With a sigh, he set to work and spent another half hour getting the kitchen back to the pristine clean that the cleaning golem had left. Or at least, it was close. Close-ish.


    With a shrug and an internal good enough, he turned off the lights and headed back to bed, grateful that he didn¡¯t run into anyone on the way.


    Someday, he¡¯d have to try the cookies out during the day, though, and see what [+15 Charm] changed.

 [V]Chapter 65: A Letter Home

    Dear Mother and Father


    Dear Mother an|


    Dear M|


    D|


    |


    ¡°Ha.¡± Varyna sighed as she deleted the words again. She was hunched over a message chip, desperately trying to decide what to write for her very first letter home in over a month. ¡°Let¡¯s see..¡± she hummed, starting the letter again.


    Mr. and Mrs. Rhyne,


    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± she nodded. ¡°Since I have to send the message under a false identity anyway. I wouldn¡¯t want to give myself away to any peeved Nemarian mafia members who might get ahold of this.¡±


    She halted, glancing around the drab room. The smooth metal walls gleamed sharply, even in the mild orange light from her lamp. She kept it on the lowest setting, not just because it¡¯s what her eyes were used to, but it made her quarters feel the tiniest bit less sterile.


    ¡°Maybe I should let my identity slip. It might liven up the place to have the mafia busting down the door.¡±


    I am having an unbelievably amazing time here in the Helios Sector. Every day is full of exciting new adventures, and my new room is so cozy. It feels just like home.


    Since Varyna knew her parents would be curious about how she was doing with her System, she pulled up the familiar screen and navigated through the options. She barely glanced at the XP, still annoyed that she¡¯d received so little for her last quest. With all the work it took to bring down the Peacekeeper-turned-serial killer, not to mention risking her life, she should have at least gotten enough XP to level up.


    But she didn¡¯t.


    She scrolled to the [Quest] tab. It mocked her with her single completed quest that gave her more than a thus-far useless [Skill] and a single active quest that was near impossible to complete.


    I¡¯m gaining a lot of valuable experience here. I¡¯m sure the Demonology Division won¡¯t reject my application next time I apply. They¡¯d be crazy to turn away such an experienced [Demon Hunter].


    She¡¯d been excited after her last mission, hoping for a chance to meet a member of the Demonology Division in person. After all, the demonic relic the killer had been carrying had to be handled by a pro. Instead of coming for the smashed relic themselves, however, the Demonology Division had sent a brief, brusque letter with instructions and a special container to ship the pieces of the object back to them.


    She was more than a little crushed, but her parents didn¡¯t need to know that.


    Tapping her fingers on her desk, she tried to figure out what else to say. She¡¯d talk about the food or the culture, but there wasn¡¯t much to say on those subjects out here. If there were interesting foods and cultures, she hadn¡¯t seen any sign of them.


    She bit her lip and thought more about her recent assignments. After the serial killer case, they hadn¡¯t been given anything interesting to do besides ¡®patrol¡¯ aka bumming around on the COPS ship waiting to get an assignment.


    The work is interesting. I¡¯ve gotten to handle some unique cases. I really feel like we¡¯re making a difference here.


    Varyna¡¯s mind then went to her teammates. While she and Hxlt didn¡¯t always see eye to eye and she sometimes found Opun¡¯s constant note-taking annoying, at least they were reliable. And, really, the only company she had.


    Being in closed quarters lately had taken its toll on all of them, though. Just the other day, she and Opun had gotten into a screaming match. They were reviewing the Imadrin case as a team when Opun had muttered something about her and Hxlt¡¯s poor note taking.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Haaa. Well, we¡¯re too busy doing our jobs and solving the case,¡± Varyna had retorted. ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t think about pulling out my pen when I was confronting the serial killer alone.¡±


    Hxlt had done his best to quiet her, but she couldn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°Actually, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have been alone in that dangerous situation if you ever did a single thing besides take notes!¡±


    That had been the last straw. Opun, his face entirely red from rage at this point, jumped to his feet and began shouting his own complaints against Varyna. Their argument only ended when Hxlt roared his own dissatisfaction with his squadmates, threw the report chip so hard it broke, and stormed out of the room.


    My fellow Officers are nice. We get along well, and they¡¯ve helped me learn how to keep up with the work here¡­|


    What else? If her letter was too short, her parents would definitely worry. After all, they always sent her overly lengthy letters with updates about every little thing. She thought about their last message.


    Her siblings seemed to be doing well. She was the oldest of four, a sister and two brothers. Her sister had recently entered the workforce, but her brothers were both very young. She couldn¡¯t help but miss their cute little voices and how they always climbed all over her as soon as she walked in the door.


    I miss you all and hope to see you again soon. I was so happy to hear about Henny¡¯s acceptance into the Academy. She¡¯ll make a great teacher. I have a few fun stories that I¡¯m sure Willem and Jed would enjoy.


    She tried to recall anything interesting but wouldn¡¯t cause her family to worry. Honestly, the only exciting assignment had been the serial killer case, and that¡¯s only because she got herself kidnapped.


    One of my early assignments was quite fun. We were on a small planet picking up a wanted criminal who had been caught by the locals.


    When they had picked up the criminal, they had also stopped to chat with the local law enforcement for a while. Surprisingly, it was one of the local forces that didn¡¯t hate the COPS. (Though they were all too chronically drunk to care.) The missions was pretty uneventful, but one of the stories an intoxicated local officer had shared was pretty entertaining.


    We happened to run into a scuffle in one of the tech shops where the owner claimed that he had been robbed. He was accusing a young Nemarian who claimed to be innocent. When one of my fellow officers asked the shop keeper why he was so certain the young Nemarian had stolen from him, the shop owner just gestured to the lad¡¯s admittedly very large and oddly-shaped hind end and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a natural bum shaped like a multi-planetary broadcasting unit before.¡±


    That story was more of an old joke for the officers on that planet, but they had been elated to share it with fresh ears. Varyna was sure her brothers would enjoy it just as much. She wondered what her old squadmate Quoppi would think of that joke. Would he actually laugh? Or maybe even turn red from embarrassment?


    She hadn¡¯t crossed paths with the shy Nemarian much (seeing as they were ions apart now). She thought she might get a chance to see him when they had an assignment on the border of the Aura sector, the place Quoppi had been assigned.


    She hadn¡¯t seen her old friend, but they had met some interesting farmers.


    We traveled to another small planet where two farmers had been sharing a flock of kechins on the shared border of the property for nearly a decade. For some reason, three of their best layers all stopped producing eggs at the same time and one of the farmers decided the natural reason for this was that his neighbor had started using demonic powers.


    In an effort to cure his neighbor and fix their kechins, the old Kremel had taken a ¡®holy stick¡¯ to him repeatedly.


    I could keep from laughing while my team lead explained to him that even though he used a holy stick, it was still considered assault and he would either have to go to jail or pay a fine, including reparations to his victim.


    Hxlt had also been a victim of the farmer¡¯s ¡®holy stick¡¯ while he was trying to arrest the guy. Varyna and Opun laughed together as they watched, but they eventually had to step in and help. Hxlt was predictably less than impressed with their hesitation.


    Varyna learned later that Holy Sticks were an actual religious item used by some rural planets who worshiped their suns. The stick the old farmer was beating others with didn¡¯t quite count as one, however.


    Well, that¡¯s all the time I have to write. I have another exciting mission waiting for me! Love you all.


    She signed the letter with her new identity and closed the chip with a sigh. Writing letters could be tedious when there wasn¡¯t much to fill them with. She yawned and stretched then stood from her desk.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have a nap now..¡± she mumbled. ¡°Or I can go scour the kitchen for snacks.¡±


    She weighed her options carefully before deciding on the nap. There was a chance she¡¯d run into her squadmates if she left her quarters, and things were still a little awkward after their last fight.


    ¡°I should put my real name on that letter,¡± she said to herself as she snuggled under her blankets. ¡°I hope the mafia will come and take me away.. Or at least take Opun.¡±

 Chapter 66: A Job Interview

    A bitter wind blew right through Lusac¡¯s jacket, chilling him straight to his core. He didn¡¯t understand why he had to wear a blasted linen coat to this, but apparently it made him seem more ¡°professional,¡± at least by Human standards.


    It¡¯d been only two weeks since the Shaquine had taken over the Argo, but already he was back out in the field on another mission with healed hands and no Shaquine-spawning infection.


    A dim, yellow sun shone just above the horizon, highlighting the frost covered leaves and grass as Lusac walked down the sidewalk through the quaint town of Quiven, a ritzy neighborhood on the planet of Drashiw in the Gemini sector.


    It was mid-autumn, and with it still being the morning, the air was freezing even with Lus¡¯s scarf and gloves he wore on top of the nice linen jacket. Underneath was a newly purchased button-up and¨Cgag¨Ca tie. Despite having only worn the ensemble for only an hour, he was already counting down the minutes until he was back in his Runner¡¯s uniform or even just a standard alunitanium mission suit.


    Lus passed a few other people as he walked, most citizens sane enough to be indoors with heaters during these early hours. Colorful trees lined the streets, dropping plenty of crunchy leaves for him to enjoy stepping on. The houses he passed were huge and growing in size as he strode deeper into the neighborhood. Each had an acre or more of land attached to it, and some even had tall fences and gates to limit any kind of access. That seemed rather extreme given the entire community was already behind a wall with armed security guards.


    Of course, it made sense given that many of the residents were rich, powerful people who someone, somewhere in the galaxy probably wanted dead. After all, who liked politicians? Especially when they¡¯d driven the galaxy into a never-ending civil war and conscripted anyone who came of age from the planets outside the wealthy Core.


    The idea of working for one of those scum buckets disgusted Lusac, but a mission was a mission, and after his past few and the disasters they became, he wasn¡¯t in any position to complain about assignments. He was looking forward to something that was a little less deadly, even if it meant doing mundane chores while he gathered intel.


    Then again, if things worked out the way he hoped, he would just naturally fail the interview he was on his way to, and it would be someone else¡¯s problem entirely. Captain Tave had sent six of the crew to interview for positions at Senator Grwtln¡¯s new home in Quivewn. Cewi-Bano and Zer-Dasht were interviewing to be security personnel, Vlqtrn applied for a technician, and Prwls¨Cthe ship¡¯s botanist who ran the Argo¡¯s garden¨Cwas trying for a position as a grounds worker.


    Lus was up for a maintenance worker where he¡¯d do menial tasks that were even less exciting than what he did in the fsylan tubes, but it would be easy enough work. He¡¯d spent the night in a drab hotel room by himself after he and the others got dropped off. They were on strict no-contact to keep suspicions low.


    He walked through the crisp morning for another half an hour before arriving at the largest mansion in the entire community. It was three stories tall with black pillars out front and large, oval windows in typical Kremel fashion. Several other people were arriving at the same time, and a guard out front directed all of them to a path around the back to where the servants¡¯ entrance waited.


    Inside was a large room stuffed with Kremel, Nemarians, and Humans alike, all dressed in what qualified as professional garb for their respective species. All the Nemarians wore floor length togas with metallic bands decorating their arms. The Kremel wore straight black, ranging from dresses to suits. Most of the Humans were similar to Lusac in a shirt and tie or skirt and blouse.


    Captain Tave wanted this mission done as under the radar as possible so while Lus knew his fellow crew members were all somewhere in the mess, he didn¡¯t look too closely to locate any of them and risk giving away their friendship.


    Lus was handed yet another form to fill out along with a nondisclosure agreement to sign. He mumbled to himself as he worked through each screen on the holo tablet, and the Nemarian he handed it back to barely seemed to register anything he said.


    ¡°Where do I go now?¡± Lusac asked once again to the worker.


    Two glazed over black eyes looked back at him, still trying to process the words.


    ¡°For the interview part?¡± Lus said with a hint of impatience.


    The Nemarian lazily pointed one finger over to a lengthy line against the far wall full of a variety of species.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he replied to her as he walked over to step into the back of it. Maybe he should have gotten here sooner. He didn¡¯t know how they were doing the hiring process exactly, but there was a chance they would just fill the positions as fast as they could and if he didn¡¯t interview before then, he¡¯d be left out completely. He didn¡¯t mind the thought of not getting in, but if the reason he didn¡¯t get a job was because he showed up too late, he didn¡¯t think Captain would take well to that. Not to mention Yrqw would never let him hear the end of it, and Lus already endured enough lectures about his tardiness as it was.


    ¡°A packed house. Makes sense with the kind of benefits the Senator is offering,¡± the Kremel in line before him said to seemingly no one.


    ¡°The pay¡¯s also better than what any of the other places can offer. Word on the street is that the Senator stole Representative Jorge¡¯s top butler away even,¡± the Nemarian ahead of both responded.


    ¡°There are labor shortages on almost every other planet in this sector outside of the Core, but it seems to me there¡¯s a surplus of workers here. Someone figure that out,¡± a Human added in from somewhere. There were several mumbles of agreement from others in the line, but Lus remained silent to avoid drawing any kind of attention to himself.


    ¡°Well you can¡¯t blame people for wanting something stable and safe. I heard that half of Current York¡¯s factories got bombed only last week. Blasted Corporates,¡± the first Kremel said as he shoved his hands in his pants pockets.


    ¡°Blast the politicians while you¡¯re at. Do you know how much money they take from us in taxes? And somehow they still can¡¯t even defend the Gemini sector, let alone the rest of the galaxy. If you ask me, we need a clean sweep of both sides and a hard reset on the government,¡± the Human replied.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The Nemarian turned to them with bristling fins. ¡°Blast you for speaking of treason in the house of a Kremel who has worked tirelessly for years to bring an end to this war. You Corporate-loving dichen.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a Human. They¡¯re always complaining about the government since they can¡¯t stand the fact they¡¯ll never hold a majority in the legislature,¡± the Kremel sneered.


    Before the argument could deteriorate into a full-blown physical fight¨Cwhich it looked headed for based on the look in the Human woman¡¯s eyes¨Ca door opened at the front of the line and a well-dressed Kremel woman walked out.


    ¡°We filled the last maintenance position. Thank you all for your time. If you have the skills, feel free to interview for one of the jobs we have available. I understand the cleaning crew is still in need of help, as is the kitchen.¡± She gestured to two other lines. One was exceptionally long, and Lus took it to be the line for cleaners. The other was much shorter, and the appearance of those waiting hinted that it led to the kitchen.


    Everyone ahead of him and those who¡¯d joined after him all began grumbling and dispersing, a good many walking over to the cleaning line. Lus hesitated just long enough that the queue nearly doubled as he stood there. Cleaning sounded awful, no matter how important the mission was. Lusac didn¡¯t even clean his own room, no way he was going to try to get a position doing that for someone else.


    But his only other options were to quit and face his failure or take a chance in the kitchen and hope that being a [Chef] would be enough to get him some kind of job there. Ugh, but that would mean even more cooking, and as much as he did enjoy time in the kitchen, doing it all day was still a tall order to fill. And he probably wouldn¡¯t even get to make what he wanted.


    He would get [XP] from all that cooking, and thanks to the rush of cooking he¡¯d been doing since the Shaquine take over, he was one meal away from leveling up. Sighing in resignation, Lusac made his way over to the short line and took his place there.


    ¡°Verx, look. Some maintenance boy thinks he has a shot in the kitchens under Chef Savannah,¡± a male Nemarian right in front of Lus said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just here to see if he can lick some table scraps. Didn¡¯t anyone tell him that Senator Grwtln already has a hound?¡± his Human, female friend answered.


    Lusac shoved his hands deep into his coat pocket and pretended not to notice. The last thing he needed right now was to get in an argument with a bunch of stuck up sucklings. They¡¯d probably lived their entire lives in the cushy Core, and they knew nothing about real life. If bullying him somehow made them feel better about their pathetic lives, he wasn¡¯t going to stand in their way.


    ¡°Ah. That makes more sense. He must not be able to hear correctly. I¡¯ll explain it to him,¡± the first Nemarian said. He then turned to face Lus all the way and grabbed his shoulders. ¡°Look, Human. You¡¯re in the wrong line. The disability checks are handed out at the office down the street,¡± he said slowly.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Lusac brushed his webbed hands away. ¡°I know exactly what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. You¡¯re just stupid.¡± The Nemarian shoved Lus back. ¡°Another blasted yokel who thinks he can steal jobs away from the people they belong to.¡±


    Yokel? Lus¡¯s accent wasn¡¯t that rural sounding¡­ was it?


    ¡°Whatever, suckling. I have as much right to be here as you.¡± Lusac stepped back up to where he stood originally, keeping his eyes even with the Nemarian¡¯s. The woman stepped up behind her friend, her hands already curled into fists. Watcher, were these two really willing to get into a fight over this? Talk about petty.


    ¡°Knock this off. Anyone is allowed to interview with Chef Savannah.¡± another Nemarian stepped in between them. ¡°You guys are going to get us all kicked out with this kind of behavior.¡±


    The first Nemarian and his Human friend glared at the newcomer, but they listened to her advice, turning back around in line and muttering complaints to themselves.


    ¡°Sorry about that. Those two have been trying to bully everyone out of line they can in hopes of increasing their own chances of getting the jobs. You¡¯re the first one to stick up to them,¡± the Nemarian said. Her scales were a light shade of purple, reminding Lus of the flowers his mom used to grow back on Treft when he was a small child, back when green things still grew there.


    ¡°Thanks for stepping in,¡± Lusac replied, a little embarrassed he had to get saved by a stranger. ¡°I¡¯m Lus by the way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Fresa-Erhst, but you can call me Fresa.¡± Her maroon fins shuddered suddenly. ¡°Blast this weather. I don¡¯t know how anyone survives this kind of cold.¡±


    Lus chuckled. ¡°Just wait until winter. This is bearable in comparison. I take it you¡¯re not from Drashiw originally?¡±


    ¡°No. I grew up on Quosh,¡± Fresa admitted shyly. ¡°A standard suckling trying to make her way in the galaxy.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ve only been to the Capital once so you¡¯re one up on a yokel like me,¡± Lusac said, smiling to ease the tension. It was nice to distract his growing nerves with some friendly conversation, and it helped the wait seem a little less tedious.


    ¡°I happen to like it, but it is nice to get out and see more of the galaxy.¡±


    Lus held back any comments he wanted to make about how little she was really seeing of the Cinder Rock Galaxy by remaining in the Gemini sector at all. Some old stat Zer-Dasht cited to him claimed that over eighty-percent of those born in the Gemini sector never even visit any other sector during their lifetimes, and based on the few interactions he¡¯d had during just this mission, he was inclined to believe it.


    They continued to chat, but Fresa asked a surprising amount of personal questions to the point Lus found it increasingly difficult to come up with convincing lies. He couldn¡¯t just go around admitting he was a Runner after all.


    It was a relief when the door opened and the last of the line was ushered inside. Wherever those who failed went after their interviews, Lus had yet to see. Fresa, Lusac, his two new enemies, and the Kremel who made up the line were all taken into a cramped room which held five small cooking stations that looked rather frail and ill-put together.


    ¡°This is the kitchen?¡± Lusac whispered to Fresa as they entered.


    She turned back to him with a confused look. ¡°It¡¯s just a temporary testing station. Haven¡¯t you ever done one of these before?¡±


    ¡°Not like this. Normally we cooked in the main kitchen,¡± he lied.


    ¡°Holy Core, what kinds of jobs were you interviewing for?¡± Fresa said with a shake of her head.


    A Human woman stepped forward, dressed in high-quality chef garb that reminded him of the few Levi Athan (the real professional chef, not the stingy demon trapped in Lus¡¯s fridge) videos he¡¯d watched when he first started as chef on the Argo. Her tall, white hat sat perfectly pinned on her brown hair as her sharp eyes scanned them. Even with only 1 [Common Sense], Lusac knew that this must be Chef Savannah.


    ¡°Who here thinks they can cook?¡± she asked expectantly without bothering to introduce herself, though it seemed everyone in the room was aware who she was without it.


    Everyone¡¯s hand except Lus¡¯s went up immediately. He realized his mistake and slowly raised his as well, hoping the chef hadn¡¯t noticed his hesitation.


    ¡°And who here thinks they can serve food?¡±


    Lus was smart enough to raise his hand with everyone else when this one was asked.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s find out who¡¯s lying, and who¡¯s telling the truth. Everyone to a station. There¡¯s a basket of ingredients waiting. Let¡¯s see what you make during the next thirty minutes.¡±


    Shuffled alongside the others, Lusac took his spot at one of the shabby cooking stations where a box of food waited. He was absolutely not qualified for this. At Chef Savannah¡¯s signal, they all opened their boxes and the timer started.

 Chapter 67: Cooking Interview

    Lus surveyed the ingredients he had pulled out of the basket: raw gervin steak marbled with lines of fat; small, round, green sprouts; and a small basket of nabra fruit.


    ¡°What am I going to do with this?¡± he whispered.


    ¡°Did you say something?¡± Fresa asked from the next station. She was already working on her meat with a large knife.


    ¡°Oh no, sorry,¡± Lus answered in embarrassment. I need to keep my thoughts in my head, he made a quick mental note. Being so used to cooking all alone, he hadn¡¯t considered how hard it would be to adjust to having to cook around other people.


    Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the ingredients in front of him. He hadn¡¯t ever cooked a steak before, so he¡¯d need to rely heavily on his [Chef¡¯s Intuition]. He just hoped it was enough to get him the job he needed.


    Picking up his knife, Lus decided to cut up the steak and make a stir fry. It was an easy way to use meat and vegetables, but also something flavorful. He just had to make sure that the steak didn¡¯t come out tough and chewy.


    Once he had the steak cut into small slices, he looked at the sprouts and the fruit. The sprouts were easy. He washed them in the sink and set them aside. Nabra fruit was a bit different. It was sweet and soft inside the thick, tough skin. He wasn¡¯t really sure how to use it in the stir fry, but perhaps it would make a good sauce?


    Deciding to leave that for later, he glanced around, wondering if he could use other ingredients. He saw a couple other chefs heading towards a door in the back of the room and followed them into a large storage room full of other ingredients.


    He briefly wondered how much he was allowed to use as he admired shelves full of food, but the other chefs seemed to be helping themselves to everything they wanted, so he did the same.


    He first pulled some fresh garoots and slerry sticks from the large interbox, then stopped in front of the spice shelves.


    Lus had never had to make a sauce on his own, so he wasn¡¯t really sure what to put in with the fruit. His eyes caught on a dark liquid. He had only ever had Savory Sauce a couple times when he had been privileged enough to eat at restaurants.


    It was a salty, incredibly flavorful liquid that was often put over rice or used as a dip to add flavor to foods. Now he wondered if it might make a good sauce.


    [Savory Sauce is a common base]


    He smiled at the familiar notification and grabbed the sauce. Hopefully it would go well with the sweetness of the nabra fruit to temper it. He also grabbed harvic powder and onnin powder because they were such common seasonings, he felt like they must go with everything.


    Taking his stuff back to his station, he set it all out and took a deep breath to re-orient himself.


    What should I do first? Lus wondered, looking over everything in front of him.


    The obvious answer was to prep the vegetables. He grabbed a clean knife and a peeler from the well-stocked drawers under the counter.


    He washed and peeled the garoots, then chopped them into small, fairly even slices. He lifted them, ready to slide them into the bowl with the sprouts when another notification popped up.


    [Smaller-cut vegetables will cook at a different rate than whole sprouts]


    He nodded to himself. That certainly made sense, so instead of dumping the garoot slices in with the sprouts, he got a new bowl for them.


    Once he had washed and sliced the slerry, he dumped it in with the garoots. He was glad that he had started making the System recipes in single servings because otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have known how to handle preparing such a small amount of food.


    With the veggies cut, he glanced over his station again. Sauce first or cooking? he thought.


    [Sauce first]


    Lus breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed a clean knife and a small bowl. He first sliced up the nabra fruit, carefully cutting the fruit away from the small pit in the center before peeling off the thick, dark green skin. The flesh of the fruit was paler green and squishy.


    Dumping the slices into the bowl, he took a smasher and mashed it up. Once he had gotten it as broken down as he could, he took the bottle of Savory Sauce and poured some of the dark liquid over the pulverized fruit.


    With a metal whisk, he mixed it together quickly, trying to incorporate it. Instead of the smooth sauce he was hoping for, he found himself looking at Savory Sauce with unappetizing chunks of fruit floating in it.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    [Strain out the fruit]


    Strain it out? But wouldn¡¯t that remove the fruit completely? He shrugged and decided to do as the [Chef¡¯s Intuition] suggested. It wasn¡¯t as though he had any better ideas.


    Lus had to dig through one of the cupboards, but he finally found a strainer made from fine mesh. He held it over the sink and grabbed the bowl.


    [Place another bowl under the strainer]


    ¡°Right,¡± he said aloud with an embarrassed glance around. Thankfully, everyone else was far too busy with their own dishes to have noticed his near misstep. He grabbed another bowl and held the strainer over it, then dumped the sauce in.


    The mesh caught all the fruit pulp while the dark liquid streamed into the bowl underneath. Lus set aside the strainer of mush and grabbed a clean spoon to taste the sauce.


    He had expected it to just taste like Savory Sauce, but he could taste the sweet undertones of the nabra fruit. He smiled. It was actually surprisingly tasty.


    He added some of the ground harvic and onnin powders, then tasted again. It was even better with the added depth of the extra seasonings. Hopefully it would go well with the meat and vegetables.


    Now that he had the sauce ready, he needed to start cooking the other ingredients. Should I start with the meat or the veggies? He wondered, looking between them.


    [Brown the meat first]


    The System again came to the rescue, answering his question. With a small sigh of relief, Lus dumped the meat into a pan and set it on the stove.


    [Heat oil in pan first]


    Another notification interrupted before he could turn on the burner. He sighed and set aside the pan full of meat. Grabbing a clean pan, he set it on the stove and added some elsha oil, then turned up the heat.


    After he¡¯d given the oil a couple minutes to heat, he poured the raw meat chunks out of the other pan into the oil. They landed with a pleasant sizzle and he stirred them around until the outside of each chunk was browned.


    Now it¡¯s time to add the vegetables! he thought. Right?


    When no System notification popped up to correct him, he shrugged and dumped in the sprouts. Since they were so big, he assumed that they would need longer to cook than the smaller pieces of garoot and slerry.


    The sprouts sizzled and smoked a little. Lus was already reaching for the elsha oil when a notification popped up.


    [Add more oil]


    He tried to just splash in a bit, but it came out more quickly than he had expected. He frowned at the puddle of oil and used his spatula to push it around. He then stirred the sprouts, letting them soak up the oil.


    Hopefully this doesn¡¯t ruin them, he thought. He was trying hard not to let himself think about how badly he needed to succeed at this. If he failed, he wouldn¡¯t just be letting himself down, but the entire crew of the Argo.


    Shaking off the weight of his crew¡¯s expectations, he focused on the pan before him. As soon as the outside of the sprouts began to change color, he dumped in the slerry and garoot slices. They soaked up the rest of the oil nicely and he breathed a soft sigh of relief.


    He had only given the veggies a couple stirs before Chef Savannah called out that there were only five minutes left.


    He almost swore aloud, but managed to hold it in as he reached for the bowl of sauce, quickly dumping it in and hoping it would have time to heat through.


    Lus stirred the sauce around, trying to make sure all the meat and veggies were well-coated. There was more sauce than he probably needed and he decided he¡¯d drain some off before serving up the dish.


    The sauce started bubbling just as Chef Savannah called out the one minute mark. Lus grabbed a slotted spoon and used it to scoop generous helpings of meat and veggies into the bowls they had been given to serve in.


    He glanced over the final product and frowned. It looked a little dry, so he picked up a non-slotted spoon and added a little of the sauce on top.


    Just as he decided he was done, a notification popped up.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 50]


    [Level Up: Level 6 -> Level 7]


    Lus felt a strong pull of temptation to check out his stats page and see what he¡¯d gotten, but a quick glance around the kitchen showed the others rushing to move their plates to a table in the middle of all the stations. There were numbers corresponding to their stations, marking where each chef was supposed to set their finished dish.


    Blinking away the screen, he grabbed his two bowls and carried them over. He reached the table at the same time as the Nemarian who had been such a jerk in line.


    While Lusac felt a strong urge to race and set his bowls down first, he paused and let the Nemarian go first. He could just picture the dark orange bully intentionally bumping him and ruining his dishes before he could set them down and he couldn¡¯t risk that.


    As if the bully could read Lus¡¯ thoughts, he smirked and spent an extra while adjusting his bowls on the table. Glancing up at the clock that was nearly out of time, Lus sighed and made his way to his spot on the table, giving the Nemarian a wide berth.


    Once his bowls were set in their spot, he backed away. The others had returned to their stations, except the Nemarian, so Lus remained near the table, keeping a sharp eye on the bully to make sure he didn¡¯t do anything to sabotage anyone else.


    Thankfully, the bully seemed to realize that Lus was keeping watch on him and he slunk back to his station. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lus headed back to his station, stepping behind the table just as the timer rang through the kitchen.


    ¡°Everyone, stop what you¡¯re doing!¡± Chef Savannah called out. Lus glanced around again and found all the chefs standing rigidly at attention, their eyes fixed on the chef. He blinked and did the same.


    ¡°You will now each present your dish to me for tasting and questions. I will be going in a random order that was selected by one of my assistants. I do not tolerate complaints about placement.¡±


    ¡°Yes chef,¡± everyone answered. Everyone except Lus, who hadn¡¯t realized that she expected a response. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice his failure to respond.


    ¡°On my call, you will bring me one plate of your dish to taste. I will give my critique and ask any questions I might have. I expect you to be honest and respectful. There is no place in my kitchen for arguments.¡±


    Everyone answered in unison again, ¡°Yes Chef.¡± Lus managed to catch on just in time.

 Chapter 68: Taste Test

    ¡°You first,¡± Chef Savannah declared, motioning the single Kremel forward.


    He carried a steaming bowl of some kind of soup up to the podium where the Chef waited and set it before her.


    ¡°State your name and explain the dish,¡± the chef commanded.


    ¡°Mwrt. Ender Soup,¡± he answered simply.


    Chef Savannah picked up the accompanying spoon and stirred around in the soup.


    ¡°The smell alone is enough to make me nauseous,¡± she said tersely. The Human took a small sip of the broth. ¡°This is disgraceful. I can¡¯t believe you would even call this food.¡±


    The Kremel frowned, his large ears lowering as well as he and his bowl went back to his station.


    ¡°Now you,¡± Chef Savannah pointed at the Nemarian man who had attempted to bully Lusac out of line. He approached her with his dish in both hands, almost like an offering to a god.


    ¡°Biquf-Hast. I created Steak Hash for you today, Chef,¡± he said with a charming smile.


    Chef Savannah didn¡¯t bother grinning back as she scooped up a bite of the food before her. She chewed it thoughtfully, her head nodding just slightly. Once she swallowed, she looked back to the creator of the dish.


    ¡°This is garbage. You call this food? I wouldn¡¯t feed this to my dog, much less the Senator.¡± Her face remained even as she spoke the insults, not showing even a hint of anger.


    ¡°S-sorry, Chef. I promise this isn¡¯t representative of my abilities,¡± Biquf-Hast stammered. ¡°I-I-¡±


    ¡°Get back to your station, and take this trash with you,¡± Chef Savannah cut him off before he could apologize further.


    The Nemarian¡¯s fins drooped as he took his plate back and returned to his cooktop. The Chef then called up his Human friend.


    ¡°Verx Smithson,¡± she said with a dip of her head as she put her plate before the judge. ¡°I created Grilled Prak with a hint of paral. Fit for a king.¡±


    Chef Savannah did not seem to share the sentiment as she almost immediately spit her bite back out. ¡°Fit for a king of crap maybe. This is an abomination.


    Verx reached to take her plate back with anger in her eyes, but Chef Savannah grabbed it before she could and tossed everything on the floor.


    ¡°That¡¯s all this dish is good for anyway,¡± the Chef said, watching the woman with careful eyes.


    The Human backed up with curled fists, but she said nothing more to the Chef.


    ¡°You,¡± Chef Savannah pointed to Fresa-Ersht.


    Lus watched his new friend gulp heavily as she took her bowl in her hands and walked up to the judging podium. Her maroon fins were stiff, signaling her intense discomfort.


    ¡°Fresa-Ersht. I also created Steak Hash, like Biquf-Hast,¡± she said quietly.


    Chef Savannah¡¯s face remained as hard as before, even with Fresa cowering before her. The woman took a slow, thoughtful bite and swallowed it, which was a step up from the last one.


    ¡°Horrible. Flavorless, chewy, and almost inedible,¡± Chef Savannah said. ¡°Get this out of my sight.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chef. Sorry, Chef,¡± Fres replied as she took the bowl back in her hands and retreated to the cooking station.


    And then there was only one who hadn¡¯t presented their dish: Lusac. His heart thumped in his ears as Chef Savannah pointed at him and gestured him forwards. Holding his plate of food, Lus approached her and set the dish on the podium.


    ¡°Lus Andrews,¡± he said, giving the fake identity the Runners had drummed up for him. ¡°I made a Stirfry.¡±


    Chef Savannah stared at the mixture of vegetables and meat, and from what Lus could tell, she was not impressed. She took a bite without commenting on the presentation, much to Lus¡¯s relief. She even swallowed it, which was a sign it wasn¡¯t quite as horrible as he expected.


    ¡°The meat is cut and cooked unevenly, the sprouts are underdone. How dare you put something this awful before me and call it food. You are an insult to the art of cooking.¡± Chef Savannah¡¯s brown eyes bore into his soul as she spoke, challenging him to say something in return.


    ¡°I know, Chef. I recognize that this is a low quality dish, and I apologize that I am unable to do better,¡± Lusac answered stiffly.


    ¡°You hesitated to raise your hand when I asked who could cook,¡± she noted, keeping him up longer than anyone else.


    ¡°Yes, Chef. I believe that cooking is a skill that takes a lot of practice to develop, and I¡¯m still working on mastering it. I would never go so far as to call myself a chef, especially not to someone of your level,¡± Lusac said.


    ¡°Flattery won¡¯t get you a job,¡± Chef Savannah warned.


    ¡°It¡¯s called honesty,¡± Lus replied as he once again met her stone cold eyes.


    There was a hint of amusement there, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether that was a good thing or not.


    ¡°Get this abomination away from me,¡± she said coolly.


    Lusac was more than happy to comply as he took his bowl and returned to his station as Chef Savannah started to pace in front of the five applicants.


    ¡°Unfortunately you lot represent the last five options to fill the remaining line cook positions. I think I might actually prefer to have a wranntil in the kitchen over one of you five, but that¡¯s not how fate would have it.¡± She stopped abruptly. ¡°Mrwt, Verx, Biquf-Hast.¡±


    Everyone held their breaths as they waited to see if they were the group being hired or sent away.


    ¡°Out of my kitchen. I have no place for talentless creaturees like you.¡± Chef Savannah pointed to a different door than the one they used to enter, and all three slowly plodded away. Biquf-Hast shot one last murderous glare at Lus and Fresa as they stood behind their stations.


    ¡°As for you two,¡± Chef Savannah turned to them once the door safely slammed behind the other three. ¡°I can¡¯t say you¡¯re the talent I was hoping for, but I do see some potential in what you managed to create. You¡¯ll take turns being in the kitchen, studying under me and the real cooks, and the other times working as serving staff. Being able to present a dish is just as important of a skill as being able to make it. Are there any questions?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°No, Chef,¡± they said in unison. Lusac couldn¡¯t help feeling some reminders of his time in training with the Corporate military with the way this woman ordered them around.


    ¡°Good. Now I¡¯d like to have a private conversation with each of you about your previous experience and goals going forward. Fresa-Ersht, you first. Lus, go back to the waiting room until I send for you,¡± the Chef directed them.


    Lus did exactly as he was instructed, still in shock about the fact he¡¯d been selected. Maybe his cooking wasn¡¯t as bad as he thought.


    Back in the waiting room, the only line that remained was that for the cleaning staff, though a few others stood near doors in a similar situation to Lus. One of them was Vlqtrn, though Lus did a doubletake to ensure that it was his friend since he¡¯d never seen the Kremel dressed up so nicely.


    Vlqtrn glanced around before coming to stand by Lus and speak softly in what would appear to be a casual conversation.


    ¡°Did you get in then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m working as a cook and waiter,¡± Lusac answered. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°A technician overseeing the private quarters tech,¡± Vlqtrn replied. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure until we get into the servant quarters, but I think we might be the only ones.¡±


    ¡°They turned Cewi-Bano away?¡± Lus said in disbelief. She was a top sniper. Who wouldn¡¯t want her on their security team.


    Vlqtrn shook his head. ¡°I saw both her and Dasht get sent out. I haven¡¯t seen Prwls since this morning, so she might be joining us.¡±


    ¡°I hope so. Having just two would make this difficult,¡± Lus groaned.


    A door opened, and Vlqtrn straightened. He slapped Lus¡¯s back. ¡°Good luck to you, Human. I suppose I¡¯ll be seeing you around.¡±


    ¡°Bye,¡± Lusac waved back as Vlqtrn walked away to speak with some supervisor.


    Only a minute later, the door to the kitchen area opened and Lus went back in to speak with Chef Savannah.


    With some of the nerves of the interview and cooking competition gone, he could more fully appreciate the middle-aged woman who carried herself with a strong sense of purpose. She had light brown skin, dark brown hair pulled into a low bun, and a curvy figure.


    ¡°Lus Andrews,¡± she greeted him. The holoscreen in front of her held his fake resume. ¡°Not much cooking experience listed here.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lus agreed. ¡°I¡¯ve worked as a part-time cook for a few months now, but I haven¡¯t gotten many chances to cook outside of that.¡±


    ¡°So what makes you a good fit for this role?¡± She glanced up to him, and he got the feeling that he still wouldn¡¯t have the job unless he pulled this interview off.


    ¡°Well I can cook, sort of,¡± he said flatly. ¡°I¡¯m really good at cooking for a large number of people since, in my past job, I made dinner for a group of fifty by myself.¡±


    ¡°We focus on quality, not quantity here,¡± Chef Savannah replied.


    ¡°Oh, right. Well, uh, I want to learn how to cook better. I¡¯m mostly self-taught, but I¨C¡±


    ¡°And where in your self teaching did you learn how the Smou Stirfry Technique correctly?¡± the chef interrupted him.


    ¡°Um, right. Yeah¡­¡± Lus¡¯s voice drifted off. He had no idea what she meant. Everything he did came from his [Chef¡¯s Intuition], but he wasn¡¯t sure he was supposed to admit to having a system since being a [Chef] was a pretty strong identifier that could tie back to his real identity.


    ¡°Well?¡±


    Screw it. The crew knew he had a system, but it wasn¡¯t common knowledge, and if it meant he could get this job, that was probably important enough to warrant spilling that kind of detail. Vlqtrn would need help, and with Cewi and Dasht both for sure out, that left Lus and Prwls, the latter of which wasn¡¯t even officially part of the mission crew and likely wouldn¡¯t be of much help in this case.


    ¡°I have a [Chef] class and with it a [Skill] called [Chef¡¯s Intuition] which helps me when I cook,¡± Lusac said after settling his own internal debate.


    Chef Savannah smiled. ¡°I thought as much.¡±


    ¡°You did?¡± Lus didn¡¯t even try to keep the surprise from his tone.


    ¡°Why else would I have taken you on? Your dish was not very good, and you lack any kind of confidence. But the way you cooked hinted that there was something else going on,¡± she explained. ¡°My mother is a [Chef], so I¡¯m familiar with how the system works for that [Class].¡±


    Lusac nodded, though inside his own head he was screaming at himself. He wasn¡¯t a regular [Chef], not since his system came from Leviathan. If he wasn¡¯t careful, she might discover that fact and then this whole thing would blow up in his face in an even worse way than he originally imagined. ¡°Fresa, is she also a [Chef]?¡±


    ¡°No. She just has genuine talent.¡± Chef Savannah rolled her eyes while making notes on the holotablet before her. ¡°What level are you?¡±


    ¡°Only a level 7,¡± he answered. ¡°I got the system when I first became a cook on the ship.¡±


    ¡°The merchant ship you were a part of before coming here,¡± the Chef filled in the rest from the fake resume and backstory he¡¯d provided.


    ¡°Yeah. I only cooked dinner so I could only get so much [XP].¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great for only a few months,¡± she confirmed. ¡°Now about your experience with serving food? Any waiting in your past?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lusac confessed. ¡°Besides going to restaurants and being waited on.¡± He smiled, but Chef Savannah¡¯s lips didn¡¯t turn upwards one bit.


    She wrote down a few more things. ¡°Alright. I think that¡¯s everything I wanted to ask. Any other questions for me?¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°Great.¡± Chef Savannah held her hand out. ¡°Welcome to the kitchen staff of Senator Grwltn.¡± She gestured to a third door that was different from the one he entered in and the one those who failed to qualify used to exit. ¡°Go through there and someone will get you set up in the servant quarters. There will be a general training this afternoon and then tomorrow we¡¯ll start the kitchen training. See you then.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Chef,¡± Lusac said as he stood up, relief flooding his body. The hardest part was over. All he had to do was survive a couple of weeks while finding time to gather intel, and then he¡¯d be back on the Argo with Avil in no time.


    Lus stepped through the door into another busy room where all the new hires were waiting to get their room assignments. It was a long line, but Fresa was already in it and waved for him to join her, much to the displeasure of those waiting behind her. Lusac ignored their complaints as he went to stand by her.


    The floors were the same wood as before, but the walls bore a simple wallpaper that livened things up considerably. Lusac once again questioned what this space would be used for once the interviews were all complete.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Fresa asked him.


    ¡°I seem to have passed,¡± he laughed. ¡°How was it for you? Was there a lot she wanted to grill you on?¡±


    ¡°Grill, ha, that¡¯s funny,¡± Fresa said. ¡°And no, not really. It was just going over my resume.¡±


    They both stepped forward several feet as the line jumped ahead suddenly.


    ¡°There are a ton of staff being hired. Do they really need all these people for the Senator?¡± Lusac wondered aloud.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s just the Senator staying here,¡± Fresa said. ¡°It¡¯ll be his whole family, including his parents and siblings and their families, plus all the inner personnel for his campaign and office. Honestly, this is probably a small number of servants for that kind of group.¡±


    ¡°You seem to know a lot about this stuff. Have you worked this kind of job before?¡±


    Fresa glanced ahead. ¡°Sort of. Something like that.¡±


    Before Lus could ask her further about her vague answer, a notification popped up.


    [New Quest Unlocked!]


    [Manor of Secrets]


    [Description: discover all the secrets surrounding you]


    [Time limit: None]


    [Reward: 500 XP, New Recipe]


    Secrets, huh? Fresa-Ersht clearly had something she was hiding, and as much as he wanted that sweet, sweet [XP] now, he recognized that it wouldn¡¯t be that easy.


    ¡°Hopefully that general training today isn¡¯t too boring. I feel like all I¡¯ve done today is stand around,¡± Lusac said to change the subject.


    ¡°Ugh, I know what you mean. I could really go for a chance to swim. They¡¯ll have pools for the Nemarians, right? Like that¡¯s just a given if you¡¯re going to hire Nemarian staff.¡± Fresa shuffled on her feet as if the idea of not having access to a body of water made her nervous. Lus supposed that if she¡¯d grown up on Quosh, she probably had never gone long without the chance to submerge herself and lean into her aquatic features.


    ¡°Maybe. But I wouldn¡¯t worry about it. There were plenty of Nemarians on my last ship, and they survived without swimming,¡± Lus assured her.


    ¡°Right. Of course,¡± Fresa said.


    The line moved again and Fresa ended up getting to go before Lusac. They agreed to meet up again after getting settled, and she left him behind. As she walked with the others to the door to the quarters, Lus¡¯s smile faded as a familiar and unwanted sensation returned.


    His [Sixth Sense] was going off. There was something in the room with him that he couldn¡¯t see.

 Chapter 69: Bunkmates

    Lusac did a careful scan of the room. Not that he expected to see anything, obviously, but because some part of him remembered all too well the Shaquine back on Aschir Alpha and the Argo, and he had to be absolutely sure that what he was dealing with this time was not the same thing.


    After a thorough examination of the still busy space, Lus was fairly confident that it was not a Shaquine setting off his [Sixth Sense], but something more normal. It disappeared in the next minute, and he told himself that it was just some security guard using [Invisibility] to scout around in the quarters and check out the new hires without drawing suspicion. The thought wasn¡¯t the most comforting since it meant the Senator might already be on the lookout for people who were infiltrating the ranks of his house staff for some nefarious purpose, aka, people exactly like Lus and Vlqtrn.


    Thinking of the Kremel, Lus hoped he would get the chance to see his friend soon and warn him about his theory. Another glance around the line confirmed that Vlqtrn was nowhere in the vicinity so that would have to wait. Hopefully the tech-guru wouldn¡¯t accidentally give himself away before Lus got a chance to speak with him.


    Lusac¡¯s whirlwind of worries was interrupted by someone coming to escort him and the other four upper queuers into the quarters to get them set up with rooms and everything. He tried to seem at ease as he followed the escorting Nemarian out of the waiting room.


    It was the same wooden floors and white walls as they went, though this hallway was rather short before coming to a set of stairs down. From there they entered a maze of corridors, all full of doors leading to rooms to be shared by the various servants. Apparently Senator Grwtln was generous in putting ¡°only four¡± people to a room, but for someone like Lus who¡¯d had his own space while on the Argo, it seemed rather cramped.


    They were divided only by gender, so Lusac ended up taking the last bed in a room which already held two Kremel and a Nemarian. Since he was the final occupant, he ended up with the least desirable position, right next to the door.


    The room did have carpet instead of wood floors, but it was short and prickly while the walls were cement. Instead of a window, it had a permanent holoscreen displaying a fake outside view on the wall opposite from the door with lofted beds lining the other two walls. Under the beds were a combo wardrobe/dresser and a small desk with an uncomfortable chair. After marking his bed, Lusac was taken to get a set of uniforms and an identification card.


    The work uniforms were all fairly similar, light red in color with a collared shirt and stiff pants that would pass as professional wear for any of the species in the Collective. Lusac was given five sets, one for each day of work, and then taken to the photo booth to get his chip scanned and a special card given to him that would mark him as part of the staff. As a security measure, it would be used alongside his chip to grant him access to the mansion at all. Losing it also meant a dock in pay.


    Lus had finally gotten his id chip fixed so it displayed a proper fake identity instead of the elderly Kremel woman from the prank, so there were no problems going through this final layer of security.


    After getting his card, he was given a holochip that contained the entire employee handbook on it with a strong warning to read it, and then they dismissed him to return to his room to unpack. Instead, Lus ducked through the hallways in hopes of bumping into Vlqtrn so he could inform his friend about what happened back in the line and see if there was an update on the status of the other Runners.


    It took several wrong corridors and randomly knocked on doors until he stumbled across the Kremel who was happily chatting away with some bunkmates. He looked more than a little perturbed at Lus¡¯s interruption, but he followed him out into the hallway anyway.


    ¡°What is it, Lus? This had better be important. You¡¯re making us look bad,¡± the Kremel warned.


    ¡°My [Sixth Sense] went off while I was waiting to get my room assignment. I¡¯m worried that they have people watching us in secret. I also got a strange [Quest] in regards to the manor having secrets. Be careful,¡± Lus explained simply.


    Vlqtrn blinked his orange eyes in surprise. ¡°Your [Sixth Sense]? The thing that warned you about the Shaquine back at the mines and the Argo?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Do you know if Prwls made it in? If so, we need to warn her. And you¡¯re absolutely positive Cewi-Bano and Zer-Dasht failed? Because they should also know this if they¡¯re going to be around.¡±


    The Kremel nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll know for sure at the general training this afternoon, but I¡¯ll double check. As far as I can tell, it¡¯s just you and I who made it in.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Lusac replied. ¡°Stay sharp. I¡¯ll give you any updates I figure out about the [Invisibility] and the [Quest].¡±


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s try to meet tomorrow sometime, but in a less obvious manner. I don¡¯t want people thinking we¡¯re buddies,¡± Vlqtrn said.


    ¡°Roger that. Good luck.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    Lus turned away and left Vlqtrn to his new friends. It was a bit difficult to track down his original room again, and it took more than double the time it should have thanks to the maze that was the quarters. When he walked in, he found the other three guys chilling in their desk chairs and chatting about what they did before coming here.


    ¡°Hey. New guy,¡± one of the Kremel greeted him. He was rather short for a Kremel, only six foot or so and had dark gray skin that might¡¯ve looked black under the right lighting. Lus estimated him to be young for Kremel, around 30 or so, not too long after they reached official adulthood. ¡°I¡¯m Frpl. This is Hwwnlv.¡± He gestured to the other Kremel who shared the same skin tone but was several years older and a few inches taller.


    ¡°And I¡¯m Swali-Shie,¡± the Nemarian said. He was the oldest of the four, middle-aged for his species. His scales were a deep shade of orange, similar to the fruit, and his fins were a strong indigo.


    ¡°Nice to meet you all. I¡¯m Lus Andrews,¡± Lusac replied as he shook hands with each.


    They all briefly reshared a bit about themselves. The two Kremel were brothers who¡¯d come from Anettol, one a groundworker and the other a security officer. The Nemarian was a cleaner. Lus kept up with his cover story of working on a merchant ship before seeking a chance to settle down in hopes of keeping away from the war.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°There are sack lunches being offered back in the common areas. You guys want to check them out?¡± Frpl asked as he stood from his chair. He was short enough that he could comfortably stand under the bed frame.


    Everyone agreed and followed him out of the room. The corridors were bustling with the other workers.


    ¡°Interesting that they house the workers at the mansion,¡± Lus noted. ¡°I¡¯d assume that it¡¯d be more economical to just let everyone fend for themselves for room and board.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but then you have unsightly apartments and things for us lower class,¡± Swali-Shie pointed out. ¡°Keeping us at the manor means the neighbor remains pristine.¡±


    Lus shook his head. ¡°Of course. I should have thought of that.¡±


    Back up the steps they arrived at the rooms which had been originally used for interviewing and organizing applicants to discover a more relaxed scene. Hwwnlv said furniture was supposed to be moved in at some point to create some spaces for everyone to relax. Lusac still couldn¡¯t believe the Senator needed this large of a group to serve around his mansion, but he recalled Fresa discussing just how many people would be living there. From what he could recall, the mansion was exceptionally huge, probably more than half the size of the Argo.


    They moved through the narrow room where Lus had only recently competed in the cooking hiring event to grab brown paper bags with food in them. Everyone got the same thing: a cured prak and charda cheese sandwich with kixi on the side. It wasn¡¯t great honestly, and Lus hoped that it wasn¡¯t representative of the quality of all the rest of the meals they¡¯d serve to the staff.


    Food in hand, the group of four returned to one of the other common rooms to try and find a place to eat. Things still weren¡¯t quite set up for this many people, but they were able to catch a large enough spot for all of them to sit down in the center of the room.


    While they ate, Swali-Shie started up a discussion about the professional hyperball league, something Lus only loosely followed. He didn¡¯t participate much since he was fairly less knowledgeable than his other three bunkmates.


    He was about halfway through his sandwich when it hit him again. His [Sixth Sense] activated. It was a quiet sensation, just the uncanny knowledge that someone or something he couldn¡¯t see was now in the room. Lus casually looked around as if lost in thought, getting a brief glance at the door his [Skill] directed him too, but all he saw was another group entering. He did a double take when he realized he recognized one of the Nemarians in it.


    Fresa-Ersht.


    She¡¯d just been leaving the last time his [Sixth Sense] activated. Was it mere coincidence that she was there this time too? Or was his new friend under investigation? If that were the case, that would be bad news for him, and he¡¯d have to nix their budding friendship before it could jeopardize his own mission.


    ¡°Lus?¡± Frpl asked, drawing his attention away from Fresa and whatever was triggering his [Sixth Sense].


    ¡°Huh? Sorry. Got distracted,¡± he said quickly as he shoveled another bite of kixi into his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I guess hyperball isn¡¯t really your thing,¡± Hwwnlv pointed out.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve always been more of a gladiatus guy,¡± Lus replied.


    ¡°Who¡¯s your gladiator?¡± Swali-Shie asked.


    Lus smiled. ¡°Ryker all the way. But if I¡¯m choosing a non-system fighter, I¡¯d have to say Bwnr is another good pick. In general, I¡¯ll watch any match that¡¯s bronze rank or above.¡±


    ¡°Ryker, really? I think you¡¯re just saying that since you¡¯re both Humans,¡± Frpl said before chomping the last bite of his sandwich.


    ¡°Yeah. Ryker¡¯s nothing compared to Lxt or even Wipov-Gad,¡± his brother confirmed.


    ¡°Lxt is way past her prime. I can¡¯t believe you two would even consider her in the same class as Wipov-Gad or Ryker,¡± Swali-Shie argued.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only seen the start of Ryker¡¯s abilities. He¡¯s the fastest leveler we¡¯ve seen in thirty years,¡± Lus added. With the sports debate drawing his attention, he was no longer wondering about Fresa or his [Sixth Sense], though the [Skill] remained active throughout the rest of his meal. It wasn¡¯t until he and the other three cleaned up their bags and left the room behind that he realized he could finally relax. As nice as the [Skill] was, it could be a real pain when he wanted to think about anything else while it was triggered.


    Hwwnlv suggested they all go get their seats at the training early, and since he didn¡¯t have anything else to do or anywhere else to go, Lusac went along with the two brothers and the Nemarian. The training was taking place outside to accommodate the large number of staff, and a huge field of chairs had already been set out. Almost a fourth were taken, but the four roommates were able to get a decent spot that was comfortable for everyone.


    Lusac once again silently cursed his ¡°fancy¡± coat as a breeze blew right through it. Swali-Shie seemed even less comfortable than him and was burying his face deep into the front of his coat to try and keep warm. As expected, the two Kremel were completely unperturbed by the cold.


    They ended up sitting there for another hour as the other new staff members filed out of the basement and into the chair field. All in all, Lusac estimated there were over a hundred and fifty of them, and even with Fresa¡¯s estimates, that meant there would be at least two servants per a regular household member. That kind of wealth used to be unfathomable to Lus. On Treft, rich used to mean having an ID chip and traveling to the resort moon in the system. But this kind of money? Lusac didn¡¯t think he could ever be this wasteful, even if handed a valer the size of a planet.


    He was sick of trying to force conversation with his three new bunkmates, and so it was a relief when the training finally started. Of course, to make matters worse, his [Sixth Sense] went off again, this time for multiple targets.


    Pretending to stretch, Lusac scanned the whole field to see what he could tell about the locations. Someone was off to the front of the stand where the heads of staff were presenting the training, and two more were on either side of the crowd of chairs. One last target was at the back, and when Lus looked back there, he noticed once more that Fresa was within view of where he estimated the [Invisible] person to be. She had to be wrapped up in this. Even at 1 [Common Sense], Lusac recognized that three times was too many times to be a coincidence.


    Knowing that she had [Invisible] people following her wasn¡¯t enough to complete his [Quest] unfortunately. With that in mind, he decided that he was going to have to do his own little investigation to figure out what was going on with her. He couldn¡¯t reveal how he knew she was being followed obviously, but he trusted his stealth skills to figure it out in other ways.


    As the different managers went over expectations of employees, including when they would be allowed to leave the mansion grounds and curfew, Lusac laid out his own plan for a subtle interrogation of Fresa alongside some following if necessary. The hours passed slowly with the people at the front able to conjure more words to describe the most basic rules than Lus could have imagined. Was there a reason they had to say ¡°rooms, including beds and desktops, are expected to keep to the same level of cleanliness and tidiness as the rest of the mansion¡± instead of ¡°clean your room and make your bed?¡±


    The worst part was that everything they said had about double the amount of words Lus thought necessary to convey the message. What should have taken perhaps an hour went on for three.


    Once it was finally over, the entire group seemed to heave one collective sigh of relief. But of course the managers couldn¡¯t just let them all go. Instead, they had to dismiss the crowd in groups to keep things ¡°orderly.¡±


    At last, Lusac and his bunkmates were free to go. They all planned to go back to the room to watch a hyperball match. Lus was eager to get his chance to speak with Fresa, but he decided to wait until kitchen training the next day. He didn¡¯t know where her room even was, and wandering the corridors in hopes of bumping into her seemed like a poor plan. And so Lus settled in for the evening to watch sports and hang out with his new friends while trying to figure out why Fresa was being watched and if it was going to impact his mission.

 Chapter 70: First Day on the Job

    The next morning, Lusac was awoken by a clanging alarm from one of the Kremel¡¯s holotablet. Hwwnlv had warned them that he could sleep through almost anything so his wake up alarms would be annoying, but Lus hadn¡¯t expected it to be this loud. The beeping seemed to vibrate through his whole skull. And worst of all, Hwwnlv was still managing to sleep through it. Luckily Frpl woke up and grumpily punched his brother awake before turning the alarm off.


    Lus sat up and stretched, already disliking sharing a room. He¡¯d do anything to be back on the Argo with his private quarters and Avil. The noise from the hallway warned that it would be a battle to get space in the bathroom, so, with a sigh, Lus dropped down from his bunk, changed into his new uniform, grabbed his toiletries, and made his way into the chaos.


    Despite having so many employees, the Senator had made sure to prepare his staff quarters to handle them all, so it turned out there was more than room for everyone to get some space in the bathroom, and Lusac easily grabbed a sink to brush his teeth and do his hair.


    The red uniform for all the house staff reminded him of a formal version of what he wore with the Runners, but he disliked the small range of motion the tight sleeves provided. He couldn¡¯t even lift his hands all the way above his head in the tightly woven button-down, and the pants were so stiff he would never be able to properly run. Of course, this uniform was designed for fashion, not function, so he¡¯d just have to hope he wouldn¡¯t ever have need of things like running or fighting while he was wearing it.


    His three roommates were all taking their time getting ready, but Lusac had something important to do before training if he could manage it, so he said a brief goodbye as he deposited his toothbrush and hair gel back on his desk before leaving them behind again.


    A rumbling in his stomach reminded him he still needed breakfast as well. The corridors became less crowded as he left behind the rooms and approached the general common areas, and it wasn¡¯t until he stepped into one of the open rooms that he realized just how claustrophobic he¡¯d felt in the overflowing corridors.


    The line for breakfast was short due to the quickness with which everyone received their bowl of oratmeal and berries. It was far from what Lus would normally eat in the morning, but he was hungry enough to take whatever they would give him. Since he worked in the kitchen, he¡¯d probably be able to sneak something better down the line anyway.


    Lusac chose to eat by himself at one of the newly placed tables in the room. Almost everyone else grouped up, but he didn¡¯t feel like meeting more people, especially when he was only going to be here for a few weeks.


    The good news was that being alone finally gave him the chance to look at his system in peace. He pulled up the home screen and was presented with an updated list of stats.


    [Stamina: 8]


    [Intelligence: 10]


    [Strength: 8]


    [Charm: 8]


    [Health: 11]


    [Speed: 10]


    [Common Sense: 1]


    [Luck: 14]


    [Intelligence], [Charm], [Health], [Speed], and [Luck] all went up by 1. He was a little disappointed that he didn¡¯t level up his [Common Sense] still, but turned his focus to his next task.


    Navigating to the [Skills] tab, he discovered a new option in addition to three from before. [Dash] and [Sixth Sense] were already purchased, leaving [Night Sight] and [Unfailing Feet] as the two purchasable options. Neither seemed very applicable to his current mission, so he was going to wait and see if anything changed. He didn¡¯t bother looking at the [Recipes] since he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to make anything that special while he was here.


    Lus swiped away the screen and returned to his food, nervous about his first day of training. The oratmeal was about as bland as he expected, and the berries were a little mushy, but it filled him up, which was all he could ask for. After he dropped his dirty dishes off, he made his way to the stairs which lead up into the actual mansion, a place he had yet to go.


    The steps were wooden but made out of a nicer plank material than the other floors he¡¯d seen. While the walls were the same bland shade of beige, they were spread out a little more, making the stairwell feel wide and free compared to the corridors of the servant wing despite the standard dimness of the overhead lights. It was a long set of stairs, however, stretching well over three stories before Lusac reached the top with only two landings for when the stairs changed direction. He could hear a few others starting up the steps as he reached the last flight.


    When he exited, Lusac had to blink back tears from the brightness of the hallway he stepped into. One wall had about a dozen arch shaped windows in it, all beaming with morning sun, and the white paint reflected it all around the intricate architecture of the mansion. Paintings hung on the opposite wall, and a few tables with decorative items were spread out underneath them. It could have been a museum for the variety of objects displayed, and that was in this one hallway alone.


    Above him, two hanging lights, fancier than anything Lus saw below, provided additional lighting to the already well-lit space. It was hard to believe that this home belonged to a Kremel since they typically liked things on the dimmer side.


    ¡°And you are?¡± someone said, drawing Lusac¡¯s attention from the majesty of the manor.


    He turned to find a Kremel woman dressed in a similar style uniform, but with a nice overcoat that signified a much higher position than his.


    ¡°Name?¡± she asked, her orange eyes flicking down to the holoscreen in her hands.


    ¡°Lus Andrews,¡± he answered, barely remembering to use his proper fake name. At least they gave him something similar to his real name so it was easy to remember. In Vlqtrn¡¯s case, he had to use a completely different name¨Csomething like Flq that was similar, but distinct.


    ¡°Ah, a kitchen boy,¡± she said after typing it in. ¡°Down this hall, take a left, and then it''s the door at the end of the next hallway.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lusac said. He didn¡¯t actually need the directions since he¡¯d memorized the map of the manor as part of his training. Not out of duty for this new job, of course, but in order to be prepared for his real assignment as a Runner. Tracking down the artifact might end up being easy if the Senator had it out on display like so many of his other pieces which lined the hallways as decorations.


    He followed the steps she provided but walked slowly once he was out of her sight. More employees were filtering out of the stairwell, and he was hopeful one of them might be Fresa-Ersht.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    His 14 [Luck] once again favored him, and his [Sixth Sense] started going off which meant Fresa couldn¡¯t be far off. He decreased his pace even further, praying that she would hurry. He didn¡¯t want to just stand around the hallway looking lost while he waited for her, but walking this slow made him look a little suspicious as well.


    Strolling along the next hallway which was as ornate as the first, Lusac took his time studying each painting or sculpture as he passed it, pretending to be an art critic. So far, almost all the pieces ranked at least 5 on his 1-10 scale. The Senator had good taste. None of them resembled what they were after, but the mansion was so blasted big, tracking it down could take several days if not weeks.


    ¡°Lusac, wait up,¡± a cheery voice called out when he was about halfway down the corridor, and he smiled. It was about time. Now the interrogation could begin.


    ¡°Hi, Fresa,¡± he said, turning to greet her. Her maroon fins almost seemed to glow in the well-lit hallway, and Lus had to admit that she was pretty, for a Nemarian.


    ¡°Are you ready for our training?¡± she asked him as she fell into step with him.


    Lusac¡¯s [Sixth Sense] grew even stronger, and he was aware of at least two people close by, walking only a few feet behind them.


    ¡°I guess. How tough do you think Chef Savannah will be?¡± he replied.


    Fresa shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s made quite a name for herself as a private chef amongst a lot of other important figures. I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯ll be easy.¡±


    Lus mentally prepared himself before speaking his next words, choosing each carefully to keep things as casual as possible. ¡°You seem to know a lot about the workings of political staff. Where did you learn it all?¡±


    His companion¡¯s step slowed for a moment before picking up with their usual pep, even if it was a bit more forced. ¡°Oh, you know. Just part of growing up on Quosh.¡±


    ¡°Were your parents part of a politician¡¯s staff there?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said simply, her voice a little less inviting.


    ¡°Ah. So they were part of the underground workers then, right?¡± Quosh was known for keeping the ¡°undesirable¡± parts of running a society hidden below the surface, which encompassed anyone who wasn¡¯t part of a powerful family or a member of a mansion¡¯s staff.


    ¡°No. Of course not,¡± she responded in a tone of poorly hidden disgust.


    A smile twitched on Lus¡¯s lips. She¡¯d just made a critical error. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but doesn¡¯t Quosh only have politicians, servants, and the lower class?¡±


    Fresa looked away from him, realizing her mistake. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make that promise if you tell the full truth, Fresa,¡± Lusac said.


    She pulled him to a stop alongside her. ¡°My mother is a Representative in the Galactic Legislature. I¡¯ve always wanted to be a chef, but I need real world experience if I¡¯m going to get there, not just schooling, so I¡¯m here to study under Chef Savannah.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised they sent you here by yourself. Shouldn¡¯t you have a bodyguard or someone to watch out for you?¡± Lusac pressed. She wasn¡¯t a regular suckling, but a true, pure-breed suckling who had never wanted for anything in her life. But that did mean she would be a good resource for the workings of the manor outside of the standard staff training. He just needed to be sure her guards wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Fresa shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s help nearby if I need it, but this is a safe job. I¡¯m not going to run into trouble, as long as nobody knows the truth.¡± She added that last part with a glare.


    ¡°They won¡¯t hear it from me. I swear.¡± Lusac made a motion of crossing his heart, a childhood symbol of taking a vow.


    The Nemarian watched him closely before nodding. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m trusting you with something very private, Lus. Don¡¯t screw this up.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± He knew just how serious of a threat it was, given that she had people with [Invisibility] trailing her at almost all times. But at least now he knew that it was about her, not the Runners, so the mission could continue on as planned, just maybe with a little more caution on his part. As long as he didn¡¯t give her or her secret guards a reason to suspect he was up to something, they wouldn¡¯t have any reason to interfere with his private life.


    He was disappointed, however, when no notification popped up confirming that he¡¯d completed his [Quest]. He learned Fresa¡¯s secret, so what else could it be?


    ¡°Good,¡± Fresa said. Her voice held an air of ¡®I¡¯m above you¡¯ that irked him, but he didn¡¯t dare comment on it.


    They continued back through the hallway with an air of tension hanging between them, and the [Invisible] guards right on their heels. Working with her was going to be annoying simply because it would trigger his [Sixth Sense] so much, which made it difficult to concentrate. He wistfully wondered if they might only be here for training and then leave her to fend for herself after that.


    As they walked, he recalled with a sinking heart that exact wording of the [Quest] description. ¡°Learn all the secrets surrounding you.¡± Fresa-Ersht was only the first of what was to come, meaning this might not be so easy after all.


    They didn¡¯t say anything, both lost in their own thoughts until they arrived at the kitchen. Inside, Lusac discovered something that looked right out of a really fancy restaurant. There were no windows, but the overhead lights were set to a bright setting, something that would be comfortable for Humans instead of Nemarians and Kremel. The walls were a bright, clean white with big, gray tiles on the floor.


    Two huge stoves waited along the far wall beside four different ovens. Two sinks took up one corner, and the majority of the space was filled with several large, silver counters. Pots, pans, knives, and any other kind of equipment a cook could ever need were neatly arranged inside open cabinets while the wall with the door they entered held an array of aprons and other wearable gear. Two grand doors stood by themselves at what could be considered the front of the kitchen. When they entered, they found two others already waiting there, a Kremel and a Nemarian.


    ¡°Lus Andrews and Fresa-Ersht?¡± the Kremel asked before they could make it more than a couple of steps. Lusac¡¯s [Sixth Sense] stopped triggering, so it appeared the [Invisible] guards would not be joining them inside, much to his relief.


    They both nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m Sous Chef Crrn. This is Majo-Deaber,¡± the Kremel explained. His green skin was the same shade as leaves during the height of summer, and his black hair was buzzed close, giving him something of a military feel. He stood well over seven feet tall and wore a clean, white apron over his red uniform.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you both,¡± Majo-Deaber said. ¡°Call me Majo.¡± He had indigo fins which were dark enough to look almost black, and his orange scales were pale, looking somewhat fleshy in tone.


    ¡°Everyone has assigned gear,¡± Crrn gestured to the aprons hanging on the wall. ¡°Get it on.¡±


    Lus immediately went over to it, found his personally labeled apron, and pulled it on. Fresa-Ersht did the same but in a slower manner, seeming to be a little more self-conscious.


    ¡°You alright?¡± he asked her quietly as he tied the strings behind his back.


    ¡°Yeah. Of course. Crrn just seems kind of bossy,¡± she whispered back.


    Lus chuckled. A suckling who¡¯d probably never been truly disciplined a day in her life. Watching her under someone like Chef Savannah was going to be a real show, that much was clear. Crrn was actually using a rather relaxed voice in his opinion, especially when compared with the likes of Yrqw back on the Argo.


    Another person entered the row, drawing his attention. She was a Kremel, but rather short for her gender and right around the same height as Crrn. Her skin was a mixture of gray and green, and she kept her head completely shaved.


    ¡°And this is Pltr, our final team member,¡± Crrn announced. ¡°I¡¯m Crrn, the Sous Chef. This is Majo-Deaber, Fresa-Ersht, and Lus Andrews.¡±


    Everyone welcomed her as Crrn gave her the same instructions he¡¯d given Lus and Fresa. Lus took the lead in going to stand by Majo, and Fresa followed him almost like a lost puppy. She¡¯d been so confident only a few minutes before, but that was all gone now.


    Pltr joined them where they stood only a minute later, and everyone was happily chatting away when the double doors burst open and Chef Savannah strode in. Instead of the straight black everyone else had, her uniform had a white collar with some white designs embroidered on the sleeves to signify that she was one of the chief staff members. She already wore an apron which again had a very clear signifier of her rank, and her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail.


    ¡°Good morning everyone,¡± she said.


    ¡°Good morning, Chef,¡± Crrn replied instantly. The others took the cue, and in unison, they all repeated it.


    Savannah smiled as she came to a stop in front of the line they¡¯d unintentionally formed.


    ¡°I hope you all got a good night¡¯s rest last night.¡± Her eyes scanned the line, the smile turning sadistic. ¡°You¡¯re going to need it.¡±

 Chapter 71: Kitchen Training

    Lus braved a quick glance to Fresa as Chef Savannah stared the kitchen staff down. His Nemarian friend looked a little queasy, her light purple scales losing some of their color. He wasn¡¯t worried about himself enduring whatever training the Chef was going to put them through, but he did have concerns about Fresa making it out in one piece given her delicate upbringing. But he didn¡¯t have time to waste fretting about her.


    ¡°We are going to go through three rounds of training in the kitchen this morning. Meal prep, cooking standards, and then clean up. I want everyone to take this seriously because how you do during this will determine which cooking shift you are put on. The better the performance, the better the meal assignment. Any questions?¡± Savannah paused for a moment, letting what she¡¯d said sink in before she moved on. ¡°Great. Station assignments have been randomized, so I don¡¯t want to hear any complaints.¡±


    She nodded to Crrn who stepped forward and spun to face the others.


    ¡°Lus will be on the produce prep, Fresa at mixing, Majo on marinade and sauces, and Pltr on meat,¡± he declared. ¡°Instructions are at each station. Chef Savannah and I will be watching you carefully and giving advice as needed. Let¡¯s see what you can do.¡±


    Lusac walked over to where he saw the heavy duty cutting boards waiting with Fresa only a step behind him since the mixing stand was right next to his. The other two cooks were at a separate counter across the room, leaving plenty of space for Crrn and Savannah to do their patrols.


    Cutting was probably one of Lusac¡¯s weaker points when it came to cooking, but he didn¡¯t think he would fare better at the other sections either. Honestly, he didn¡¯t know much about prep since he normally did all his cooking in one go. At most, he found time to cut up some vegetables to freeze or maybe section off some meat, but this was looking to be a little more intense.


    A holoscreen popped up as Lus stepped up to the counter displaying a long list of foods that needed to be cut including the size and amount of each.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have one hour to complete your tasks. You¡¯ll be graded on accuracy and efficiency. Make sure to be exact. We want to put only the best food forward,¡± Chef Savannah declared. ¡°Begin.¡±


    Lus started at the top of the list, pulling the bowl of garoots to the side of the cutting boards. He grabbed the peeler that was laying handily on the station already and began removing the skins. He almost dove right into slicing up the skinless, deep orange veggies, but a System notification stopped him.


    [Wash first]


    He sighed and ran the garoots under a stream of cool water, removing bits of skin and dirt. He then plopped them on the cutting board and removed the tops before carefully slicing them into thin, even slices.


    The slerry slices came next, then prootas that needed peeling and cubing. He did pretty well with all the familiar produce. Then his eyes froze on the next line on the list.


    ¡°What¡¯s a rubaggeta?¡± he whispered aloud before he could stop himself.


    [Rubaggeta: white and purple root vegetable with a subtle, sweet flavor and crunchy texture]


    With the helpful hint from his [Chef¡¯s Intuition], he found the box of round-ish vegetables with white and purple skin and fluffy green tops.


    Lus read the instructions again. Clean, peel, and thinly slice the rubagetta.


    He nodded and set to work, surprised at how easily the skin came off the strangely shaped roots.


    Finally, he had just one more item on the list. Clean and trim sprouts.


    Thankfully, he had already done this for his audition and it went quickly. He was just placing the last one in the new bowl when a beep sounded throughout the room, signaling the end.


    Lus glanced around and saw everyone stepping away from their stations, leaving whatever they¡¯d been working on undone.


    ¡°Crrn, go over positions for cooking while I grade the results,¡± Chef Savannah commanded.


    The Kremel motioned everyone to join him by the large, intermediate nitrobox. The screen turned on, revealing a map of the kitchen on one half and a recipe card on the other.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to be making this recipe for the employee lunch today. You¡¯ve already done the prepwork, but now we¡¯re going to actually put it all together. We¡¯ll be doing it the standard way, so here is everyone¡¯s assignments.¡± The Sous Chef pressed a point on the screen and names populated it, giving everyone a different station than before. ¡°Lus, you¡¯ll be on cooking the meat, Fresa on sauteeing the vegetables, Majo on sauce and bread, Pltr on fruit salad and organizing everything into heating bins for the golem to take outside to the eating area. Questions?¡±


    Nobody said anything, and Crrn dismissed them to their next station. As before, a holoscreen popped up with Lus¡¯s specific instructions at the stove where he would be cooking. Fresa was close by as well, looking more confident now that it wasn¡¯t just standing around and chatting.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have forty-five minutes to get this put together,¡± Chef Savannah announced. ¡°Time starts now.¡±


    The clock on the screen began counting down, and Lus launched into action, eager to make up for what he was sure the others would consider less-than-perfect cutting skills.


    He started by reading through the instructions. He had to cook the beautifully chopped chunks of raw kechin and season them with a pre-mixed bowl of spices. Because the bowl was so large, he decided to get two pans going, so he set them both on the stove, then grabbed the bottle of elsha oil, frowning at how light it was.


    Peering through the clear container, he realized that it was empty. There must be more in the pantry, he thought, turning to head that way.


    He nearly ran headlong into Fresa, who was on her way back from the pantry with a strange pot unlike any he¡¯d ever seen before. It looked like a large, metal bowl with handles. She dodged around him without a word, focused on her task.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Lus muttered, dropping his gaze from the pot and hurrying to the pantry. He returned with the oil and poured it in the pans, then turned on the heat and waited.


    When he felt like the oil was hot enough, he poured kechin into both pans, filling them as full as he dared and enjoying the sizzle. He still had at least half the meat left and he glanced at the clock, hoping he¡¯d have time to cook it all.


    He turned his attention back to the pans, stirring the meat around until it was all coated in the oil, then shook some of the seasoning mix out of the bowl over the meat. He didn¡¯t have any way to measure, so he just tried to estimate the right amount.


    He continued stirring, breathing in the delicious scent of the cooking meat and wondering what was in the seasoning mix.


    [Check the temperature]


    He had gotten so caught up in cooking, he¡¯d nearly forgotten that he still had a lot of kechin to cook. He scrambled around the station until he found a thermometer and quickly inserted it into a few of the pieces of meat.


    Once he was sure that everything was up to temp, he dumped the finished kechin into a large bowl. Then it was time to pour more oil into the pans and let them reheat, repeating the entire process.


    Lus had just moved the second batch of kechin to the bowl and poured the last of the raw meat into one pan when the timer went off, blaring through the kitchen.


    He turned off the burner and stepped back from the stove, glancing at Fresa who stood by her final pan of veggies. Sweat glistened on her scales as she sighed. Lusac understood the sentiment.


    ¡°Good job everyone. Let¡¯s finish up whatever¡¯s cooking or baking while Sinsha takes the food out,¡± Crrn suggested. As he spoke, the double doors opened to reveal a finely carved golem. It was made out of dark, red-tinted wood, and every part of it was smooth and sleek, obviously one of the more expensive models available, and nothing like the worn out golem used on the Argo.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Quietly it approached the counter where the auto heating bins waited and placed lids on all of them before stacking them in a precarious tower that Lus was sure would tip over at any moment. With skill unlike anything Lusac had seen even from the most advanced system users, Sinsha picked up the stack and carried it outside the kitchen, the stack not even wobbling as it walked.


    ¡°Lus, your kechin,¡± Fresa said, reminding him that he was still actively cooking. Shaking out of his mesmerment from the golem, he returned to the stove and ensured the last of the meat cooking thoroughly. Chef Savannah then directed them to take all the leftovers and seal them up for freezing.


    After they all finished with that, they returned to the line in the now messy kitchen.


    ¡°Our final task is cleaning up,¡± Chef Savannah announced, but she was interrupted by Pltr raising her hand.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what the golems are for?¡± she asked.


    Chef Savannah smirked. ¡°Typically, yes. But part of being a good chef is knowing how to properly maintain a kitchen without the help of a golem. Today everyone will participate in the clean up so you all learn the standards. After that, however, clean up will be relegated to the golem, assuming that is,¡± she glanced around with that same sadistic smile, ¡°everyone manages to produce food at the quality I require. On days when that standard is not met, you will all be responsible for paying the price by cleaning and doing the dishes. Understood?¡±


    ¡°I applied to cook, not clean,¡± Fresa muttered under her breath.


    Lus held back a smile. He¡¯d done his fair share of cleaning up while covering the breakfast shift on the Argo, so this didn¡¯t sound all too bad. Normally he had to do it alone, so splitting the work between four of them made this sound like a piece of cake.


    ¡°Glad we are all on board. Lus and Fresa will do dishes, Majo and Pltr will handle scrubbing the counters, stove, and ovens. No time limit this time, but the longer you take, the less likely it is that you¡¯ll get lunch,¡± Chef Savannah warned. ¡°The other employees will be going to eat in thirty minutes.¡±


    Pltr looked like she might explode from anger, and Fresa and Majo were both clearly boiling just under the scales, but Lusac didn¡¯t think it would take that long to clean if everyone would just put a little work into it. They couldn¡¯t be that tired already. Cooking wasn¡¯t that hard.


    ¡°Go ahead and get started,¡± the head chef said, motioning them away.


    Lus was quick to reach the sink and start the water running. It got hot fast, but he left it to run while he gathered up the dirty dishes strewn across the counters.


    ¡°You handle what¡¯s already there,¡± he informed Fresa as he walked away. She was clearly unimpressed, but Lus ignored it to focus on getting the task done.


    When he returned with a pile of dirty pans, she had only just begun to scrub the first of the cutting boards, her hands hesitant in their motions. Lusac shook his head as he deposited the pans and pulled the first load of dishes into his sink.


    A little elbow grease later, he¡¯d finished all of his pile while Fresa was only a quarter of the way through hers. He¡¯d even intentionally given himself more of the dishes, but somehow this suckling couldn¡¯t even manage to pull part of her share.


    With a sigh, Lus looked over his shoulder to see that the other two were both still hard at work with their cleaning, but the counters were looking mighty shiny. Of course it was Fresa who was going to hold them all up.


    ¡°Let me help with that,¡± Lusac said as he reached to pull some items from her pile.


    ¡°I can handle it,¡± she snarled, swatting his hand away.


    ¡°None of us get out of here until this is done. I¡¯m not going to stand here waiting an hour for you to finish with something that should already be done,¡± he said.


    ¡°We¡¯re a team, Fresa,¡± Majo added from the nearest counter. ¡°All that matters is we get this done.¡±


    Fresa-Ersht continued to glare at Lusac, but she didn¡¯t stop him when he pulled half her pile to his sink and started washing them. The embarrassment must have encouraged her to hurry a little more since they both finished their remaining dishes around the same time.


    Lusac turned the water off and looked around to see that Majo and Pltr were standing at the center of the kitchen, waiting for Chef Savannah to finish her inspection of their work. Crrn came over to the sinks.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to check a few of these just to be sure you guys were thorough,¡± he explained. ¡°Wait with the others.¡±


    Lus and Fresa joined their two new friends at the center of the kitchen, all of them nervously watching as their superiors went over the kitchen.


    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure how this is training. It feels more like they threw us right into the job,¡± Majo whispered.


    ¡°Learn by doing,¡± Lusac replied.


    The other two didn¡¯t say anything as Chef Savannah came over to them, her face impossible to read.


    She shook her head slowly. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed, though I should have expected this.¡± She motioned to the counters. ¡°This isn¡¯t even close to clean. You¡¯ll have to try again.¡±


    ¡°B-but,¡± Majo stammered. He stopped when Chef Savannah turned her fierce gaze to him. ¡°Yes, Chef,¡± he said, ducking his head.


    ¡°Some of these dishes still have bits of food on them,¡± Crrn added in from over by the sinks. ¡°Why don¡¯t we let Majo and Pltr have a go at dishes and put Lus and Fresa on counters to see if they can finish it off properly.¡±


    ¡°Good idea, Crrn. Get to work everyone. The other employees are already eating, and from what I¡¯ve heard, it¡¯s going fast. In fact, Crrn and I are going to go get our share now while there¡¯s still something available to eat.¡± Chef Savannah nodded to her sous chef, and together they left the kitchen and their underlyings behind.


    Pltr had plenty to say about that, but she murmured it so quietly, no one else could understand it. She and Majo went to the sinks to sift through dishes and determine which ones needed to be rewashed. If Lus had to guess, most of them came from his companion¡¯s side, not his.


    Fresa was simmering with frustration as she and Lus went to pick up rags and buckets of clean water.


    ¡°This is ridiculous. This has nothing to do with learning to cook,¡± Fresa-Ersht said as she got to scrubbing alongside Lus.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Like Chef Savannah said, we need to know all aspects of keeping a kitchen,¡± Lusac replied. ¡°I know that back on the merchant ship I cooked on, I had to do my share of cleaning around the kitchen after meals. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a golem to do it all.¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t intend to ever waste my time cooking in a place that won¡¯t even provide a basic necessity like cleaning golems,¡± Fresa bit back.


    Lusac rolled his eyes. ¡°Whatever you say, suckling.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    ¡°You called yourself that only yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I said it. You don¡¯t get to address me that way,¡± Fresa informed him.


    Lus held in another eyeroll. Learning Fresa-Ersht¡¯s secret turned out to be the worst thing he could have done for their budding friendship. Now that he knew she was a politician¡¯s daughter, she expected him to treat her like one, and that was not something he was eager to do.


    ¡°Okay. Fine. Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this done so we can get some food. I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    Fresa didn¡¯t say anything more to him as she wiped up at the counters which seemed immaculate in Lus¡¯s opinion. How was he supposed to clean these better when they were already pristine? He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Chef Savannah was just doing this to force everyone to take a turn at each cleaning position, but regardless, he kept wiping away the imaginary grime.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what Crrn was talking about. All of these dishes are clean,¡± Majo said. ¡°Why do we have to rewash them?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just being mean,¡± Pltr added. ¡°This is a waste of our skills.¡±


    ¡°Come on, guys. Just get it done. It¡¯s really not a big deal to clean a little,¡± Lusac said. He had moved on to cleaning the stove tops, where he did find a little grease that the previous two had missed.


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing this anymore. This is already clean. I¡¯m going to get food,¡± Fresa declared.


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯m not going to keep wasting my time,¡± Majo agreed.


    ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± Pltr said as she turned off the water.


    Lus stopped for a minute as he thought about what to do. He was hungry, and it did seem wasteful to keep scrubbing counters that had nothing to be scrubbed away, but if the others left him behind, he might have a chance to explore more of the mansion and see what he could find out about the artifact.


    ¡°You guys go. I¡¯m going to finish up,¡± he said, internally wincing at how morally superior he sounded.


    ¡°Suck up,¡± Majo said. He led the way out of the kitchen, but just as they exited the double doors, they reentered.


    ¡°C-chef Savannah,¡± Pltr stuttered as the head chef and sous chef rejoined them all in the kitchen. ¡°We thought you went to get food.¡±


    ¡°I decided to make sure the cleaning was going to get done first,¡± she said coolly. ¡°Lus, stop what you¡¯re doing and join us over here.¡±


    Mentally cursing their bad luck, he did as he was told and stood next to Majo.


    ¡°Lus, since you followed orders, you can go get lunch. These three can finish up,¡± Chef Savannah said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind helping,¡± Lusac replied. Getting special treatment was going to make the others dislike him, and being singled out was bad for his cover.


    ¡°Go,¡± she commanded, and his Runner training had him following it before he could think on it.


    As the doors behind him shut, he heard Chef Savannah start tearing into the others with a bitterly angry voice, and he winced a little. At least he would have a little time to explore the mansion by himself now. He had only made it down part of the hallway when his [Sixth Sense] triggered ahead of him.


    Figuring it was one of Fresa¡¯s guards staying close by, he kept walking as if nothing happened. As he passed where the guard was standing, a hand latched on to him, covering his mouth to keep his cry of surprise from escaping.


    Lusac threw his elbow into the [Invisible] being, and they released him with a gasp. Even though his hand-to-hand fighting wasn¡¯t anything spectacular, he raised his fists in preparation. He knew exactly where his attacker was, but he didn¡¯t dare strike and reveal that he could sense the unseen person.


    A door opened, and Lus¡¯s [Sixth Sense] triggered stronger, warning him of another. Spinning to face the new attacker, the old one jumped forward and grappled him again. As Lusac struggled against the hold, the other one joined their friend in securing Lus. A hand was over his mouth, keeping him from shouting for help as they dragged him away.

 Chapter 72: The [Invisible] Secret

    The two [Invisible] people¨Cone had to be a Kremel with that kind of strength¨Chauled Lus from the hallway and into a nearby room. Two other guards waited there, both completely visible.


    The Nemarian man who stood in front stepped forward.


    ¡°We need to speak with you, Lus Andrews.¡± His voice was calm, but direct, making it clear that this wasn¡¯t meant to be optional.


    Lusac glared at the man, still gagged by his captors. He did his best to jerk against those holding him, but it was pointless.


    ¡°If you can settle down for a moment, we can handle this like civilized people,¡± the Nemarian said, crossing his arms.


    Against his better judgment, Lus forced himself to relax, and as he did so, the people holding him loosened their grip and removed the hand blocking his mouth.


    ¡°Better. Now, if you think you can handle it, care to sit?¡± The Nemarian gestured to two chairs waiting across the room.


    There was little other furniture in the space, and based on the boxes pushed up against the walls, it was probably used for storage. The walls were a bland beige, and the floors the regular wood planks as almost everywhere else he¡¯d been in the manor.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lus begrudgingly said. He didn¡¯t really have any other options given that he was out-numbered four to one. The hands holding him released him completely, allowing him to move freely.


    ¡°We just want to have a brief conversation. If you cooperate, this won¡¯t take long,¡± the Nemarian promised as he walked over to the chairs alongside Lus. They both sat down and the two guards who had been holding him turned off their [Invisibility] revealing a Kremel and another Nemarian standing just behind Lusac¡¯s chair. The remaining guard was a Human woman who kept her distance from the others, watching the door more than Lus.


    ¡°What is this about?¡± Lusac said, still trying to pretend he didn¡¯t know exactly who these people were. It would be very bad for him if people started digging into how a [Chef] managed to get a [Skill] like [Sixth Sense].


    ¡°I guess I should have expected this kind of lack of manners from a yokel,¡± the Nemarian sighed. ¡°I¡¯m Juze-Quiv, captain of Fresa-Ersht¡¯s personal guard.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what she meant when she said help was close,¡± Lusac muttered to himself, really trying to sell the story of ¡°stumbling¡± upon the truth about Fresa-Ersht.


    ¡°Yes. At least one of us remains near Fresa in case of an emergency. You see, her mother is a very powerful woman, and we wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to her daughter. Kidnapping, ransom¡­ You get the idea of things that could befall someone in Fresa-Ersht¡¯s position,¡± Juze-Quiv said.


    ¡°Of course. But that¡¯s why she¡¯s keeping her identity a secret,¡± he replied.


    Juze-Quiv nodded. ¡°And we need to know it¡¯s going to stay that way.¡±


    ¡°You must have heard the conversation in the hall. I already promised Fresa¨C¡±


    ¡°I want to hear it from you directly. And I think you should understand that there will be unpleasant consequences if Fresa¡¯s identity is revealed,¡± the Nemarian said, his pink fins twitching.


    Lusac blinked. These guys took their security seriously if they were threatening him before he¡¯d even done anything wrong. Hopefully they wouldn¡¯t be too much of a hindrance to his real mission. Perhaps there was more to learn about them, something that might complete that lingering [Quest].


    ¡°Fine. I swear that Fresa-Ersht¡¯s secret is safe with me. I won¡¯t tell a soul,¡± Lus said after a moment.


    Juze-Quiv looked at him and then smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯ve come to an understanding. As you¡¯ve already learned, we have the ability to go where we need to and do what has to be done without drawing suspicion. We¡¯ll be watching you, Lus Andrews.¡±


    ¡°Do you all have systems then?¡± Lusac asked, remaining in his chair even as Juze-Quiv started to stand.


    The Nemarian paused for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°Our methods are our own. Instead of worrying about how we do it, I¡¯d suggest you focus more on keeping your mouth shut, understand?¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Lus agreed as he stood from his chair. The Kremel guard placed a hand on his shoulder and ¡°guided¡± him out of the room, giving him a shove out the door and back into the hallway.


    Lus straightened and resisted turning around to punch the guy as the door slammed shut behind him. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his uniform and glanced around to confirm that there was no one around he was going to have to explain himself to.


    Seeing that he was alone, Lusac casually resumed his journey to explore the mansion in hopes of gathering intel on the artifact. He hadn¡¯t made it very far down the hall when his [Sixth Sense] triggered, and he became aware of someone only a few yards behind him, following him.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t trust me for even five minutes,¡± Lus breathed to himself. There went any plans of scouting out the house for the mission. His only option now was to go to lunch like a good little employee.


    Thanks to his memorization of the manor, it was a simple task to escape the grandiose structure and find his way to the back lawn where the others were already mostly finished with their meals. A few trees dotted the landscape, and the pool was completely blocked off. The garden beds were bare and the deck devoid of furniture, all of which was likely due to the absence of those who would actually be living in the mansion.


    Lus went up to the serving area in the center of the grassy field which contained only a small amount of each thing now that everyone had gone through. There were even a few people going back through the line for seconds. The [Invisible] guard remained somewhere in the vicinity but not too close.


    While he didn¡¯t envy his coworkers who were still in the kitchen and might not make it out in time for any kind of lunch break, he did regret that he had accidentally become the golden boy, which would make it harder to befriend the others. Standing out was the exact opposite of what Lus wanted.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He grabbed a plate and served himself a minimal helping in hopes that it meant Fresa and the others might get something to eat once Chef Savannah was done with them, and then he went to find a place to sit down. They hadn¡¯t bothered putting chairs or tables out, so everyone was just sitting on the grass in groups.


    Lus noticed two of his roommates, Frpl and Hwwnvl sitting together with some others, but they hadn¡¯t seen him yet, and he didn¡¯t have the mental strength to deal with them again already so he quickly stepped out of view and continued scanning the area. His [Sixth Sense] lowered its warning, informing him that the guard had finally given up stalking him for the time being.


    After another few seconds of surveying the scene, Lusac noticed Vlqtrn sitting by himself in the shade¨Calmost everyone else was in the sun due to the cool weather. Smiling, Lus walked up to his friend and sat down.


    ¡°Hey Flq,¡± he said. ¡°How¡¯s your training going?¡±


    ¡°Lus, right?¡± Vlqtrn replied, keeping their cover up even if there was no one nearby to listen. As far as Lus¡¯s [Sixth Sense] could tell, there was no [Invisible] person waiting around either, but obviously Vlqtrn had no such way of telling that for himself. ¡°Training is good. How is yours going?¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Lus responded as he took a bite of food. While a little cold, it was actually pretty good. Definitely better than what he expected from the chaos of this morning. ¡°So, uh, any word about¡­ Prwls?¡± He couldn¡¯t remember the Argo¡¯s botanist¡¯s fake name at the moment.


    Vlqtrn shook his head with a sigh. ¡°She didn¡¯t make it in. It¡¯s just us, Lus.¡±


    ¡°Blast it. It¡¯s a big manor. We could have used the help,¡± he said.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me. I¡¯ll see what I can figure out this afternoon, but let¡¯s plan to meet in a couple of days to solidify plans. For now, just be casual and do nothing to draw attention to yourself,¡± the Kremel said.


    Remembering his run-in with the Fresa¡¯s bodyguards, Lusac winced a little, a gesture that somehow went unnoticed by his companion. ¡°Yeah. Good idea. I might scout around the manor a bit today just to see what I can find.¡±


    ¡°Be careful. We can¡¯t afford for you to draw suspicion to us.¡±


    ¡°I will. Have a little faith. My stealth skills are ¡®adept,¡¯ remember?¡± Lusac quoted Captain Tave from when they had the mission briefing for the museum heist.


    ¡°Fine. Just don¡¯t be stupid,¡± Vlqtrn reiterated.


    ¡°How are your roommates?¡± Lus asked to get the conversation to something besides Vlqtrn trying to take charge of a mission where they shared equal responsibility. Obviously Lus was going to be careful. He¡¯d been on more stealth missions than the tech nerd even if he had only been part of the Argo for a couple of years.


    ¡°Fine. They¡¯re roommates,¡± Vlqtrn said. ¡°Reminds me of when I was in college.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you attended a university. Where at?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I got a degree in advanced computer design from the University of Technology on Anettol,¡± his friend replied.


    ¡°A Gemini school even? Impressive. How¡¯d you end up with the Runners?¡±


    ¡°On a dare, I hacked into a government top secret facility and spread some of the files to CinderX. Luckily one of the Gemini Runner crews found me before the COPS, and they offered me an escape from life in prison,¡± he explained. ¡°I worked with Dre-Shawiv there, and he convinced me to come along when he joined the Argo.¡±


    Lus whistled. ¡°Hacking government facilities? Suns, that¡¯s reckless. Are you sure I¡¯m the one who needs to be careful around here?¡±


    Vlqtrn chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m only passing on advice from my own experiences. Anyway, I¡¯ve got to go. Let¡¯s meet up in the first common room tomorrow evening to make some plans.¡±


    ¡°Okay. But Vlqtrn, do be careful,¡± Lus reminded him. He lowered his voice to barely a whisper. ¡°My [Sixth Sense] has gone off a couple of times, so you really never know if someone is watching.¡±


    The Kremel¡¯s orange eyes went wide as he cautiously nodded. ¡°Thanks for letting me know. I guess this might not be as easy as we thought.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me.¡±


    Vlqtrn stood up with his empty dishes and walked away to drop them off before joining some other group of employees. Lus returned to his mostly eaten meal to finish the last few bites. It was a lot less appetizing now that it was completely cold, but he was hungry enough to eat it anyway.


    He¡¯d completely cleaned off his plate by the time he caught sight of the other kitchen workers exiting the manor. All three of them looked absolutely livid, and Lus wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to brave talking to them so soon after their punishment.


    Standing up, he went to drop off his dirty dishes, and Fresa-Ersht noticed him and called out.


    ¡°Hey, Lus,¡± she said. He turned to see her motioning him over to the group.


    Groaning internally, he placed his plate and fork in the overflowing bin with the other used dishes and heeded her summons.


    ¡°Hey guys. How¡¯s it going?¡± he asked nonchalantly.


    ¡°Great. I just rubbed half my scales off cleaning an already clean counter,¡± Fresa said. ¡°And missing out on lunch while Mr. Duty here got to eat what was supposed to be our meal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not my fault. I¡¯d have preferred to have finished cleaning with you guys,¡± Lusac promised them. Majo, Pltr, and Fresa all continued to glare at him, clearly not buying it.


    ¡°Whatever. Now we get scraps while you get to go buddy up with Chef Savannah,¡± Pltr muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not headed back to the kitchen yet. I want to enjoy being free for a while. I was going to just take a walk,¡± Lus argued. ¡°Don¡¯t hate me because you made a bad decision and got caught.¡±


    ¡°Self-righteous yokel,¡± Majo murmured as he roughly shoved past Lusac. Pltr followed his lead, and her much larger frame nearly knocked Lus to the ground. Fresa-Ersht gave him one last sad glance as she went after them.


    Lusac watched them go, standing outside in the cold breeze until he was sure they weren¡¯t paying any more attention to him, and then he made his way back to the manor. He hadn¡¯t lied. He had no intention of going back to the kitchen, but this was the perfect opportunity to check out a few more wings of the mansion to see what he could discover about the artifact he was after. Most, if not all, of the security guards would still be out enjoying their lunch break, and if he got caught, it would be easy to claim he just got lost.


    Back in the grandiose hallways of the house, Lus started towards some of the upper wings he had yet to see any part of. The stairs leading up were wide and grand, with intricately carved railings that Lus didn¡¯t dare touch with unclean hands. They were so delicate that he couldn¡¯t believe they would actually be of any use as handholds, but he supposed style outweighed function once a person had as much money as Senator Grwtln.


    The second floor was somehow even more extravagant than the first floor. More artwork decorated the walls and the floor held some of the most elaborately weaved rugs Lusac had ever seen. Walking on them with his shoes seemed like a crime. They should have been displayed somewhere, not used in a home as an everyday object.


    Lus trode carefully as he made his way down the first of many hallways leading off the main landing area. With all the displays, it was going to take days, maybe even weeks, to track down the one specific piece they wanted. And that was going to be the easy part. Then he and Vlqtrn would have to find a way to get the piece out without getting caught by the dozen of security officers.


    Even 14 [Luck] wasn¡¯t high enough for him to pull off some kind of miraculous discovery of their target early on. Lusac found plenty of fancy paintings, colorful tapestries, and several pieces that were similar to the artifact, but what he needed continued to elude him.


    Checking his watch, he realized that he didn¡¯t have much time until he needed to get back to the kitchen, and he really didn¡¯t want to be late and piss Chef Savannah off more than she already was.


    As he quietly returned to the landing with the stairs, Lusac heard voices up ahead, signaling trouble. Changing his walk into a full on sneak, Lus slunk up against the wall and continued towards the sounds. When he got close enough to see, his heart sank.


    Ten security guards were waiting at the landing, trapping him on the second floor.

 Chapter 73: Officially in Trouble

    Ten guards¡­ Even if they were newbies, the sheer number made it impossible for Lus to safely get to the stairs without being caught. There were several other stairways in a mansion this large, so at least he could go to one of the others, though that would make it so he was definitely not going to make it back to the kitchen on time.


    As Lusac stepped away from the corner where he peeked into the landing area, he heard more voices coming from further down the hallway, towards him.


    ¡°Blast me,¡± he murmured to himself as he looked for a place to hide from the incoming guards. Why were there so many of them? Vlqtrn was going to kill him if he found out about this mishap, especially when coupled with Fresa¡¯s [Invisible] security force who were keeping an eye on him. Why couldn¡¯t a mission go as planned for once?


    A door that was already slightly ajar caught Lus¡¯s attention, and he ducked into it just as the incoming officers turned the corner, barely avoiding being seen. He stayed at the door frame, watching as the two uniformed Kremel passed by him.


    A sigh of relief escaped him, but it didn¡¯t last long as a voice sounded from directly behind him.


    ¡°And what are you doing in here?¡± the woman asked.


    Lus spun around to see that he was in a small cleaning closet with a Human who wore the clothes of the cleaning crew, not the security force.


    ¡°I-I,¡± he stammered, unable to think of a good excuse as to why he was hiding in the closet. ¡°I was just exploring the mansion a bit, looking at some of the pretty artwork, but I didn¡¯t realize how much time had passed. I don¡¯t want security to find me and think I¡¯m some delinquent, you know?¡±


    She eyed suspiciously, her blonde hair half falling out of the messy bun she wore on the top of her head. ¡°Uh huh. Well the fact that you¡¯re hiding from the guards makes me think you are a delinquent. Why else would you be up here during work time?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not like that at all. I¡¯m one of the cooking staff. We got a late start to our lunch break today, that¡¯s all,¡± he said.


    The woman continued to stare at him before exhaling and shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose they would hire a thief. The staffers put way too many security protocols in place for that. I¡¯m going to let you go, but don¡¯t let me see you sniffing around up here again, you hear?¡± Her hands were on her hips as she glared at him.


    Lus nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. No more art excursions for me. I¡¯ll stick to the kitchen. You have my word.¡± That 8 [Charm] was paying off again. Who knew? Next time he leveled up, he might get another point or two there if he could pull this off.


    ¡°Now get out of here,¡± she said, shooing him away.


    ¡°But the guards¡­¡± He looked at the still ajar door, hoping nobody heard him in here with the woman.


    ¡°Go give them your story. They¡¯re not going to throw you out for breaking a rule once. Unless you are a thief?¡±


    ¡°No. Definitely not,¡± Lusac assured her.


    ¡°Then there shouldn¡¯t be a problem with this one little mistake,¡± she said. ¡°Now go. I have work to do.¡±


    Grumbling, Lus stepped out of the closet. He glanced around the hallway to see that there were no guards, but as he turned to walk in the opposite direction of the security personnel, the cleaner threw the door open completely to stand in the doorway, watching him.


    ¡°They¡¯re down there,¡± she said, pointing in the opposite direction of where he wanted to go.


    ¡°Oh, right. Easy to get turned around in here,¡± Lusac said with a timid smile. He forced his feet in the other direction and gave her a little wave as he walked towards the landing where yet another awkward conversation awaited him. Today was just not his day.


    There was no chattering as Lus approached the area, a stark change from what had first alerted him to the guards¡¯ presences. As he got within view of it, his stomach twisted itself in a few knots.


    All of the officers were starting in neat rows at attention, and a single voice was projecting out to them. Just when he thought it couldn¡¯t get worse, he was now going to be interrupting their superior during their rant.


    He risked one last glance back to where the cleaner stood watching him, her hands still on her hips and her face firm. There was no getting out of this.


    With a breath and a silent prayer to the Watcher, Lusac stepped out of the hallway and into full view of the guards.


    All those closest to him immediately dashed towards him, one grabbing his hands and pulling them behind his back as the others all helped escort him to the front where everyone could see their culprit. These guys were surprisingly good at their job for it being day one.


    The leader at the front wore a very souped up version of the others¡¯ uniform. She was a Kremel who looked a little too old to be in active security.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Found another lost puppy, Sergeant,¡± the Nemarian holding Lus said.


    ¡°Let him go. We¡¯re not here to arrest the staff,¡± the Kremel growled. She glanced at Lus as the hands holding him released him, her orange eyes seeming to take in every detail. ¡°Though I am curious as to what a kitchen boy is doing up here. Nobody¡¯s allowed on the second floor today except for us.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I wanted to see some more of the artwork around the house, so I thought I¡¯d use the last of my break to check out the upper floors. I didn¡¯t mean to cause trouble,¡± Lusas explained, doing his best to pull off a look of absolute innocence.


    ¡°Great. Another kid who thinks this job is a vacation,¡± someone else said with a roll of their eyes. ¡°I thought the training was supposed to prevent these kinds of incidents.¡±


    The sergeant shook her head. ¡°Someone escort him back down to the kitchen and then make a stop at the chief staffer¡¯s office to get an official mark on his record. What¡¯d you say your name was kid?¡±


    ¡°Lus Andrews,¡± he answered. Hopefully an official mark wasn¡¯t going to hamper his future exploration efforts, or else this mission was going to rely entirely on Vlqtrn.


    ¡°Vert-Parn, you do it,¡± the Kremel ordered.


    The Nemarian from before stepped up and motioned for Lus to go downstairs.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about this,¡± Lus said as they reached the first floor. ¡°I forgot that the second floor was off-limits to anyone except security and cleaners. There was so much in the training that it was hard to remember it all.¡±


    ¡°Security. And only security is allowed on the second floor,¡± the Nemarian responded, his voice tense. ¡°You really didn¡¯t pay any attention, did you?¡±


    ¡°R-right,¡± Lusac replied. But then¡­ who was the woman he ran into? Was she a thief? How many people were hiding in this staff? The more he thought about it, the more sure he became that this was not his problem at this moment, [Quest] or not. All he needed to worry about for the next while was surviving Chef Savannah and not drawing any more attention to himself.


    Vert-Parn took the lead as they approached the kitchen, and based on the angry voices he heard coming from it, Lusac knew that he was in for even more trouble. Apparently he¡¯d pushed his [Luck] too far this time. His [Sixth Sense] went off as they reached the doors, letting him know that Fresa¡¯s ever present bodyguards were still close to their ward, yet another thing he¡¯d have to worry about during this mission.


    When Lus and the security guard entered the room, he found the other workers standing in line with their hands behind their backs as Chef Savannah berated them. She turned with fire in eyes at the newcomers, and her anger only increased as she caught sight of Lus.


    ¡°Andrews, where have you been? And why is there a security officer with you?¡±


    ¡°He was¨C¡± the Nemarian started.


    ¡°I asked him.¡± The Chef cut him off, her gaze drilling into Lusac.


    ¡°I wanted to see more of the artwork in the manor so I was exploring the second floor. I lost track of time,¡± Lus answered simply.


    ¡°Artwork? You¡¯re a cook, not a painter, boy,¡± the sous chef muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯ll take care of getting his record marked for this?¡± Chef Savannah asked the Nemarian.


    Vert-Parn nodded and then exited as Lus grabbed his apron and fell in line next to Fresa-Ersht.


    ¡°There goes your status as golden boy,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°No kidding,¡± he replied in his own soft tone.


    ¡°Everyone tell Lus ¡®thank you,¡¯¡± Chef Savannah commanded. ¡°You all will be on cleaning duty for the rest of the week thanks to his stupidity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair,¡± Majo argued. ¡°He¡¯s the stupid one. Why should we all be punished?¡±


    ¡°You are a team, all of you. One of you screws up, it affects us all. My decision is final,¡± Chef Savannah stated. ¡°Now, as much as I would love to continue to discuss this crew¡¯s shortcomings, unfortunately we still have dinner to make and serve. I want to ensure everyone here knows how to properly wait on people. Crrn, take the lead.¡±


    The Sous Chef stepped forward. ¡°Alright, first things first, let¡¯s go over serving expectations. It can be tricky, so we¡¯re going to do as much practice as it takes to get it right. Once the Senator moves in, there will be no room for mistakes.¡±


    ¡°Who are we serving tonight, if not the Senator?¡± Fresa-Ersht questioned.


    ¡°The head staffers. They¡¯ll also be giving feedback on each of you, and I told them not to hold anything back. Listen well to Crrn,¡± Chef Savannah advised.


    Lus resisted his urge to groan. Cooking was one thing, and while he didn¡¯t love cleaning, he could do it when he had to. But being a waiter? That had never been an expectation of him on the Argo, and Savannah made it sound like it was going to be harder than the cooking which was saying something.


    ¡°Aprons off everyone, and follow me to the dining room,¡± Crrn said. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot to learn and not a lot of time.¡±


    They all trudged out of the kitchen after the Kremel, starting with Pltr and ending with Lus. Chef Savannah took their aprons in hand as they exited the doors and into the stunning dining room. It had the same fine, wooden floors and tasteful wallpaper on every wall. The room was large, fitting a banquet table that would hold at least fifty Kremel, and the lights were dimmer now, set to the usual level that Nemarians and Kremel liked.


    Near the end of the table was a cart holding all types of plates, bowls, wine glasses, and utensils. Another cart held five pitchers of water.


    ¡°First we¡¯ll practice by setting the table and pouring drinks. Once you¡¯ve mastered that, we¡¯ll move on to properly removing dishes and refilling drinks. Everyone behind a chair,¡± Crrn said.


    They all moved to their appropriate places, and what followed in the next hour was the most irksome training Lusac had ever been through. Crrn was a brutal boss, and he was serious about his expectations of perfection. Spilling even a drop meant practicing pouring five more times, and if their placement of a fork was more than an eighth of an inch off, they¡¯d have to reset the entire set up.


    And then afterwards came even worse torture as they learned the appropriate way to refill a glass and remove a finished plate. It turned out that there were far more wrong ways to do that kind of thing than right ways, and Lus managed to learn all of them. He was relieved when Crrn finally dismissed them, claiming their skills were just enough to be passable for tonight and promising to drill them harder the next day.


    As horrible as cooking lunch as a line cook had been, it was a breeze compared to dealing with all the rules regarding visible servants for the upper class. Lusac was eager to get back into the kitchen and cook. Even if he wasn¡¯t that great of a [Chef], it was a whole lot better than being a waiter.


    Only the Watcher knew what Lus would do when he actually had to put these skills to use. But that, like so many of the other problems that had cropped over the day, was a concern for another time. Right now, he just wanted to lose himself in the flow of cooking.

 Chapter 74: Cooking Fetterfish

    Cooking in a new kitchen in a group would be hard enough on its own. Doing it when all the other people in the group hated you was a trial Lus wasn¡¯t prepared for.


    Unlike their training, Chef Savannah didn¡¯t stay to oversee everything. Instead, she left Sous Chef Crrn to keep an eye on them.


    ¡°But don¡¯t let that make you complacent,¡± she warned, sending a piercing look around the kitchen. ¡°I will still be tasting your food and I will receive a full report from Chef Crrn. Anyone who fails to pull their weight or shows themselves unfit for this job will be replaced.¡±


    Lus answered in unison with the others, ¡°Yes Chef.¡±


    Chef Crrn didn¡¯t assign them to stations, like with lunch. Instead, he told them to divide the tasks among themselves.


    When Lus stepped up to the vegetable cutting station, he smiled. Even if his cuts weren¡¯t even, he enjoyed cutting. It was a good task to lose himself in and forget for just a bit about all the worries on his mind.


    He had just pulled out a knife and started washing the first garoot when Majo called from across the kitchen, ¡°Andrews! You ever cleaned Fefferfish before?¡±


    Lus turned and looked at the Nemarian, who was wearing a malicious smile. ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Well, looks like today is your lucky day. Trade me.¡±


    Lus considered arguing that he¡¯d gotten to the vegetable prep station first, but a glance at the others confirmed that he had no allies here. Knowing that causing trouble would only make him more likely to get fired, he nodded and set the garoot down.


    The station with the Fefferfish was next to one of the sinks and he quickly figured out why. Unlike the fish he¡¯d seen in kitchens before, which were only small fillets from the fish, these were whole fish.


    Their lifeless eyes stared at him from the large box on the counter. He turned and began reading through the instructions, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the large, red text at the top.


    [Fefferfish are incredibly toxic if prepared incorrectly. You must wear protective gloves while cleaning them and make sure to remove all toxins before they are served]


    Lus blinked and looked around the kitchen once more, his eyes desperately seeking some kind of reassurance. Instead, he found the other chefs already busy at work. His eyes met Sous Chef Crrn¡¯s, who was watching him with an expression that seemed part sympathy and part expectation.


    He wants to see how I¡¯m going to handle this, Lus realized. And he needed to handle this well if he wanted to remain here.


    Please let my [Chef¡¯s Intuition] be enough to get me through this, he thought. He turned his attention back to his station and quickly found the thick, rubber-lined gloves that would protect him as he cleaned the dangerous fish.


    Once he had them on, he pulled out the first fish and set it on the cutting board, then looked back at the instructions. Thankfully, there was a diagram showing how to cut the fish properly and which parts needed to be removed.


    Taking his knife, he breathed a deep, calming breath and focused on the fish in front of him. It was shaped oddly, more round on the sides than most fish. It rolled when he tried to set it on its side, like he would with most fish, so he set it on its stomach instead.


    Glancing again at the diagram, he breathed in and took the knife. He positioned it behind the fish¡¯s head, about where the diagram showed, and prepared to cut.


    [Feel for a bump first, then position the knife behind]


    He paused, then moved the knife away and carefully felt the fish¡¯s head. He found the large bump and set his knife behind it. Just before he could slice down, another notification popped up.


    [Don¡¯t cut all the way down. Stop when you hit resistance]


    He nodded as though the System would recognize his response and slowly cut in. As soon as it became difficult to cut, he stopped and removed his knife.


    Following the diagram instructions, he opened the fish and began pulling the back off. It came away from the bottom more smoothly than he expected, leaving him a filet of fish that had skin on top and a tail on the back, but was clean on the bottom.


    Glancing at the instructions once more, he threw the head into a waste bucket at his feet and carefully peeled the skin off the filet. It came apart more easily than he might have guessed, though he had to use his knife to cut the tail part off when it just stretched and pulled at the meat without coming apart.


    Lus reached to drop the finished filet into the waiting metal bin.


    [Rinse first]


    Changing directions, he ran the meat under cool water in the sink, then dropped it in the bin. With a smile, he set to work on the next fish.


    The second, third, and fourth fish went as smoothly as the first and he was just starting to feel like he had the hang of it when he pulled out the fifth fish.Stolen novel; please report.


    He had a hard time finding the bump, but he thought he¡¯d found it when he cut down. Instead of the clean separation he¡¯d had with the previous, he found his knife sinking into the nasty stuff behind the head. Unsure how to continue, he froze.


    [Throw the fish away and get a new knife and board]


    Breathing a sigh of relief at the help from his [Chef¡¯s Intuition], he tossed the whole ruined fish into the waste bin with the remnants of the other four fish. He then slid the knife and cutting board into the sink and washed off the gloves with the soap. He hadn¡¯t ever washed gloves before, but he felt it necessary this time since he didn¡¯t have an extra pair that would fit.


    Once he had thoroughly scrubbed the gloves off, he got out a clean cutting board and knife, then moved on to the next fish.


    He messed up on three more of the however-many-fish there were (he lost count after 23) and since he had limited knives and cutting boards, he had to wash dishes a few times.


    Just as he was rinsing the last filet, he felt eyes on him and turned to find Fresa and Doja both watching him with expressions of grudging respect.


    Pltr was still finishing up at her station, so Lus turned his attention back to finishing up the last filet and adding it to the bin with the others. He disposed of the bad parts and slid the dishes into the sink, then put the gloves away.


    Once his station was tidied up, he joined Fresa and Doja. The three chefs stood in awkward silence for a bit.


    Thankfully, before Lus had to come up with a way to break it, Pltr joined them and Chef Crrn stepped forward.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve finished the prep work, you may each choose a cooking station. You¡¯ll have to get the proper ingredients from the prep stations for whichever dish you¡¯re cooking. Unlike the training, you will each be cooking a separate part of the final dish from start to finish.¡±


    Lus glanced at his fellow chefs to find them all staring at each other uncertainly.


    Crrn spoke again, snapping them into action. ¡°What are you waiting for? Get going!¡±


    Lus expected to be put in charge of cooking the Fefferfish, but Fresa claimed that station. Majo took the appetizer, some kind of fried vegetable, and Pltr took the dessert, leaving Lus on the side dish.


    He shrugged and took his place at the final station: Korenta. Skimming down to the instructions, he quickly scanned over the ingredients he needed.


    Ground Koren


    Salt


    Water


    Butter


    Efta Cheese


    Elsha Oil


    Diced red peppin


    Diced white onnin


    Sliced white Hushooms


    Looking around the kitchen at the various prep stations, he caught sight of the veggies. He grabbed those first, then went into the food storage room for the rest of the ingredients.


    Once he had everything assembled, he scrolled to the instructions and got started. Unlike cooking for the crew of the Argo, the recipe had all the measurements he needed, so he didn¡¯t have to try and figure out how many times to increase it.


    He measured out the water into a pot and set it on the stove. Just as he reached to turn on the heat, he got a notification.


    [Vegetables first]


    Sighing, he stepped away from the pot and grabbed a pan. Pouring in the elsha oil, he turned on the heat. He waited just a minute before dumping the onnins in. They sizzled nicely and he stirred them around until the white pieces were starting to turn translucent.


    He then poured in the peppins and hushooms. He continued to stir as it all cooked. Shortly before he might have called it done, another notification popped up.


    [Turn heat to lowest setting and move on to the other part of the dish]


    He did as directed and turned down the veggies, then turned on the heat under the pot of water. Once it was boiling, he added the salt, then poured in a little ground koren, stirring before he added more.


    As soon as all the koren was in, he added the butter as well. He then had to stir the koren and butter mixture for 25 minutes to keep it from burning.


    A few minutes into stirring, his mind had wandered back through the manor, trying to remember where he¡¯d been and where else he needed to get to look for the artifact. He had completely forgotten that the vegetables were still on heat until a reminder popped up.


    [Stir the vegetables]


    He blinked in surprise and grabbed the spatula with his other hand. His stirring was clumsy, but it was enough to keep the veggies from burning. He set the spatula back down and turned his attention back to the koren. The butter had melted and the ground koren was getting thicker.


    He remembered to stir the vegetables again a few minutes later. The koren was starting to smell delicious as it continued to get thicker. He checked the timer he had set to see if it was nearly done but he still had ten minutes left.


    ¡°The dessert is plated,¡± Pltr called. ¡°Does anyone else need help?¡±


    ¡°Can you set out plates for me?¡± Majo asked. Pltr hurried over to help the other chef.


    ¡°Andrews! Where is my side? I can¡¯t plate until it¡¯s down!¡± Fresa yelled.


    ¡°It¡¯s still got ten minutes left,¡± he called back.


    ¡°Well put some speed on,¡± she answered.


    ¡°I can¡¯t make it go any faster,¡± he answered. ¡°But if you want to bring me the plates, I can get it plated as soon as I¡¯m done.¡±


    Unlike Pltr helping Majo, Fresa grumbled the entire time she spent gathering and carrying the plates to Lus. Just as she set down her last few plates, a notification popped up in front of Lus.


    [The Korenta is done]


    He nodded as though the system could see him and lifted the large pot of Korenta off the burner. Glancing over at the instructions, he checked the bottom for the plating directions. He was supposed to add a spoonful of Korenta just off from the center of the plate, then add a smaller scoop of the vegetables on top.


    Doing his best to match the accompanying diagram, he grabbed the Korenta and began dropping careful spoonfuls on each plate.


    Without being asked, Fresa followed after him, adding the smaller scoops of vegetables on top of the Korenta.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lus said as they finished up the last plate.


    She grunted in acknowledgement and looked over the plates. ¡°It will be easier to bring the fish here,¡± she decided.


    ¡°Can I help?¡± Lus asked.


    She smiled mischievously. ¡°Sure. You can carry the bin.¡±


    The bin of fried fish wasn¡¯t too heavy, but it was large and awkward to carry. Lus¡¯ arms started to ache from the odd position before they had finished adding a fried filet of fish on top of the plates of Korenta and vegetables.


    Finally, all the plates were ready. He set the dishes aside and looked proudly over the delicious-smelling food he had helped make.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 50]

 Chapter 75: Waiter Trials

    ¡°Alright. Everyone grab two appetizer plates. Majo, you¡¯re handling the two upper right hand seats of the table, Pltr you¡¯ll take the two upper left hand seats, Fresa, you handle the other right hand seats, and Lus, you¡¯ll take the last two left seats.¡± Crrn glanced around the room, ensuring everyone understood their assignments. ¡°And aprons off. We want to look presentable.¡±


    Lus did as the sous chef commanded, trying not to let his nerves show. A quick scan of the others showed that Fresa-Ersht was as uncomfortable with this next task as him, but the other two seemed quite sure of themselves as they picked up their opening dishes, the fried vegetables from Majo.


    He followed suit, keeping his steps in line with Pltr as he walked behind her. The four of them exited the kitchen into the fancy dining room where they¡¯d only a few hours prior been practicing their serving skills. All that was getting put to the test now, and Lus lost a lot of his confidence as he stared at the eight individuals seated at the table.


    Chef Savannah was there, along with the chief security officer and then the heads of every other department as well as the two main servant managers. Lusac kept up with Pltr as she went to the left hand side of the table as viewed from the head position. Crrn¡¯s assignments put her serving the two main managers of all the serving staff, while Lus was set over the head of the personal assistants and the security chief he¡¯d already had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting.


    He really hoped she didn¡¯t remember him.


    Running through all of Crrn¡¯s instructions in his mind, Lus did his best to follow all the procedures, making sure to set the dish down from the person¡¯s right side and doing his best to not invade anyone¡¯s personal space. He got both of the appetizers in hand set down and then stepped back, breathing a silent sigh of relief that nothing had gone horribly wrong yet, despite it being early in the night.


    As he stood with his back to the wall, watching the diners, he caught sight of Pltr¡¯s perturbed face and subtle motions from her to move.


    Suns, he¡¯d forgotten that they were supposed to return to the kitchen immediately after depositing the food.


    Lus turned and strode back to the doors, using all of his self control to keep himself from half jogging there out of eagerness to be away. Pltr was on his heels offering faintly grumbled complaints.


    Fresa and Majo were already in the kitchen, the former shaking her head as he entered.


    ¡°Trust the yokel to screw the easiest step up,¡± she said.


    Crrn held out two glass bottles, either not hearing or just ignoring her comment.


    ¡°Majo, you go top off the wine. Pltr, top off the water,¡± he ordered.


    The two staff members took their respective bottles and went back out the doors while Lus waited close to Fresa, his eyes trained on the plates of food which were still waiting their turn to go out. Already it was clear that the serving part of this job was going to be the worst. Cooking was stressful, but it wasn¡¯t anywhere near as bad as this, and he at least had his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] to rely on in the kitchen. So far, it hadn¡¯t provided any help with the waiter side of things.


    Majo and Pltr came back, and Crrn asked them to report back on the current status of the appetizer.


    ¡°Uh, good?¡± Majo said slowly.


    ¡°Are they close to finishing?¡± The sous chef rephrased his question.


    The Nemarian and Kremel cooks looked at each other and then back to Crrn.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pay any particular attention to that, but I think so¡­¡± Pltr answered hesitantly.


    Crrn grabbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. ¡°We covered this. While refilling glasses, always check the status of the table. It¡¯s not this hard, people.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Chef,¡± Majo and Pltr said together.


    The sous chef mumbled to himself as he pulled out a holotablet and checked what appeared to be a security camera. ¡°Okay. Good. We¡¯ll give it a couple more minutes and then send the next course out. Same seat assignments as before. Go get your plates on your trays and get into position.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chef,¡± they all said together, the entire kitchen coming alive once more as Majo and Pltr dropped off their bottles and then all four of the cooks retrieved the entree plates, placed them on the round trays they were each given, and got into their line from before.


    An awkward pause filled the room as they all waited for Crrn¡¯s signal, but the sous chef only stared at the holoscreen in his hands and tapped his foot impatiently.


    ¡°Now,¡± he said, and the line lurched forward, all of them moving in a single motion.


    Lus¡¯s hands were sweating as he held the tray up in one hand, just as Crrn had taught him to do. This was going to be harder than last time because now he had to switch out the dirty plate with the new, full plate while balancing the tray.


    Pltr was ahead of him, serving farthest up of the right hand table seats while Lus went to the middle one with the head of the assistants. He was a narrow Nemarian with burnt orange scales and wire glasses on his face. His indigo fins had taken on a dull color from his age, but his demeanor spoke of grace rather than elderliness.


    Lus made sure to keep his tray balanced with left hand as he reached down to grab the used plate which sat before the Nemarian. He picked it up and smoothly moved it to the tray before grabbing the entree dish and sliding it before the chief assistant.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He took a step back, forcing himself to keep a neutral face against his inner elation at having successfully completed the maneuver without dumping all the food from the tray onto the diners.


    His confidence plummeted however when it came time to repeat the process for the security chief. A stout Kremel, Lus found it difficult to keep the tray balanced an appropriate distance away. He picked up her appetizer plate, and as he went to replace it with the entree plate, he made the unfortunate discovery that he¡¯d set the used plates in improper positions on the tray, causing it to start tipping backwards without the weight of the last entree dish to balance it.


    Lus managed to set the entree down before the security head and returned his focus to the tray just in time to keep it from tumbling to the ground, but the extra motions required to balance it were obvious, and he noticed a glare from the Nemarian next to him.


    ¡°Imbecile,¡± the old man croaked with a roll of his eyes.


    The security chief said nothing about it, but she shot Lus a warning glance, and he quickly backed away, remembering this time around that he was supposed to get out of the dining room immediately.


    He was the last one back in the kitchen due to his little tray mess up, and he sighed in a mixture of relief and disappointment as he left the dirty dishes back at the sink and returned to stand before Crrn with his tray under one arm.


    It was only a few minutes later that Crrn sent him and Fresa out to refill glasses, him on water and Fresa on wine.


    Lus was lucky in his assignment because the staff heads all preferred their alcohol so he topped off only three glasses before heading back in while Fresa was left to complete full refills for nearly all of them.


    When Fresa returned, Crrn asked her and Lus the same question he¡¯d asked the other two.


    ¡°Most of them are about halfway through. I¡¯d give it another five to ten minutes before we send dessert out,¡± Fresa-Ersht answered.


    As much as Lus wanted to be annoyed at her for her know-it-all tone, he was also in her debt because he¡¯d paid zero attention to where everyone was at in their meal, and her prompt answer saved him from being dressed down by Crrn.


    The sous chef nodded, and they all relaxed a little as they waited for the meal to progress to the point that they could take out the final stage: dessert.


    Time passed slowly standing around in the kitchen with minimal conversation, but at least no one mentioned Lusac¡¯s screw up. His nerves surfaced again when Crrn directed them to prepare to take out the final dish, his mind freely conjuring images of him dumping caramel and cake over the entire table in what would be a worst-case-scenario.


    Lus put the two chocote cakes on his tray and then lined up with the others. On Crrn¡¯s signal, they returned to the dining room and once again exchanged plates. Lusac was careful to be mindful of the positioning of the used plates on the tray, and the task went smoothly this time, even with the head assistant glaring at him the whole time.


    They returned to the kitchen, but Crrn didn¡¯t send anyone out to refill glasses since they were at the end of the night. Ten minutes later, he declared that the meal was over. They all went out to the empty dining room to retrieve the last of the used dishes, and the sous chef sent them all back to the kitchen to begin cleaning while he debriefed with Chef Savannah.


    The cleaning went quickly, Lus and Majo on dishes while Pltr and Fresa took care of the general kitchen cleaning. Crrn returned sometime during the process, but he just stood by watching them.


    Once they finished, he directed the four of them to stand in line and wait.


    Lus stood with the others, shifting from foot to foot and wondering what they might be waiting for.


    The answer to his question strode through the door wearing her usual stern expression. Chef Savannah stopped in front of them and everyone, including Lus, stood up straighter.


    ¡°Chefs,¡± she greeted them brusquely. ¡°Chef Crrn has briefed me on your meal and I have tasted the results for myself. This will hopefully be the only time I have to keep you here to give you advice. From now on, I expect you all to do better.¡±


    She stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Lus. He met her stare and tried not to let his anxiety show.


    ¡°Andrews. Your Korenta was acceptable, but could have been seasoned better. The vegetables were not cooked as evenly as they should have been. Some of the fefferfish filets were uneven. You need to work on your knife skills.¡±


    He nodded, and she moved on before he could say anything.


    ¡°Fresa-Ersht, the fefferfish was seasoned and fried perfectly. You did well with getting them breaded evenly. However, the caramel you prepared for the dessert was undercooked and too runny.¡±


    The Nemarian hung her head as Chef Savannah moved on to Majo-Deaber.


    ¡°Majo-Deaber, the vegetables were cut properly and evenly. They were also cooked well. However, your plating was too messy. Not everyone got an even representation of garoots, prootas, and brocky.¡±


    ¡°Pltr, your breading was well-seasoned. The cakes came out nearly perfect. However, your plating was also messy. The caramel should be drizzled in a way that doesn¡¯t make the cakes look like they¡¯ve bled out on the plate.¡±


    She stepped back and Lus breathed a silent sigh of relief in unison with the other chefs. It didn¡¯t sound like anyone was getting fired today.


    ¡°I would usually dismiss you all at this point, but Sous Chef Crrn has brought to my attention a serious problem that needs to be addressed.¡± Her heavy stare turned into an outright glare.


    ¡°You are a team. You succeed as a team. You fail as a team. When you allow personal grudges to influence your decisions in the kitchen, you are risking your own success.¡±


    Her glare turned to Majo. ¡°Majo, have you ever cut fefferfish before?¡±


    ¡°Yes chef,¡± he answered quietly.


    ¡°Yet you handed the most difficult task, in which you have experience, off to a chef you knew lacked that same experience. Do you think that you would have been deemed blameless had Andrews inadvertently poisoned someone?¡±


    Majo hung his head. ¡°No chef.¡±


    Her glare ran over all of them. ¡°This ends here. If you want to look down on and bully a fellow chef, that is on your heads, but it will not happen in my kitchen.¡±


    Lus felt shiver run down his spine at the deadly tone of her voice, even though he knew her words were directed more at his fellow chefs than at him.


    ¡°Is that clear?¡± she asked sharply after a brief pause.


    ¡°Yes chef!¡± They answered in unison, snapping to attention.


    ¡°Good. Dismissed.¡±


    All four strode out of the kitchen in a silent line. Lus didn¡¯t plan to say anything to anyone, but Majo stopped him with a hand on his arm.


    ¡°Andrews, I apologize for allowing my emotions to interfere with the cooking process. And¡­ thank you for not screwing the meal up for all of us.¡±


    ¡°Uh, no problem.¡± Lus spoke awkwardly, unsure how he was supposed to respond, but Majo seemed to accept his answer. The Nemarian nodded and continued on his way without another word, freeing Lus to return to his own quarters for the night.

 [B]Chapter 76: The Cookie Incident [Becky]

    Becky completed her final set of stretches to round out her morning workout at the Argo¡¯s gym. Okay, fine. Mid-morning workout. It was her day off so she didn¡¯t feel the need to get up super duper early just to make her usual pilates class. Instead, she got up late, caught the end of the horrendous mash Lbrvr put together for breakfast, and then came to the gym for her own workout.


    But now that she¡¯d finished, she had the rest of her day to relax. It felt like it¡¯d been ages since she got a day off with Lusac constantly off on missions or out for injuries. She¡¯d been excited when they brought another Human onboard to share the chore of maintenance in the Fsylan tubes until he¡¯d been added to the mission roster as well.


    Becky would have loved to get off the ship for those sorts of exciting things, but her g-sickness made her a poor fit for the excursions. She barely held her stomach together for the few trips down to planets she did make, and hearing Lus talk about Zer-Dasht¡¯s severe lack of piloting skills made her certain that it was better she stuck to the Argo where she could trust whoever was at the helm.


    It was almost always Oaty now since they had yet to find a new copilot to replace Yonnex-Quniwel.


    She shuddered as she remembered her friend. He definitely didn¡¯t deserve that fate, but she found solace in knowing that he might be at peace after the terrible things he¡¯d endured.


    Becky kept her pace slow as she walked back to her quarters. It was nice to not be in a rush to get anywhere in particular. She did feel bad for Yrqw who had to try and manage all the maintenance tasks alone today, but it wasn¡¯t her fault they stole Lusac away for some fancy long term assignment. Word was that it could be weeks before they saw him again, and she was not looking forward to the long hours required to cover for his absence.


    A screechy meow greeted Becky as she stepped into her room. She smiled and scooped Avil up in her arms. The one good thing about Lusac being gone was that she got Avil full-time. Suns, sometimes it seemed that she spent more time with this cat than his actual owner.


    But she didn¡¯t mind. Avil was adorable, even if he could be a handful.


    ¡°And how¡¯s my beautiful boy today?¡± Becky hugged the cat close as he curled close to her, purring in response.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got something fun planned for us,¡± she informed as she set him down so she could clean up. ¡°But it¡¯s a surprise, so you¡¯ll just have to wait.¡±


    Avil meowed, either protesting the short cuddled session or the surprise, but Becky only laughed as she stripped her clothes off and went to the bathroom.


    After showering and getting ready for the day, she returned to her neatly organized room. Her bed was in one corner, already made up with a special quilt she got from her grandmother before leaving her home planet Brilles.


    Her parents were both Runners so Becky had been half-raised by her grandparents, and she¡¯d always known when the time came she¡¯d join the Runners. Her dad had tried to get her on the ship where he and her mom worked, but Becky wanted to make her own way in the organization so she opted to start at a lower rank on a smaller ship. In the end, it¡¯d been a great decision since she loved (nearly) every member of the Argo¡¯s crew.


    In a lot of ways this place felt more like home than anywhere else in the whole Cinder Rock Galaxy.


    ¡°Come on, Avil. Surprise time.¡± She tucked her holonovel under one arm and Avil under the other as she exited her quarters and made her way to the mess hall.


    It was mostly cleaned up from breakfast, and the windows outside showed the brilliant swirl of colors of the Astral Highway. This room was her favorite place on the whole ship thanks to the windows. Nowhere else had quite so good of a view as they traveled.


    The mess hall was also completely empty, just as it always was outside of meal times. That made it a good place for reading given the ship didn¡¯t have an official library. Apparently Runners weren¡¯t typically bibliophiles.


    ¡°It¡¯s yours to explore, buddy,¡± she said as she set the cyclops cat down.


    Avil remained where he was, hesitantly looking around.


    Becky gestured wide. ¡°Go on. Find something to climb on or sniff. It¡¯s good for you to get out once in a while.¡±


    The cat stared warily ahead, and Becky rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Fine. Your loss. But this is where I¡¯m hanging out for a couple of hours, so get comfortable.¡±


    Avil followed behind as she went to one of the tables near the windows and sat down. He climbed on the seat next to her and curled up, his girth taking up much of the chair¡¯s seat.


    ¡°You need a diet,¡± she mumbled as she took in the extra belly rolls he¡¯d developed since she first met him.


    He said nothing as he set his head on his paws and closed his eyes.


    Becky smiled and resisted the urge to take a bunch of pictures to show Lus later. Reasonably Lusac knew how cute his cat was. Instead, Becky got out her holonovel and started up the screen.


    It was one she¡¯d read before, but it was among her favorite books, so she was still excited to reread and once again experience the ride of emotions it put her through. She¡¯d been reading about an hour¨Cand Avil had napped the whole time¨Cwhen her stomach decided it wanted an early lunch.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Becky checked her watch. ¡°Lunch isn¡¯t for another hour and a half.¡± Her stomach rumbled again. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a snack in the kitchen.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She poked Avil¡¯s belly. ¡°Be good, chubbster.¡±


    He opened his single eye to glare at her as she stood up and went to the kitchen at the back. It was a mess. Then again, it was almost always a mess since the ship typically had three different cooks use it in a day.


    Becky sidestepped some of the more disgusting bits on the floor and made her way to the interbox. She looked inside, but nothing caught her attention. It was all savory, meal type stuff, and she was looking for something small and sweet. Just enough to satisfy her until lunch.


    With the interbox a bust, she moved on to the nitrobox in hopes of finding some easily microwaved thing or maybe even ice cream. Thinking of the creamy deliciousness, she dug all the way through the nitrobox and then came across something interesting.


    It wasn¡¯t ice cream, but it was a good enough option B.


    Cookies.


    Chocote chunk cookies even, her favorite.


    Becky grabbed out only a few, hardly enough to even be missed, and replaced the container in the nitrobox before reburying it. She doubted it belonged to anyone important, and even so, they wouldn¡¯t know it was her who stole a couple.


    Once the nitrobox was put back together, Becky tried a bite of one of the cookies.


    It was actually more of a gnaw given how frozen solid the treat was, but eventually she managed to get a sufficient mouthful.


    She sighed as the buttery, sweet goodness softened on her tongue. That hit the spot perfectly. Taking another bite, she exited the kitchen back into the mess hall only to discover chaos had erupted in her brief absence.


    Relf and Hlnwr had shown up, and from what she could guess, they¡¯d managed to piss Avil off really good. Enough that the adorable cat was gone and replaced by a four foot tall cyclops flipping over tables and chairs while screaming.


    Relf and Hlnwr screamed back at him, the former tossing condiment bottles and napkin holders at Avil while Hlnwr chased him around shouting curses and threats at the former cat.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Becky shouted. She stuffed her precious cookies in her pocket, choosing to accept pocket lint over the risk of having them stolen by those two bozos.


    ¡°We came in to grab some coffee on our break, and this thing got all mad,¡± Relf said. He glared at her with cutting eyes. She wondered if he¡¯d ever move on from her rejection, but so far, it wasn¡¯t looking likely.


    ¡°His name is Avil, and he only gets like this when he¡¯s threatened, so what did you do to him?¡± Becky crossed her arms.


    ¡°We just tried to play with him. But now look at the mess.¡± Hlnwr gestured to the overturned furniture and strewn objects.


    ¡°Well apologize so he calms down. He¡¯s not going to stop until you two say sorry.¡± Becky knew this from her own experience when she first catsat Avil and accidentally triggered his cyclops form.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not apologizing to a cat.¡± Relf¡¯s mouth quavered, his determination faltering.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s stupid.¡±


    Becky¡¯s hands curled into fists. She was so mad she could scream. ¡°Look here, you jerks. This is my day off, and I was trying to enjoy a nice day of reading. You¡¯re the ones who came in and screwed things up. Now the least you can do is try to repair some small part of the damage.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Avil.¡± Hlnwr said suddenly in a twist she hadn¡¯t seen coming.


    ¡°You too, Relf.¡± Becky stared him down, and she couldn¡¯t help but notice that he didn¡¯t have his usual overly confident and aggressive stance that he started with.


    ¡°Of course. Sorry, Avil.¡± Relf said it without another word of argument to Becky¡¯s surprise.


    The cyclops looked over his shoulder at Becky who nodded. He then shrank down to his cat form and came up to her full of screechy meows.


    Relf turned her, his head pointed at the floor. ¡°And sorry to you, Becky. We didn¡¯t mean to ruin your day off.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, it¡¯s fine. Stuff happens.¡± Becky glanced between the two, both of whom seemed genuine in their apologies. This should have been a much bigger argument. In fact, she wouldn¡¯t have guessed in a million years that they would apologize to Lusac¡¯s cat. ¡°You two should get going. I¡¯m going to try and clean this up before lunch.¡±


    ¡°No, no. Let us do it. It¡¯s our fault, like you said.¡± Hlnwr immediately pulled the chair from her grasp as she stooped down to it.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m the one who left the cyclops cat unattended.¡± These two were acting strange. Very strange, and the last thing she wanted was to be in their debt. Gag.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. We¡¯re the ones who antagonized the cat. You should take him and go. Enjoy your day off. We¡¯ll handle this,¡± Relf concurred.


    Becky looked between them dumbfounded. They seemed sincere in this offer. ¡°And what will it cost me down the line?¡±


    ¡°Cost you? Nothing. This is our mess, so we¡¯ll be the ones to clean it.¡± Hlnwr was already working on putting the tables back up.


    ¡°We insist you let us do this. Take Avil and go. Sorry again for the interruption to your day.¡± Relf grabbed Avil off the floor and shoved the cat into her arms.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure.¡± She wasn¡¯t about to argue her way into cleaning this disaster up, and best she could tell, Relf and Hlnwr were actually going to do it. It was still odd though.


    ¡°We¡¯re sure.¡± The Kremel smiled at her.


    Becky shrugged, retrieved her holonovel from the back table, and left the mess hall behind. As she walked back to her quarters, she replayed the situation over and over in her mind. Those two had started out so hostile, but after a brief conversation they were bending over backwards to help her out. It didn¡¯t make sense.


    She shifted to carry Avil in one arm and used her free hand to retrieve the cookies from her pocket. They¡¯d fully thawed out now, and she didn¡¯t want the chocote to melt into her clothes.


    Whose cookies were they after all? Clearly someone wanted to keep them hidden, but they weren¡¯t labeled so reasonably they didn¡¯t belong to anyone with any kind of seniority. And they were homemade. Who had those kinds of cooking skills?


    Her feet slowed as she reached the inevitable conclusion.


    Lusac had a system, his class was [Chef]. While he didn¡¯t share details about it, it wasn¡¯t too much of a stretch to assume that some of the food he made had special effects.


    Becky looked at the cookies in her hand with a smile. As tasty as they were, having the power available for later would come in handy so she planned to save them and use only one a day.


    Picking up the pace, Becky almost laughed to herself thinking of Lusac of all people having made them. It did make a girl wonder though? What else could her [Chef] friend conjure up?


    She didn¡¯t know for sure when she¡¯d see him again, but once she got the chance, she was going to fully interrogate him about this new system of his. What was the point of having a powerful friend if she didn¡¯t get any benefits from it anyway?


    Becky now had more than one reason to be excited for Lusac to finish his mission.

 Chapter 77: A New Twist

    One week. It¡¯d been one full week since Senator Grwtln and his family moved into the house. The three days of training before that had been bad enough, but once the Senator was actually in the manor, everything became worse. Servants were now given little freedom to be anywhere but their assigned locations and the basement that made up the servant quarters.


    Lusac stared up at the blank ceiling as he lay on his bed, trying to ignore the shouts from the two Kremel brothers as they debated the latest hyperball predictions. As much as he liked sports, those two were borderline obsessed, and after a long day serving food to the most pretentious people he¡¯d ever seen, the argument threatened to push him over the edge of sanity.


    ¡°But unless the Genists can completely rework their defense in time for their game in two days, it won¡¯t matter,¡± Frpl cried, and Lus sat up, barely avoiding hitting his head against the ceiling.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a walk,¡± he said as he swung off his bunk and dropped to the floor.


    Swali-Shie was off with some of his cleaner friends. Not long after Lus ran into the cleaner on the second floor, he¡¯d asked Swali about her, but the Nemarian couldn¡¯t even give him a name. He did learn at least that there was a Human who matched her description amongst the janitorial staff, but that meant little in his investigation.


    A pointless investigation. It didn¡¯t matter who she was. All that mattered was that he managed to avoid her during his excursions to search the mansion. Vlqtrn had a much easier time since his job naturally sent him around many parts of the manor, but so far, neither had had any luck in finding the piece.


    Lus was still contemplating which [Skill] to buy to assist them, but out of the options, none struck him as something would assist in locating the artifact. Maybe [Night Sight], but they kept cameras in all the hallways, so even if the lights were off he¡¯d still be caught. In fact, the only reason he got the chance to go around now is because of a ¡°mixup¡± at the laundromat that landed him a janitor uniform.


    He couldn¡¯t let his roommates see it, though, so Lus had to keep it well hidden for when he needed to do his little excursions. Out in the hallway, he navigated through the maze of bedroom doors until he came to an unused corner, safe from any cameras, that contained a cheap, fake plant. Glancing around to be sure no one was watching, Lus then pulled up the plastic greenery and fake dirt to reveal a cubby hole where the uniform waited.


    In another few minutes he was changed into the cleaning outfit and had his old clothes safely stowed away until he would need them. It was always a bit risky to go into the manor in the stolen garb, but the cleaners were allowed to wear bandanas over their faces to protect from dust and the fumes of the chemicals they used, and when he added a hat to it, his identity was perfectly obscured.


    Most of the janitorial staff worked alone anyway from what Lus could see, though the higher ones were accompanied by golems. Lusac was actually surprised that someone with as much wealth as Senator Grwtln didn¡¯t use solely golems for cleaning given that they provided a lot more privacy, but Fresa had explained that most politicians chose people over golems as part of their anti-golem movement. Corporates were the ones who pushed for golems to be used for everything, but the Federalists instead believed that living people should have most of the jobs.


    Lus had never been well versed in those kinds of minor political debates that accompanied the civil war. All he really ever knew about it is that the Corporates claimed the government was corrupt and trying to control the people, and the Feds claimed that the corporations cared only about money. The way Lus saw it, neither side cared about anyone outside of the heavily populated systems near the core anyway, so he didn¡¯t see a reason to care about them.


    In the end, it didn¡¯t make much difference to Lus why golems didn¡¯t do all the cleaning. All that mattered was that having so many cleaners on the staff meant he could explore the manor with some amount of ease. The hardest part of these excursions was tracking down cleaning supplies to sell the story.


    Dusting his clothes off one more time to be sure there were no strange bits hanging on them, Lus started back through the hallways, carrying himself with purpose as he went towards the stairs leading up into the main manor. He passed plenty of other employees getting off their shifts, but there was no one he knew in the mix, keeping his secret safe.


    Back on the main floor, Lus was greeted by the usual hallway, though all the curtains had been drawn, making it feel more cramped than before. The sun had long since dipped behind the horizon, and all the window coverings were closed promptly at sunset.


    Thanks to some casual conversation with Swali-Shie, Lus knew where a few of the cleaning closets were on this floor. He walked onwards, certain in his path and knowing that as long as he looked confident, he was a lot less likely to be questioned, even this late at night. The cleaner shifts ran every hour of the day for a house this large. Offices and living areas couldn¡¯t be cleaned while the family and staff might have need of them, after all. It was not the place of the servants to dare disrupt their superiors.


    When he reached the closet, he silently cursed. A light was on. Someone else was already there. While the cleaning staff was the largest of any hired groups, they still knew each other well. Lus¡¯s cover would be blown if he bumped into another worker.


    He stepped around the corner, leaned against the wall, and settled in to wait for the other to leave. Only a few minutes later, the door opened and closed and heavy footsteps faded off.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Standing up straight, he returned to the door only to come face to face with the one person he¡¯d been hoping to avoid in all this.


    The woman from before.


    She stared at him, and for a split second, Lus saw the same confusion in her eyes that he must have had on his own.


    ¡°What happened in the kitchen? Couldn¡¯t hack it as a chef?¡± she asked coldly, slapping his hand away from the door handle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. You must have me confused with someone else,¡± Lusac replied, attempting to mask his voice. Did she really recognize him that easily through the disguise.


    ¡°That disguise might work on the dingbats they hired for security, but it doesn¡¯t fly with me,¡± she said sourly. ¡°I suppose this means you are a thief. I¡¯ll have to inform security.¡± She said it like she actually did regret this turn of events.


    ¡°You do that, I¡¯ll rat you out too. I know that you weren¡¯t allowed up on the second floor that day anymore than I was,¡± Lusac threatened. His eyes went to the security camera in the corner of the hall. It wouldn¡¯t be able to pick up this whispered conversation, right?


    That caught the woman off guard. She straightened. ¡°Why would they believe you? You¡¯re the thief afterall.¡±


    ¡°But if I accuse you, they¡¯ll fire us both, and neither of us will get what we came here for.¡± Lusac lowered his voice, still thinking about all the security systems.


    The woman¡¯s face twitched into a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t like playing games with silly boys.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to leave at any point,¡± he said.


    ¡°And what if we have the same target? I get paid upon delivery,¡± she replied.


    ¡°I highly doubt we¡¯re here for the same thing.¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m after an artifact, something old and unimportant to most people.¡±


    ¡°Except a Senator and your employer?¡±


    ¡°I doubt even the Senator recognizes the value of it,¡± Lus said.


    ¡°Well, I can safely say our tasks won¡¯t interfere with each other, assuming you manage to stop making such a mess everywhere you go,¡± the woman stated.


    ¡°And what is your task?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s classified, darling. Sorry.¡±


    Lus growled. Curse that 1 [Common Sense]. Why couldn¡¯t he ever think things through properly? ¡°Well how do I know you¡¯re not after the same exact thing and just looking to use me as a tool to find it?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I know what my target is, but unfortunately it¡¯s a moving target. The problem is getting a clean shot at it.¡±


    Clean shot¡­? Lus didn¡¯t dare ask further clarifying questions, but he had a pretty strong inclination that she wasn¡¯t a thief after all. Just an assassin. Which felt worse. A lot worse.


    Then again, Senator Grwtln was just another rich Federalist who profited off of war, a war that destroyed Lus¡¯s home and tore him from his family. What did he care if someone offed him? The guy probably deserved it¡­ But still, the idea of assassinating someone just didn¡¯t sit right with him. He only shot at people when they were shooting at him first. Anything else just felt dirty.


    ¡°I believe we have an understanding then,¡± the woman said, recalling his attention from his spiral of worries.


    ¡°Right. I¡¯m Lus by the way,¡± he said stupidly.


    Another grin lit up her face as he realized he¡¯d managed to commit yet another blunder.


    ¡°Ahem. I mean, that¡¯s my cover name, you know.¡±


    The woman shook her head. ¡°This must be your first time in the field. I feel bad for your handler.¡±


    Lus glared at her. He did just fine on plenty of missions before now. This mission was just a little more clandestine than he was used to.


    ¡°I¡¯m Shelbs, but I tell you this only to keep you from looking like a complete idiot, got it? If I catch word of you ever using that name except with me, they won¡¯t find your body for years.¡±


    Lusac nodded, unwilling to admit just how terrifying he found Shelbs.


    She laughed and opened the door. ¡°Let¡¯s get some equipment before someone starts to suspect us of slacking off, yeah?¡±


    He followed into the closet and selected a basket of cleaning supplies that was light and easy to carry.


    ¡°Good luck, Lus. Try not to get yourself arrested, okay? I¡¯ll miss these little encounters,¡± Shelbs said as she tugged out her own basket, one that was more ladened than his.


    ¡°You too, Shelbs. I hope you get that shot, just maybe not until after I get my piece. Nothing personal,¡± he said.


    She waved at him as she left the closet behind. Lus waited a full minute before exiting himself, giving proper time between them.


    Yet again he was disappointed that his [Quest] remained incomplete. How many more secrets could there be to learn? It felt like knowing about the upcoming assassination should cover that, but no. There was still at least one more secret waiting to be discovered.


    As glum as the thought was, he had to accept that he might not complete this [Quest], and instead he put his focus on completing the mission that couldn¡¯t wait.


    The encounter with Shelbs had eaten into the precious few minutes he had to explore the mansion, but Lusac decided to risk being gone a little longer to finish off his reconnaissance of the last wing of the first floor.


    It was slow going, trying to pretend to be cleaning while also scouting every shelf and display for something so plain and simple as the artifact piece. After nearly an hour and half, his search came up empty, yet again. With a new sense of worry, Lus returned to the cleaning closet to drop off his stuff.


    If he didn¡¯t find the piece before Shelbs made her move, this would all be for nothing. If Senator Grwtln died, only the Watcher knew where something like that would end up. His time was ticking away fast, and they hadn¡¯t even come to the hardest part of the mission.


    Doing his best to silence his concerns, Lus returned to the employee quarters and his hiding spot to change back into his regular clothes. When he got back to the room, he found that all three of his roommates were already asleep, sparing him the awkward conversation of explaining where he¡¯d been all night.


    As Lusac crawled into his bed, he made a mental count of all the people with fake identities among the Senator¡¯s staff. Vlqtrn, Shelbs, Fresa-Ersht, and himself. That was four already. How many more could there be, and more importantly, who was going to be discovered first?

 Chapter 78: Delivery

    ¡°Lus,¡± Sous Chef Crrn said, stepping up to the counter where he worked.


    ¡°Yes, Chef?¡±


    ¡°Put together a tray with soup from last night and salt crackers. Senator Grwtln¡¯s grandson Trwq isn¡¯t feeling well, but he needs food dropped off,¡± Crrn ordered.


    ¡°Yes, Chef. I¡¯ll do that immediately.¡± He dropped the rag back in the bucket and turned to the large nitrobox. Will the golem be delivering it?¡±


    ¡°No. The golem has other tasks. You¡¯ll take it to him. I trust you know where to go?¡±


    Lus nodded. ¡°Of course, Chef.¡± All employees were required to memorize the manor¡¯s layout, including whose room was whose.


    Lusac heated up the soup in the microwave and then set the bowl, some crackers, and a glass of water on the small tray before covering it with a metal protector. He was almost out the door when Crrn cleared his throat.


    ¡°Apron,¡± the sous chef reminded him.


    With a sigh, Lus found a stable place to set his tray and then pulled the apron off and ran it back to its appropriate spot at the hook near the other door. He didn¡¯t understand why they couldn¡¯t wear their aprons outside of the kitchen, especially when he was getting pulled to do something in the middle of cooking, but he had long since learned to stop complaining during his time as a servant.


    It was strange to think that it¡¯d already been three weeks of this work, and Lus found himself in a comfortable rhythm, even during his shifts working as a waiter instead of a cook. It helped that he and the others were done with all their punishment cleaning received during training, so he had a lot more free time during the day to work on his real mission of scouting for the artifact.


    Despite the numerous hours he¡¯d given to secretly scouring the mansion, he had yet to locate the piece, and given Vlqtrn¡¯s equal lack of success, he was starting to doubt that the artifact was here at all. He didn¡¯t know how they got the intel about the piece being in Grwtln¡¯s collection, but he believed it must have been a faulty source, something that made him a little bit angry after all the time he¡¯d been wasting here when he should be back on the Argo doing something important and meaningful rather than cooking for the upper class.


    With his tray back in hand, Lus stepped out into the grand hallway and quickly made his way towards the stairs. Trwq¡¯s room was on the third floor in the right wing of the manor, a solid ten minute walk away with all the stairs involved.


    Lus passed other servants as he went, but he paid no mind to any but the security, his mind always mentally mapping out how often he passed the uniformed mercenaries. Knowing their schedule and general layout would be important when it came to get the artifact out, assuming they ever found it.


    Even if they didn¡¯t, he and Vqltrn would want some kind of quiet escape plan of their own to avoid drawing attention to the fact that they were both hidden Runners.


    He also kept his eyes out for the mysterious cleaning woman Shelbs. He hadn¡¯t confessed the entirety of the situation with her to Vlqtrn during one of their few exchanges, but he had warned his teammate that there was a timer on this mission in which he couldn¡¯t predict when things would come to a sudden and explosive end.


    Fresa-Ersht¡¯s faithfully [Invisible] guards were still around too, and that cut into Lus¡¯s plans as well since he couldn¡¯t always sneak off when he wanted to without being caught by one of them. Xllq had fulfilled her promise to keep an eye on him, so it was typically only in the evenings or early mornings that he got to make his excursions out to the hallways in his cleaning disguise.


    Thinking of everything that was covertly happening in the mansion, Lus again thought of his unfinished [Quest]. Since he hadn¡¯t run into any new secrets since Shelbs¡¯ reveal, he still hadn¡¯t completed it, and that worried him. What more could be hiding in this building, and how was it going to affect the mission? All he wanted was a stupid pottery piece anyway. Why did this have to become so complicated?


    His inner musings were cut short as he reached Trwq¡¯s door. He hushed his thought monologue and focused on maintaining perfect decorum while in the presence of one of the oh-so-important household members.


    Straightening his shoulders, Lus held the tray in one hand and knocked on the door with the other.


    A hoarse ¡°come in¡± sounded from the other side, and Lus opened the door and slipped into the bedroom.


    ¡°Your soup, sir,¡± he said to the young Kremel still laying in his bed.


    ¡°Oh good. Wentworth said he would send for some. Bring it here.¡±


    Lusac did as he was told, carefully walking across the fancy carpet with both hands planted firmly on the tray. He was not going to spill. He reached the large bed and gently slid the tray onto the Kremel¡¯s lap as he sat up.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Lus pulled the tray cover away, revealing the small meal, and Trwq¡¯s grin turned to disgust.


    ¡°What is this?¡± he exclaimed, digging the spoon into the soup. ¡°I wanted Creme Soup, not this garbage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. This is the only soup we have on hand. If you¡¯d like, we can make the other one, but it will take more time.¡±


    ¡°I refuse to wait. Send someone with the correct food immediately.¡± Trwq picked up the soup bowl and threw it at Lus, dousing him with the steaming broth. ¡°And take this trash with you.¡±


    Simmering with rage, Lus picked up the fallen bowl and set it on the tray as he pulled it from the spoiled Kremel¡¯s lap. He was at the door when he heard the boy on his comm unit, speaking to his personal assistant.


    ¡°Wentworth, send a cleaner. The kitchen boy made a mess in my room.¡±


    Lus gripped the tray so tightly his knuckles turned white. If he didn¡¯t have that blasted mission to worry about, he¡¯d teach that brat a thing or two. He was only halfway down the corridor when he bumped into one of the cleaning people he rarely paid attention to.


    ¡°Should have known it was you. You are always there when problems arise, huh?¡±


    Lusac glanced back to see that he¡¯d run into Shelbs all geared up and on her to where he¡¯d just come from. ¡°Ha. You¡¯re funny. Good luck with that one, by the way. He¡¯s in a really good mood today.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure.¡± She remained where she was, facing Lus as though she meant to continue chatting with him even if he was drenched in soup. ¡°How is your side project going anyway?¡±


    Lus scanned the hallway, his eyes briefly passing several security cameras. ¡°Fine. How¡¯s yours? It¡¯s been a while since we got to catch up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Still waiting for the right moment to present itself, you know?¡±


    He nodded as he stepped closer, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have a timetable of some kind, do you? I¡¯m a little stressed just trying to finish my project before you finish yours since we both know yours is going to cause a real mess around here.¡±


    Shelbs smiled. ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating. My target isn¡¯t going to cause that much of a fuss, not in this mansion at least. Our tasks don¡¯t have as much overlap as you think, thief boy.¡± She waved at him. ¡°It was good seeing you, but I should get going. Wouldn¡¯t want our managers to think we¡¯re slacking, now would we?¡±


    Lusac waved back as he returned to walking down the corridor, his mind replaying their whispered conversation over and over. What did she mean by that? If she wasn¡¯t after Senator Grwtln, who could she be here for? None of the Senator¡¯s family members were powerful outside of their connection to him, according to Fresa-Ersht at least.


    He returned to the kitchen the tray, and Crrn gave him a dubious look, taking in the empty soup bowl and Lus¡¯s wet uniform.


    ¡°I take it Trwq wasn¡¯t interested in the Kechin Broth then?¡± the sous chef asked.


    ¡°No. He wants Creme Soup, and he wants it now, even though I told him we¡¯d have to make it up and that would take time.¡± Lus set the tray next to the sink with the other dishes to be washed. ¡°So I¡¯m not sure what you want to do about that. He didn¡¯t seem in a waiting mood.¡±


    Crrn chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll show you an old trick I learned at my first ever job serving a politician¡¯s family.¡± The sous chef went to the stuffed pantry, reached up to the top shelf in one corner, and returned to Lus with a can of Creme Soup.


    ¡°Won¡¯t he notice that it¡¯s not fresh?¡± Lusac asked.


    The Kremel laughed again. ¡°Whatever these guys like to pretend, their palates aren¡¯t that refined, especially if he¡¯s sick. I¡¯ll get this heated up and then send someone else with it. You should clean up before we need to prep for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chef.¡± Lusac ducked his head in appreciation and started towards the door just as his [Sixth Sense] went off and Fresa-Ersht entered the room.


    ¡°Good timing, Fresa. I have a job for you,¡± Crrn said.


    Lus exited into the hallway and silently laughed at her poor fortune, knowing how often she complained about actually having to do the ¡°degrading¡± tasks like serving the food instead of just making it. Who knew? She might even run into Shelbs on her way and that would¡­


    He stopped walking. Shelbs¡­ Fresa¡­


    Shelbs had said that whoever she assassinated wouldn¡¯t cause big problems in this mansion, which implied there was a mansion out there which would mourn the passing of whoever she killed.


    A mansion like the one Fresa-Ersht lived in back on Quosh with her mother who was some important representative.


    Of course. It all clicked in his head. Shelbs was here to kill Fresa-Ersht, not the Senator.


    The problem was that Shelbs didn¡¯t know that Fresa had a whole team of [Invisible] bodyguards trailing her every move. But even then, if Shelbs was as good at her job as she led Lus to believe, maybe she did know that.


    Suns, maybe she didn¡¯t even need to know that. Maybe she would be able to complete her job anyway. And if Fresa died, those guards would look to him as the problem.


    Worse still, he¡¯d lose a friend. He¡¯d had a hard enough time justifying the coldblooded murder of a Senator he had no opinion of, but could he really stand by while someone he called friend was killed when he had the power to prevent it?


    With these thoughts whirring through his head, Lusac changed directions. He would catch up to Fresa on her way to Trwq to escort her there and keep Shelbs from having a clean shot. Not that he believed the woman was going to not take her shot just because he was there, but he did have [Dash], and if worse came to worst, he could always signal the [Invisible] guards for help.


    His [Quest] hadn¡¯t completed itself at his realization of Shelbs¡¯ true target, but he chose to believe that was because there were other secrets out there, not because he¡¯d made a mistake in his logic.


    Lusac strode through the hallways quickly and with purpose. He¡¯d have to be careful if he wanted to save Fresa and keep himself alive all while not revealing Shelbs. If she got caught, he had no doubt that she¡¯d turn him over too. Somehow this whole thing had become an even bigger mess, and as stupid as it was, Lus was going to dive head first into it, regardless of the outcome.

 Chapter 79: An Accomplice

    Lusac strode through the hallways with purpose, but he remained on alert for any sign of Shelbs. His [Sixth Sense] wasn¡¯t triggering, but that was bad news in this case since it meant he wasn¡¯t close to Fresa-Ersht, and he really wanted to save her from being assassinated.


    Maybe he should buy a new [Skill] before he went at it with the professional assassin¡­


    No, he didn¡¯t have time to do that, and from what he could remember, he didn¡¯t have any stellar anti-assassination options anyway. He would have to save Fresa with the few [Skills] he did have and his other non-system talents.


    Lus picked up the pace, walking fast enough that it might as well be a jog as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.


    Still no sign of Fresa.


    His mind ran away with worries, part of him convinced that he was already too late.


    Or maybe he¡¯d been incorrect in assumption. Perhaps Shelbs wasn¡¯t here to kill Fresa, just some other secretly hidden close relative of a different politician.


    Or maybe Shelbs was just going to kidnap Fresa-Ersht, get a large sum of money, and then turn her over unharmed.


    He sighed. Those were nice ideas, but both were clearly fantasy scenarios he was using to ease the guilt over the fact he sort of helped out the woman trying to kill his friend. What he wouldn¡¯t do to go back to the simpler days where his only worry was finding a blasted artifact without getting caught.


    Lusac was on the third floor and making his way to the proper wing when his [Sixth Sense] triggered.


    That was good news. That meant Fresa-Ersht was nearby. He wasn¡¯t too late after all.


    He slowed his pace so as to not look suspicious as he approached the hallway where he noticed a glint of light purple. His [Sixth Sense] warned that there was only one guard in the corridor with them, but to his relief, he saw no sign of Shelbs or her cleaning supplies.


    Maybe the Watcher was looking out for him today, and Shelbs might have already finished and moved on. He might be worried for nothing.


    ¡°Hey, Fresa,¡± he said casually as he finally caught up to her. Hopefully he didn¡¯t look too stressed or out of breath.


    ¡°Lus. What do you want?¡± she asked curtly.


    ¡°Is that the soup for Trwq?¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Obviously. Crrn mentioned you screwed this up the first time. Trying to screw it up for me and ruin my image?¡±


    Lus¡¯s steps faltered for a minute at her sudden, outward anger. Some petty part of him wondered if he shouldn¡¯t just walk away if that was going to be her attitude, but he quickly reminded himself that this was a matter of life and death, and he couldn''t afford to play games.


    ¡°Can I walk to the door with you? I wanted to chat about something else,¡± he said.


    Fresa¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to give up going for that traveling spot with Chef Savannah, no matter what you say. Stop trying to cut out the competition. If you aren¡¯t talented enough to earn it, that¡¯s not my problem.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what this is about. I¡¯m not even trying out for that spot,¡± Lus quickly explained. Of course she thought this was about the coveted position of assisting Chef Savannah when she went on the road to film a high profile culinary show. He¡¯d been surprised the Senator would hire a head chef knowing he would have to part with her for several months less than a year after she started, but apparently Chef Savannah was just that good.


    Ever since their head chef mentioned that she was going to take one of the line cooks with her to assist as her temporary sous chef¨CCrrn had to stay behind to run things at the mansion¨Cthe good feelings between all of them had dissipated, replaced by aggressiveness in hopes of getting what could be the step up to culinary stardom.


    Since Lus was only supposed to be here for a few more weeks anyway, he had no interest in the competition or trying out for the spot. He already got to travel the galaxy making food, only his work was actually fun instead of getting bossed around by the stern chef.


    ¡°Then what is it about?¡± Fresa kept up with her steady pace, her hands firm on the tray of food.


    ¡°Well, uh, it¡¯s about¡­¡± Lusac hadn¡¯t thought ahead enough to actually come up with what he wanted to say to Fresa since he was only looking for an excuse to keep walking with her.


    ¡°Uh huh. That¡¯s what I thought.¡± Fresa turned to him, her look angry.


    His focus drifted from her face to the wall behind her, a bunch of fancy wallpaper, some artwork, a vent¡­


    A vent with something sticking out of it!


    Fresa-Ersht¡¯s grip tightened on the tray. ¡°Lus Andrews, you¨C¡±


    Lus cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and pulling her to the floor, splattering soup and crackers all over the both of them. Just as they hit the ground, a blaster bolt hit the wall opposite of the vent.


    Lusac immediately moved so that his body shielded Fresa from the side where he first saw the weapon.


    ¡°What was that? Lus, get off me!¡±


    ¡°Someone is trying to kill you, Fresa. I¡¯m keeping you safe,¡± he responded. He kept a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to remain prone against the ground as he leaned up to look around. The vent was clear, and there was no other sign of Shelbs.


    Before he could give Fresa the good news, two [Invisible] arms wrapped around him and jerked him away from her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the bad guy!¡± he shouted, struggling hopelessly against a hold that was far too strong for him to break, even with his 8 [Strength].


    Juze-Quiv appeared out of thin air, a strange device composed of metal and a large valer crystal in his hand.


    ¡°Stavi and I will get her to safety. The rest of you handle him and his accomplice,¡± the Nemarian ordered.


    The Kremel¨Cat least Lus assumed that was what the beefy arms holding him belonged to¨Cyelled his agreement as Juze-Quiv dragged Fresa away.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to help,¡± Lusac said, still attempting to free himself.


    ¡°You¡¯re under arrest for attempted murder,¡± his [Invisible] captor said, one arm pinning Lus¡¯s arms to his torso while the other one worked on cuffing him.


    Lus watched as they took Fresa away, and he caught sight of the barrel of a blaster in a different vent.


    ¡°Duck!¡± he screamed.


    Despite thinking he was in on the plot, the leader of the guards listened to him, and the Nemarian took Fresa to the ground again, covering the politician¡¯s daughter with his own body.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± some different [Invisible] guard said before backhanding Lus across the face.


    Lus¡¯s [Sixth Sense] triggered, but it was for something different. He couldn¡¯t explain it, but somehow he just knew that it wasn¡¯t one of the guards.


    He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but the guard who slapped him clamped a hand over his mouth, turning his words into muffled grunts.


    That¡¯s it, he thought to himself. With a clear mind, he turned on the one [Skill] he expected to be useful in this situation.


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    The world slowed, and while his opponents maintained their [Strength], Lus had enough freedom to move that he could attack.


    First he put all his [Strength] into a headbutt into the Kremel holding him. Almost immediately the grip around him released, allowing him to focus on other guard. While he couldn¡¯t see, his [Sixth Sense] was surprisingly accurate, and he was able to land a solid punch into the other guard¡¯s stomach.


    A strange, prolonged noise reached his ears, and he looked down the corridor to see a slow-motion blaster bolt heading straight for Fresa-Ersht and Juze-Quiv.


    Wasting no time, Lusac sprinted towards them and managed to get there just before the bolt, allowing him to shove the pair out of the way. He dipped under the bolt and ran towards the cause.


    It was an [Invisible] person, but for whatever he could distinguish that this one was unlike the guards. It must have to do with how the [Invisibility] worked. Perhaps this was someone with a true [Skill] while it seemed that the guards all used a temporary set up with borrowed power channeled in valers.


    Lus panicked. His [Dash] was going to run out, and there was still a hidden assassin right in front of him. Assuming it was Shelbs, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to put him down and then complete her mission.


    He reached out and managed to grab a pair of arms, dropping the blaster rifle to the floor where it became visible. Heaving, he dragged the personage away and into the nearest closet. It wouldn¡¯t do much, but surely she¡¯d be thrown off by the sudden change when time resumed its normal flow.


    Thinking of the enemies outside, he locked the door and then moved as much stuff in front of it as he could in a type of blockade. He¡¯d only just finished when the next set of notifications came.


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    Since he was trapped in a closet, there was no noticeable difference in the world around him until the [Invisible] person he¡¯d dragged in turned off her [Skill] and became visible.


    It was Shelbs, and while she still wore her cleaner¡¯s uniform, she also had on a tactical vest full of other equipment. She was also pissed off, and if she¡¯d had a gun in her hand, she probably would have shot him on the spot.


    ¡°Wait, I saved you,¡± Lus said as she reached for a secondary pistol on her vest.


    ¡°You screwed my mission over. I don¡¯t take kindly to people who do that,¡± she hissed. ¡°No need to worry about finishing your mission because I¡¯ll end you here.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t let you kill Fresa,¡± he argued. They were in a tough position though. Surely someone saw them go into the closet, and the lock and blockade wouldn¡¯t hold for long. As long as he kept her distracted, maybe those guards would come save him, or even the security officers.


    The problem was that if he allowed Shelbs to be captured, she¡¯d turn him in, and the whole mission would be a bust. Not to mention he¡¯d end up in some Core prison, never to see the Argo and her crew again.


    But if he let her go, she might try to take Fresa out again. And even if she didn¡¯t, he would still look really, really guilty.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of people who let sentiment get in the way.¡± Shelbs pulled the pistol out.


    ¡°No. Because of the [Invisible] guards. I didn¡¯t think you knew about them,¡± Lus said in a half-truth.


    ¡°You have a system.¡± Shelbs¡¯ face turned from anger to surprise and a hint of excitement. She laughed. ¡°Holy Core, how are you so bad at this if you have a system?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s new. And I¡¯m a [Chef] so it¡¯s not easy.¡±


    Pounding on the door started, and he reached back to ensure the blockade would hold a little longer.


    ¡°The vents. If we go in there, they won¡¯t find us,¡± Shelbs said, motioning to the vent above them. ¡°I can get us out.¡±


    ¡°Wait. A second ago you wanted to shoot me, and now you want to save me?¡± Lusac hesitantly looked at the pistol she had pointed at his chest.


    ¡°When you were an annoying twat trying to save a politician¡¯s daughter because you had a crush on her, I wanted to shoot you. Now that you¡¯re just a poorly trained mercenary with an underutilized system, I¡¯ve decided to take you on as my apprentice,¡± she explained. She handed him the gun. ¡°You¡¯ll need this.¡±


    Shelbs swept various supplies off the shelves and began climbing up to the vent as Lus watched dumbfounded. Clearly she had a system, and that meant she could teach him a lot of cool stuff. Maybe even cooler stuff than Nippy.


    ¡°I can¡¯t go with you. I¡¯m sorry. I have to finish my mission.¡± He held the gun out to her as she reached the vent. ¡°But I¡¯ll lie to protect you as long as you leave Fresa alone.¡±


    Shelbs shrugged. ¡°Your funeral, Lus.¡± She took the gun back and disappeared into the vent. Lus watched her go and wondered if he shouldn¡¯t have taken his escape chance instead of facing what came next.


    Lus replaced the vent cover and did what he could to calm his nerves. He then huddled into a corner and tried to make himself seem disheveled, slowly putting together a plausible lie.


    The door slammed open, the last of the blockade exploding in the force as three of the manor¡¯s security officers stood in the doorway, weapons trained on him.


    ¡°P-please. Don¡¯t shoot,¡± Lus whimpered. ¡°She took me in here and told me she¡¯d kill me if I moved. I-I think she might have set a trap.¡±


    The officers stared at him warily, one of them stepping up slowly while carefully scanning the ground.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything,¡± he said.


    Lusac huddled further back into the corner, hoping that lying counted in the [Charm] category since that was one of his better stats. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. It all happened so fast. I couldn¡¯t even see. One second I was in the hall, and the next, I was in here with a gun against my head.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like [Dash]. If the intruder was [Invisible], it makes sense they¡¯d have access to that one too,¡± one of the other guards pointed out.


    The first officer grabbed Lus and forced him to his feet. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s have a little chat about what happened.¡±


    The security officers surrounded Lusac and made him wear cuffs as they escorted him away from the corridor. He glanced back at the closet and once again questioned his decision to stay.

 Chapter 80: The Last Secret

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you walk me through it just one more time,¡± Sergeant Xllq said, crossing her thick arms. She was the head of the entire security force, and the Kremel Lusac had served at their training dinner a few weeks prior. They were in a small, bland room located in the basement of the mansion.


    The real basement, not the even deeper underground where they kept the servant quarters. When coming from the corridor where the assassination attempt happened, they¡¯d taken Lus to a special elevator which took them straight down to the security section, complete with multiple cells and interrogation rooms. It was strange that the Senator equipped his house with such things, but in this situation, it proved prudent.


    Lus sighed and rubbed his face with his cuffed hands. An hour they¡¯d been at this interrogation, and still she was asking him to repeat the story. He couldn¡¯t even begin to guess why, but he had a feeling that she didn¡¯t believe his version of events.


    Then again, it was a complete lie, so why should she?


    ¡°Mr. Andrews,¡± she said.


    ¡°Right, right. So it all started when I heard Fresa-Ersht was going to be the one taking the new soup up to Trwq¡­¡±


    Lus recited his tale, careful to leave out different details than the first time seven times he¡¯d told it to make it seem more organic instead of rote memorization. He wasn¡¯t that good of a liar, but he¡¯d picked up a few tips and tricks while working on the Argo alongside professional liars.


    As with every time before, Sergeant Xllq took meticulous notes, stopping him occasionally to ask clarifying questions.


    ¡°And then the security guards found me in the closet after the assassin left,¡± Lus concluded. He set his hands on the table, careful to keep them still.


    Xllq nodded, deep wrinkles in her gray skin. ¡°I see.¡±


    They sat there in an awkward silence for a moment until she abruptly stood up and walked out without so much as a ¡°goodbye.¡±


    Lus shifted in the cold metal chair and allowed one knee to bounce up and down in hopes of burning some of his nervous energy off. His mind was running amok with all the horrible ways this could end.


    What if they caught Shelbs and she told them the truth?


    What if they figured out he was a Runner?


    What if Fresa-Ersht decided to go full competitor mode and try to get him locked up to eliminate some of the competition for Chef Savannah¡¯s attention?


    Both feet were frantically tapping as his thoughts spiraled out of control, his imagination already sending him to the deepest cell of the COPS¡¯ galactic prison. Surely they had called the COPS after all. Someone was almost assassinated. He half expected Officer Rhyne to barge through the door and begin grilling about Leviathan at any second.


    Leviathan¡­


    What would happen to his Demon when he was carted off to jail? Becky would take care of Avil, but someone was bound to come across the ancient USB and learn his secret. In that case, Lus would likely lose his system. Not that it mattered much if he was going to be sitting in prison for the rest of his life. He didn¡¯t think prisoners had much access to cooking equipment anyway.


    The door opened, and Lusac braced for his fate. Luckily it was only Sergeant Xllq.


    Lus tried to look scared (which wasn¡¯t hard given how nervous he actually was, even if it was for the wrong reasons) and gave her his best pleading face.


    ¡°A-am I in trouble? I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re keeping me here.¡± He was doing his best to keep up his innocent bystander routine, but it was getting old playing the same old tune.


    Xllq smiled, and a brief sense of relief filled Lus. It was a gentle smile, if small, and not the mean, evil kind that meant they were going to throw him in a dungeon and throw away the key.


    ¡°No, Mr. Andrews. You¡¯re not in trouble. We only wanted to be absolutely sure we had all the information. We also kept you here for your own safety in case the assassin returned,¡± the Kremel said. She stood next to the table, making no motions of taking a seat.


    ¡°R-return? You think she¡¯ll come back?¡± Lus tried to make a face of pure terror.


    ¡°No. We¡¯ve scoured the mansion, and we¡¯re sure she¡¯s gone. You¡¯ll be safe now. What you did was very brave in protecting Fresa-Ersht, and the Senator himself would like to speak with you about the incident.¡±


    Lusac¡¯s stomach grew tight once again. A personal meeting with Senator Grwtln sounded bad, even if the Sergeant was painting it in a good light. He never liked being on the bottom of such a huge power imbalance, and some part of him was worried that they would discover his identity if they dug deep enough. And if they were wanting to let him see the Senator face to face, that meant they were being thorough in their background check of him.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not necessary. Honestly, I think going back to my room and getting to watch sports or something would be more helpful.¡± Lus chuckled, his fingers tapping on the table.


    ¡°The Senator insists. Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re a hero, Mr. Andrews.¡±


    Lus nodded. There was no getting out of it, but if they hadn¡¯t learned the truth about him yet, perhaps his secret would remain safe even through this.


    Xllq bent down and undid his cuffs, and immediately Lus began to rub where the metal had bit into his skin. She then motioned him to the door, and he hesitantly walked towards it, still apprehensive about meeting the owner of this grand mansion.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Lus stepped into the hallway and was greeted by a set of two more security guards. They took the lead in guiding him through the security bunker while Xllq stayed at his rear.


    Soon they were in the elevator going up to the main mansion. This one took them all the way to the fourth floor, the highest floor of the manor.


    Xllq walked out first, and Lus followed close behind as she guided him through the unfamiliar corridors. He rarely had an excuse to come up all this way since it held things like a sunroom, a game room, and a parlor¨Cnone of which ever required a personal waiter.


    The Kremel came to a stop in front of a grand wooden door with more intricate carvings than he could count and a security officer next to it. He knew what lay behind, but the Senator¡¯s office was one of the most well guarded rooms in the mansion so he¡¯d never gotten the chance to explore it during his minor excursions as a fake cleaner.


    Lusac took a breath as Xllq opened the door and ushered him inside.


    The office was large, airy, and full of natural light. It was tastefully decorated with a variety of art pieces including an exceptionally fine painting over the fireplace which was a detailed portrait of one of the elusive and rare Shamayim, the fourth sentient space-faring species in the galaxy. It was male Shamayim with pale skin, pointy ears, and brilliant blonde hair. He bore the usual purple markings on his forehead of all Shamayim, and he even wore the grand gold wings that were the hallmark of fashion for his people.


    ¡°Lus Andrews, the cook who saved Fresa-Ersht,¡± Xllq introduced him, diverting his attention from the artwork.


    Lus stared forward at the elderly Kremel sitting a wide, leather chair behind the wood and stone desk which bore Grwtln¡¯s family insignia on the front. The Senator had light gray skin, and despite his senior years, his skin was well cared for. His head bore only the tracest amounts of black hair, but his orange eyes were keen and discerning.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Andrews. It is a pleasure to meet you.¡± His voice was smooth and deep.


    Xllq nudged Lusac who suddenly remembered his manners.


    ¡°The pleasure is all mine, Senator,¡± he said quickly.


    Grwtln held out one meaty hand, and Lus tentatively shook it.


    ¡°That will be all, Xllq. I just want to have a little chat with Mr. Andrews, and then I¡¯ll send him back to the employee quarters for a much deserved rest.¡± Grwtln smiled at the security chief.


    ¡°Of course, Senator.¡± Xllq ducked her head and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind her.


    Lus¡¯s eyes darted around the office, eager to look anywhere but the grinning Senator. Some of the artwork looked old, ancient even, the kind of relics that might be in a museum. Even with everything that had happened, part of Lus remained focused on completing his true mission, and he briefly scanned all the shelves in hopes of finding the artifact they were after.


    He had no such luck, and the Senator began speaking, drawing his attention from the walls.


    ¡°I understand you¡¯re a fan of art,¡± Grwtln said. ¡°This room holds some of my favorite pieces, most of them the most valuable ones in my collection.¡±


    ¡°It is a very impressive collection,¡± Lus replied. He stayed at the door, unsure what proper protocol was for a private meeting.


    ¡°Some of the pieces are older than Nemarian interstellar travel even,¡± the Senator bragged.


    Lus¡¯s eyes went wide. Their target relic fit that description. ¡°Really, sir? D-do you think I could see some of those?¡±


    The Kremel laughed. ¡°A man after my own heart. Sure. I suppose it¡¯s the least I can do after you saved me from disaster.¡±


    Grwtln noted Lusac¡¯s confused expression. ¡°I knew who Fresa-Ersht was before she ever stepped foot on the property. Her mother and I worked out a deal to let her daughter train under my head chef. Losing Fresa-Ersht would have caused political problems for everyone.¡±


    ¡°I see, sir. I¡¯m just glad Fresa is okay,¡± Lusac said.


    The Senator chuckled and stood up. He went to a glass-encased shelving unit and unlocked the door. From inside he retrieved a small artifact and brought it to the desk where he gently set it down.


    ¡°This is a piece of pottery dating back to a civilization which lived before Nemarians took to the stars. Scholars have told me that it¡¯s imbued with a rare, almost imperceptible energy type that they can¡¯t quite pinpoint the cause of. It may very well be the last piece of a lost civilization with a uniquely developed technological path.¡±


    Lus stared down at the artifact. Not just any artifact, but the very piece he and Vlqtrn were looking for.


    ¡°I¡¯m still looking for the right person to properly identify what exactly this piece belongs to and what its purpose is. Truthfully, I think it may very well change the Cinder Rock Galaxy as we know it if this piece is half as important as some of the professors I¡¯ve shown it to have claimed.¡± The Senator stared longingly at the artifact.


    Lusac wanted to say something, but a notification interrupted his train of thought.


    [Quest Complete: Manor of Secrets]


    He blinked in surprise. What exactly was the last secret? That the Senator had the piece in his office or that he believed it was some big deal? Lus didn¡¯t know for sure, but he also didn¡¯t care too much since all that mattered was that he completed his [Quest].


    ¡°A lovely piece. I¡¯m shocked it¡¯s in such good condition for its age,¡± Lus said, finally pulling himself out of his stupor enough to recognize that the Senator was waiting for a response.


    Grwtln smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It makes me speechless too to think about it.¡± The Kremel took the piece back to the shelf and safely locked it away. He then sat down and motioned for Lus to do the same in the chair on the opposite side of the desk.


    ¡°I appreciate you showing it to me, Senator. Clearly it¡¯s very valuable and important,¡± Lusac said as he sat down.


    The Kremel waved a hand. ¡°Ha. Not as much as you would think. It¡¯s value only became apparent once I got proper testing. For most people, even thorough researchers, that thing is nothing more than an old fragment of a pot.¡±


    Grwtln leaned back in his chair. ¡°But on to other matters. Xllq has given me the story of what happened with Fresa and the assassin, but I was hoping I could hear it straight from the source. I do love a good tale of heroism.¡±


    Lus nodded and swallowed against his suddenly dry mouth. He supposed he should have expected to have to rehash the story again, but he was getting sick of telling it over and over again. Not to mention his mind was caught up on more important matters such as the fact that he discovered where their target was and that he¡¯d completed his [Quest].


    Still, he did as the Senator asked and retold his made up story involving a spur of the moment decision to protect Fresa and then getting kidnapped by the assassin. The Senator listened respectfully, and perhaps sort of raptfully. At the end of it, he grinned at Lus and thanked him again for his service.


    Grwtln said more words. A lot of words all meaning the same thing, but Lus had stopped paying attention. His focus was instead on forming a plan to retrieve the artifact and escape. It definitely sucked that the piece they needed was in the most well-guarded location in the mansion, but he trusted that he and Vlqtrn could figure something out.


    It took several more minutes of wasted chatting until the Senator sent him on his way, and Lus eagerly left the office behind to make his way to the servant quarters in hopes of finding Vlqtrn to give him the good news.


    They had a real shot at completing their mission and getting out of this stuffy building. And the best part, there were no more secrets Lus had to worry about.

 Chapter 81: Cooking Vegetables

    Another evening, another dinner that needed cooking. Lus stepped into the kitchen, grateful that his teammates greeted him with smiles. All except Fresa, that is. She glanced at him and the scales on her cheeks darkened in a blush as she looked quickly away.


    He figured she must be feeling a little weird about everything that had happened. They hadn¡¯t really had a chance to talk, but it didn¡¯t matter as they all set to work, quickly finding a station.


    Lus had noticed that everyone seemed to be feeling more competitive lately, likely trying to catch Chef Savannah¡¯s attention. It worked in his favor as he was no longer pushed into the most difficult tasks. Instead, he usually found himself doing the easiest and most straightforward jobs, which suited him perfectly.


    Today, that started with chopping vegetables. Everyone else had spent a turn or two on vegetable prep, likely to show off their incredibly even knife skills, and now they gravitated to more complex work.


    The only downside was that Lus did not have perfect knife skills, so he had to move slowly and carefully to make his cuts even. If he didn¡¯t, he would hear about it from Chef Savannah. Having managed to avoid her censure for the last three nights, he was eager to extend his streak.


    Today¡¯s vegetables were more challenging than usual. He had to shred three large heads of kabrage, peel and dice a large pile of garoots into small cubes, and turn a small pile of onnins into thin, even strips.


    He started with the garoots since they were the most difficult. He peeled the rough skins into a small waste bin on the counter specifically for vegetable waste, then got busy with a large knife on the rust orange roots.


    The instructions specified that he should do a ¡°fine dice¡±, but he wasn¡¯t sure how large that was. Thankfully, his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] came to his rescue.


    [.25 cm sides]


    He nodded and got busy. It took some practice to find an approach that worked effectively, but he eventually settled into a rhythm.


    Once Lus finished the last garoot, he slid the orange cubes into the bowl with the rest and moved on to the kabrage.


    Shredding kabrage took quite a while, even though there were only three heads. He found it easiest to cut the head in half and start shredding with the insides. It went well for about half of the slice, but then it would start falling apart and he¡¯d have to try and hold it together in order to finish shredding.


    Finally, Lus finished with the kabrage and checked the clock. He had far less time than he¡¯d have liked to chop the onnins, so he had to work quickly, in spite of the tears streaming down his face at the powerful scent.


    He made the last cut just as the timer went off, signalling that it was time to switch stations.


    As had become his habit, Lus stepped back and waited for the other chefs to pick their cooking station of choice, then went to his.


    To his surprise, he found himself working alongside Fresa.


    This happened occasionally- a part of the meal difficult enough that two chefs had to cook it together. But he had yet to be one of the two because it was usually the most interesting part of the dish to cook.


    He glanced over at Fresa and found her studying the instructions, so he did the same. They were making the vegetable dish, which was also the side dish. Not only did they need all the vegetables that Lus had prepped, but they also had a number of vegetables that someone else had gotten ready.


    It was a very complicated dish with multiple parts that needed to happen at the same time. Lus looked up at Fresa again and cleared his throat.


    ¡°So, uh- what do you want to start with?¡± he asked.


    She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± He glanced at the instructions once more. ¡°I can start boiling the prootas if you want to work on the glaze for the garoots?¡±


    Fresa nodded and they each set to work on their different tasks.


    The prootas just had to be dumped into a few large pots of boiling, salted water, so he got two pots ready and waited for them to come to a boil. He added the prootas, then set a timer and moved on to the kabrage.


    Lus set three more pots on the stove and added some oil to heat. He needed to cook the kabrage down and season it with a mix that had been prepped.


    Once he had the kabrage in the pots, he checked on Fresa. She had the garoot cubes split between a few different pans, frying in butter with the bowl of glaze close at hand to pour over them as soon as they had softened enough.


    ¡°Do you need any help?¡± he asked, though it seemed pretty obvious that she had things under control.


    Fresa shook her head. ¡°Just get working on the onnins.¡±


    Lus first gave the kabrage a quick stir, then pulled out a large pan. He only had one spot left on his stove, so he would have to do the onnins in batches.


    He got the first batch into the pan, then the timer for the prootas went off. He turned off the heat under them and gave the pots of kabrage another stir, then set up a strainer in the sink. He set a bowl underneath to catch some of the proota water, per the instructions.


    Once he had the prootas drained, he poured them all into the largest bowl he could find, which was thankfully large enough to hold them all.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    He pulled out the bowl of proota water and measured out a couple cups to add back into the boiled prootas.


    Taking another quick break to stir the kabrage and onnins, he then began smashing the prootas. Once he had them fairly smoothly mashed, he added some butter to melt in and some milk.


    Another pre-measured bowl of seasoning went into the prootas and he continued to stir until they were completely smooth, taking a couple more breaks to stir the kabrage and onnins.


    Once the prootas were done, he removed the first batch of onnins from the pan into a bowl and added another batch.


    He was about to stir the kabrage again when Fresa reached past him and took care of it.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he shot over his shoulder with a grateful smile.


    She nodded, but quickly glanced away, clearly still feeling a little awkward.


    Lus considered broaching the subject of what had happened, but he wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Before he could speak, she had returned to the garoots, leaving him to worry about the onnins.


    Thinking back through the instructions, he paused and looked with horror at Fresa.


    ¡°We forgot about the sprouts,¡± he gasped.


    Instead of returning his horror, she smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got them into the oven already.¡±


    He sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you again.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. And.. thank you. For, you know.. saving me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m just glad I was in the right place to help,¡± he answered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really like being in debt to someone. If I¡¯ve been awkward, it¡¯s just because I¡¯m not really sure how to handle this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    She rolled her eyes.


    ¡°No, I mean it. I owe you for being my friend. So just¡­ keep being my friend and we¡¯ll call it even.¡±


    Fresa looked at him searchingly for a moment, then nodded. ¡°If you insist.¡±


    He smiled in relief and turned his attention back to the onnins and kabrage. Both were almost done, which meant it was almost time to start assembling.


    Because this was a more intricate dish, assembly was going to be a lot more labor-intensive. He was glad that he had someone else to help.


    Lus moved the last of the cooked onnins to the bowl and turned off the heat under all of the pots of kabrage. He looked over to ask Fresa if she was ready to start plating and found her pulling the sprouts out of the oven.


    He grabbed the bowl of mashed prootas and checked the plating instructions, complete with a picture of what it was supposed to look like.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get the mashed prootas down,¡± he called to Fresa, who just nodded at him.


    With a medium-sized spoon, he scooped up some prootas and dropped the scoop on each plate, then dragged so the scoop had a little tail across the plate.


    He did that with every plate and by the time he had finished, Fresa was coming behind him.


    She carried a pot of kabrage and added a small scoop on top of the pile of mashed prootas, using tongs so that there wasn¡¯t as much liquid with the kabrage shreds.


    Lus returned the nearly empty mashed proota bowl and checked the instructions again. He took the bowl of onnins and a pair of tongs and followed after Fresa, draping a few onnins over the kabrage on each plate.


    Fresa came next with the glazed garoot cubes, which she spread artistically around the pile of other vegetables, making sure not to disrupt the tail of mashed prootas.


    Finally, Lus came by with the sprouts. He carefully placed exactly three on top of the onnins on each plate, making sure to pick the best-looking sprouts.


    And then they were done. Lus stood back for a moment to admire the effect of all of the vegetables so carefully cooked and arranged. The food he made on the Argo often looked and smelled tasty, but it never resembled works of art like this dish did.


    And right on cue, his reward popped up.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Earned: 50]


    He sighed at the low XP gain, but he wasn¡¯t surprised that Leviathan counted it as only one dish.


    Lus dismissed the screens just as Majo came by with the main course: beautifully cooked gervin steaks with some kind of glaze on them.


    ¡°Do you need any help?¡± Lus asked.


    Majo nodded. ¡°There¡¯s another bin of steaks. I¡¯ll start at one end and you start at the other. Set the steak carefully at the end of the mashed proota tail.¡±


    Lus nodded and did as Majo asked. He grabbed the other bin of warm steaks and a pair of tongs and began laying the steaks at the end of the mashed proota tails.


    The dish looked even more like an art piece now, with the warm, brown meat covered in a rich glaze at one end, the mashed proota tail connecting it to the beautifully piled vegetables, and the shining cubes of garoot around the edge adding a splash of color.


    Once he had finished helping Majo, Lus returned the bin to Majo¡¯s work station and wandered over to where Fresa was helping Pltr assemble the desserts. They were as intricate as the main course, with some kind of white custard covered in colorful berries alongside a small container of golden sauce. A chocolate cake sat on the other side of the sauce container, decorated with fine sugar.


    Finally, all the dishes were ready to go and while the wait staff came to serve them, Lus and the others began washing up the kitchen. They hadn¡¯t been asked to serve for quite a while, for which Lus was very grateful.


    Instead, they spent as much as two hours after every cooking session doing dishes, sanitizing counters, and sweeping. Since they were on dinner duty, they also had to take out all of the waste in the bins: the food waste went into a special container outside that turned it into compost for the Senator¡¯s gardens.


    The rest went into a trash receptacle a little further from the back door. Since nobody else ever volunteered for it, Lus often ended up taking out the trash.


    He didn¡¯t mind though, because it gave him a breath of fresh air and a break from the stuffy kitchen.


    They finished up the cleaning and were preparing to head to bed when Sous Chef Crrn poked his head in.


    ¡°There¡¯s some extra plates. A few guests didn¡¯t make it tonight. If you want some, you¡¯re welcome to come eat.¡±


    Lus shared a look with Fresa, Majo, and Pltr and together they raced out to the now-empty dining room where there were three plates of untouched food.


    Before they could decide how to split it all up, Fresa pushed one of the plates at Lus. ¡°I¡¯m not actually very hungry, so you three enjoy. I¡¯m going to head to bed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he called after her as she left the room.


    Majo and Pltr were watching him with interest when he turned back around. He just shrugged, grabbed a fork, and scooped up a bite of vegetables.


    ¡°Mmmm.¡±


    The others followed suit and soon all three were enjoying what was easily the best meal of Lus¡¯ life.


    The vegetables were all perfectly cooked. The creamy mashed prootas contrasted nicely with the crisp sprouts, the flavorful kabrage and onnins, and the sweet glazed garoots. The meat was perfectly cooked and seasoned, practically melting in his mouth.


    The dessert was amazing. He watched Pltr to figure out how to eat it, then followed her example, pouring the sauce over the custard, then taking a bite of cake and a bite of the custard mixture all together.


    All Lus could think was that it was a good thing they didn¡¯t usually eat like this or he¡¯d be as big as Relf before he got back to the Argo.

 Chapter 82: Completing the Mission

    Lus walked slowly through the hallway, but not too slowly. He didn¡¯t want to get to the office too soon so Vlqtrn had enough time to handle his side of things, but he also didn¡¯t want to look suspicious, especially given how fresh the assassin attack was in everyone¡¯s minds.


    It¡¯d been only a week since that fateful day with Shelbs, and the manor had returned to its usual routine, though everyone still seemed a bit on edge. His bunkmates had been especially bad, all three of them constantly worrying since they had to share a room with the guy they considered the assassin¡¯s number two target if she ever returned.


    Luckily, things were getting better each day, even if it was only by a little bit.


    However, Lusac and Vlqtrn were about to make things a lot worse. Like a lot worse.


    They¡¯d come up with a plan to get the artifact out easily enough, but finding the right time to execute it¨Can especially difficult challenge given the extra security after Shelbs¨Chad taken several days of waiting and discussion.


    It was finally decided that things were relaxed enough for them to pull it off. They¡¯d been away from the Argo for well over a month, and both were eager to return to their ship and regular jobs. Lus missed Avil and Becky and Yrqw and even maybe the Fsylan tubes with all their crampedness.


    Today was the day he got to leave behind being an ordinary line cook to return to being head chef of the Argo.


    Assuming he made it out of this in one piece that was.


    He shook his head. He couldn¡¯t afford to start worrying now. That would do him no good.


    His steps slowed even more as he approached the door since he had yet to get Vlqtrn¡¯s signal. The Kremel was to disable security in the whole wing in a single go, and then Lus would use [Dash] to break into the room, get the artifact, and meet up with his friend in time for their escape from the manor.


    Lusac stopped and pretended to study one of the paintings just before the turn to the office. He didn¡¯t want to be seen by the guard until it was time.


    The lights flickered and then turned off. The sun had gone down outside already, plunging the hallway into darkness.


    [Activating Night Sight]


    Thanks to his newly purchased [Night Sight], Lus saw everything in grayscale instead of being mostly blind. He got [500 XP] from his recently completed [Quest], but even that coupled with all the cooking wasn¡¯t enough to put him at the next level, though he was finally getting close.


    He also still had enough [XP] to buy another [Skill] after this if he ever needed it, but for now [Night Sight] was all he spent his [XP] on since it was immediately useful for this mission.


    Activate [Dash], Lus thought to himself, and another notification popped up over his vision.


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    Lus took off at a sprint, turning the corner to be in the corridor with the door to the office. The guard was there, but he was basically frozen as Lus ran past with his [Dash]. Thanks to Vlqtrn, all the security was down so Lus easily opened the door and entered the office.


    Grwtln was there in his chair, just starting to rise from it as Lus jogged to the cabinet. He didn¡¯t waste time with finding a key and opted to just shatter the glass instead. Reaching carefully inside, Lus removed his prize and tucked it safely in the small bag he wore over his shoulder before leaving the room behind. The guards were beginning to react to his intrusion, but he was far faster than them so he easily dodged past and outran them, taking the stairs two at a time as he rushed to get to the main hall where Vlqtrn would be waiting.


    Sometime during his run, his [Skill] ran out.


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    ¡°Blast me,¡± Lus muttered to himself as the world resumed its usual speed. Hopefully he had enough of a headstart to keep ahead of the security guards until he reached Vlqtrn.


    Sirens blared through the mansion, and the lights were on, giving Lusac a clear view of all the staff members hugging the walls and looking around in fear.


    He kept running, praying that no one realized he was the criminal. Maybe they all believed he was running out of terror or something.


    On the second floor, just before the stairs that would take him down to Vlqtrn so they could enact the rest of their escape plan, Lus ran into trouble.


    There were three security officers waiting, and he managed to stop himself just in time to duck behind an end table before they saw him. He barely peaked over so he could watch their movements, and they spread out enough that they would easily see him if he stood up.


    ¡°Find the Human. He stole something valuable from the Senator,¡± one of the guards called out to the others. They all held blasters, and Lusac was weaponless. He didn¡¯t have long until they came across his terrible hiding spot.


    Lus silently cursed as he looked for a way out. His eyes ran across another hunched form just across the hall¡­


    Fresa-Ersht. She looked back at him, and he saw the realization in her eyes. She knew it was him they were looking for. All she had to do was call out, and he was as good as dead.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    But that¡¯s not what happened. After the realization passed in her eyes, a wave of understanding and agreement crossed her face. She nodded to him and pointed down the hallway. Fresa was going to let him get away, and by doing so, that would settle the debt between them she¡¯d been so worried about.


    He dipped his head in understanding and then bolted in the direction she pointed once the guards¡¯ backs were all to him. He slid around the corner, and to his relief there was no yelling from the guards meaning he¡¯d gotten away without being caught this time.


    Lusac got back to his feet and continued to run, wishing he had more [Stamina] or even just a ]Power Burger] to beef up his stats temporarily. His side ached, but he refused to give up and kept pushing himself. It was a slight detour to the other set of stairs and then down to the main floor, but after a few minutes Lus reached Vlqtrn, running into no other resistance.


    The problem was his friend had had worse luck, and he had his hands on his head as he knelt before half a dozen security officers who were all armed. Vlqtrn was caught.


    Luckily they¡¯d accounted for this situation happening, and Lus wasted no time pulling out the next trick for aiding their escape. He put all his focus on a single thought, and a rush of relief rushed through him as the notification popped up.


    [Activating Summon Avil]


    A blob of black fur appeared in his arms.


    ¡°No time to explain how I¡¯m in this mess, Avil. Get big and take those guys out while Vlqtrn and I run away. Once we¡¯re safe, I¡¯ll summon you to us, and we¡¯ll all escape together.¡± Lus tossed the cyclops cat to the ground and motioned to the enemies.


    The cat remained motionless, staring up at Lus with his one yellow eye.


    ¡°Go on, buddy. I need you.¡±


    Avil screeched in protest as Lus used his foot to shove him forward, but once he was past the safety of the corridor and in the open, he curled in on himself and transformed into the bubbling mass that came before the real monster.


    The security guards had taken notice of the change, and a few were coming towards Lusac, but he stepped back farther in the hallway, keeping Avil between him and the enemies.


    Just as they reached the black mass, cyclops-Avil rose up with a roar, stretching to be well over ten feet tall with rippling muscles underneath his coarse, black fur.


    The security officers backed away in surprise, but they weren¡¯t fast enough as Avil swept one arm outwards and knocked all three of them to the ground. The others realized that this was a much bigger threat and all turned their attention to it. Blaster bolts bounced harmlessly off Avil as Lus slinked around the corner and motioned Vlqtrn to him.


    The Kremel stood up and punched the single guard who remained by him. The two tousled briefly before Vlqtrn got the upper hand and threw the officer to the ground. He then dashed to Lus.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe your cat can do that,¡± he said as Lus fell into a run next to him.


    ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly handly. Saved me back when Shaquine took over the Argo too.¡± Lusac¡¯s legs burned as he attempted to keep up with the long strides of his Kremel companion. They just had to make it out of the mansion and to the hangar where their ride off the planet waited. Easy peasy, assuming Avil continued to distract the guards.


    They reached the main doors of the manor, but two guards stood there at the ready, undeterred by the shouts coming from the rest of the security officers who faced off against the monstrous cyclops.


    ¡°Blast it,¡± Vlqtrn said when he noticed them. ¡°We should have grabbed blasters.¡±


    ¡°Too late now.¡± Lus glanced around, looking for any other opening, and he caught sight of the large windows all along the hallway ¡°Let¡¯s go through a window. You go first since your skin is less fragile than mine.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re reinforced glass. I¡¯m not so sure it¡¯ll work.¡±


    ¡°Choose. Blasters or glass.¡±


    Vlqtrn muttered a vulgar Kremel curse and changed his trajectory so he was instead charging to the nearest window. It cracked as he rammed against it, but it remained in one piece.


    Roaring, Vlqtrn threw his weight against it again while Lus chucked whatever he could at the incoming guards in distraction.


    The third try from the Kremel worked, and he went tumbling out the window. Lusac wasted no time jumping after him. They both got to their feet and continued their sprint away from the chaos of the manor.


    Lus looked back to see the guards starting to follow but being stopped by one of Avil¡¯s meaty arms. The whole system companion thing was insanely powerful now that he knew how to use it properly.


    They didn¡¯t have to run far to reach one of the hovercars parked on the street. Lusac had never been in such a nice vehicle, but there was no time to admire the finer details as he climbed into the passenger seat and Vlqtrn into the driver¡¯s side.


    Luckily the Kremel¡¯s tech expertise encompassed more than just computers, and he easily hotwired the vehicle. In less than a minute the car was zooming along the road, leaving the disaster they¡¯d just created behind.


    Unfortunately word about their escapade had made it out of the manor, and three hovercars pulled up behind with flashing lights.


    ¡°COPS, or something,¡± Lus warned the driver.


    ¡°I see them. Hang on. I¡¯ll try to lose them.¡± Vlqtrn grit his teeth and yanked on the steering wheel, sending them into a sharp turn at the intersection. The engines roared, and several alarms went off warning them against such reckless use, but the Kremel paid them no mind.


    The COPS remained on their tail, but Vlqtrn was already executing another extreme turn by the time they rounded the first corner. Lus held on to whatever he could, sweat beading across his forehead as he tried not to imagine dying in a fiery crash. At least Vlqtrn¡¯s driving skills matched his ego in the matter.


    They took more turns and even a few shortcuts through well manicured lawns before Vlqtrn was satisfied they¡¯d lost the COPS. He then took them to one of the few businesses in the suburban area and brought the hovercar to a halt.


    Lusac exited with his hands on his stomach. As grateful as he was to be safely away from the mansion, the escape had proven rather nauseating.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Vlqtrn shouted, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the hovercar repair shop.


    They passed by the onlooking mechanics and the few patrons into the back closed off area where the shop kept spare parts, and in this case, an illegal shuttle.


    In a strange turn of events, Lusac was the designated pilot for this mission. Vlqtrn might be good with a hovercar, but the Kremel was adamant he couldn¡¯t handle a shuttle and that his skills were better used in weapons.


    Lus took a breath and powered up the ship.


    ¡°Forgetting something?¡± Vlqtrn asked.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± He closed his eyes and focused on activating his [Companion Skill] again. As far as he knew it didn¡¯t have a cooldown, and he really hoped he wasn¡¯t about to find out the hard way it did.


    [Activating Summon Avil]


    A familiar black lump popped into his lap.


    ¡°Good job, Avil.¡± Lusac pushed the cat off him. ¡°Go to Vlqtrn. I have to pilot.¡±


    Avil screeched in reply and climbed into the Kremel¡¯s lap instead. Lus calmed his nerves and activated the appropriate controls for liftoff. They were getting out of here.

 Chapter 83: High Speed Chase

    The shuttle rattled under Lus¡¯s guidance, and he could hear Vlqtrn¡¯s muttered prayers and curses as the craft jolted upwards. The problem was that the back area where they kept the shuttle had a very narrow door leading outside and was otherwise a solid metal warehouse.


    Lus, unfortunately, did not have the skills to get this large of a ship through that small of a hole.


    ¡°Hang on,¡± he said as he pulled the stick up and increased the upwards thrust.


    The shuttle shot upwards and thanks to the shields, easily broke through the metal roof. Debris rained down as Lusac continued their journey upwards, wincing as the scraping noises of a few small pieces that made it through their shields.


    ¡°Well, we just burned the bridge with that contact,¡± Vlqtrn commented. His hands were wrapped tightly around the armrests, his knuckles losing some of their color from his grip. ¡°D-do you think you could pilot just a little better, Lus?¡±


    Lusac grunted in reply, all of his focus on getting the shuttle out of the atmosphere in one piece. Oaty always made it look easy.


    They were just reaching the inky void of outer space when two other space-faring vehicles pulled up behind them. The senses on the shuttle went wild, issuing warnings about powered up weapons, and their comm crackled to life.


    ¡°Attention criminals. We have you surrounded. Surrender yourselves and your vehicle,¡± the determined voice said.


    ¡°Vlqtrn, you ready?¡± Lus braved a glance at his companion who gave a small nod and scooted forward to better access weapon controls. They¡¯d known there was a chance they¡¯d have to fight their way out of here. Or at least cause enough a fuss that they could safely escape to the Breach in the Astral Highway and reconvene with the Argo in Aura sector.


    ¡°Ready.¡±


    Lusac blew out a long breath and then punched the accelerator. The inertial dampeners failed under the stress, and they were all thrown back against their seats¨Cor in Avil¡¯s case, against Vlqtrn¡¯s stomach.


    The sensors screamed louder as blaster fire thudded into their shields, but Lus ignored it to as he focused on getting to the Highway which was only a few minutes away at maximum acceleration.


    ¡°Returning fire,¡± Vlqtrn announced as his hands danced across the console in front of him. Their own guns sounded, and the sensors calmed down ever so slightly. ¡°We hit one. But two more are joining up.¡±


    ¡°Keep them distracted, Vlqtrn. We¡¯re almost there.¡± Lus took his focus off the navigation screen to check the other sensors. Three ships remained close on their tail, and another two were incoming from up ahead. ¡°Blast it. They¡¯re coming from all sides. Engaging evasive maneuvers.¡±


    In his sparse lessons with Oaty, the head pilot had only ever taught him one evasive maneuver, and he was pretty sure this was the wrong time to use it, but his only other choice was to run straight into the other ships.


    Lus guided the shuttle through a set of tight turns and spins before resetting their trajectory to the upcoming Breach.


    ¡°That did almost nothing,¡± Vlqtrn informed him.


    ¡°Well we¡¯re no longer on a collision course with the COPS so I¡¯d say it did something.¡± Lusac grit his teeth as he pushed the accelerator harder in hopes of drumming up a little more power from it. The engines groaned in protest, and he knew that the shuttle mechanic was going to have his head for putting them through this kind of stress, but he figured he¡¯d rather face her than prison.


    Blaster fire continued to hit their shields, slowly draining away the power in their defenses, and Vlqtrn actively fired back, occasionally exclaiming when he got a good hit.


    Lusac allowed himself to smile as they came up on the Highway. For most people it wouldn¡¯t do much good to approach from here, but since they were Runners, they had access to the Breaches which were secret, illegal entrances and exits to the wormhole network.


    It was unlucky that they had so many COPS after them which would mean this Breach would be unusable for the foreseeable future without risk of immediately getting captured by the officials, but the Runners had a system for telling other ships in the collective about those instances. Besides, after a few years it might become viable again or they might find a new one nearby to make up for it.


    All that mattered was that Lus and Vlqtrn made it inside without getting blown apart.


    Just as they reached the Breach, Lus slammed on the brakes, throwing all the shuttle occupants forward against their seatbelts. They slowed enough to safely enter the Highway, and Lus activated the mechanism which opened the Breach for them.


    In an instant the void of space was replaced with the dancing colors of the Highway. As soon as they were safely in, he turned off the key, and the Breach sealed behind them. They¡¯d done it. They safely escaped.


    ¡°We did it. I can¡¯t believe it,¡± Vlqtrn said, sinking in his seat. Avil gave a screechy meow and jumped from his lap.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Normally I¡¯d be offended that you had so little faith in my piloting skills, but¡­ I didn¡¯t have much confidence myself,¡± Lus admitted. He kept his hands on the steering stick, though autopilot was engaged so there was no need. He was still reeling from their epic escape and the fact that they were alive and had the artifact.


    ¡°Can I see it?¡± Vlqtrn asked, his thoughts obviously turning to the same thing.


    Lus nodded and pulled the bag off his shoulder, tossing it to the Kremel.


    Vlqtrn opened it and removed the wrapped up artifact piece. After undoing the cloth, he held the inconspicuous piece out. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that this thing is so valuable. It¡¯s nothing more than a piece of clay.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Lus began. He then told Vlqtrn of his conversation with the Senator and the revelation that the piece emitted some near impossible to detect energy that no one quite understood.


    ¡°Interesting. I wonder if Captain would let us run some of our tests before we turn it over to the collector.¡±


    ¡°Ha. I doubt that. What if you ruin it?¡± Lus shook his head.


    ¡°Now who''s lacking confidence?¡±


    Lusac rolled his eyes and checked all the screens before him for any anomalies. Nothing amiss. They¡¯d ride the Highway for about a day before exiting another Breach where the Argo was supposed to be waiting, and they¡¯d sustained only minimal damage during the fight. Their mission was a total success.


    ***


    ¡°Careful,¡± Vlqtrn growled as their shuttle approached the Argo.


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Lus lied. That ¡°minimal¡± damage ended up including the auto-landing feature on the shuttle meaning Lusac would have to do it himself. This was easily one of the hardest parts of piloting, and he was not looking forward to testing his skills on it when he¡¯d never actually done it before.


    He slowed their velocity even further so the shuttle was barely creeping along as it reached the gray hull of their home ship. The landing bay doors were wide open. It was a straight shot inside.


    Easy peasy.


    Lus forced himself to remain calm as he guided the shuttle through the opening, his body tense as it waited for sounds of scraping. Luckily nothing came. He brought the shuttle to a stop and slowly descended to the floor of the bay, grounding the shuttle more or less on the landing pad. He then opened the rear door and turned off the engines.


    ¡°Phew. Good job, Lusac. No holes in either ship.¡± Vlqtrn smiled at him as they both undid their seat belts


    Lus chuckled and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. ¡°Let¡¯s get the artifact to the Captain and debrief. I¡¯m ready to take a long shower and wear something comfortable for once.¡±


    They both laughed as they stood up. Vlqtrn carried the bag with the artifact, and Lus carried Avil in his arms. He thought about setting the cat free to go find Becky or return to his room, but he decided it was best if he kept the mutant cyclops cat with him to ensure no unfortunate rage monster incidents occurred with the other crew members. Avil did have a bit of a temper.


    It was strange to be back on the Argo after being away for so long, but it was nice to be home. Crew members waved at them as they passed, and some tried to stop and chat, but Vlqtrn was fast to cut them off by mentioning they needed to see the Captain first. Lus hadn¡¯t realized how dutiful his friend was until now.


    They reached the upper deck¨Cthey took the elevator for Avil¡¯s sake¨Cand went to the meeting room where Captain Tave and Nippy both waited. Cewi-Bano was likely running the ship while they handled the debriefing.


    ¡°The artifact, Captain.¡± Vlqtrn presented the bag to Captain Tave with a flourish.


    Tave accepted it, but he didn¡¯t immediately open it. Instead, he stared at Lusac and Avil. ¡°Arten, why is your cat here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, we used him in our escape, and I didn¡¯t have time to drop him off at my room first. Sorry, sir,¡± Lus said quickly.


    Nippy raised a single eyebrow. ¡°How did your cat get to you?¡±


    ¡°A [Skill] from my system.¡± Lusac shuffled on his feet, keeping both arms wrapped around the lump of fur.


    ¡°Strange. I¡¯ll never understand the housekeeping systems,¡± the second-in-command muttered.


    ¡°Sounds like you have quite the tale. Shall we?¡± Tave motioned to the table and chairs at the center of the room.


    They all sat down, and Lus and Vlqtrn spent the next half an hour sharing the details of the mission. Lusac even included meeting Shelbs and the [Quest] about finding secrets. It was Vlqtrn, however, who spoke of the information about the relic that Senator Grwtln had given Lus during the private meeting.


    ¡°I was thinking, Captain. Before we turn over all the artifact pieces, perhaps I could run some of my own tests? See if I can gain the same results. It might be useful to our employer,¡± the Kremel said eagerly.


    Captain Tave used one hand to stroke his well-trimmed blond beard. ¡°Perhaps. You¡¯ll have to run any tests and the associated risks by me first however. Our top priority is turning over the relics in prime condition.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir.¡±


    ¡°And so how did you get the artifact once you found out it was in the office?¡± Nippy redirected their attention to finishing the story.


    Vlqtrn and Lusac took turns sharing their intense escape, including summoning Avil and outrunning the COPS first in a hovercar and then in the shuttle.


    Nippy sighed. ¡°Another unusable Breach. That¡¯s two from us this year alone. That¡¯s not good.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. The others will understand. We¡¯re hardly the first ship to run into trouble.¡± Captain Tave waved a dismissive hand. ¡°I am, however, concerned about the Senator¡¯s attachment to this piece. We still have one more to get, and I¡¯m worried we¡¯re going to see bounties popping up. It¡¯ll be even worse if they figure out what we¡¯re collecting. We need to get the final piece and be rid of this as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about making another mess, Captain, but I don¡¯t think there was any way around it. Senator Grwtln kept a close eye on his most valuable pieces,¡± Lusac said.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯m impressed with both of you for making it out at all. Good job.¡± Tave¡¯s face remained neutral, and his tone emotionless, but Lus was happy for the compliment anyway.


    ¡°You too deserve a break. Take a couple of days off before returning to regular duty.¡± Nippy nodded at them.


    ¡°Thank you, sirs,¡± Vlqtrn said.


    Lusac echoed his friend as they both stood up and left the briefing room behind. They walked to the crew quarters together and then parted ways.


    Lus pushed Avil to sit on shoulder with only one hand supporting the cat while he used the other to access his room.


    ¡°Home sweet home.¡±


    He entered his quarters, his mind ready to think about anything but relics or missions.

 Chapter 84: Lus鈥檚 Day Off

    Lusac ran his hands through the mop of brown hair on his head and sighed. It was getting long enough that his bangs were starting to annoy him by hanging in front of his eyes all day, but he didn¡¯t want to risk asking Yrqw for a haircut again since the last time the Kremel gave him one, it¡¯d looked¨Cto put it gently¨Cawful.


    Becky and Zer-Dasht had made fun of him for weeks while he waited for it to grow out afterwards, and Lus was in no mood to endure such things again. Instead he planned to go to a proper Human barber next time the Argo stopped for supplies, but that was still a week away.


    That meant Lus would have to endure the annoying bangs for a little longer. Honestly, he managed to ignore them during his shift in the Fsylan tubes or while cooking. It was only when he worked out at the gym that it became truly unbearable.


    He didn¡¯t go to the gym all that often, opting to only go on his days off when he had the extra time since he got plenty of exercise doing his job aboard the Argo as it was.


    It¡¯d been just over a week since his return from the mission to Senator Grwtln where he worked as a servant cook for nearly a month. And while he¡¯d gotten a full day off right after, he¡¯d then spent the next seven days spending all day in the Fsylan tubes and cooking dinner every evening before his next day off.


    And Lus had big plans for this rest day. It¡¯d been a long time since he had casual time with his friends so he, Zer-Dasht, Becky, and Oaty were going to get together to hang out that night in his room.


    That meant he needed to clean it up some too, but first he wanted to work out and see if he could increase his [Stamina] for his next level up which would probably be coming in the next couple of weeks if he kept up with this same intensity of schedule. He hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to try the new [Recipe] from the [Quest] he completed during the last mission, but he was very interested in whatever power was behind [Revelation Cakes].


    Normally he¡¯d try to sneak into the kitchen to cook his system [Recipes] on his day off, but he was too busy this time around. He planned to stay up late the next night to test out his newest [Recipe] instead.


    Avil stood up from where he¡¯d been sleeping on the bed, stretched, and then curled back up.


    ¡°Yeah. I know it¡¯s been real rough for you having to hang out with me instead of Becky,¡± Lus said to the cat with a smirk. He couldn¡¯t be too offended that his cat wanted to hang out with Becky all the time because Lus shared the same sentiment. ¡°Well, be a good boy. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡±


    Lus left his quarters behind and headed off to the gym. Since it was the middle of the day it might not be quite so busy. His [Luck] held out, and he discovered the room rather empty.


    He stretched out near the treadmills, but just as he went to get on and start his run, someone called out from behind.


    ¡°Lusac! Good timing!¡±


    Lus turned around to see Nippy¡¯s smiling face over by the weightlifting section. He had yet to have that all important conversation about not wanting to put any more stat points into [Strength] for the time being, and it seemed the universe had decided today was the day.


    ¡°Hey Nippy. You here for a workout too?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what else I would be doing here,¡± the Kremel chuckled. ¡°Come on. You¡¯ve been away so long I¡¯m afraid you might have to restart your weight program.¡±


    Lus rubbed the back of his head. ¡°About that¡­ I was thinking of kind of focusing on [Stamina] and some other stats for this level up. Just since my [Strength] has gotten so much better recently, I don¡¯t want to lag behind on the other ones.¡±


    Nippy blinked in surprise and then laughed. ¡°What else do you need? You think [Charm] is going to win a battle? I thought you wanted to become tough enough to fight.¡±


    ¡°I do want to be good at fighting, but [Strength] isn''t the only way to do that,¡± Lus argued. ¡°Things like [Speed] and [Stamina] are important too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. And [Health].¡± Nippy nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. You get it. So I think I¡¯ll just focus on those other ones for now.¡± Lusac smiled, softening the blow. He knew how much it meant to Nippy to mentor him since no one else on board had a system.


    ¡°Oh. Alright. Well just let me know when you¡¯re ready to level up [Strength] again. [Stamina] isn¡¯t going to be much good if you¡¯re still physically weak.¡± Nippy turned away.


    ¡°Thank you for all your help, still.¡± Lus grimaced at himself, sad that he¡¯d disappointed the Kremel.


    ¡°Of course. Enjoy working on your other stats.¡± Nippy was already sliding weights onto one of the bars, signaling that he was through with this conversation.


    Lusac turned back to the treadmill and started his warmup walk. He needed to upgrade his [Speed] and [Stamina] since those two were probably the most important.


    Not to mention my [Common Sense] could use some help, Lus added to himself, remembering that it was still at 1.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    After speed walking for a few minutes, Lus pushed the equipment¡¯s speed up, turning his pace into a jog, and after a few minutes, a full run. He kept at it for as long as he could, and then a minute or two longer before slowing back down to a walk, sweat dripping from his brow. His legs muscles burned, and his side ached, but he comforted himself with the thought of increased stats at his next level up. He was only 200 [XP] away, and he was excited to see what he would get this time around given how much had happened since his last one.


    Once he completed his run, he did go to the weights and do a brief set of exercises there just to keep his muscles strong. He didn¡¯t know if his system could take away stat points for growing weaker in something, but he definitely didn¡¯t want to find out. Besides, he looked how his body looked with the extra bulk from lifting.


    Nippy grinned when he saw Lus use the weights, and he knew that the Kremel had already forgiven him for abandoning the straight [Strength] plan he¡¯d laid out for him. Lus had completely finished his work out, but Nippy was still going strong.


    ¡°Bye, Nippy. See you around,¡± he said as he got ready to leave.


    ¡°See you, Lus,¡± the Kremel grunted as he heaved a bar with a thick set of weights on either side up above his head.


    Shaking his head at the sight of such a feat, Lus left the gym and returned to his room where Avil lay in the exact same spot.


    ¡°Good to see you working so hard,¡± Lus mentioned as he sat on his bed next to the cat and pet him.


    Avil glared at him while simultaneously purring, caught between being annoyed at the comment and enjoying the attention.


    Once he¡¯d given Avil enough cuddles to make up for the teasing, Lus showered and pulled on a set of fresh, clean clothes.


    Mostly clean.


    Maybe he should do laundry today too.


    Glancing around at his messy room, he decided laundry could wait another week since he was probably going to spend hours tidying up for company.


    Before he did anything of the sort, he abandoned his room and cat once more to sneak into the kitchen and grab a snack. He still had a couple of frozen dishes from earlier, but the [Power Burger] was exceptionally useful in a crisis so he opted for the [Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies] instead. He ate one, and a notification popped up in the corner of his vision.


    [+15 Charm]


    He smiled. Extra [Charm] would only make hanging out better, right? And who knew, it might wear off before then anyway. These cookies didn¡¯t seem to last as long as the full meals he¡¯d made from the system.


    Keeping a couple of extra cookies in hand, he returned to his room and set to work cleaning up all the strewn clothes. He then wiped up the dust that had accumulated¨Cstrange that spaceships could even build up dust¨Cand finally rearranged the furniture so everyone could easily access the coffee table where he set out a deck of cards.


    He¡¯d only just finished when the doorbell rang out.


    ¡°Huh. It¡¯s still half an hour before anyone¡¯s supposed to come over,¡± he said to himself and Avil as he checked the time.


    Shrugging, he answered the door anyway and discovered Becky waiting there.


    Avil jumped up from where he lay on the couch to rush to her and rub against her legs. She immediately picked him and held him against her chest.


    ¡°Hiya, Avil. I¡¯ve missed you too,¡± she said, nuzzling his face. She then looked up at Lus. ¡°Hi to you too. Sorry, I know I¡¯m early, but I wanted the chance to talk to you in private.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± He smiled and stepped out of the way, allowing her into the room. ¡°Sometimes I think Avil might like you more than me.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, I¡¯ve never forced him into grave danger just for my own escape.¡±


    Avil screeched in agreement, worming his way deeper into Becky¡¯s arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s good for him to exercise.¡±


    They both laughed and sat on his beat up couch.


    Lus leaned back, trying to seem casual. ¡°So what did you want to talk to me about?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s kind of a long story, and¡­¡± Becky looked at him quizzically. ¡°Did you eat one of those cookies from the freezer?¡±


    It was Lus¡¯s turn to be surprised. ¡°Oh, uh, well, um, yeah. I mean, they¡¯re mine. I made them.¡±


    ¡°Right. They¡¯re some special system cookie right? Since you¡¯re a chef. It¡¯s a long story, but I accidentally ate one without realizing what it was, and realized I had a¡­ strange effect on people. I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s the effect I¡¯m under now.¡±


    ¡°And what effect would that be?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re much more alluring than usual.¡±


    ¡°Alluring?¡± Lus nearly choked on the word.


    ¡°Yeah. They make the opposite sex more attracted or want to be nicer to you or something, right?¡± Becky held Avil close, and Lus could tell she was nervous.


    ¡°No. Well, I mean, maybe, kind of, technically in a way.¡±


    She raised a single eyebrow.


    ¡°They increase a person¡¯s [Charm] by a lot. So I¡¯m just more charming than usual,¡± Lus explained.


    Becky laughed. ¡°Ah, I was close at least. That¡¯s very handy, but maybe you should label them so other people don¡¯t make my mistake. That¡¯s a pretty powerful buff to leave lying around.¡±


    ¡°They were hidden in the freezer, and I don¡¯t know that we have any other cookie thieves aboard.¡± Lusac smiled at her.


    ¡°Consider it payment for taking care of your cat.¡±


    Avil screeched at this, but Lusac didn¡¯t know if it was out of indignation or simply because he wanted more attention, but Lus gave him some extra pets anyway.


    ¡°So¡­ you said I was more alluring than usual. Does that mean you always find me at least a little bit alluring?¡± Lus smirked at Becky.


    Her jaw dropped. She then grabbed the single pillow on the couch and threw it at him. ¡°You little sablis. How dare you insinuate such things? I am a lady.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, your highness.¡± Lus bowed. They both laughed some more, and then he convinced Becky to tell him the full story around the cookies. He hardly even noticed time passing until the doorbell rang and the others arrived.


    The evening was spent with good company and good snacks courtesy of Oaty who picked up several kinds of candy and chips on the last resupply mission. Lus laughed more that night than he had in the last month at the mansion combined. As the evening wore on, he glanced around at his friends and smiled.


    It was good to be home.

 Chapter 85: Cooking Revelation Cakes

    Lus stepped into the kitchen and sighed. Had it only been a couple months ago that he dreaded stepping into this space? He still felt the flutters of anxiety that he would mess up, but there was also a sense of excitement at seeing what he could create.


    And today, he had a new recipe to try. He quickly pulled up the familiar screen and navigated to [Recipes]. He clicked on the newest addition, [Revelation Cakes].


    As usual, he scrolled past all the less important information to the paragraph about the associated bonus.


    ¡°Revelation Cakes can provide the perfect revelation¡­ of your enemy¡¯s greatest secrets and weaknesses. Anyone who eats revelation cake will experience a period of unfettered truthfulness, making this a great tool for interrogations. They will not remember what has happened when the effects of the cake wear off.¡±


    Lus¡¯ eyebrows rose. That sounded incredibly useful, though he didn¡¯t really have a specific plan in mind for how he¡¯d use it.


    Shrugging, he scrolled down even further to the ingredients list. He had already checked it before the last supply run to make sure he got everything. Thankfully he had, because the cake required a fair number of unusual ingredients.


    He started with chopping everything up. These cakes had a lot of strange ingredients in the batter that he wouldn¡¯t have thought about putting in a cake. First he had to chop up some Penca Nuts. The recipe said to toast them, but he had no clue how to do that.


    [Put in hot oven for 8 minutes]


    Smiling, he dumped the chopped nuts off the cutting board and onto a metal baking sheet, then popped it into one of the ovens and set a timer.


    While he waited for the nuts to cook, he started on the Pilapella, a strange, brown fruit with a green top. He had never eaten it before and wasn¡¯t sure how to start breaking it down, but it seemed obvious that the green leaves would have to come off, so he started by cutting off the top.


    To his surprise, the inside was bright yellow and very juicy. It smelled sweet and tangy and his mouth watered a bit, reminding him that he was hungry.


    He stood the fruit back up and turned it in a circle, considering how best to cut it.


    [Remove the skin and the hard inner core]


    Lus nodded, proud that his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] had just confirmed at least part of what he planned to do anyway. He hadn¡¯t known about the inner core, so that was helpful.


    He set to work with the large knife, trying not to take off too much of the yellow fruit with the brown, bumpy skin. Once he had the skin off, he studied the large, yellow inside of the pilapella. He couldn¡¯t take out the core as it was, so he cut it into quarters and sliced off the inside of each quarter.


    Setting aside the firm, almost poky center pieces, he then began chopping the soft, juicy flesh into small pieces as the recipe directed.


    He snuck one into his mouth and blinked at the taste that resembled bright sunshine. It was sweet with a bit of a sour note at the end and he wondered why he hadn¡¯t ever eaten any before. Then he remembered how much of his hard-earned savings he¡¯d had to sacrifice for it.


    Still, he only needed half of it for the cakes, so he could save the other half to enjoy. He¡¯d just have to hide it well in the interbox so nobody found it and stole it.


    Lus had to stop in the middle of cutting the juicy fruit up so he could remove the toasted nuts. He set them aside to cool and then finished up the pilapella.


    Next he pulled out a small jar of Airries, small red, round fruits that he had only ever seen as a garnish on top of very fancy desserts.


    They were whole, so he had to fish them out of the pink juice they swam in and chop each one into smaller pieces.  The effort went fairly quickly, with only a couple rolling off his cutting board onto the floor before he could catch them.


    With a pile of chopped pilapella, another of chopped Airries, and a pan of toasted nuts, he was finally almost ready to actually start the batter.  The final fruit to prep was 3 slightly overripe, mashed Ananbas.  These yellow fruits were long, skinny, and slightly curved.


    The sweet, squishy insides were contained in a thick, outer shell that had to be peeled off before they could be eaten.  As they aged past their prime, they turned brown and got mushy and the sweetness became overpowering.


    The ones he had were just getting past their prime. They weren¡¯t completely brown and gushy, but they weren¡¯t as firm as he preferred them. As directed, he peeled them and put them in a small bowl, then mashed them with a fork.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    With the fruit and nuts ready, it was time to start on the dry ingredients. Flour, rising powder, simanin, and salt went into a bowl and he quickly stirred them together.


    The wet ingredients took longer. He had to beat the eggs, then add in elsha oil, sugar, niva flavoring, and the mashed bananas. He slowly added the dry ingredients, then stirred in the airries, pilapella chunks, and nuts.


    With the batter finished, he needed to get it baked. Instead of baking it in one large pan, it was supposed to be baked in a pan with small sections to create separate cakes. He couldn¡¯t find the exact pan in the kitchen, but he did find a fluffin pan that he felt made a proper substitute.


    He separated the batter between all the round divots in the pan and put it in the oven to bake, setting a timer to keep track of it.


    The next step, while the cakes were baking, was to make the frosting. He quickly pulled all the ingredients out: dessert cheese, milk, and butter from the interbox, fine sugar from the cupboard, and niva flavoring that was still sitting out from the cake batter.


    Reading the recipe again, Lus hesitated. It called for softened dessert cheese and butter, but he hadn¡¯t thought to get them out ahead of time.


    ¡°I can pop them into the microwave heater, right?¡± he muttered.


    [Heat for short bursts, stirring in between]


    He nodded and plopped a brick of butter and another, larger brick of dessert cheese into a glass bowl, then slid that into the microwave heater for 30 seconds.


    It took four rounds to get them soft enough to mix smoothly. Once they were stirred together without any visible lumps, he took the bowl back to the counter and measured in the niva flavoring.


    By the time he finished getting the niva stirred in, it was time to check the cakes in the oven. He stuck a small testing stick in the middle, per the recipe¡¯s instructions. It came out clean, so he left them on the counter to cool and returned his attention to the frosting.


    The next step was adding fine sugar and milk by turns, and stirring them in as he went. It sounded simple, but proved to be more difficult than he¡¯d expected.


    When he first began adding the fine sugar, he wondered how this frosting was going to work. It seemed there wasn¡¯t enough of the dessert cheese mixture for the fine sugar to dissolve into.


    To his surprise, as he stirred and stirred, the fine sugar did dissolve. Not only did it dissolve, but it somehow made the mixture smoother and less thick. The small dribble of milk helped bring it together, especially as he added more fine sugar.


    Each cup of fine sugar was more difficult to stir in, but if he got stuck, he found that he could add the milk and it would mix in.


    By the time he finished with the last of the sugar and milk, his arm was quite sore. He stepped back and admired the final result. The smooth, cream-colored frosting looked amazing and he had to stop himself from dipping in a finger like a child.


    Instead, he set it aside and grabbed the large fluffin pan. He popped out all 36 small cakes and set them on a clean countertop, then grabbed a dining knife to spread the frosting.


    Lus had thought that he was through the most difficult parts of the recipe, but found that he was wrong. Frosting the cakes was much harder than he expected. The frosting got everywhere and he couldn¡¯t seem to get it smooth with the knife, no matter how many times he ran the knife across the frosted tops.


    When he reached the last cake, he was a sticky, frosting-covered mess. He was about to spread on the last of the frosting when he paused.


    ¡°If I want to taste this, I should do it before I combine the cake and frosting so I don¡¯t get the ability,¡± he muttered aloud.


    Dropping the knife back into the bowl, he tore off a large bite of the cake. It was sweet and soft and spicy with small bursts of flavor from the pilapella and airries. The nuts added a slight crunchy chewy texture that made a pleasant contrast to the softness of the rest of the cake.


    He swallowed the cake, then grabbed out a spoon and scooped some of the frosting into his mouth.


    While the cake had been a more mildly sweet experience, set off by the spices and the fruits, the frosting was a punch of sweetness. It had some tang from the dessert cheese, but it was rich and creamy and absolutely delicious.


    Lus set the cake and the frosting spoon down to take a drink, then looked at them longingly. He wanted nothing more than to try them together, but he couldn¡¯t risk spilling all of his secrets for an unknown amount of time.


    As he pondered on how he could taste them together without triggering the ability, to his surprise, his [Chef¡¯s Intuition] came to the rescue.


    [Add something extra to offset the ability]


    ¡°Of course!¡± Lus exclaimed excitedly, hurrying back to the interbox. He grabbed a couple of the airries and chopped them small, then added them to the frosting. It would change the flavor a bit, but he thought it would be a good complement.


    The airries turned the small bit of frosting left to a very pale pink. He spread it on the rest of the cake, then closed his eyes and took a large bite.


    The sweet, creamy frosting and the dense, rich cake married into a delicious blend of flavors that made him groan. He quickly ate the rest, then looked over the other 35 cakes. He wanted another, but he knew that it would be better to save them.


    With a sigh of resignation, Lus washed off his sticky hands and gathered all of the revelation cakes into a paper bag. He had used a clear bag for his cookies and some had disappeared. He hoped using a bag that hid the contents would protect the cakes.


    Once he had bagged all the cakes and buried them in the back of the nitrobox, he set to work tidying up. He had to put away all the leftover ingredients and move the dishes to the sink. He took a short break to clean out the frosting bowl with a spoon, deciding that he quite liked having some dessert recipes.


    As he finished up, he considered how he might change the recipe in the future so he could enjoy it without spilling all his secrets. The easiest idea that came to mind was to add another fruit or nut to the batter. He¡¯d have to do some research and see what he could find that would fit with the other flavors.


    Lus smiled. Realizing that he was feeling confident enough to make his own substitutions and changes to even baking recipes made it feel like he really was a [Chef].

 Chapter 86: A Strange Disease

    ¡°Lus, Becks, you¡¯re both needed up in the briefing room,¡± Yrqw told them as they came back from lunch.


    ¡°Both?¡± Becky asked, her tone echoing the surprise Lus felt at the command.


    It was normal for him to get called up to the briefing room to discuss upcoming off-ship missions, but due to Becky¡¯s g-sickness, she was rarely, if ever, called upon for such things. And if the Captain had a problem with Fsylan tube maintenance, he¡¯d go through Yrqw.


    The Kremel shrugged. ¡°Cewi didn¡¯t say why. She just asked that you both go up there first thing.¡±


    They nodded and left the System Control room behind.


    ¡°Must be a mission,¡± Lus said. That was to be expected since Captain Tave said he wanted to get the last piece of the artifact fast, and it had already been two weeks since Lus and Vlqtrn came back from Senator Grwtln¡¯s mansion.


    ¡°I¡¯m not on the mission list,¡± Becky reminded him.


    ¡°Maybe they need Humans specifically or something,¡± he theorized.


    ¡°Suns, I hope not. Going on missions with you is just asking to end up injured.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Lus protested.


    Becky laughed and lightly punched his arm. ¡°Come on. We¡¯d better hurry. Whatever this is, I don¡¯t want to face a disgruntled Captain Tave from us being late.¡±


    He chuckled as he followed behind her to the ladders. From there, they scaled up all the way from the lowest deck to the highest deck where the briefing room waited.


    They entered, and Lus congratulated himself on being correct. Inside stood Captain Tave, Cewi-Bano, Oaty, Relf, and Doctor Tremt-Fusi. As to the doctor¡¯s purpose, he couldn¡¯t be sure, but Cewi was obviously there just to help with the briefing. Given that with him and Becky that rounded out what constituted all the Humans on the ship, it was clear that this was a species-specific type thing.


    ¡°Arten, Bright. Good. We¡¯re all here,¡± Tave said in his deep voice. ¡°Everyone sit down. We have something important to discuss.¡±


    They all did as he commanded, Tave at the head, Cewi to his right, and Fusi to his left. Oaty then sat by Fusi, and Relf next to him, allowing Lus to sit by Cewi and Becky next to him on the other side of the table.


    Captain Tave turned on the holoprojector at the center of the table. It displayed one of the relics they¡¯d spent months tracking down.


    ¡°This is a piece of an ancient artifact. I¡¯m assuming everyone here knows that we¡¯ve been collecting them for some time now. I¡¯m pleased to announce that we have located the final piece,¡± Tave began.


    Everyone nodded, though based on Relf¡¯s face, Lus didn¡¯t think he knew about the missions. It made sense for the pudgy cargo worker who never looked beyond his next meal.


    The holoprojection changed to show a planet. The title named it Sliaryt, and there were several symbols next to it which meant things like ¡°danger¡± and ¡°stay away.¡±


    ¡°Sliaryt?¡± Oaty said, his tone surprised and even a little bit uneasy.


    ¡°The quarantine planet for those infected with nefitis,¡± Cewi-Bano clarified.


    The room went tense. Lus had heard of nefitis, and from what he knew, death was a better option. It was a highly contagious disease that killed slowly and painfully. It took years, sometimes even more than a decade to run its course, and there was no cure. Nefitis infected any being with a heart, ranging from animals to insects to Kremel, Humans, Nemarians, and supposedly even the Shamayim.


    ¡°Humans can catch that,¡± Oaty said, one hand on the table with his fingers tapping up and down nervously.


    ¡°We know. Calm down, Oaty. No one¡¯s suggesting we send someone who can catch it,¡± Cewi-Bano said.


    ¡°But then¨C¡±


    Tremt-Fusi cut him off with an explanation. ¡°Some Humans are known to have a certain gene that makes them immune to catching or spreading nefitis. Scientists have long been trying to figure out why and how to replicate the effects, but so far without luck. However¡­¡±


    ¡°Some of us might carry the gene,¡± Lusac filled in.


    ¡°What are the chances of that?¡± Becky asked.


    ¡°Honestly, we¡¯ll be lucky if even one of you has it, but it would be ideal if we can send multiple people down,¡± the doctor admitted. She pulled out a case of equipment. ¡°You were all summoned so I can take blood samples from each of you to determine if anyone has the gene.¡±


    ¡°What if we don¡¯t want to be tested?¡± It was Relf who asked, to no one¡¯s shock. The pale, chubby man crossed his arms and frowned, probably trying to look determined or confident but instead taking on the appearance of a whiny child about to throw a tantrum.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Then I suppose you can pack your things, Wron. We¡¯re due to be at Sliaryt in two days, and anyone who refuses this can plan to be dropped off there with no chance of rejoining the Runners.¡± Captain Tave¡¯s voice was unyielding, leaving no room for debate about the matter.


    Relf¡¯s face went red, and Lusac had to focus hard to keep himself from snickering. Part of him wanted the cargo boy to refuse anyway so the Argo could be free of one more parasite, but unfortunately Relf simply ducked his head in submission, murmuring some wimpy apology.


    ¡°This mission is vital to the livelihood of the Argo. I understand that what we¡¯re asking may seem like a tall order, but it is for the good of the whole crew. Our employer will only accept the artifacts once all have been collected. If we abandon it now, the past few months will have been for nothing, and Yonnex-Quniwel¡¯s death will have been in vain.¡± Tave glanced around the table, his stare cold.


    Lusac looked away as he spoke of his deceased friend, a death Lus still blamed on himself given everything that happened with the Shaquine.


    ¡°We understand, Captain. And I think I can safely say I speak for everyone when I say we will do whatever is required to make this mission a success. In fact, I¡¯ll go first. Poke and prod away, doc.¡± Oaty rolled one sleeve up and held his arm out.


    Tremt-Fusi smiled as she prepared the needle. ¡°Very well, Oaty.¡± Thirty seconds later she was labeling and storing away a small vial of blood. She held up a new needle setup. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Me,¡± Becky said immediately, the color drained from her face.


    Lus offered her a reassuring smile as the doctor completed her sample collecting. Tremt-Fusi then got Lus¡¯s blood and finally Relf¡¯s.


    He assumed that would be the end of it, but he was surprised when Captain Tave too rolled up his sleeve to have his blood pulled. He supposed it made sense that they test everyone, regardless of rank, but he hated to think of going on a mission with the Argo¡¯s captain.


    That was a lot of unneeded stress in his opinion. It was hard enough to perform under the usual intensity that came with off-ship tasks, but adding in Captain Tave looking over his shoulder the whole time turned the whole thing into a nightmare.


    ¡°I¡¯ll contact you when the results are ready, Captain.¡± Doctor Fusi carefully sealed up the small vials of blood.


    ¡°Very well. Until then, everyone is dismissed.¡± Captain Tave stood up, and the rest of the room followed suit. Relf was first out the door, the man practically tripping over himself as he went, and then he was followed by Oaty, Becky, and finally Lus.


    Leaving the briefing room behind wasn¡¯t enough to ease Lusac¡¯s nerves. It was less for himself and more for his friends. What if Becky was the only one who could? She wasn¡¯t qualified for that kind of thing, and sending her down there was asking for something bad to happen. And Oaty was their only properly trained pilot now that Quniwel passed away. Surely the Captain wouldn¡¯t risk losing him.


    An even worse thought was losing their illustrious Captain. While technically Lus knew that at some point in his life Captain Tave had probably been part of a mission crew and gone off-ship to do dangerous tasks like loot tombs or steal artwork, he couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around the idea of Tave doing that kind of dirty work now.


    Part of him wanted it to Relf who had to go down just to teach the annoying dichen a lesson or two, but the majority of him wanted the mission to be a success which meant definitely not trusting it to Relf¡¯s clumsy hands.


    But by far the worst case scenario Lusac could envision was if he and Relf had the immunity gene, and the pair of them got sent down to the planet together. He¡¯d rather it be anyone but his nemesis from the cargo bay. Even Captain Tave, as stressful as that would be.


    ¡°Argo to Lusac,¡± Oaty said, pulling him from his thoughts.


    ¡°Sorry. Just thinking about the mission,¡± Lusac apologized. He was walking down the hallway with the pilot and Becky without even realizing it given how tied up his mind had been in analyzing all the ways this situation could turn out.


    ¡°You worry too much. You haven¡¯t even been chosen yet. Haven¡¯t you had your fill of being the hero? Save a little glory for the rest of us.¡± Oaty slapped his back.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we all haven¡¯t had our turns in the spotlight,¡± Lusac reminded them. Oaty saved the ship with that lucky maneuver back during their battle with the Corporates, and Becky saved the crew of the Argo from the loose Shaquine only a couple of months ago.


    ¡°But not nearly as much time as our oh-so-incredible [Chef] boy.¡± Oaty pounded him on the back again. ¡°Enough stressing out you two. I know just the thing to fix this.¡±


    Both Becky and Lusac looked at him expectantly.


    ¡°A flying lesson.¡±


    Becky gave him a fake laugh. ¡°In your dreams, fly boy. G-sickness, remember? Unless you want vomit all over your shuttle, I¡¯m out.¡±


    Oaty cringed. ¡°Yeah. Nevermind. Sorry, Becks, but I rescind your invitation.¡± He grabbed Lusac¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s just you and me, buddy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still on shift.¡±


    ¡°Yrqw and the Fsylan tubes can wait. This is technically official business anyway since we need backup pilots. Becky can cover for you.¡± Oaty grinned.


    ¡°Thanks. I appreciate that.¡± Becky rolled her eyes.


    Lusac looked at her. ¡°Nah. I don¡¯t want to leave all the work to Becky.¡±


    She waved her hand. ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s not much left to do today anyway. You should go, Lus. Oaty will never let me hear the end of it otherwise.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± the pilot confirmed.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± He felt bad leaving her behind to go hang out with Oaty for the rest of the afternoon.


    She smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Alright. I guess I¡¯m yours, Oaty.¡±


    Oaty rubbed his hands together. ¡°This is going to be fun.¡± He then dragged Lusac away towards the elevator instead of the ladders. ¡°If they ever find a cure for g-sickness, I promise to give you private lessons too, Becks,¡± he called back.


    ¡°And even in that case, I¡¯d still say no,¡± she retorted just as she disappeared from view.


    ¡°Why are we taking the elevator though?¡± Lusac asked as Oaty shoved him inside and stepped up next to him, making the fit tight even if the lift was designed to fit a Kremel.


    ¡°Because we need to save our hand and arm strength for piloting.¡± Oaty said it as if that were a totally normal thing.


    ¡°Yeah. Sure¡­¡± Lus scrunched up close to the wall, a little too aware of his friend¡¯s breathing.


    The elevator door opened, and they spilled out into the hallway and fresher air. Oaty was brimming with anticipation as he ushered Lusac to the shuttle bay, and Lus only got one last chance to question his decision to do this in the first place. Maybe Becky was right to avoid this, but it was too late for him now.

 Chapter 87: Flying Lesson I

    Lusac took a breath and double checked his seatbelt.


    ¡°Lighten up, Lus. It¡¯s just liftoff,¡± Oaty said from next to him, not even bothering with the safety measure for himself.


    ¡°My last liftoff didn¡¯t go too well,¡± Lus reminded him, thinking back to punching a hole in the top of a warehouse during his and Vlqtrn¡¯s escape from the Senator¡¯s mansion a few weeks back.


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t have me there to coach you. It¡¯ll be fine. Now get the engines on, and let¡¯s take this puppy out.¡±


    They were in the smallest available shuttle which was both good and bad for Lusac. The good thing was that it was easy to fly it around, the bad was that it was easy to fly it around, meaning small adjustments he might make on the joystick resulted in big changes while out in space. Oaty insisted they use this one so Lusac would be forced to practice having a steady hand while at the helm.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Oaty urged him.


    Lus puffed out his cheeks and exhaled deeply as he flipped the appropriate switches to ignite the shuttle¡¯s engines. The ship hummed to life, and more holoscreens popped up to give him maximum information while flying.


    ¡°Nice and easy,¡± the man in the other seat encouraged him.


    Nodding, Lusac touched the controls for takeoff, and the shuttle lurched upwards suddenly, nearly slamming into the roof of the bay.


    ¡°Easy, easy,¡± Oaty reminded him, his voice teasing more than angry. Lusac had never known the pilot to get mad, even in situations when he definitely should be.


    Lus gave another tight nod and slowly edged the shuttle forward, towards the bay¡¯s exit while remaining careful not to scrape against the walls, ceiling, or floor.


    ¡°Easy doesn¡¯t mean svail pace, Lusac. My nana drives faster than this.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the pilot here?¡± Lus shot a brief glare towards his overly vocal friend before putting all his focus back on guiding the shuttle out of the Argo and into the open cosmos.


    Once they were clear of the ship, Lusac allowed himself to breathe easy again. The Argo was currently stopped for some minor engine maintenance in a small, uncolonized solar system with dual suns, one large and blue and the other a small white one.


    ¡°I input some coordinates in the navigation system. Take us there,¡± Oaty directed him.


    Lusac did as he was commanded, keeping one hand on the main joystick to keep the ship steady while the other did the work of pulling up the coordinates and getting the directions pulled up on the main screen. Technically Oaty could have done that part from the co-pilot¡¯s seat, but he insisted Lusac get used to piloting alone which meant doing all the extra computer and sensor tasks in addition to driving.


    ¡°Did I ever tell you about winning the Cinder Rock Youth Cup back in the day?¡±


    ¡°Back in the day? Oaty, you¡¯re barely ten years older than me.¡± Lusac didn¡¯t have to worry quite so much about keeping the shuttle steady now that they were out in the open and on a smooth course away from the Argo. ¡°And yes. You¡¯ve told that story to everyone on the ship about a million times.¡±


    ¡°It was the summer¨Csummer for Rushtar at least, exactly fifteen standard years ago from today.¡±


    ¡°It was fifteen years ago the first time I heard it too. If you¡¯re going to keep rehashing it, at least keep track of the actual date.¡±


    ¡°You worry about piloting, and I¡¯ll worry about the story, young pupil.¡±


    Lus rolled his eyes and allowed Oaty to continue the tale.


    ¡°I was the only Human on the starting line, facing off against over a dozen Nemarians who¡¯d been raised to pilot since the day they hatched. Not one of them took me seriously given I was a yokel, raised out in the wilds of Apollo.¡±


    ¡°Wilds? Your parents were high level executives for one of the largest corporations in the galaxy. You told me you grew up in a mansion with more golems than people living in it,¡± Lusac countered.


    Oaty reached over to punch his arm. ¡°You¡¯re the pilot, and I¡¯m the entertainment. Now shut up, and let me finish.¡±


    Lusac put a hand up in a mock apology. ¡°Of course, grand ancient master. Whatever you say, ancient one.¡±


    His friend smacked his arm again before clearing his throat resuming his story, one that Lus probably had heard a few dozen times in his two and a half years on the Argo. Luckily Oaty took broad creative liberty every time he told it, embellishing it in such a way that each time he told it, it was nearly a different tale.


    This time Oaty added in a nemesis, a young female Nemarian who was ¡°drop-dead gorgeous as far as purple scales went, but a rotten kixi at her core.¡± And unlike the previous versions, Oaty gave excruciating details about the actual race, indepthly describing the taste of sweat and vomit he experienced early on.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Lus refrained from making too many comments since he was actually invested in it this time around. Having a nemesis added a new flair to the story and greatly changed the original dynamics.


    Of course, there was only so much tension that Oaty could add in given the story always ended the same way. The young pilot prodigy proved his mettle against the stuck Nemarians to win the Cup, even setting a course record. A record that still stood given the war had broken out by the next year, ending all such galactic wide activities. Rushtar still put on the gladiatus fights, but everyone knew that it was because the government paid them obscene amounts of money and protected the entertainment planet in return for it providing a distraction from the war.


    ¡°Once this war is over, are you going to go back to racing, Oaty?¡± Lusac asked once the pilot concluded the epic tale for the upteenth time.


    Oaty laughed. Hard.


    Bent over, the pilot wheezed for air, the fit lasting well over a minute as Lus furled his eyebrows, glancing between the screens to keep the shuttle on course and his friend to make sure Oaty hadn¡¯t just come down with some sort of seizure.


    Once Oaty had control of himself again, he sat up and wiped away the tears which had formed in his blue eyes.


    ¡°Oh, Lusac. You¡¯re too funny,¡± he said with a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s a legitimate question,¡± Lus defended himself.


    ¡°Stop. I¡¯m going to die from laughing too hard if you keep it up.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s so funny.¡±


    Oaty shook his head. ¡°Oh, Lusac. So innocent.¡±


    ¡°Forget I asked.¡±


    There was a brief pause before Oaty spoke again.


    ¡°This war is never going to end. They only want you to think that.¡±


    ¡°Who, the government?¡±


    ¡°And the Corporates. People on both sides are out there shooting each other and blowing up colonies and ships and factories all in the name of ending corruption, all oblivious to the greatest scam that this galaxy has ever seen.¡±


    Lusac didn¡¯t say anything. He¡¯d never seen Oaty this serious, and he wasn¡¯t going to interrupt now.


    ¡°War, Lusac. War is a scam. It¡¯s a bunch of people shooting each for some grand idea, but in the end, that idea means nothing to the people in control. Corporates, Feds, it¡¯s all the same. The rich get richer, using their power to keep their homes safe while sending someone else¡¯s kid to die in a ditch or get blown to smithereens out in the black vacuum of space in meaningless battles.¡± Oaty¡¯s voice was tense, angry even, something Lusac didn¡¯t think possible for the typically clownish pilot.


    ¡°All people want is to be safe, fed, and happy. And they¡¯ve been conned into believing that fighting this war is somehow going to provide that. But in the end, the only people who win are the fatcats at the top of the hierarchy. The rest of us get screwed over, as they bleed us dry. When was the last time you heard of a battle taking place between the Corporates and Feds? And I mean, a real battle, one with dozens of ships and a massive casualty count. Not just a skirmish or raid.¡±


    Lusac shrugged. He didn¡¯t really keep up on current events.


    ¡°It¡¯s been over a year since the two sides properly faced off. And before that it was two years. After the initial conflict, everyone retreated to holding their own sections, and there¡¯s hardly been a real battle since. Nobody is fighting to win, and so how can the war ever end? Sure, we¡¯ll have small skirmishes here and there and some planet disputes, but truthfully, this thing could go on for decades, no, centuries.


    ¡°Everyone who¡¯s bothered to pay any sort of attention to this whole ¡®war¡¯ knows that it¡¯s a scam that will never end. Did you know the legislature members all got a 100% pay raise as ¡®hazard pay¡¯ when this thing started? And since the war¡¯s conception, all the senior members of the corporations have made more than double what their annual salaries in ¡®war bonuses.¡¯ How can we expect our leaders to ever broker peace when war makes them so much freaking money?¡± Oaty was animated, angry but also passionate as he spoke.


    ¡°I-I¡­¡± Lus¡¯s voice trailed off. He¡¯d never looked at things that way. The war existed, but for the Runners, it only meant it was easy to skirt security checkpoints, and that there were more desperate clients out there willing to use the under the law means provided by the Runners.


    Silence filled the shuttle. Clearly Lusac¡¯s answer was not what Oaty hoped for, but he didn¡¯t know what he could say now to fix anything. And truthfully, he was at a loss for words. Some part of him always believed that eventually the war would end, and then he¡¯d be able to visit his home again. He didn¡¯t expect it soon, but¡­ eventually.


    Oaty¡¯s prognosis was dark to say the least. Lusac couldn¡¯t stand to think of all the wasted lives that were given under the false pretense of fighting for a better galaxy. It just made him so angry that people could get away with this kind of stuff, but he was mostly frustrated with how powerless he was to do anything about it.


    ¡°Sorry to ruin the mood,¡± Oaty muttered after a couple of minutes.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m sorry. I just don¡¯t know what to say. You¡¯re right, of course. It¡¯s just¡­ hard to accept that.¡±


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re nearly there. Let me take over for a little bit.¡± Oaty stood up, clearly uninterested in continuing the prior conversation.


    Lusac undid his seatbelt and gave his seat to Oaty, plopping down in the co-pilot¡¯s chair where he had secondary control over many of the systems such as weapons and navigation.


    A beeping immediately drew his attention.


    ¡°Watch out on our upper left,¡± he warned the pilot, even though he knew Oaty¡¯s screens gave him the same alert. ¡°And our lower right. And in front¡­¡±


    Lusac looked forward out the main window with wide eyes at the giant asteroid floating just outside. Hundreds more lay beyond it as far as his eyes could see.


    ¡°Did you bring us to an asteroid field on purpose?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course. Asteroid fields are great for practicing the finer points of flying.¡± Oaty looked at him with a broad grin.


    ¡°No. Not a chance. Oaty, take us out of here. I¡¯m not ready,¡± Lusac protested.


    ¡°Sure you are. It¡¯s not so hard once you get a little practice under your belt.¡±


    ¡°But what if I crash? We could die.¡±


    ¡°So don¡¯t crash.¡± Oaty touched a few controls to set the ship into stable positioning and then stood up once more. ¡°Alright, buddy. It¡¯s your turn. Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got.¡±


    Lusac swallowed, his mouth suddenly very dry and took over in the pilot¡¯s seat. Something inside warned that this might very well be a disaster.

 Chapter 88: Flying Lesson II

    ¡°Okay. Your task is a simple one. Get us out of the asteroid field in one piece. Within the time limit,¡± Oaty explained once Lusac was settled into the pilot¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Time limit? Come on, Oaty. It¡¯s going to be hard enough to get us out without banging up the shuttle. Don''t add that in. We can add that in next time,¡± Lusac pleaded while silently promising himself that there would never, ever be a next time. Oaty could find someone else to torment with his ¡®pilot training¡¯ classes.


    ¡°You underestimate your own skills. Don¡¯t worry, Lus. You¡¯ll do fine,¡± the pilot assured him. ¡°Alright, starting the clock now. You have five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Five minutes¡­ Okay. I can do this,¡± Lus muttered himself as he took stock of all the sensor screens in front him. It had only taken Oaty two minutes to position them in the field, so five minutes would be plenty of time for him to get back out.


    Right?


    Wrong.


    There were asteroids everywhere, and they were moving quickly, making it hard to gauge how to get around them. Lusac spent several seconds plotting a mental course, but every time he went to take the ship through it, the asteroids had moved and blocked his course.


    It seemed he¡¯d made a hundred failed attempts when the timer¡¯s beep went off.


    ¡°And¡­ we¡¯re dead,¡± Oaty announced.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I told you I wasn¡¯t ready for the time limit. Let me practice getting us out without it once, and then I can try with it,¡± Lusac offered.


    ¡°Nope. Timer¡¯s going. Try again.¡±


    Lus grumbled some curses under his breath as he refocused on piloting. He did manage to make it past one asteroid before getting hung trying to escape the last two blocking their exit. It shouldn¡¯t be this hard, but somehow anytime he started forward, it was like the rocks moved to be in his way. It was frustrating, and when the timer went off again, he stood up from the seat.


    ¡°I¡¯m done. Let¡¯s go back to the Argo,¡± he announced.


    Oaty chuckled and shook his head. ¡°Only way we¡¯re getting out of here is if you get us out. I¡¯m not moving from this chair.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯m not doing it, so we¡¯ll just float out here until something crushes us.¡± Lusac crossed his arms, showing Oaty that he wasn¡¯t going to back down easily.


    ¡°Alright.¡± The pilot put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat, staring out the window. ¡°Why don¡¯t I tell you another story while we wait for you to unwad your panties and try again?¡¯


    ¡°You already told me the story of winning the Cinder Rock Youth Cup today, Oaty. I don¡¯t want to hear it again.¡± Lusac sighed.


    ¡°Nah. Not that one. The one about how I ended up with the Runners.¡±


    ¡°You were a pilot for the Corporates, and your ship crashed. You were the only survivor, and you were found by a Runner crew who was hiding out there to make repairs on their own ship,¡± Lusac said, reminding him that he knew that story too.


    ¡°I meant how I ended up in that situation. With the Corporate military.¡± Oaty¡¯s face wasn¡¯t quite so teasing, and Lus¡¯s stance softened.


    As far as he knew, Oaty had never told anyone that story. Everyone knew he came from a Corporate family, but as to how the son of two important officials ended up as a grunt pilot on the frontlines in the war¡­ That was something he¡¯d never shared with anyone on the Argo.


    Oaty glanced behind with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you on the condition that you¡¯ll keep trying the asteroid exercise afterwards. Deal?¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± Lusac said immediately.


    The man sighed. ¡°When the war broke out, my life hardly changed. All it meant was that I kept going to local racing tournaments instead of the galaxy wide ones, but I didn¡¯t mind so much. There was less competition there, and I won a whole lot more. My room was full of so many trophies, you could hardly see the walls. I was given a second bedroom just to store the things.


    ¡°My parents were also gone more, but I liked it better that way. I was an only child, so it meant I got the house to myself.¡±


    ¡°Alongside the golems?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Alongside the golems and our estate manager, a woman named Caroline. Caroline was the best. She was like an aunt to me, and she had a daughter about my age named Lucia. When we were kids, Caroline would bring Lucia to work, and the two of us would play together. She was kind of my best friend for a lot of years, but we lost touch once I got into racing. Didn¡¯t have time for friends.¡±


    Oaty stared forward, his eyes distant. ¡°Things were fine until one day Caroline didn¡¯t show up for work. And it wasn¡¯t until three days later she came back, and when I asked her about her absence¡­ Well, I found out the hard way that Lucia had been conscripted into the Corporate military when the war first started, and Caroline had only just gotten word that Lucia had been killed in action.¡±


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    He paused the story here, clearly lost in his own thoughts. It was as though he didn¡¯t even remember he was talking to Lusac, instead he was just reminiscing to himself aloud, and Lus happened to be present.


    ¡°That was the moment that changed things for me. I¡¯d never experienced grief before, not of losing someone, and it crushed me, more so than her own mother. When I finally pulled out of the spiral, only one question was on my mind¡­ Why¡­ Why did this war have to happen? What good was going to come of it?


    ¡°And so I started looking for answers. And I found them.¡± His face was angry now as he looked ahead at nothing. ¡°Thanks to my parents¡¯ high status, I got access to a lot of information the common person couldn¡¯t, and I learned about the salary bumps and all the money gained by the rich, and I realized that this had nothing to do with morals.¡±


    Oaty turned to look back at Lus with a smile. ¡°Obviously there wasn¡¯t much a teenager could do to change the fate of the galaxy, but I decided to try anyway. I got in with the radicals and joined all the war protests on my home planet.My parents were gone so much they didn¡¯t even notice.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°At least until it was impossible to ignore. A journalist happened to notice me and realize who I was. Suddenly the traitor son was on the front page of every newsite and tabloid. My parents became outraged and basically locked me in the house. Even then I refused to back down.¡±


    Oaty shook his head. ¡°By that point the damage was done. Due to pressure from the press and their bosses, my parents had to do something to show the world that I was a good Corporate boy, and so they shipped me off to the military. It was supposed to be a temporary thing, with only the safest of duties, but I managed to skirt the protections they put in place and get myself into the real action. I figured if I had to take part in the war, I was going to do something good.¡±


    ¡°What was your plan before your ship crashed?¡± Lusac asked.


    The pilot chuckled. ¡°That was the plan, Lusac. I intentionally rammed my ship into that planet. We were a bomber headed for a defenseless colony, so I did what I could to protect some people.¡±


    Lus¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°What about the people on the ship who died? Some of them might not have been there by choice.¡±


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Oaty¡¯s face remained neutral, but Lus sensed the emotion boiling underneath. ¡°I didn¡¯t like killing innocents, but it was better those soldiers than the helpless kids at the colony we were supposed to bomb.¡±


    ¡°What makes their lives less valuable?¡± Lusac was stunned and shocked to hear this kind of confession from Oaty. ¡°They might have been like me, forced to do it or watch their families starve.¡±


    ¡°You ever seen a dead kid?¡±


    Lusac swallowed. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I have. After one of our bombing runs on a government agriculture planet, I was part of the task force sent down to examine the damage. There was a little boy who couldn''t have been more than five or six years old. He was clinging to the remains of a stuffed animal, and it was clear he¡¯d died in absolute terror as our bombs fell. After that I vowed I¡¯d never have a part in ending a child¡¯s life again.¡±


    Lusac lost his passion for arguing. Even hearing about such a sight sent chills across his body and caused an aching lump to form in his stomach.


    He sat down in the pilot¡¯s chair. ¡°War sucks. You¡¯re right. No one wins.¡±


    ¡°Only the rich,¡± Oaty concurred. ¡°I, uh, would appreciate it if this stays between us. You know, pilot¡¯s honor and stuff?¡±¡¯


    Lus nodded. ¡°Of course, Oaty. It¡¯s your story to share, not mine.¡±


    The pilot smiled, but Lus could tell it wasn¡¯t genuine. ¡°Enough chatting. You let me prattle on way too much, Lusac. Now let¡¯s get back to business.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Me trying to get us out of an asteroid field under the duress of a time limit.¡± Lusac grimaced as he took the shuttle¡¯s controls in his hands. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but it did seem like there were more asteroids blocking his path out. Or perhaps Oaty had secretly flown the shuttle deeper into the asteroid field to give him an extra challenge while he was distracted with the story.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready,¡± Lus glumly confirmed.


    ¡°Timer is going,¡± Oaty said.


    Lusac took a deep breath and checked all his sensors to be sure he was aware of all the asteroids.


    In a not-so-shocking turn of events, Lus failed to complete the challenge again. And again. And again. Sometimes it felt like he was flying in circles, and other times it seemed like the asteroids were actively working against him when he plotted his course.


    ¡°Want a hint?¡± Oaty asked as they geared for another attempt.


    ¡°You mean there¡¯s a trick to this?¡± Lusac looked at him, his frustration about to erupt on the pilot for making him suffer this long.


    ¡°Asteroids¡¯ directions are tough for the navigation computer to judge. Your best bet is to fly without it.¡±


    Lus stared at him dubiously. ¡°But that can be dangerous. The nav computer automatically keeps us from crashing into anything.¡±


    ¡°You gotta learn to fly under any circumstances to be a real pilot.¡±


    Lusac shook his head but decided to take Oaty¡¯s ill-sounding advice anyway. Flying free-hand sounded like a death sentence, but suffocating in the void of space had to be better than continually failing at the same, stupid challenge.


    A warning popped up on the front screen as Lus turned off the navigation computer, but he dismissed it, choosing to trust that Oaty wouldn¡¯t lead him too far astray.


    Oaty restarted the timer, and Lus began the challenge anew, only this time, instead of watching the asteroids and trying to plot a path through them with the navigation system, he manually directed the shuttle as soon as he saw an opening.


    It was a whole lot more stressful than following the navigation HUD in a predetermined path, but he kept the shuttle at a steady speed and remained tuned into the sensors so he could make the necessary adjustments to avoid asteroids when they came too close.


    The tension in his body released as he safely guided the ship out of the field and back into the open void.


    ¡°Well done. We¡¯ll make a pilot out of you yet,¡± Oaty congratulated. ¡°And with thirty seconds to spare. Not too shabby. Now move out of the chair. I¡¯m sick of your granny pace. I¡¯d actually like to get back to the Argo in time for dinner.¡±


    ¡°You mean in time for me to make dinner,¡± Lusac countered.


    ¡°That too.¡± Oaty smiled, seeming to have completely moved past their earlier discussions.


    Lus didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be as easy for him to do the same, but he still appreciated that his friend had trusted him enough to share such things. This lesson hadn¡¯t turned out so bad after all.

 Chapter 89: Chosen for the Mission

    Oaty smoothly landed the shuttle back in the hangar on the Argo. Lusac knew he wasn¡¯t intentionally trying to show off, but it was incredible just how good Oaty was at flying. The guy didn¡¯t even use the navigation computer, free-flying the entire way back to the ship. And then he landed it much gentler than even the autolander could, proving that a skilled pilot could show up technology every time.


    The pilot opened the rear door and turned the engines off before standing up and stretching his arms up high.


    ¡°That was fun. Let¡¯s do it again sometime, Lus,¡± he said as Lusac undid his seatbelt.


    ¡°As long as there are no asteroid fields involved,¡± Lus replied with a grin. He stood up and followed Oaty from the vehicle where Dasy-Jonil waited, holding a holotablet and a wrench.


    ¡°Oh good. You two are back. I¡¯ll inform the Captain. He wants you two at some meeting pronto,¡± the Nemarian said. She was on her comm unit relaying the information immediately after.


    ¡°Wow. I guess the doctor worked fast.¡± Oaty gave Lus a glance that showed the same apprehension he felt inside.


    So many things could go wrong on the upcoming mission depending on who had immunity and who didn¡¯t. As strange as it was, Lusac was really hoping that if anyone on the crew had the gene, it was him¨Cassuming Relf didn¡¯t have it, that was. He could be heroic, but even he had his limits when it came to his nemesis.


    Oaty was all smiles and jokes as they made their way up to the briefing room, but Lusac¡¯s stomach was too tight for him to really appreciate the attempt at a distraction. His mind was once again racing with all the possible outcomes, judging just how bad each one could be. The anxiety of not knowing who would be sent down ate away at his nerves.


    When they arrived at the briefing room, only Captain Tave, Doctor Tremt-Fusi, and Cewi-Bano were there. The other Human crewmembers had yet to arrive, but Tave directed them both to take a seat at the table anyway while they waited.


    ¡°I understand you were giving our illustrious dinner cook some piloting lessons, Oaty Marix,¡± Captain Tave said, eyeing Oaty with a cold stare.


    ¡°Yes, sir. Since Lus already has some flying experience, I thought it might be beneficial to get his skills up just in case of an emergency with the mission squad, especially given this upcoming one.¡± Oaty was completely unperturbed by the Captain¡¯s coldness, a skill Lusac envied. He always folded under Tave¡¯s blue eyes.


    ¡°It seems Arten is destined to become a true jack of all trades.¡± Tave turned his unyielding look to Lusac.


    ¡°Yes, sir. I mean, it¡¯s been very helpful to learn a lot of different skills while a part of the Argo,¡± Lusac stammered. He wasn¡¯t used to having casual conversations with the Captain. It was either about an upcoming mission, a mission he completed, or the rare instance of getting in trouble.


    Oaty remained totally casual, but given that he was the chief pilot, he often met with the Captain and two commanders so this was probably normal for him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for the pilot type, Lusac. I thought you wanted to be a warrior like Nippy,¡± Cewi-Bano said with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Nippy mentioned that he was working with you on system training so you could fully utilize it for your goals.¡±


    Lus shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m still testing the waters, figuring out what exactly I want. I think I can safely say that I don¡¯t want to spend the waste of my life as a maintenance grunt in Fsylan tubes.¡±


    He caught sight of Tave¡¯s stare, and quickly added on, ¡°Not that I dislike my position. It¡¯s great. I just mean that I hope I can someday move up.¡±


    Oaty laughed and patted his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure Yrqw knows your thoughts on working under him.¡±


    Before Lus could counter him and praise his superior, the door opened and Becky walked in. Black smudges marked her brown skin, and her hair was noticeably frizzier than when he last saw her.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late sir. There was a little¡­ incident with some power converters on deck five that needed immediate attention,¡± she explained as she slid into the seat across from Lusac.


    He looked at her with a tight smile and mouthed, ¡°sorry.¡± Yrqw had mentioned that those converters were in rough shape, and things might have gone smoother with both of them attending it.


    Becky smiled and rolled her eyes just as Relf entered.


    The fat cargo worker looked even more sour than usual, his mouth stuck in a permanent frown that added extra wrinkles on his forehead, the entire thing taking on an almost cartoonish appearance. Relf sat down next to Becky, and for once he didn¡¯t even try to give her a flirty look. (One of those extra annoying things he did was always hit on Becky, even when she made it clear she was not interested.)


    ¡°Good, we¡¯re all here,¡± Captain Tave said. He nodded to Fusi. ¡°Doctor. The results?¡±


    ¡°We have a single positive,¡± she announced, the anticipation in the air almost tangible as everyone shifted in their seats.


    A single positive meant only one person would be going down. Lus hoped it was him or Oaty. Relf would only screw things up, and he still couldn¡¯t imagine Tave accepting the low work of a mission. Honestly, as long as it wasn¡¯t Becky, he would be okay. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of his closest friend getting sent down to do something so dangerous, especially given her g-sickness.


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    ¡°Lusac,¡± Fusi said.


    Everyone in the room gave a collective sigh of relief, even Cewi and the Captain, Lus noticed.


    Some small part of him expected it, though he couldn¡¯t say why. It just made sense that out of everyone, it would be him. He had the most experience for this kind of thing, and thanks to his system, he had an extra advantage over the others.


    ¡°Alright. Everyone else is dismissed. We¡¯ll speak with Arten about the mission alone,¡± Captain Tave ordered.


    ¡°With your permission, sir, I¡¯d like to stay,¡± Oaty said quickly.


    ¡°No. You¡¯re needed at the helm, Marix.¡± Tave gave a glare that made it clear no one else should even try to duplicate the request.


    Relf wasted no time getting out of the room, the man¡¯s face gaining new life at the revelation he wouldn¡¯t have to go to the quarantine planet. Becky gave Lus a sad look as she shuffled out, and Oaty shrugged in half apology and half good luck.


    Once the other three were gone, Tave spoke again.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s you, Arten. I think you¡¯re the most qualified for this mission, though I do wish we could send someone with you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be alright on my own, Captain. I survived the mine back on Aschir Alpha by myself for the most part,¡± Lusac reminded him, though really he was just trying to comfort himself. As much as he¡¯d wanted it to be him, he was still a little overwhelmed by the responsibility of having to complete such an enormous task completely alone.


    ¡°It never hurts to have backup,¡± Cewi-Bano interjected.


    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s something this situation precludes you from. I trust you, Arten, but if it wasn¡¯t made clear before, then let me clarify it now. This mission is the single most important task you have ever been given. If you screw up, there is no one to cover for you. You have to handle everything from start to finish by yourself. I can¡¯t risk even sending Oaty as a pilot down to that planet due to the risk of being exposed to nefitis. I trust that you can handle flying a shuttle alone now?¡± Captain Tave was serious and firm.


    ¡°Yes, sir. I believe I can,¡± Lus answered.


    ¡°I need better than ¡®believe.¡¯ I need to know for sure.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Captain. I can.¡±


    ¡°Good. Cewi, walk him through everything we have in regards to the artifact, and then Doctor Fusi, I¡¯d like you to brief him on the disease. The more he knows, the safer he¡¯ll be.¡±


    Lusac swallowed and remained stiff in his chair as Cewi stood up and turned on the holoprojector at the center of the table. A projection of a grand stone structure appeared. It had multiple towers and large, majestic windows.


    ¡°Based on our sources, the artifact is housed in the ruins of an ancient castle, once favored by Kremel nobility centuries ago. The castle fell to ruins when the nefitis first took the planet, and most people considered it cursed. I can¡¯t say what kind of resistance or defenses you¡¯ll run into since Sliaryt is an anarchy, ruled mostly by a few gangs who control the humanitarian aid when it drops. Of course, aid has been interrupted due to the war, so you can expect that the people are in rough shape,¡± Cewi explained.


    ¡°Any intel on which gang controls the castle? Or maybe even where in the castle I¡¯ll find the artifact?¡± Lusac asked.


    The Nemarian shook her head. ¡°Nothing. The castle is pretty far from the single functioning landing site on the planet so there¡¯s almost no information on it.¡±


    Lus blew out a long sigh. ¡°Okay. So I take a shuttle down, nab the artifact, and come back. That sounds easy enough.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t take a shuttle down,¡± Tave said curtly. ¡°You¡¯re going to go down with a volunteer crew under the pretense of helping distribute aid. The volunteers go down for two weeks at a time, which is the window you¡¯ll have to complete the mission.¡±


    ¡°Oh. You asked about shuttle piloting so¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to pilot a¡­ borrowed government shuttle to the volunteer space station. And while down on the planet you¡¯ll likely need to hijack a crawler to get to the castle in a timely manner,¡± the Captain said.


    ¡°Won¡¯t the volunteers notice I¡¯m gone? Will they even allow me a ride back?¡± Lusac asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to figure that out for yourself, Arten.¡±


    Lus tapped his fingers on the table. What was originally going to be a difficult mission was slowly edging closer to ¡®impossible¡¯ due to the number of extraneous factors outside of his control.


    ¡°As for the nefitis¡­¡± Tave motioned to the doctor.


    Tremt-Fusi stood up as Cewi sat back down. The doctor took over the holoprojector and displayed an image of a sickly Nemarian with half his scales missing and one of his eyes white and blind.


    ¡°Nefitis is sometimes called the ¡®zombie¡¯ disease. It eats away at the flesh in such a way to keep the infected alive throughout the process up until it reaches the internal organs, which takes years. Those in the late stages of nefitis are often so delirious from pain that they become exceedingly aggressive and even sometimes animalistic. That makes them exceptionally dangerous and is why everyone who is found to be infected is sent to a quarantine planet.¡±


    Lus shuddered as the doctor flipped through more graphic images of nefitis victims. Suddenly doing this alone seemed a whole lot less fine when he was up against¡­ that.


    ¡°Nefitis is spread through bodily fluids, and scientists believe that the disease is designed to instill aggressiveness as a way of spreading itself from victim to victim. Every living thing outside of plants will be infected with this, including ants and mosquitoes. Since you have the immunity gene, you can¡¯t be infected, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t be eaten alive by a nefitis victim.¡± Fusi changed to show infected animals and bugs.


    ¡°Volunteers are provided with safety gear to keep themselves safe from those types of attacks, but obviously it has its limits,¡± Cewi-Bano jumped in, probably trying to calm Lus given how much blood had drained from his face during the discussion.


    ¡°Exactly. You¡¯ll have defensive equipment which will keep you from the worst of it. I doubt it¡¯ll be that much more dangerous than any other mission,¡± Fusi agreed.


    ¡°Make sure to keep enough rations,¡± Tave said suddenly. ¡°Nothing down there is edible at this point besides what¡¯s part of the aid packages, and you¡¯ll need to keep yourself fed to keep your strength up.¡±


    Right. Make sure to pack lots of food.


    Food¡­


    Lusac smiled, a small sense of relief brewing inside. ¡°Are volunteers allowed to bring their own rations?¡±


    The other three looked at him and then each other.


    Cewi shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure of the rules, but I¡¯m confident we can sneak you in extra if you¡¯re worried about it.¡±


    Lus¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°I¡¯ll need some extra time in the kitchen, but I think I have a way to make this thing a whole lot more doable.¡± Being a [Chef] was really going to pay off this time.

 [V]Chapter 90: Highway Chase I

    ¡°Alright, now ease up just a little..¡±


    Varyna obediently relaxed her hold on the drive stick, and the hum of the engines grew softer. The ship cruised smoothly with the endless whir of space flying past.


    ¡°Ha. This is actually easier than I thought,¡± Varyna grinned, moving her hand from the drive stick to the control system. She¡¯d never piloted anything bigger than a pod before.


    ¡°Well, yeah. Highway piloting is so easy a child could do it,¡± Opun snorted from his seat behind Hxlt. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever recover from your open space piloting. It almost cost me my lunch!¡±


    Varyna rolled her eyes, grasping the drive stick once again. ¡°I can certainly remove your lunch from your stomach if that¡¯s what you wa-¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Hxlt swatted Varyna¡¯s hand back to the control system. ¡°Keep focused on the screen. You never know when some crazy person is gonna blast through here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± she mumbled under her breath, tossing Opun one last glare.


    The trio had been assigned to investigate some crime reports on the far side of Helios, so they had to take a bigger shuttle that could withstand traveling along the Astral Highway. It was nice to have a vessel with more room than their usual pod, but they still typically found themselves all sat together at the controls.


    The ship was equipped with a holding cell, way more storage than Varyna thought was necessary, a maintenance closet, and the control room. There were seats that folded down from the wall, and a couple tiny cots, but the comfiest places to sit were the four chairs in the front. Though, boredom threatened to drive them crazy, hence the reason Hxlt decided to give Varyna a piloting lesson.


    Their last report had been on a tiny icy planet where most of the population was grouped into one of two large settlements. The report was only petty theft, but on such a barren planet, people needed every resource they had just to survive. Even hardy species like Kremels-which made up the majority of the people there.


    The thief turned out to be a middle-aged male Kremel who had decided he was sick of living ration to ration, and wanted a taste of abundance. He had been quite successful with his thieving until Officer Hxlt and his team arrived. They set up a trap and had him in custody within two days.


    Thank goodness.


    A climate that¡¯s tough for Kremels is unbearable for Humans. And Varyna and Opun were more than happy to wave goodbye to the tiny ice block after handing the thief over to the local government for punishment. His sentencing was.. well.. unpleasant to say the least. On the bright side, however, the Kremels had a little more meat to divide amongst themselves for dinner that day.


    ¡°Urgh.¡± Varyna shuddered as she remembered Hxlt explaining the Kremel thief¡¯s fate to her and Opun. Honestly, that was probably more the reason for Opun¡¯s churning stomach than her novice piloting.


    Just when she was starting to get comfortable with the smooth pace of the ship moving through the Highway, a red blip appeared on the control screen. It was big and flashing, and moving fast. Too fast.


    ¡°Uh, hey. Hx-¡±


    ¡°WOAH!¡± Hxlt leapt to his feet and grabbed the controls. He¡¯d hardly managed to yank the drive stick toward him when the entire ship started shuddering. Opun threw his hands over his ears to block the noise of metal screeching against metal while Varyna pressed herself back in the pilot chair, trying to make room for Hxlt. The storm lasted for less than thirty seconds, and then the blip disappeared from the screen and everything went back to normal.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Varyna exclaimed. A gagging sound from behind informed her that Opun had indeed finally lost his lunch.


    ¡°Move.¡± Hxlt ordered her, practically crushing her as he moved to take control of the ship. She shimmied out of his way and into the copilot chair as the Kremel began earnestly smashing buttons.


    ¡°Was it another ship?¡± Varyna ventured. ¡°How did they almost hit us though, when we were in the Helio-Nearbound leg first?¡±


    ¡°Blasted Runners,¡± Hxlt muttered in response. ¡°There must be an unreported breach somewhere around here. Suns, what were they thinking not even scanning the Highway before jumping inside?! They could have killed us both!¡±


    ¡°Oh, the Runners.¡± Varyna knew about Runners and Highway breaches. She¡¯d taken multiple classes on it at the COPS Academy. But hearing a professor talk about how dangerous breaches have the potential to be and actually experiencing a near-death collision were very different.


    ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± Opun had regained his composure and peered over Hxlt¡¯s shoulder as the Kremel worked.


    ¡°First we have to report the breach. We can go through our system data to figure out exactly where that ship entered our radar.¡± It sounded like Hxlt was talking more to himself than his squadmates. ¡°Then we need to¡­¡± He trailed off, glancing at the screen and then back at the controls. ¡°Hold on tight, you two.¡±


    Luckily, Varyna was already seated and had time to grip the arms of her seat, but Opun went flying as Hxlt increased the ship¡¯s speed. After the initial acceleration, the ship steadied enough for Opun to stumble back to his seat and Varyna to fasten her seatbelt.


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    ¡°We need more speed to catch them,¡± Hxtl said. Varyna, go ahead and pull the override lever over there until it clicks.


    ¡°Sir? I really don¡¯t think we should be changing the ship¡¯s transmission settings mid-wormhole,¡± Varyna started to argue back, and the Kremel shot her a look. ¡°..but I guess whatever you say.¡±


    She obediently tugged on the lever. It didn¡¯t move as easily as it did when the ship was stationary or traveling through open space. In fact, it took all her strength to click it into the next position.


    As soon as it finally clicked, another acceleration boost jumbled the gravity in the ship, pressing Varyna against her seat. This time, the uncomfortable sensation didn¡¯t settle down. Hxlt had complete control of the ship¡¯s speed.


    And he was going fast.


    ¡°Look!¡± Varyna gasped as she saw the red blip peek onto the control screen once more. ¡°It worked, we¡¯re actually gaining on them!¡±


    ¡°But what are we going to do once we catch them?¡± Opun chimed in. ¡°This isn¡¯t a Highway Patrol vessel or anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you don¡¯t already know, Opun, but all COPS ships in outer sectors are equipped with engine jammers and tethers.¡±


    ¡°And you know how to use that?!¡± Opun said dumbfounded.


    Hxlt chuckled. ¡°You learn a thing or two when you¡¯ve been serving in the outer sectors as long as I have.¡±


    Varyna caught her breath. Between the sensation of the ever-accelerating ship and excitement of the blip getting closer and closer, she wondered if maybe there was more appeal to the Highway Division than she¡¯d ever realized. If Demon Division didn¡¯t work out (again), maybe she ought to become an Astral Highway Patroller.


    ¡°Ah look at that! We¡¯re practically on top of them now!¡± Opun cried, pointing between Varyna and Hxlt¡¯s chairs at the screen. ¡°Do we cut their engines now? Tether them to us?¡±


    ¡°First we have to identify ourselves and our authority,¡± Hxlt told him. ¡°Varyna can you get the comm set to broadcast?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sure. Hold on.¡± Varyna searched the controls in front of her, searching for the comm settings. Opun¡¯s pale hand soon cut into her vision.


    ¡°It¡¯s right here. Click. There you go, Hxlt.¡±


    Varyna kept her sour expression turned away from her squadmate while Hxlt cleared his throat in preparation. Then he pressed a button near the screen that turned it completely blue.


    ¡°Illegal Vessel, this is Officer Hxlt of Lower Section Squad 3. You are in direct violation of the Highway laws. Surrender now or we will jam your engines.¡±


    The screen flashed twice and then turned back to green. The Runner ship hadn¡¯t responded back to Hxlt¡¯s warning, but the red blip started to move farther up the screen. The Kremel clicked his tongue. ¡°Looks like they want a chase.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too far out of range now to use the jammers,¡± Opun noted. ¡°Should I get the long-distance comm unit set up so we can page the nearest Highway Patrol Squad?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, do that. But in the meantime-¡± Hxlt pushed the ship even faster, ¡°-let¡¯s see if we can keep these guys in our sights.¡±


    Varyna was starting to get used to the powerful G Force that accompanied manual piloting at such high speeds, but Opun made a coughing sound. Hxlt looked completely relaxed-no there was a hint of exhilaration in his eyes. He must be remembering a more exciting time in his career as he continued pushing the ship faster and faster.


    ¡°What will we do if another Runner ship sneaks in through a breach while we¡¯re going this speed?¡± Varyna queried, feeling a little nervous as she remembered the horrible shuddering and cracking of the ship from earlier.


    ¡°Die.¡± Hxlt answered flatly.


    ¡°More than that,¡± Opun croaked. He was currently holding a massive comm box, adjusting various settings on it. ¡°We¡¯d be vaporized instantly.¡±


    ¡°But Runner ships have systems that automatically alert them to other Runners near a breach, so I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be safe.¡± Hxlt added.


    As soon as he spoke, another tiny blip-this time vibrant purple-appeared on the screen for a split second before the whole ship started quaking just like before. This time, along with the violent shaking, a screen popped up in front of Varyna.


    [Demonic Energy Detected]


    She squinted at it, trying to make sure she was reading correctly as her body was tousled around. But why would there be Demonic Energy all of the sudden?


    ¡°Blast!!!¡± Hxlt shouted as the shaking stopped, punching buttons on the control system. ¡°We have to seal the holding cell. The shield was damaged in that area,¡± he mumbled to himself, and then louder over his shoulder, ¡°Hey Opun! You got that thing working yet? We need to get this leg of the Highway evacuated!¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir, I was about to contact the Highway Patrol,¡± Opun responded. He hesitated before continuing with his task. ¡°But what was that?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve opened fire,¡± Hxlt answered brusquely. ¡°Now go on and get that message out stat!¡±


    ¡°Firing in a wormhole?? How? Why? That¡¯s.. impossible,¡± Varyna racked her brain, trying to remember all her Highway training. The danger in the Highway was different from open space. Laser blasters and other ship weapons couldn¡¯t be used there because the physics wasn¡¯t compatible. It was a collision you really had to worry about. Or so she thought.


    ¡°Some Runners vessels are equipped with what we call Highway attack riggings,¡± Hxlt explained to his squadmates. ¡°It¡¯s different from lasers, made with some kind of biological power source, but insanely dangerous to let loose into the Highway. Any ship behind us is likely to catch the rest of that shot, and they might not be as lucky as us to only get a scratch.¡±


    So the Demonic Energy her [Demonic Intuition] picked up must have been from the weapon. They were indeed lucky it didn¡¯t hit them head on, but only skimmed the right side of the ship. Even then, if it had actually broken the shield and not just damaged it near the holding cell, the entire ship would have been sucked inside out. Suddenly, Varyna felt very sorry for any Highway travelers on the Helios-Nearbound leg of the Highway.


    Distance between themselves and the red blip began to close as Hxlt pushed the ship¡¯s accelerators nearly to their limit. The engines roared in protest but obeyed. Behind her, Varyna could hear Opun speaking to a mechanical murmur.


    ¡°.. yes. That¡¯s right. Nearbound. It was Highway attack rigging. Our coordinates are..¡±


    Thank the Holy Core, the Highway Patrol will be here to help soon. For a moment, it felt like things were settling down in their chase. They¡¯d be in range to jam the Runners¡¯ engines soon, and help was on the way. But just when Varyna had allowed her jaw to relax, another purple blip on the screen and another system notification popped up nearly at the same time.


    [Demonic Energy Detected]


    BOOM!!

 [V]Chapter 91: Highway Chase II

    ¡°Suns, Hxlt!! Don¡¯t we have anything to fire back at them?!¡± Opun shouted at the squad leader as several different parts of the control system started blinking warnings. ¡°This ship won¡¯t survive another hit!¡±


    ¡°Even if we did, it¡¯s irresponsible and dangerous to open fire on the highway,¡± Hxlt barked.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re already covering the ¡®irresponsible and dangerous¡¯ part for us, so can¡¯t we at least defend ourselves?¡± Varyna jumped in. ¡°I¡¯m sure as Suns not dying during a work commute like some chump!¡±


    ¡°Work commute? Suns, you¡¯re such a suckling!¡± Open quipped from the back.


    ¡°You really want to go out arguing with me?!¡± Varyna whirled in her chair to face him.


    ¡°I¡¯m this close to dropping both of you out into the wormhole and letting you evaporate into a trillion pieces!¡± Hxlt boomed over the top of them. ¡°Opun you keep on that comm. Varyna, see if you can manually fix some of these warnings.¡±


    ¡°I feel like a COP in an old holo-film,¡± Varyna sighed as she opened the panel under the control system. She had to admit, it was thrilling to engage in a high speed chase inside a ship that wasn¡¯t equipped with the most modern Highway Patrol tech. But she definitely preferred watching it from the safety of the other side of the screen. Though they were definitely dated, she often found herself watching the old COP films over the new ones, which were a little too politically charged for her liking. Plus, it¡¯s way too easy to catch a criminal on the Astral Highway with state of the art speed, shields, and range. Trying to catch a criminal without those things was much more entertaining.


    But again, that was from the other side of the screen-not living inside it.


    BOOM!!


    Actually, maybe ¡®living¡¯ wasn¡¯t the right word to use, after all.


    ¡°Varyna!! Hurry up!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Varyna stared at the mess of wires and circuits. She had very little experience with this sort of thing, but she¡¯d learned a lot after serving in the Helios Sector for so long. Whenever a pod broke down, Hxlt and Opun fixed it themselves. It was the norm for all COPS in rural sectors to know their way around a maintenance box.


    She sighed, following along a blue wire until she reached its end and then snipping it. She didn¡¯t have many tools available, so she left the wire hanging, snipped another, and then twisted them together.


    ¡°Hey! That didn¡¯t turn off the warnings, it just transferred them to the main display!¡± Hxlt was clearly frustrated.


    ¡°Oops.¡± Varyna untwisted the wires, tried her best to reconnect the second wire, and then tried another.


    After a few minutes, several head bumps due to the constantly rattling shuttle, and much scolding from Hxlt, Varyna had managed to bypass the most annoying flashing lights. In the meantime, more red blips had appeared on the display (which was still glitching every now and then thanks to Varyna¡¯s mistaken wire cutting).


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we bow out and let the patrol handle it from here?¡± Opun was pale and sweating, clutching the comm box against his chest. He wasn¡¯t one to experience g-sickness as far as Varyna knew, but, then again, she herself was feeling a little green too.


    ¡°Lower Section Crime Squad 3, this is Lower Section Patrol Squad 6 and 7, do you copy?¡±


    The mechanical voice that had been chattering on the box in Opun¡¯s lap was suddenly on the ship¡¯s comm system.


    ¡°Yes, this is Squad 3,¡± Hxlt held down the comm button as he replied.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got the Runners on our radar, but their ship might be harder than we thought to subdue,¡± the voice crackled.


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Opun whined. ¡°And what does that have to do with us anyway?¡±


    Varyna rolled her eyes while Hxlt ignored his squadmate and rubbed his chin. ¡°So they have tether shields?¡± he relayed back to the Patrol Squads.


    ¡°Sure do,¡± the voice answered. ¡°But there¡¯s a chance the tethering system on your ship uses the old nano waves which would be able to break through. Can you check on it and report back?¡±


    ¡°On it.¡± Hxlt switched the comm off and turned to Varyna. ¡°Do you think you can hold the ship steady while I take a look at the tethering system?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Varyna gaped. ¡°A-are you sure?¡± She gulped as she gazed at the blur of colors zooming past them, occasionally jumping with the ship¡¯s shaking.


    ¡°Varyna. Hurry,¡± Hxlt narrowed his eyes. ¡°You can do this. You have to.¡±


    ¡°Right..¡± With shaking hands, she reached for the controls. Hxlt moved out of the pilot¡¯s chair and headed to the maintenance closet.


    Immediately, the ship jerked and shuddered. ¡°Ack!¡± Varyna gripped the drive stick with both hands trying to steady it. There was a crash somewhere in the back, where she can only imagine what the Kremel might have been thrown into.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± she shouted back.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing fine! Focus, Varyna!¡± came Hxlt¡¯s reply.


    ¡°Squad 3, come in!¡± the comm buzzed again.


    Varyna cleared her throat before pressing the button. ¡°Squad 3 here,¡± she replied loudly.


    ¡°We have to move into position now. Squad 6 will take the left, Squad 7 the right, we need you right on the rear and ready to tether,¡± the voice instructed.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t confirmed if our tethering system will work,¡± Varyna responded. ¡°If you just wait-¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to wait any longer,¡± the voice cut her off. ¡°There¡¯s at least one known breach coming up, and we¡¯ll lose them if we don¡¯t catch them now. Get into position.¡±


    ¡°Uh.. ok-I mean roger that.¡± Varyna sighed and whirled around to face Opun. ¡°How close do I need to get before we¡¯re in tethering range?¡±


    ¡°Close.¡± Opun looked horrified. ¡°Maybe we should just wait for Hxlt..¡±


    ¡°You heard them,¡± Varyna snapped. ¡°We have to move now. Plus, they¡¯re putting themselves in a risky position already.¡±


    ¡°Ah.. that¡¯s true.¡± Opun closed his eyes. ¡°You need to get within one ring of them and stay there. Even a little too close and both of us will blow, but our tether system can¡¯t pick them up from farther back.¡±


    Varyna nodded. She remembered how close the blip was on the display when Opun and Hxlt first mentioned tethering range. With that image in mind, she pushed the drive stick forward.


    The Patrol Squads were nearly in position as Varyna pushed their ship to catch up.


    ¡°Hey! Careful! You¡¯ll blow the accelerator if you push it too hard!¡± Opun called out unhelpfully.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to have to hold out. We need to move,¡± Varyna hissed.


    The ship shuddered and the engines screamed in protest, but it moved. Varyna watched carefully as they approached their desired position. If she didn¡¯t start slowing down soon enough, they would collide. But if she slowed down too soon, they would get left behind. With everything happening so fast, there was no time to think it through, no time for mental calculations or trial and error. This is why experienced pilots were so valuable. They didn¡¯t have to stop and think at times like these, their muscle memory already knew what to do.


    Varyna, on the other hand, would just have to rely on her instincts.


    ¡°Slow down now,¡± Opun squeaked. ¡°At this speed, we¡¯ll collide if you don¡¯t start now.¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Varyna muttered to herself. ¡°Just a little bit more.¡±


    The other squads had already taken their positions. Varyna waited until it felt right and then eased up on the drive stick little by little.


    The comm went off again. ¡°Try your tether now. We¡¯ll just have to hope it works.¡±


    Varyna¡¯s eyes scanned the control system, but she had no idea how to launch the tether. Luckily, a big green hand slammed down on one of the larger buttons. Hxlt plopped into the copilot seat and offered Varyna a grin as he started the tether system.


    ¡°We¡¯re good. This ship¡¯s tether is practically ancient.¡± The squad leader gave a thumbs up as the ship lurched. ¡°And, there we go. She¡¯s connected.¡±


    ¡°Great work!¡± The Patrol Squads congratulated them through the comm. ¡°We¡¯ll stay nearby in case anything goes haywire, but do you mind hauling this guy to the next check point?¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Hxlt answered for Varyna. ¡°We¡¯ll see you there.¡±


    Varyna and Hxlt quickly switched seats for what felt like the tenth time, and this time she was especially grateful to be out of the pilot¡¯s chair.


    ¡°Not bad, Varyna,¡± Hxlt praised her as he adjusted a few things on the control system. ¡°I heard what was happening from the maintenance closet, and I thought for sure we were going to collide with that ship.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one,¡± Opun chimed in. ¡°Maybe you do have an aptitude for piloting, after all, Varyna.¡±


    The rest of the ride went smoothly. Once they arrived at the Helios-Apollo check point, a group of Patrol vessels were waiting to take the Runners in. It wasn¡¯t a massive vessel they had caught, but it was formidable, with around a dozen Runners aboard who were all arrested on several charges. Most of them were Kremel and Nemarian, but there was a Human female with a scar over one eye who seemed especially angry.


    No doubt, the next time they were crossed, those Runner¡¯s anti-tether technology would include defenses against old nano wave systems as well.


    After the Runners had been dealt with, Varyna and her squadmates had nothing to do but sit around while they waited for their ship to be repaired. Fortunately, the damage wasn¡¯t so extensive as to require a massive remodel. But it did mean they were advised to wait for repairs rather than taking another ship in its place and returning to their base.


    When two hours of waiting had passed, a check point officer approached them.


    ¡°Good! You¡¯re still here!¡± The female Nemarian smiled. ¡°The check point doctor has requested the Humans come immediately for some tests.¡±


    ¡°Tests?¡± Varyna was quick to get to her feet. ¡°What kind of tests?¡±


    The Nemarian tilted her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re trying to solve a plague issue, and for some reason they¡¯ve been testing all Human COPS.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had all my tests already,¡± Varyna explained, remembering the copious amount of blood drawn from her upon graduating from the COPS academy and then again as soon as she arrived in Helios. ¡°They can just look in my file for the information they need.¡±


    They were probably studying how a certain disease was moving, especially if it was to the point of being called a ¡®plague¡¯. Varyna was confident she wasn¡¯t a carrier of anything, and her blood test results should already prove that. Opun had been in the Helios sector for a long time already, so he shouldn¡¯t even be considered for a possible carrier.


    ¡°Ah.. it¡¯s something to do with nefitis though.¡± The female Nemarian shrugged and turned, still fully expecting Varyna and Opun to follow her.


    ¡°Nefitis?¡± Opun was on his feet as well. ¡°Protocol is that we only check for nefitis if we¡¯ve been exposed. Has there been an outbreak here or something?¡±


    Nefitis was an ugly disease. Varyna only recalled it as one of the many rural diseases she¡¯d learned about during her schooling, but she¡¯d become more familiar with it as she served in the Helios sector. She¡¯d never encountered it herself, but other squads on her base had, and they told her stories of it.


    ¡°All Human COPS in the Lower Section will be receiving this test. That¡¯s all I can tell you,¡± the Nemarian sighed and motioned impatiently for them to follow. ¡°Quickly, now.¡±


    The doctor who ended up drawing Varyna¡¯s blood explained the situation to her a little more clearly. Apparently, they¡¯d recently discovered a specific DNA strand that caused a person to be immune to nefitis. This strand was only found in Humans, and a new protocol had just been issued to document which COPS in Helios were immune and which weren¡¯t.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry we worried you, Xatty-Xavvy over there isn¡¯t the best at communication,¡± the doctor grinned. ¡°This is just a simple procedure that¡¯s best taken care of while you¡¯re already here. You¡¯ll probably never hear anything about it again.

 Chapter 92: Cooking Maxed Out Meatballs

    If someone had told Lus a few months ago that he would choose to spend what might be his last day on the Argo in the kitchen, he would have thought they needed mental help.


    And yet, here he was, using his last free afternoon before what was likely going to be the most dangerous mission of his life to cook.


    He still had two power burgers in the freezer, but they looked a little questionable. He also had quite a few revelation cakes. Which he couldn¡¯t think of any use for, but he was going to take them just in case. He only had a few cookies, another food he wasn¡¯t sure he was going to find any use for.


    ¡°So¡­ more Power Burgers,¡± he murmured. ¡°Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup is a must.¡± He pulled up the [Recipes] tab and scrolled through the rather short list, talking to himself as he went.


    ¡°Galloping Scallops would be very helpful¡­ too bad we don¡¯t have any scallops on hand. Definitely don¡¯t need Tasty Buns or Simple Sweet and Savory Sandwich.¡±


    Lus then pulled up the [Recipes] tab and clicked on the list of new recipes he hadn¡¯t purchased yet. He had enough XP to buy two of them, if he could just figure out which would be the most helpful.


    [Happy Hushers]


    [Maxed Out Meatballs]


    [Peerless Tamo Soup]


    [Fiery Fried Kechin]


    [Jamming Sandwich]


    He quickly eliminated the Happy Hushers and Jamming Sandwich, since neither of those sounded particularly helpful. Maxed Out Meatballs seemed like an obvious first choice, so he quickly selected and bought that one.


    Now he just had to choose between Peerless Tamo Soup and Fiery Fried Kechin. Fiery and Peerless were both unhelpful descriptors, giving him no real idea of what the foods would do. He was about to just give up and save his XP when a voice surprised him.


    ¡°I believe the Fiery Fried Kechin will best suit your needs.¡±


    Lus spun in surprise to find Leviathan¡¯s cartoonish scowl watching him from the screen on the Interbox.


    ¡°Um, thanks,¡± he answered a little uncertainly. The demon had been everything except helpful up to this point, so he didn¡¯t know how to interpret this sudden hint.


    ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll be stuck here for eternity. Or someone will find me and turn me over to some demon hunter. I¡¯ve learned enough about this universe to realize that you¡¯re much more helpful to me alive.¡± The demon was clearly trying to come up with an excuse for his unusual behavior, but Lus wasn¡¯t about to refuse the help.


    ¡°I appreciate that,¡± he answered, quickly purchasing the Kechin recipe. He glanced back, wondering if Leviathan was waiting for him to say something else, but the screen had gone dark.


    Shrugging off the strange interaction, Lus turned his attention to his new recipes. He almost scrolled right to the ingredients and instructions, but remembered that he needed to know what they did.


    He started with the Fiery Fried Kechin. The paragraph was shorter than any of the other food¡¯s ability descriptions.


    ¡®Fiery Fried Kechin will endow you with the power of fire, as well as making you temporarily immune to burns.¡¯


    Lus frowned thoughtfully. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how that would be useful, but he could certainly see it coming in handy if he needed a distraction or a weapon.


    The Meatballs had a little more information.


    ¡®Maxed Out Meatballs are a great stat boost. When eaten, they increase each of your top five stats by [+5] each, making you an even better version of yourself.¡¯


    Lus thought back through his stats. His top five were luck, health, speed, intelligence, and charm. Having each of those boosted by 5 would be incredibly useful.


    He then checked the actual ingredients and directions. The Meatballs used ground Gervin meat, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings, all of which he had on hand.


    The Kechin took a lot of Elsha Oil, along with Kechin and various seasonings and breadcrumbs, milk, and eggs.


    Since the Meatballs appeared to bake, he decided to start on those and do the Power Burgers at the same time, and then he could work on the Fried Kechin while the Meatballs were in the oven.


    Lus had never had Meatballs before himself, but he had seen them on cooking shows before. They always looked really good.


    Pulling the ground Gervin out of the Interbox, he weighed out the amount he needed for the Meatballs and put it in a bowl, then weighed out enough for the Power Burgers and put that in a different bowl.


    To the Meatball bowl, he added eggs, breadcrumbs, dried onnin, dried harvic, peppin, and salt. The recipe suggested mixing it by hand, so he gritted his teeth against the squishy, slimy mess and plunged his hands in.


    Once he had everything evenly mixed, he took a break to wash his hands and get out a baking sheet, which he greased. He then rolled the meat mixture into balls and popped them into the preheated oven.


    While they baked, he started on the sauce that he hadn¡¯t noticed. He had to melt some butter in a pan, then add flour. Next came brown broth, which he thankfully was able to make with some powdered brown broth.


    He took the meatballs out while the sauce was thickening and turned them over, then popped them back into the oven.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Once the sauce had thickened, he added salt and peppin, along with some pasil. He took it off heat and gave it a taste just as the timer went off for the meatballs.


    They were brown on the outside and sizzled in small pools of fat. He let them cool next to the sauce for a bit while he set to work on the Power Burger meat.


    After he¡¯d mixed in the seasonings to the meat, he separated it into four patties and set them back in the bowl. He then washed his hands and quickly prepared the toppings for the burgers. He shredded some fresh kabrage, sliced tamos, and made up the sauce.


    With the toppings ready, he heated a pan and set to work cooking the patties. This went quickly and he soon had four Power Burgers assembled.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    Since the meatballs were cooled, he plopped them into the sauce and mixed them around.


    [Cooking Complete]


    XP Gained: 100]


    He hadn¡¯t even thought about how much XP he¡¯d get from cooking all these System recipes. That would give him more of a well to draw from if he needed any new [Skills] while he was on his mission.


    Lus sighed and glanced up at the clock. He still had another two hours in the kitchen before he needed to worry about someone else coming in. That was plenty of time to make Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup and Fiery Fried Kechin.


    He was just measuring out the flour for the pasta when his stomach let out a loud rumble. Glancing around, his eyes fell on the pot of meatballs in sauce. There was plenty for his trip, even if he took a little sample.


    Finishing up the flour, he grabbed a clean fork and stabbed one of the meatballs covered in light brown sauce. He lifted it and popped it into his mouth.


    [+5 Luck]


    [+5 Intelligence]


    [+5 Health]


    [+5 Speed]


    [+5 Charm]


    Meaty flavor burst on his tongue. The meatball was soft with a bit of chew. The sauce added another layer of savory flavor over the crisp outside.


    ¡°Mmmm.¡± He chewed and swallowed, then bit his lip and, before he could rethink his choice, ate two more of the delicious meatballs.


    With his hunger somewhat satiated, he threw the fork in the sink and went back to work on the soup. Even though he had made neither pasta nor soup for quite a while, the familiar steps quickly came back to him.


    As he worked, he thought about how far he had come. This soup had felt a very difficult undertaking when he first got his System. Now, after his work as a line cook and all the difficult foods he¡¯d prepared for the System, making the soup was more relaxing than challenging.


    Soon enough, he had the broth boiling in the auto-pot with the Kechin, vegetables, and noodles. He left it to finish and pulled up the Fiery Fried Kechin recipe.


    This required four thawed Kechin breasts. There weren¡¯t any in the Interbox, so he had to pull them out of the Nitrobox.


    ¡°How do I thaw these quickly?¡± he wondered.


    [Use the Microwave heater]


    Nodding, he put them in and found a button he¡¯d never noticed before that was specifically marked ¡®Defrost¡¯. It asked for the weight of the Kechin and he made his best guess, then checked the soup while that started.


    He turned off the auto-pot when he found the noodles and vegetables soft.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    Just then, the Microwave Heater beeped, calling him over to turn over the Kechin.


    Lus did so, then began preparing the rest of the recipe. He had to beat a few eggs in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, he mixed flour, red peppin, salt, black peppin, and harvic.


    He had never used red peppin before and he had to dig through the seasonings cupboard to find it, taking a break to pull out the thawed Kechin breasts.


    Finally, he had to pour out breadcrumbs on a plate.


    With everything finally ready, he reached for one of the Kechin breasts to get started, only to be stopped by his [Chef¡¯s Intuition]


    [Get oil heating]


    Pausing, Lus turned and got a deep pot out. He filled it with enough oil to submerge the Kechin, as per the instructions, and turned on medium heat under it.


    With that set, he began working on the Kechin. He took the first breast and laid it in the flour mixture to coat it. He then dipped it in the beaten eggs, trying to get the egg to stick all over. Last, it went in the breadcrumbs.


    He did the same with the other three, setting them all on a dry plate to wait.


    Using a thermometer, he checked the oil and found it nearly in the temperature range he needed. He waited another few minutes, tidying up some of the dirty dishes, then checked again. It was still low, so he turned up the heat and continued cleaning up.


    On his next check, Lus found the oil finally up to the proper temperature.


    Grabbing one of the Kechin breasts, he slid it carefully into the hot oil and stepped back as it began to bubble. He watched it for a moment, intrigued by the way the oil seemed to fizz around the food as it cooked.


    [Set a timer]


    The notification snapped him out of his thoughts and he quickly set a timer. While he waited, he got a clean plate ready for the finished Kechin and a thermometer to measure the temperature and make sure it was safe to eat.


    When the timer went off, he hurried to the pot of oil, only to realize that he hadn¡¯t gotten any kind of implement to lift the Kechin out of the oil. Shaking his head at himself, he hurried to one of the utensil drawers and grabbed a pair of metal tongs. He used them to fish the now golden-brown Kechin breast from the oil and set it on the plate, then put another of the raw ones in.


    He set another timer, then stuck in the thermometer into the finished Kechin and found it well above the proper temperature.


    The hot, fresh, friend Kechin sat there, tempting him. With nothing pressing left to do, he found himself just staring at the crispy-looking, steamy piece of meat, his mouth watering and his stomach grumbling.


    ¡°What¡¯s the harm in taking a taste?¡± he wondered aloud. Then he remembered the description of the power and hesitated. Did he really want to find out what being endowed with the power of fire looked like here, in the kitchen? It sounded like something best tested somewhere very open and¡­ fireproof.


    To help himself avoid temptation, he began putting away some of the food he had finished. He slid the assembled Power Burgers into small, individual bags. Then the timer went off and he fished out the second Kechin breast and gently laid in the third. The second was still up to temp, but a little lower and lighter colored than the first, so he turned the heat up just a bit to make sure they cooked through.


    He then put the meatballs and sauce in a container that was durable enough to handle travel without being in danger of breaking. He moved a few more dishes to the sink, then the timer went off again.


    While the last Kechin breast cooked, Lus got the Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup out of the Auto-Pot and into another durable container. He set it on the counter to cool just as the last timer went off. Tossing the last Kechin breast with the others on the plate, he turned off the heat under the oil.


    [Cooking Complete]


    [XP Gained: 100]


    Lus smiled as he slid the Power Burgers into the Interbox, making sure to hide them near the back so they wouldn¡¯t get stolen. He then moved in the container of Maxed Out Meatballs.


    The container of Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup was cool enough, so that went in next. Finally, he slid the Fiery Fried Kechin into another bag and added that to his stash.


    Surveying the results of his work, he smiled. Maybe- just maybe- he¡¯d survive this mission after all.

 Chapter 93: Saying Goodbye

    Lusac looked at his neatly folded uniform in his closet before closing the door with an air of nervousness. He wouldn¡¯t be wearing it again for a long while. Preparations were nearly ready for the mission which meant he¡¯d be heading out on his own soon.


    Very soon.


    And he was a lot more nervous for it than he wanted to admit, to himself or anyone else.


    At least all the cooking had earned him another level up. He was now a proud level 8, sitting at [2800 XP] even after buying a new [Recipe]. He was still debating how much of it to spend on [Skills] versus [Recipes]. His stat screen now read:


    [Stamina: 8]


    [Intelligence: 11]


    [Strength: 8]


    [Charm: 9]


    [Health: 11]


    [Speed: 11]


    [Common Sense: 2]


    [Luck: 15]


    Needless to say, Lusac was very excited that his [Common Sense] had finally increased again. As had his [Intelligence], [Charm], [Speed], and [Luck], all of which made sense given the time spent undercover at the senator¡¯s manor.


    Avil was stretched out on the couch, his black fur ruffled from rolling around to find the perfect position. Lus smiled at the sight and went over to his cat. He sat down nearby, trying but failing to not disturb the nap. Avil¡¯s yellow eye snapped open to stare at him, but there was maliciousness in it. Only mild curiosity.


    Lus reached out and rubbed his belly, messing up the fur even more. ¡°Hey buddy. I¡¯m going to miss you, you know that?¡±


    It was far from the first time he¡¯d had to leave the cat behind, and this one wasn¡¯t going to last more than three weeks given the volunteer rotation was exactly two standard weeks and it was only a couple days'' travel to and from the Argo to the station.


    And yet this one felt different. More serious.


    Perhaps it was because of the weight of this mission, all of it on his shoulders alone.


    Alone.


    He¡¯d never gone out on a mission alone. Ever. And doing so for the first time for such an important one added a lot of extra stress to his mind. But Lus was going to be fine. It would all be fine.


    Avil gave a soft, screechy meow, and Lus smiled as he resumed petting the cat.


    ¡°Sorry, your majesty. I forgot that you¡¯re supposed to be the main focus of my life at all times,¡± he said to his official system companion.


    The pair sat in silence as Lus stroked the silky black fur and Avil purred, stretching out further to allow Lusac to pet every part of him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll even be able to summon you if I get into trouble. That¡¯s pretty unfortunate, isn¡¯t it? But I wouldn¡¯t risk you getting sick.¡± He scrunched his face. ¡°Can a Demon¡¯s essence get sick? Maybe you¡¯re immune too.¡±


    Looking down at the lump of fur on his couch, he shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think this will be the right time to find out. You¡¯ll stay here with Becky. She¡¯ll take very good care of you.¡±


    Avil¡¯s ears perked up at the mention of his (second) favorite Human.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯ll be along to collect you anytime now,¡± Lus assured him. ¡°But I need to finish cleaning up and packing. I¡¯m due in the shuttle bay in a couple of hours.¡±


    The cat remained on the couch as Lusac stood up and returned to the half full bag on his bed. He didn¡¯t have much to bring from here, mostly whatever non-Runner clothes he had laying around and a couple of trinkets. He¡¯d grab the packaged food on his way to the hangar, and that would likely fill the rest of the bag.


    Lus really hoped that he would be able to sneak that extra food with him. Having those [Power Burgers] and some [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup] might make this mission feasible after all, especially if he was going to be facing deranged, half rotted people and animals hellbent on eating him.


    Tremt-Fusi had forced Lusac to spend more time learning about nefitis to ensure he properly understood how dangerous it was and how it spread to make sure he didn¡¯t bring any of the germs back with him by accident.


    That meant anything organic he took with him would have to be left back on the planet besides his own body. So whatever food he took down there he¡¯d either eat or throw away in the end.


    The door rang, and Lus gave up his worrying to answer it. Becky and Zer-Dasht both stood there.


    ¡°Hey guys. What are you doing here?¡± Lusac asked in surprise. Becky was supposed to come closer to when he had to leave, and he¡¯d made no plans to see Zer-Dasht.


    ¡°To celebrate your final hours aboard the Argo of course,¡± Zer-Dasht said with a laugh.


    Becky rolled her brown eyes. ¡°Not funny, Dasht.¡± She smiled at Lus. ¡°We just wanted to say goodbye and maybe hang out for a bit if you have the time. Oaty wanted to be here, but he¡¯s stuck actually doing his job for once.¡±


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    Lus chuckled and stepped to the side, allowing both to enter his small room.


    ¡°I wonder if we can sneak your room onto the cleaning golem¡¯s schedule while you''re gone. Maybe we¡¯d finally rid you of this grime you like to live in.¡± Dasht smirked as he walked over to the couch. ¡°Maybe they¡¯d take care of this mutant thing while they¡¯re at it.¡±


    Avil screeched in protest, and Becky immediately scooped him up.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you worry Avil baby. I won¡¯t let the big, bad Nemarian hurt you,¡± she said soothingly before burying her face into his fur.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to leave her in charge of the cat again, Lus? She might not give him back this time.¡± Dasht plopped down on one side of the sofa. ¡°Come on, get a fight on. Yrqw already mentioned that you picked up an entire tournament at the last resupply stop.¡±


    Becky sat next to him, and Lus took the other edge making it a tight fight. He used the remote control sitting on the beat up coffee table and got up the first of many gladiatus matches he bought.


    Did he spend the majority of his cryptin on buying all the new main round tournaments? Yes, but as far as he was concerned, it was money well spent. And he always made sure to save enough to keep Avil in food and litter with enough left over to gamble at the monthly poker nights too.


    The entire tournament was for fighters with systems, and the first match featured two Lus had never heard of before. Then again, he didn¡¯t waste his hard earned money on something as lame as novice brackets so it wasn¡¯t all surprising.


    Dasht immediately latched onto the Nemarian competitor, and for the sake of it, Lusac chose to support the Kremel she was up against. Becky remained a neutral party, cheering at every hit regardless of who was behind it. Avil thrived in the chaos, the noise actually lulling him to sleep in Becky¡¯s lap.


    After the first one, they put the next one, Dasht insisting they watch as many as they could before Lusac had to leave.


    The conversation remained light, focused mainly on the fights or the latest ship gossip. That was nice. It helped Lusac get out of his head and stop worrying so much about the upcoming mission. Occasionally his anxiety would worm its way to the front of his mind with disheartening thoughts such as ¡®this is the last time you¡¯ll see your friends¡¯ and ¡®consider this your early funeral,¡¯ but his friends did a good job keeping him distracted so he couldn¡¯t fall into the spiral.


    Eventually, however, the comm unit rang out with Cewi-Bano¡¯s voice, asking if Lusac was ready for departure.


    ¡°Blast it. Just when we were getting to the good matches,¡± Dasht complained.


    The three of them stood up, Becky keeping Avil in her arms.


    Zer-Dasht slapped his back and shook his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t get eaten or anything, okay? I still want to see the end of the tournament.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± Lus promised.


    ¡°And come back with both eyes if you can. I don¡¯t think an eyepatch would be a good look,¡± the Nemarian said as he crossed to the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    Dasht paused and looked back with a smile. ¡°Good luck, Lusac. You got this.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Dasht. I¡¯ll see you around.¡±


    The Nemarian left, leaving just Lus and Becky in the room.


    And Avil, who made his presence known with a small screech.


    ¡°Let me grab Avil¡¯s litter box and food bowl, and I¡¯ll be out of your hair,¡± Becky said.


    Lus helped her collect the necessary items and walked with her to the door.


    ¡°Be safe out there, Lus,¡± she said.


    ¡°I will.¡± He only wished he felt as confident as he sounded.


    She leaned forward and pecked his cheek. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later, [Chef] boy.¡±


    Lus was at a loss for words as he watched her walk away, red heating his face. He touched the spot where she¡¯d kissed his cheek. As worried as he was about the mission, his main consolation was that she didn¡¯t have to go on it. At least she would be safe, and that also meant Avil would always have a home on the Argo.


    The comm unit went off again, Cewi-Bano checking in once more since he¡¯d never responded to her the first time.


    ¡°On my way. I just need to swing by the kitchen,¡± he told her. Grabbing his bag, he gave his room one last look and then stepped out into the corridor, the door closing behind with a certain finality.


    Lusac made his way to the kitchen which was thankfully empty. He immediately loaded up all the packed foods into his bag, but before he left, he stepped up to the interbox.


    ¡°Hey Leviathan,¡± he said.


    The screen on the interbox went black, and a red, cartoon villain face appeared on it.


    ¡°What is it, imbecile?¡±


    ¡°Imbecile? Really? This might be the last time you ever see me,¡± Lusac said nonchalantly.


    The blocky eyebrows turned diagonal, either in confusion or anger. It was hard to tell with such a simplistic display.


    ¡°Good riddance,¡± the Demon spat.


    Lusac rolled his eyes. ¡°Any parting words? Or maybe a last minute [Skill] to help me out? Remember that if I die, you¡¯ll be discovered and tossed into the abyss or something terrible.¡±


    ¡°I gave you a system. Don¡¯t come crying to me just because you haven¡¯t managed it well.¡±


    ¡°Right. Worth a shot,¡± Lus muttered to himself. He sighed and doublechecked his bag. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m off. See you in a few weeks. Be good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a dog.¡±


    ¡°But you are part cat,¡± Lus said. ¡°Or rather, part of you is a cat.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me about the stolen essence,¡± Leviathan growled.


    Lusac chuckled and patted the side of the interbox. ¡°See you when I get back, Leviathan.¡±


    ¡°If you get back,¡± the Demon murmured.


    Lus picked up his bag and walked away, not bothering to give Leviathan the satisfaction of even a glance back. He left the kitchen behind and went to the hangar where Cewi-Bano waited.


    ¡°All set?¡± the Nemarian asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Lusac hefted his bag up as proof. ¡°Are you the one taking me down?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll drop you off and introduce you to the contact with the government shuttle, but from there you¡¯ll be on your own. The Argo will be back here in eighteen days, and we¡¯ll hang out at least a week to be sure we don¡¯t miss you. If you don¡¯t make it back inside that window¡­¡±


    ¡°I can kiss my spot on the crew goodbye,¡± Lus filled in for her.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t be late,¡± she said with a laugh.


    Lusac chuckled alongside and stepped into the shuttle. Since it was only the two of them, he left his bag on one of the back seats and then took the co-pilot¡¯s spot. Cewi came in right after him and sat in the pilot¡¯s chair.


    She started up the engines, closed the rear door, and used the communicator to inform the Bridge that they were ready.


    ¡°Copy. You¡¯re set for departure. We¡¯ll see you back here in a couple of hours, Cewi. And you in a couple of weeks, Lusac,¡± Nippy said from the other end. ¡°Good luck, kid.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Nippy,¡± Lus replied as he strapped his seatbelt together.


    Cewi-Bano closed out the comm channel and then initiated the automatic takeoff sequence. She, like the majority of non-professional pilots, preferred to use the autotools when she could.


    Lusac leaned back in his seat, doing everything he could to calm his nerves as they left the Argo and headed for the nearby moon. The mission for the final piece of the artifact had officially started.

 Chapter 94: Flying to Sliaryt

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Cewi-Bano glanced over at Lusac.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said, forcing his knees to stop bouncing up and down. The moon loomed in front of them, ordinary looking enough from general appearances, but he knew that a hidden base was buried under its surface where they would meet the contact.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be okay, Lus. You¡¯ve done plenty of missions like this before.¡± Cewi offered him a reassuring smile.


    ¡°I know. There are always pre-mission jitters.¡± His fingers tapped against his knees as he stared out the front window. Behind the moon was a purple gas giant, the dark colors blending into the blackness of space as brilliant white dots twinkled behind it, hints of further out solar systems.


    Sliaryt was out there among them, the planet of death as so many called it. A place where people infected with a heinous disease were sent to spend long years suffering before their inevitable death. And now he was going to go there too under the pretense of helping them but only for his own gain. Something about that didn¡¯t sit right with him.


    Silently he vowed that he¡¯d tried to do something helpful while he was there. All those images of nefitis remained at the forefront of his mind, and the thought of seeing that kind of suffering in person made his skin crawl.


    Luckily that also made it easy to forget about the other stressful parts of the mission such as flying a shuttle alone through the Astral Highway, successfully going undercover with the volunteers, and then finding an artifact in some decay castle infested with insane zombie-like people and animals.


    His one consolation was that this mission should be relatively straightforward, at least until he got to Sliaryt. There shouldn¡¯t be any complications before then.


    ¡°Unknown ship, state your purpose,¡± a voice declared through the comms.


    Cewi was on it in an instant. ¡°This is Patron 413 coming to the Supplier for the agreed package.¡±


    There was a pause before the voice answered.


    ¡°Welcome Patron 413. You are permitted to land in bay two.¡±


    Cewi-Bano nodded to herself and guided the shuttle towards the open hangar which was mostly obscured by a crater. Only those who knew to look for it would ever see it.


    The hangar was divided into private bays, all of them closed off except for the one allotted to them. She took the shuttle inside and used the autolander to place them safely on the pad.


    Once the rear door was open, Cewi shut the engines off and unbuckled. Lus did the same, though with slower motions as he realized that he would be saying goodbye to her here and officially setting off on his own. He didn¡¯t feel ready for the responsibility now that it was here, but he couldn¡¯t afford to let doubt drag him down now.


    ¡°Come on, Lusac. These guys don¡¯t like to be kept waiting,¡± Cewi called back.


    Lus stood up, slung his bag across his back, and followed her out into the base. Two Humans and a Kremel waited there.


    One of the Humans¨Ca blonde woman¨Cstepped forward. ¡°You¡¯re Patron 413?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the courier.¡± Cewi gestured back to Lusac. ¡°This is Patron 413.¡±


    ¡°You may go courier. We attend only the patrons,¡± she said curtly.


    Cewi patted Lusac¡¯s shoulder as she passed. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye¡­¡± He caught himself before he could use her name, remembering that doing such things was a big no-no in this type of situation.


    The Nemarian smiled as she reentered the shuttle and closed the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m Supplier 3. Come with me, Patron 413,¡± the woman said as soon as she was sure Cewi-Bano was out of sight and sound.


    Lus nodded and followed behind her as the other two took up the rear. They left the small bay behind and entered into a wide, dull metallic hallway. It looked to be well-used but also well taken care of, with neat patches to the walls and floors.


    It was a short walk to another bay just like the one they¡¯d left behind, except instead of the Argo¡¯s shuttle, it had an official government transport ship. It wasn¡¯t anything fancy, but it had all the proper insignia to pass as a fed ship.


    The woman came to a stop just before the ramp leading up to it. ¡°This shuttle has been updated to have all the correct codes to bypass all federal security checkpoints. It is officially on loan to you for the next thirty days as per the agreement. It is expected that this vehicle will be returned to us by the deadline and in proper working condition. If you somehow trip a security trigger and get the shuttle tagged as an illegal vehicle, you will be charged the full cost plus damages. Do you understand and agree to these terms?¡±


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    ¡°Yes,¡± Lusac said simply. Cewi-Bano had taken care of the whole arrangement, including payment so Lus really didn¡¯t have to do much else besides agree and then fly off in the shuttle.


    ¡°We¡¯ll now scan your chip for our records, to complete the transaction.¡± The woman motioned to her underlyings behind her, and the Kremel stepped forward with a scanner.


    Cewi hadn¡¯t mentioned this part, but there was nothing Lus could do about it now. He compliantly held his wrist out and allowed the Kremel to scan it. His chip had been hacked and changed yet again to give him a proper fake identity so all they would see was Lucas Absti, a low-level federal employee.


    ¡°Id checks out,¡± the Kremel announced.


    ¡°The shuttle is all yours, Patron 413.¡± The woman stepped out of his way and motioned up to the vehicle.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lusac said. He had about a million questions and concerns, but he decided to not ask any of them since he didn¡¯t think this was the time or place. A lot of them were the kinds of things he¡¯d learn as he went anyway.


    Lus walked up the ramp and into the shuttle. He tossed his bag on the copilot¡¯s seat and sat down in the pilot¡¯s chair. The console was similar enough to what he learned on with the Argo¡¯s shuttles that he should be able to manage it okay.


    He hoped.


    Taking a moment to calm himself, Lus studied the controls just to be sure that he knew what everything was. Once he felt confident with his knowledge, he turned the engines on, closed up the door, and prepared for take off.


    Even after practicing with Oaty, Lus didn¡¯t feel comfortable with his own skills in free-flying so he used the auto-liftoff sequence to get the ship off the pad and out of the hangar. Once he was a good distance from the base, control of the shuttle returned to him, and he activated the nav sequence he set up to take him to the Astral Highway.


    It was going to be almost six hours of flying through nothing to get there unfortunately since he couldn¡¯t use a Breach. This shuttle was, for all purposes, an official government one which meant him using an illegal means of getting into the Highway would raise concerns from both the feds and the Runners, and the last thing he wanted was to make any kind of mess. Besides, that would probably also void the contract with the Suppliers, and he definitely didn¡¯t have the cryptin to afford whatever the cost of this shuttle plus damages would be.


    Lus easily got the course setup, and he flew it manually for a few minutes, but that got old fast so he switched to autopilot which freed his hands to do something else.


    Only there was nothing else to do.


    He was alone in the shuttle so there wasn¡¯t the option of conversation. His bag was basically full of only food and clothes. He dug the few trinkets he brought out: a metal puzzle toy and a single holonovel that he¡¯d been trying to read for almost a year now.


    The puzzle lasted him about ten minutes before he grew bored of it, and so he moved onto the book. As expected, that nearly put him to sleep, so he quickly put it away as well.


    Five and half hours remained on the journey to the Highway, and Lusac was already out of things to do.


    Part of him thought of summoning Avil just for the company, but since he didn¡¯t have a [Skill] to send the cat back to the Argo, he decided that it would only be for an absolute emergency.


    Lus walked around the small shuttle a bit, familiarizing himself with all the areas of the ship including the small crew area including four sleep pods, a table which extended from the wall, and two stools. There was no real kitchen, only a basic counter to open prepackaged meals.


    He checked out the engine area, but it was cramped and basically unusable while the engines were active, so that took less time than he hoped.


    Eventually he got desperate enough to start working out in the small cockpit. He did an intense set of core exercises, then squats, pushups, and jumping jacks. And then he repeated it. Again, and again.


    Lus worked up a thorough sweat, and his body odor permeated the whole shuttle, but it burned off a lot of his energy so he counted it as a win. That took up another full hour, and then cleaning up with a rag in the small bathroom took up another ten minutes.


    He¡¯d exhausted himself enough that by the time he sat back down in the pilot¡¯s chair, he was actually excited to just sit around doing nothing. His body needed the rest. It was also his chance to eat a snack, so he busted into one of the prepackaged meals he¡¯d brought along. A non-system one of course since those ones were far too valuable to waste now. He could only imagine how much good they might do once he was down on the zombie planet facing Watcher knew what.


    The rest of the time passed a little faster now that he didn¡¯t have so much nervous energy built up in his body, and Lus was actually a little excited as he approached the Highway entry point. There were several vehicles entering from several different lanes, and he was forced to get in line to wait his turn since every vehicle entering had to pass a security scan.


    Lus tensed up a bit as he visually saw the entrypoint. It¡¯d been over two years since he last took the normal way into the Astral Highway. Runners only ever used Breaches.


    His turn came, and the autopilot guided the shuttle up to the large metal hoop and waited while the scans were completed. A laser and metal gate shut the way before him, ensuring he couldn¡¯t run into the Highway until he got cleared.


    A green light appeared on both his console and on the gate just outside. It retracted, and he was allowed to enter the Astral Highway.


    Going in this was a lot smoother of a ride than taking a Breach, and it was only a gentle bump as his view went from the inky cosmos to the swirl of rainbow colors that made up the wormhole network. He changed his navigation course to be Sliaryt, and then he manually guided the shuttle deeper into the wormhole.


    Autopilot didn¡¯t work when a ship was in the wormhole network due to the complexity of the system, but the navigation computer could still give directions. Lus didn¡¯t mind having to pilot though. The Astral Highway was breathtaking, and there were enough turns involved in navigating it to keep the process interesting, unlike manually flying in space.


    It took only a couple of hours to get through the Highway, and exiting went as smoothly as entering thanks to the official federal shuttle thing.


    Once he was back in space¨CHelios section¨Che took himself a good distance from the checkpoint before turning his autopilot on and letting it fly the shuttle the rest of the way to Sliaryt.


    ¡°Twenty-five hours?¡± he said with a groan as the screen displayed the estimated flight time to his arrival.


    Lusac sighed and looked around the small ship. He was going to have to find something to distract him for a while.


    A long while.

 Chapter 95: Volunteer Preparations

    The autopilot began beeping, pulling Lusac from his book. It turned out that reading wasn¡¯t so bad when there was literally nothing else to do for long stretches of time. He¡¯d slept, worked out again, eaten another two meals, and solved his metal puzzle three times before giving in and trying that holonovel out again.


    The beeping was loud and high pitched, ensuring he heard it very clearly. Mumbling to himself, he turned off the novel and turned his attention to the alert.


    ¡°Of course I know I¡¯m approaching Sliaryt. I¡¯m the one who plotted the course, you stupid thing,¡± he said. The computer required him to confirm three different times that he understood the dangers of the planet he was approaching.


    ¡°Blasted government ships and their unnecessary precautions.¡± Lus rolled his eyes as he finished clearing away the alerts. The autopilot refused to work so he¡¯d have to manually fly himself the rest of the way there, but honestly it was nice to get a break from that book.


    He could just make out the dull, brown and green planet that was Sliaryt against the red giant it orbited. It had three separate moons, all of them small, and if he squinted, he thought he could discern the space station near it as well.


    The station was his true target. It was there that he¡¯d go through the volunteer orientation and sign up before getting sent down to the planet with a bunch of other Humans who were literally going to visit zombieland out of the goodness of their hearts.


    Of course Lusac understood wanting to help other people, especially those in such grievous circumstances, but he just struggled to imagine himself being willing to take such a big risk like spending two weeks on a planet where almost every living thing had an interest in taking a bite out of you for no other reason than to help.


    But if he was going down anyway, he was going to try to do something for someone while he was there. If only to ease his own guilt about getting to leave the horrors of Sliaryt behind after two weeks.


    Lus ran through his fake story in his head as he piloted the shuttle towards the planet¡¯s space station. Once he got close enough for a clear view of the station, his stomach curdled as he noticed five different battle ships also in orbit around the planet. His sensors warned him that more were on the other side, for a total of a dozen ships guarding Sliaryt.


    Logically he knew there was no way all those ships were here just to catch him, but it made him uneasy to see such a large military presence around the planet when he was about to infiltrate it.


    Doing his best to keep himself calm, Lusac refocused on keeping his flying steady as he approached the station. It wasn¡¯t long before his communicator went off.


    ¡°Federal Ship 2310678965, you are approaching Sliaryt Station. State your name and purpose,¡± a male voice said.


    ¡°L-Lucas Absti, reporting for volunteer service,¡± he said, barely remembering to say the correct name even after all his mental prepwork.


    Lucas¡­ Who¡¯d ever heard of a name as stupid as that?


    ¡°Absti, yes, we have you on our manifest. A last minute addition to this expedition. Land in hangar beta, bay three,¡± the man responded.


    Thank the Watcher that Nippy had the connections to get him in so easily. It¡¯d been less than a week since it was determined he¡¯d be the one to go at all.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lus took the shuttle closer to the station as one of the many hangars opened up. Just inside was a network of open bays, and he took the one clearly labeled ¡®3,¡¯ one of the last available spots.


    Once the ship was safely landed, he opened the rear door, stood up, and grabbed his bag from the copilot¡¯s chair. He took one last glance around the shuttle which had been his home for well over a day.


    ¡°See you in a couple of weeks ship¡­ I hope,¡± he murmured as he walked out.


    A Kremel woman with a holotablet was already waiting at the landing pad. A golem made of finely carved wood with a glass head stood nearby, several scanning tools in its hands.


    ¡°Lucas Absti?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Lus said, mentally drilling the name ¡®Lucas¡¯ into his mind. It would be hard to not correct people all the time with how similar it was to his real name.


    ¡°Great. Follow me to security while the golem does a sweep of your shuttle. My name is Dlt.¡± The Kremel was already walking towards the door.


    ¡°A sweep?¡± Lus glanced back at the creature who was headed towards his ship. It wouldn¡¯t find anything suspicious, right? It¡¯s not like he left anything distinctly ¡®Runner¡¯ behind, but he still didn¡¯t like that thing poking around his ship.


    ¡°A precaution for every ship that comes through the station. Federal law requires that we do it.¡± Dlt was entirely unconcerned.


    ¡°Right. I don¡¯t suppose it could clean while it¡¯s at it?¡± Lus was supposed to be a suckling, and sucklings expected others to do all the dirty work¡­ From his understanding at least.


    ¡°Ha. If only. Our cleaning golems are already stretched thin as is.¡±


    They left the hangar behind and entered a long corridor. Dlt ignored all the other doors and took Lus directly to the one at the far end. Inside was a set of bored looking security officers and some old scanning equipment.


    ¡°They just need to confirm you¡¯re not some terrorist or cultist,¡± the Kremel explained, gesturing him forward.


    Lus forced a casual smile as he walked up to the guards. ¡°Hi.¡±


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    One gave a lazy wave while the other pulled an id scanner out. Lus put his hand forward and allowed the officer to scan his wrist. After that he set his bag in a machine which completed an internal scan.


    ¡°Clear,¡± one of the officers said, motioning him forward. Dlt joined him and together they exited the small checkpoint.


    ¡°Now that the hardest part is over, we¡¯ll get you over to medical for final bloodwork and then get you settled into a temporary bunk. Unfortunately we don¡¯t have the room or resources for private rooms, but the pod is comfortable enough. Tomorrow morning we''ll do the orientation with the whole volunteer crew so you can meet everyone else who¡¯s going down to the planet with you.¡± Dlt led him through the corridors which all looked the same with the bland alunitanium walls, floors, and ceilings. The lights were set to a level that was comfortable for Humans rather than Nemarians and Kremel.


    ¡°Have you been down before?¡± Lusac asked before biting his lip. That was a stupid question.


    The Kremel laughed. ¡°Obviously not or else I wouldn¡¯t be here now. Only Humans are lucky enough to have the chance of the immunity gene. But I¡¯ve worked here five years now as a hostess for the volunteers.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I ask why? It seems a little risky. What if the disease managed to make it back with one of the volunteers?¡± Lus was partly curious and partly searching for information about their security protocols. He wanted to be sure there was no chance he could bring nefitis back to the Argo with him.


    Dlt chuckled. ¡°No chance of that. The ship that goes down and comes back is equipped with the finest sensors in the galaxy which can detect even a single strand of the virus inside. Plus all the volunteers are put through a whole sanitization process before they¡¯re allowed contact with anyone else. You¡¯ll learn about it at the orientation.¡±


    Her steps slowed. ¡°As to your first question, well, I do this for a close personal reason. My husband was infected with nefitis five and a half years ago while with a long term merchant convoy. It took me three months to find out, and by then he¡¯d already been sent to Sliaryt. I wanted to do something to help him and the others who suffered, so I decided to dedicate my life to the humanitarian station, and even if I can¡¯t go down to physically help, I make sure others get that chance.¡±


    Lus blinked in surprise. He tried to imagine how much love it would take to do something so grand and romantic. ¡°That¡¯s really cool. I mean, you wanting to help. Not your husband. Sorry to hear about that.¡± He could feel the heat on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I tell this story often. You¡¯re far from the first to ask.¡± Dlt patted his back with one of her large, gray hands. ¡°My husband actually spent the first three years on the planet as a contact point for the volunteers. Eventually the disease took too strong a hold, and he couldn¡¯t risk being around them for such long stretches, but normally he makes an effort to check in with the volunteers. His name is Hufin-Xas, a Nemarian with indigo fins.¡±


    Lusac nearly stopped in his tracks. ¡°A Nemarian? Your husband is a Nemarian?¡±


    Obviously he¡¯d heard of interspecies marriages. People were free to do as they wanted in such things, but it was almost unheard of for Nemarians and Kremel to get together. Typically any interspecies relationships involved a Human or in rare cases a rogue Shamayim.


    As biology worked, all the Cinder Rock Galaxy¡¯s species were incompatible genetically when it came to reproduction so there were no half-Kremel, half Nemarian kids running around. Lus was kind of glad about that because all he could picture was Nippy with fins and scales, and that was a sight he didn¡¯t like.


    Dlt gave another throaty laugh. ¡°Yes, yes he is. It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people are to hear that. I do have to be careful around our older volunteers when I tell them, though. I¡¯m not about to go around giving out heart attacks.¡±


    ¡°Nearly gave me on,¡± Lus muttered to himself.


    ¡°Here¡¯s medical. A nurse will grab your blood, and then I¡¯ll take you to the volunteer quarters.¡±


    The medical center was far larger than the Argo¡¯s and very well equipped. Lusac noticed several staff members walking around in clean white scrubs while the same amount of golems attended the more menial tasks.


    A Human nurse came over to him. Everyone in the center was Human actually except for Dlt.


    ¡°Volunteer?¡± the woman asked.


    Lus nodded.


    She held a scanner out. ¡°Your chip?¡±


    Lus put his wrist forward so she could scan it.


    ¡°Welcome to the Sliaryt Humanitarian and Research Station, Mr. Absti. I¡¯m Nurse Inol. Come with me so I can take a blood sample and confirm a few medical history questions in case of an emergency,¡± the nurse said as she glanced up from the scanner¡¯s screen.


    ¡°Sure thing. Lead the way.¡±


    Inol took him to an exam area curtained off from the rest of the center where a golem took his vitals using a high end scanner. The nurse then took a sample of his blood and sent it off with the golem for immediate testing to ensure he really did have the immunity gene.


    It would suck if Tremt-Fusi had somehow gotten it wrong. Then all this time would be wasted.


    After the golem left, Inol launched into a series of questions about Lusac¡¯s family history. He was truthful, which meant saying no to everything. Even if someone in his family had had a chronic medical condition, he wouldn¡¯t have known since they wouldn¡¯t have known. People on Treft didn¡¯t visit doctors all that much unless they absolutely had to.


    Once the nurse finished with the eternal questionnaire, she got a notification on the holotablet she was taking notes on.


    ¡°The results of the blood test are back. You are confirmed to be immune to nefitis,¡± she informed him. ¡°Thank you for you time, Mr. Absti, and thank you for serving down on Sliaryt. You will never know just how much of an impact you have down there.¡±


    Lusac gave a tight smile and thanked her as he left the exam area and returned to Dlt.


    ¡°Ready to see your luxurious room for the night?¡± the Kremel asked with a smile.


    Lus nodded and followed her out of the medical center and back through the maze of hallways. She took him to a large room full of sleeping pods embedded in the walls, four high going the length of each one.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have bunk 17, just over there,¡± she said, pointing out the small cubbyhole with a mattress where he was to sleep that night. ¡°You can leave your stuff there, and I¡¯ll finish up our tour by taking you to the lounge. Most of the other volunteers are already here so you can meet a few of your colleagues before dinner.¡±


    He dropped his bag off at the bed, choosing to trust that nobody was going to be snooping, and then followed Dlt back out of the sleeping quarters and to the next door where the lounge was.


    ¡°Enjoy,¡± she said, motioning him inside. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow at orientation.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Dlt.¡± He stepped into the room and exhaled in relief. It seemed to manage to fool everyone for now. He just had to keep it up for a few more weeks.


    He glanced around the well supplied lounge room, complete with several holoscreens, a bar full of snacks and drinks, and several card tables for various games. There were about ten other Humans in there, all mingling together.


    Normally, Lus wasn¡¯t the most social in big groups, especially when he was undercover, but after a full day stuck alone in a shuttle, he was eager to socialize. Plus it¡¯d been a very long time since he was surrounded entirely by his own species.


    Just as he was about to head over to the group of couches with the most occupants, he froze, his eyes catching sight of something he couldn¡¯t believe. He wanted to turn around and run, but it was too late. She¡¯d seen him.


    Officer Varyna Rhine. Somehow, after everything, she¡¯d finally managed to catch up to him.

 Chapter 96: Volunteer Preparations II

    This was bad. Basically worst case scenario if Lus was being honest. The entire mission was going to be scrubbed, and Captain Tave might actually kill him for ruining it. Why did she have to be here of all places? How did she find him? It just didn¡¯t make sense.


    All he knew for sure was that he had to get out of there. As awkward as it was given he¡¯d only just entered the room, Lus turned around and left. Movement from behind warned that Varyna was doing the same, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to run just yet. That would be too obvious, and she hadn¡¯t called after him just yet which meant that she might be trying to do this quietly given she was a dirty officer and all.


    Lus had only made it a few yards back down the corridor before a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to a stop.


    ¡°Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot,¡± Varyna said.


    ¡°Officer,¡± Lusac said tightly. ¡°Whatever are you doing here? I didn¡¯t know COPS sent volunteers to care for the nefitis victims. That¡¯s very big of them.¡±


    Her lips twitched in frustration, and her eyes darted around the corridor, as if she was checking to see if there was anyone nearby. Probably didn¡¯t want the other officers to know she¡¯d caught her prize.


    ¡°Look here, boy¨C¡±


    ¡°Boy? You¡¯re too young to be calling me that,¡± he protested.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Varyna rolled her eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s the USB?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Lus had enough [Common Sense] to not openly admit to owning a Demon, regardless of what his stats claimed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t play this game with me. Just hand it over, and we¡¯ll call it even, okay? I won¡¯t go spoiling your mission, though I can¡¯t imagine what in the galaxy you want down on Sliaryt.¡±


    ¡°What do the COPS need with it?¡±


    ¡°Shut. Up.¡±


    He furled his eyebrows. It almost seemed like she was upset he was using the organization¡¯s name. Was it possible his stalker had finally been discovered and kicked out for the rat that she was?


    Her fingers dug into his shoulder as her blue eyes stared into his soul. ¡°Where is Leviathan?¡±


    Before he could once again deny having ever even heard the name, Dlt entered the hallway.


    ¡°Hello Lucas. Hello Veronia. How are you both doing?¡± The Kremel smiled, either intentionally playing dumb to the fact that they were arguing or simply too busy with her own work to have noticed to begin with.


    ¡°Good. Just catching up with Lucas here,¡± Varyna said.


    Or was it¡­ Veronia?


    No. Lus was sure it had been Varyna last time he met her.


    But why a different name¡­ unless she too was undercover?


    A smile briefly crossed his face. ¡°Yeah. Just catching up. I can¡¯t believe I got to see my dearest Veronia again.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. I¡¯ll see you both tomorrow at orientation then.¡±


    ¡°See you then,¡± they both said in unison before turning to glare at each other.


    ¡°Officer Rhine, you seemed to have lied about your name,¡± Lusac said once Dlt was out of ear shot and he¡¯d confirmed no one else was nearby.


    ¡°I told you to shut up. Don¡¯t use my real name,¡± she whispered back.


    ¡°It¡¯s clear that we both have our own purposes with this volunteer thing that don¡¯t involve each other. I purpose a deal,¡± Lus continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± She released the death grip on her shoulders to cross her arms, making it clear that it had better be a good deal.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go ruining your cover if you don¡¯t go ruining mine. If one of us goes down, then we both go down.¡±


    Her face twitched. Clearly she didn¡¯t like the idea of letting him go so easily, but luckily the situation was such that he didn¡¯t see how she had any other choice if she wanted to keep this ¡®Veronia¡¯ cover up, and that was good news for him.


    ¡°Fine. But don¡¯t think that this is the end of things between us. I¡¯m going to get Leviathan from you. Mark my words.¡± Varyna jabbed a finger into his chest, hard. ¡°Watch your back, Runner.¡±


    ¡°Lucas,¡± he corrected her with a teasing smile. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I was hoping to relax a little for the rest of the evening. After all, we have a big day tomorrow.¡±


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    He went back to the lounge, and Varyna followed after, though admittedly with an air of frustration. The other volunteers were basically just as they left them before, and Lus chose to head to a group watching a hyperball matchup.


    ¡°Who are we cheering for?¡± he asked as he plopped down on a couch.


    Annoyingly enough, Varyna joined him in this section, sitting down on the seat directly across from him, her eyes drilling into him.


    ¡°The Quoshian Wailers,¡± the man nearest to him responded. He was older, probably in his forties with bits of gray showing in his black hair. ¡°I¡¯m Sanur by the way.¡±


    ¡°Lucas.¡± They shook hands.


    ¡°And your friend?¡± Sanur nodded to the black cloud that was Varyna.


    ¡°Veronia,¡± she said tersely.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you both.¡± The man slid back into his seat, cheering as the Wailers scored.


    ¡°I¡¯m Frang,¡± one of the women piped up. ¡°And this is my sister, Amgas.¡±


    They were both fairly young, probably only in her thirties, and shared nearly identical appearances with fiery red hair, freckles, and brilliant green eyes. Frang wore her hair in a braid while Amgas kept hers in a ponytail, but if it wasn¡¯t for that, Lus wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have been able to tell them apart.


    ¡°We¡¯re cheering for the Heliosian Blockades,¡± Amgas mentioned, her eyes glued to the screen.


    ¡°It seems you¡¯re outnumbered Sanur, so count me with the Wailers tonight,¡± Lus announced.


    The man smiled and patted his knee. ¡°Good boy.¡±


    Lus chose to engross himself in watching the screen and making comments solely related to the game, doing everything he could to not watch Varyna. Didn¡¯t she realize how awkward she was being? And why watch him this close? It wasn¡¯t like he could up and leave easily.


    This did pose a problem for when he got down to the planet. If she continued to watch him this closely, it might prove difficult to sneak away and borrow a crawler for his real mission, but he decided to remain optimistic that their volunteer tasks would be too distracting for her to always have her eyes on him.


    But if she wanted to waste the evening watching him enjoy himself, he wasn¡¯t going to raise a fuss over it. She could make herself miserable if she wanted to, and that wasn¡¯t any of his business.


    A few more people trickled into the room as the evening wore on, and after a couple of hours, a crew of golems brought in dinner for everyone.


    It wasn¡¯t anything spectacular, and Lusac knew he¡¯d made far better food himself, but it was something to eat that didn¡¯t work his own sweat, so he enjoyed it regardless of the lack of flavors. At least it wasn¡¯t the burnt mush Lbrvr always made for breakfast.


    The groups mixed up after dinner, and Lus found himself with a different set of Humans watching some soap opera on one of the holoscreens. It definitely wasn¡¯t his style, but Varyna had finally given up following his every move, so he decided to stay put and enjoy not having her constant stare. He was worried that if he moved elsewhere, she would take notice and decide to restart the stalking.


    The crummy holoshow proved a poor distraction, and thanks to the sudden appearance of Varyna, Lus¡¯s mind spun out into a new set of worries. He¡¯d already been having a hard time coming up with a good excuse for why he¡¯d disappear for what could be days while down on the planet when he was posing as a volunteer to help with humanitarian aid. And now that excuse had to be good enough to fool a member of the COPS, one who already knew he was a Runner and was likely up to something illegal.


    It would be extremely unfortunate if he managed to safely retrieve the artifact only to lose it to the COPS because he was unable to escape from Varyna¡¯s clutches after this. Not to mention that might lead the law enforcement to catching on to what the Argo had been up to for all these months, which could very well put the entire crew at risk.


    So in addition to figuring out how to get to the castle, getting the artifact, and getting back off the planet, he also had to make his escape from Varyna and not let himself be followed back to the ship.


    Easy¡­


    If only.


    ¡°We should probably head to bed. Orientation starts early tomorrow, and then we¡¯ll be heading down to the surface immediately after,¡± one of the Humans in the group said.


    Everyone mumbled their agreements, and the holoscreen was turned off. Lus followed them out of the lounge and to the shared quarters. He swept aside the curtain for his sleep pod and confirmed that it was just as he left it. At least Varyna hadn¡¯t gone through it, though he should probably keep it close from now on just to be safe. He wouldn¡¯t put it past the psycho law officer to dig through his underwear in hopes of finding Leviathan¡¯s USB.


    He took his stuff with him to the men¡¯s bathroom, got ready for sleep, and returned to his bed to find the quarters far more crowded than before. With a sigh, he shoved his bag into the tiny wall shelf inside the pod, pulled the curtain closed, and settled into the sheets.


    Sleep did not come easily with all the noise and light from the others, especially since he¡¯d mainly been sitting around for days on end. Once everyone else was in bed and the room became silent, he was able to lull himself into a fitful rest.


    ***


    The next morning was chaotic since everyone was in the bathrooms trying to get ready at the same exact time. Luckily Lus kept a minimal morning routine so he was in and out fast. He kept his duffle bag with his clothes and food on his person as he left to the lounge to grab breakfast. He would be sure Varyna didn¡¯t get a chance to search it.


    Others trickled into the room to join him in eating. It was a good, hearty breakfast, though the quality was still lacking. There¡¯d been a time in Lusac¡¯s life when he didn¡¯t pay that much attention to the quality of food, but ever since becoming a [Chef], he found that he noticed such things a lot more often when eating food made by others. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good thing or not.


    All fifteen volunteers were in the lounge when Dlt entered.


    ¡°Good morning everyone. Orientation starts in just thirty minutes, but I wanted to remind you all to drop off any luggage you intend on taking down with at the security checkpoint for inspection before we start. It¡¯ll be returned to your assigned bunk for pickup before you head down to the planet,¡± the Kremel announced.


    Lus sighed. He should have known there¡¯d be a check on bags going down. Hopefully they wouldn¡¯t take his food, but if they barred him from it, he¡¯d just have to find another way to sneak it down.


    Since he¡¯d gotten in early for breakfast, he was among the first to finish. Leaving his plate on one counter for the golems to worry about, he left the lounge behind to drop his bag off at security. Then he returned to the lounge to wait for orientation to start. He noted that Varyna was still there, picking at her breakfast.


    Good. She wasn¡¯t snooping through his underwear.


    Sanur came up to him and started up a conversation that lasted right up until Dlt returned and announced it was time for their orientation.

 [V]Chapter 97: An Old Friend

    ¡°First of all, I wanted to extend a thank you to every single one of you for volunteering here.¡±


    The female Kremel at the head of the room addressed the group of volunteers while an aide, another Human, set up a large holoscreen.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy,¡± the Kremel, Dlt, went on, ¡°but you should know that the work you do will truly make a meaningful difference. Together, we can beat nefitis.¡±


    Varyna clapped half-heartedly along with the others.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± She mumbled to herself. ¡°Everyone knows that¡¯s not what you guys really want.¡±


    The news had come as a shock when she was randomly assigned a top secret mission on the nefitis quarantine planet. Even her squadmates weren¡¯t allowed to know the details of her assignment. ¡°Corruption¡± was the story they told her¡ªwhy they needed a COP to go under cover in such a place¡ªbut she knew there had to be something else going on.


    ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll turn your attention to the screen¡­¡± Dlt continued her lecture.


    The first section of orientation pertained to rules and safety regulations for the volunteers. Protective gear had to be worn at all times (even though the humans gathered in this room were all supposedly immune to the disease), curfew had to be strictly obeyed, and, strangely, no off-planet communication was permitted.


    The protective gear itself didn¡¯t seem too bad. Dlt¡¯s human assistant neatly demonstrated each piece and how to wear it. He then went over basic trouble shooting with the gear, changing filters, replacing straps, etc.


    ¡°Now, before we take a short break, I want each of you to partner with the person sitting next to you and practice adorning your gear.¡± Dlt commanded once her aide had finished.


    Varyna sighed and turned to the Human girl next to her. She was short with light-colored curly hair and wild-looking eyes.


    ¡°So I guess we¡¯ll be working together,¡± Varyna forced a smile. The girl did not return her smile but nodded curtly.


    ¡°I¡¯m Veronia. You?¡± Varyna felt her smile slipping.


    ¡°...Kanda,¡± the girl replied.


    ¡°Well, Kanda,¡± Varyna reached out to take the pile of gear the aide had brought to them. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡±


    Varyna went first, easily replicating what she had seen the aide do to put the gear on. When she finished, she immediately stripped it all off again and passed it to Kanda. The girl struggled a little. Judging from her roughspun clothes and untamed hair, she must have been from an extremely rural planet.


    So just how did she end up here? Varyna wondered to herself as she helped the girl tighten her face mask and secure the filter tightly to her chest.


    ¡°... thank you,¡± Kanda whispered quietly as the two checked the gear back in to the aide and stepped out in the hallway for a break.


    ¡°Oh. No problem.¡± Varyna was surprised to hear something like that come from her standoffish seat partner. Maybe the girl was actually just shy. And maybe Varyna was just extra on edge from having to be so close to that stupid Runner guy and not being able to do a thing about getting Leviathan from him.


    [Demonic Energy Detected]


    ¡°What?¡± Varyna glanced around her. Why would there be demonic energy here of all places? She finally settled on Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot. He was moving his hand in front of him, staring at nothing. It looked like he was.. checking his [Stats]? Or doing something with his system on a screen only visible to him.


    But what did that have to do with demonic energy?


    She frowned, watching him as he swiped through invisible screens and then closed them altogether. The Demonic Energy alert went away around that time as well.


    ¡°It could be a coincidence..¡± she mumbled. But something was definitely up with that Runner and his ¡®system¡¯.


    She continued watching him during the next section of orientation. Even more closely than she had been before. He occasionally turned back to give her a dirty look, but she didn¡¯t care. She just needed him to call up his system again or use a [Skill] or something so she could confirm whether the Demonic Energy was coming from him or not.


    Since they were in this together as ¡®volunteers¡¯ maybe the best course of action would be to just ask him. Yet she doubted he would give her an honest answer.. If he answered her at all. Ugh, why was he so frustrating?!


    Still, she made a silent resolve to be at least one step closer to Leviathan after the two weeks were up. Even if she had to pretend to befriend the guy.


    ¡°Alright everyone, for this next section, we have some important guests who will be speaking to you. Please show your respects to one of the galaxy¡¯s most renowned scientist, Mr. Abioeosuu,¡± Dlt announced.


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    Varyna jerked up. Abioeosuu? She¡¯d never heard a name quite like that before. Well, except of course in text books and official documents. Something like that was very distinctly-


    Shamayim.


    A real life Shamayim walked through the door and into the orientation room. Some people stood, some gasped, some (like Kanda) had no idea what was going on.


    The Shamayim, Mr. Abioeosuu she presumed, was incredible to look at. His skin and clothes were all so white they were practically glowing. His almond-shaped eyes reminded her of a Nemarian, with no pupil to tell where he was looking. He was tall and had glistening crystal wings affixed to his back. Varyna had learned enough about the Shamayim to know that the wings weren¡¯t just part of his attire-he could actually fly.


    Behind the Shamayim scientist trailed a couple Nemarians, both male, one smaller than the other and incredibly familiar-looking.


    ¡°Quoppi?¡± Varyna blurted out loud.


    Luckily, everyone was too distracted with the Shamayim to pay any attention to her, but the smaller Nemarian flinched. It was definitely Quoppi. What was he doing here following someone like that around??


    Dlt and her aide managed to get the group under control rather quickly, and the Shamayim wasted no time starting his speech. Even his voice was other-worldly, completely foreign and strange.


    ¡°The galaxy cannot survive without individuals like you doing their part and utilizing their strengths,¡± Mr. Abioeosuu began. ¡°For these next two weeks, you will be doing more than attending our sick brethren, but playing an integral role in the strengthening of Cinder Rock, which has been weakened by diseases, famine, and war.¡±


    Varyna almost laughed out loud. He made their jobs as volunteers sound oh-so-important.


    ¡°The latest research suggests that the cure for nefitis is not far away, and your DNA is a key step to finding it,¡± the Shamayim went on. As he spoke, Quoppi and the other Nemarian plugged their own cartridge into the holoscreen, and various numbers and citings popped up. Varyna noticed there was nothing like ¡°number of people cured¡± or ¡°number of doctors working on a cure¡± or anything that actually indicated any progress. But the numbers on the screen looked convincing, hopeful even.


    ¡°As this scientific evidence suggests, our galaxy can only progress when each of its parts is functioning according to their make up. Please remember this and how important you being here is to this noble cause.¡± The scientist finished and everyone clapped. Well, some people were still too dazed and at least one was asleep, but most everyone clapped.


    Varyna found it strange, however. That Shamayim definitely spoke more like a politician than a scientist. He didn¡¯t actually cover anything scientific at all during his little speech. It was more or less hot air to make the volunteers feel important and dedicated to the government. Why bother having him speak at all? Was the loyalty of this tiny group of Humans really so important?


    After that speech, the orientation was over, a new feeling of motivation settled over the group. As soon as Dlt dismissed them, Varyna ran out of the door. She was prepared to ask everyone she passed and check every hall for her past squadmate, but she was pleasantly surprised to find him waiting for her not far from the lounge.


    He tilted his head as she approached him. ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see you here, V-¡±


    ¡°Veronia,¡± she cut him off. ¡°My name is Veronia. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Veronia.¡± Quoppi took a moment to process the information. ¡°Have you been sent here on a mission?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Varyna responded quietly, glancing behind her to make sure nobody had wandered within earshot. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°More or less,¡± Quoppi replied. ¡°I have been reassigned to a different position. I am no longer in the Crime Division.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Varyna was taken aback. She knew Quoppi was never a good fit for the Crime Division in the first place, but she never imagined he¡¯d leave it behind. Somehow it made her feel a little strange-almost left behind. She cleared her throat. ¡°So, uh, anyway, what¡¯s your new position then? I see you have a pretty cool coworker now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I work under Mr. Abioeosuu now,¡± Quoppi nodded. ¡°I have learned much about the galaxy and have been able to partake in several research projects.¡±


    ¡°That sounds really nice,¡± Varyna smiled. Even though it was a shocking change, she couldn¡¯t deny that the position sounded like it was truly a perfect fit for the Nemarian.


    Quoppi nodded again, letting the conversation fizzle out as he tended to do. But this time, Varyna didn¡¯t feel the urge to keep it going.


    ¡°Well, it was nice running into you,¡± she waved as she backed away. ¡°I hope you continue to enjoy your new job! Keep in touch!¡±


    She had only taken a few steps when she felt a webbed hand land on her shoulder.


    ¡°Varyna.¡± Quoppi¡¯s voice was low. ¡°Be careful. And stay away from anything that looks suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Um Quoppi..?¡± Varyna wanted to chuckle and reply ¡®but my whole job is to find things that look suspicious¡¯, but she simply nodded. ¡°Right. I¡¯ll do that. Thanks.¡±


    Quoppi released her and they walked in different directions. Varyna found herself back at the lounge, where Kanda was waiting right by the door.


    ¡°You know him. The lizard man.¡±


    ¡°Suns! What did you just say?!¡± Varyna clamped a hand over the girl¡¯s mouth, double checking that nobody else had heard. ¡°You can¡¯t just say things like that! He is a Nemarian, not a lizard man.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Sorry,¡± Kanda shrugged Varyna¡¯s hand off her mouth. ¡°Do you know the angel too?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Abioeosuu? No I don¡¯t.¡± Varyna shook her head. Did this Yokel really not know the names of any other species besides her own? Again, Varyna wondered how such a person ended up here of all places.


    ¡°I see,¡± the girl nodded thoughtfully and then turned away without another word.


    ¡°Ok, it¡¯s official,¡± Varyna pressed her palm into her forehead. ¡°That girl isn¡¯t rude; she¡¯s just strange.¡±


    [Demonic Energy Detected]


    As soon as the notification popped up, Varyna scanned the groups in the lounge to find the Runner. She spotted him easily, parked on the couch again watching the holoscreen. Honestly, did Runner ships not have anything to watch? This guy had been glued to the holoscreen every free moment.


    But, Varyna realized, he really was just watching the holoscreen. Not calling up his system. It¡¯s possible he could have activated a [Skill], but what special talent could he possibly need to watch the weird soap opera that was playing on the screen?


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m mistaken about him,¡± Varyna frowned. Then she thought of Quoppi¡¯s warning. ¡°Or maybe I¡¯m mistaken about everything.¡±


    The good news was that she¡¯d have two full weeks to continue observing the Runner. And hopefully a few more chances to talk to him.


    But that suddenly seemed minor compared to her other problem. Should she do her job and look for possible seeds of corruption? Or should she heed her friend¡¯s warning and keep her head down?


    ¡°I hope these next two weeks go by quickly,¡± she sighed.

 Chapter 98: Down to Sliaryt

    Lusac clutched his arms close in the cramped shuttle with the other volunteers as they headed down to Sliaryt to spend two weeks helping out with the nefitis victims. Under his seat was his half-empty duffle bag because it turned out that they weren¡¯t allowed to take extra food down with them, at least not in the quantities Lus had. The security guards informed he was only allowed a few snacks and had been kind enough to choose some for him out of his supplies. That¡¯s how he ended up with three [Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies] and a single [Revelation Cake], neither of which he anticipated would be much help down on the planet.


    He¡¯d thought about smuggling down something more like a [Power Burger] or some [Beginner¡¯s Luck Soup], but both proved too difficult to stow away safely, so he unfortunately was left to solve this with his current stats and [Skills], unless he happened on a fully stocked kitchen.


    Based on orientation, the chances of that were zero.


    Which left him without getting boosts from his system food, but he did still have enough [XP] to buy another couple of [Skills]. He hadn¡¯t bought any yet since past experience proved it was better to wait and see what he would need during the mission. It turned out that it was difficult to predict given how often missions went awry while searching for these relics.


    Lus thought about the current list of [Skills] available to him, still mulling over which might prove the most useful. He¡¯d completely forgotten to ask Nippy about any of them before he left which meant he was left to guess what they did based on their names alone.


    [Unfailing Feet]


    [Bottomless Pit]


    [Unarmed Strike]


    He understood [Unarmed Strike] easily enough, and [Unfailing Feet] was probably as obvious as the name, but he had absolutely no idea what [Bottomless Pit] could mean. That gave no hint as to its purpose, so unless he bought the [Skill] or found someone else with a system to ask, he would never know.


    The shuttle jolted, pulling him from his thoughts. He glanced around to see most people looked a little nervous as the ship rocked again. Though it could also have been from the fact they were all about to land on a planet full of people infected with a disease that made them extremely aggressive in late stages.


    Lusac¡¯s gaze turned to the front of the shuttle where three security officers waited. These were military trained personnel, all immune Humans like the rest of the ship, and according to orientation, it would be their job to keep all the volunteers from harm.


    Supposedly the base camp where they would land and spend the full two weeks was completely safe thanks to energy fences, a variety of top tier sensors, and other serious tech that Dlt didn¡¯t get into that morning during orientation.


    As nice as a comfort as it was to know that the base camp was so well protected, that also created problems for Lus given he was supposed to sneak away, retrieve an artifact from a castle a few hundred miles away, and then sneak back in without drawing suspicion.


    Or at least come up with a good enough story that the security personnel would believe him and let him back on the shuttle off the planet with the other volunteers.


    But he still had plenty of time to think of the story. His bigger problem was sneaking away, especially since he had Varyna to deal with.


    Lus attempted to subtly glance over his shoulder to where Officer Rhine sat. He¡¯d done his best to avoid her all morning, and she hadn¡¯t made any efforts to follow him too closely so far, but he wasn¡¯t optimistic the trend would continue once they got to the planet¡¯s surface. Especially since he was planning something so conspicuous as stealing a crawler and escaping from base camp.


    ¡°The shuttle pilot is well-trained. There is always turbulence. No need to worry so much,¡± Sanur said from beside him. The older man smiled, completely relaxed.


    ¡°Remind me how many times you¡¯ve done this?¡± Lusac asked. He couldn¡¯t keep getting lost in his worries like this, but it was hard to keep his focus when there was much pressure on him and him alone.


    ¡°This is my tenth time.¡± Sanur beamed at the proclamation, clearly proud of how often he gave of his time to the nefitis victims. Volunteers only went down to the planet every few months, so that meant this man had been volunteering for years now.


    ¡°You¡¯re either very brave or very stupid,¡± Frang said from Sanur¡¯s other side. ¡°Why so many times?¡±


    ¡°I just like helping people, especially people who can¡¯t help themselves. The nefitis-infected are victims, same as anyone else who catches a disease. It¡¯s not their fault this one causes them to go crazy and try to kill other people.¡±


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s so crazy to do this, why are you here, Frang?¡± Lusac asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good resume builder. Sliaryt volunteers are always given preferential treatment by government officials for jobs. It¡¯s required by law,¡± Amgas answered for her sister.


    ¡°Ah, same reason as me then,¡± he replied, grateful there was such an easy answer for his being here too. Of course that wouldn¡¯t hold up when he snuck away, but that was a problem for later, and one he couldn¡¯t afford to be worrying about yet with everything else on his mind.


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


    ¡°One minute to landing. Doublecheck seatbelts at this time,¡± the pilot announced over the speakers.


    Most of the volunteers did as they were instructed, tugging at their safetybelts and ensuring they were buckled, but Lus noticed that the security officers didn¡¯t bother with such things.


    The engines roared louder as their descent slowed before the ship came to a rough stop suddenly.


    A couple people gasped at the rough landing, but Sanur was already unbuckling and reaching down to grab his bag. Lusac followed suit, used to some less than stellar landings thanks to his time with the Runners.


    Sanur had the right idea, and Lus was glad he followed the older man¡¯s lead since they were among the first one¡¯s out of the shuttle, only the security guards beating them out, and the line that formed from the others was a bit chaotic since half the people still had to get their bags out which slowed progress significantly.


    Sliaryt was surprisingly¡­ normal. As Lus walked off the landing platform, he was taken back to see so much greener and such a blue sky up above. The air was warm without being too hot, the perfect temperature honestly. There was a slight breeze, but it was soft and warm which only added to his comfort instead of detracting from it.


    As he admired the scenery, his enjoyment was interrupted by a bird screech followed by squeals and screams.


    Sanur grabbed his shoulder and pushed him along. ¡°Some bird found dinner for the night. Nothing to worry about.¡±


    Lus¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Whatever his dinner is doesn¡¯t sound too happy.¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°Circle of life down here.¡±


    He scrunched his face. ¡°How come there are still animals? Do animals from other planets which catch nefitis get taken here too?¡±


    Sanur shook his head. ¡°No. Only the sentient species get sent to Sliaryt. Everything else which catches nefitis is immediately killed. But there were animals here when nefitis first came, and due to the lengthy timeline of the disease, the animals and bugs still mate, have babies which grow up and everything. It¡¯s just a more¡­ painful version of the life cycle compared to other places.¡±


    Lus grimaced. ¡°Yeah. The people here¡­ they don¡¯t, uh, do that kind of stuff though, right? I imagine it would be horrible to have a baby in these conditions, and even if the kid lived for a few years, that¡¯s a pretty miserable life.¡±


    The man patted his shoulder. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s brought to Sliaryt for quarantine is sterilized for that reason.¡± He gestured forward. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s meet some of the nefitisians.¡±


    Lusac followed Sanur with a little less enthusiasm. Sliaryt had been beautiful upon first seeing it, but remembering what life was like for everything that lived here ruined the picturesque scene instantly.


    Just ahead was a set of energy fences, essentially long, rectangular force fields with a small checkpoint leading in. The officers were already there, speaking with a couple of other guards who must be stationed on the planet long term.


    ¡°The guards spend a month on the planet at a time,¡± Sanur told him, answering his question before he could even ask. ¡°They sent extra security with the volunteers since we tend to be more of targets.¡±


    The pair reached the checkpoint. The two guards who manned it were quick with their scans before ushering them through the gates and into the camp.


    The camp was set up just as any medical base camp would be, complete with a variety of large tent structures. He spied on the far side of the fenced area a selection of over a dozen crawlers, all more than big enough to jump the energy fence. Then again, the fences were meant to keep people out, not in.


    ¡°Why are they using tents? Wouldn¡¯t they want to have permanent facilities?¡± Lusac asked.


    ¡°The base camp moves every year or so. It¡¯s just an extra safety measure.¡± Sanur gestured up ahead to where a Nemarian, two Kremel, and a Human stood. ¡°There¡¯s our welcoming committee. The Nemarian is Vostal-Wen, the male Kremel is Fwbld, the female is his wife Xrhrp, and that¡¯s Doctor Swith with them, the chief researcher on nefitis.¡±


    Sanur took Lusac directly up to the group, disregarding Lus¡¯s comments about waiting for the official welcome with the others. He then introduced everyone to him, and made sure Lusac shook everyone¡¯s hands.


    The Nemarian woman, Vostal-Wen, looked remarkably healthy. As in she didn¡¯t have any outward signs of nefitis that Lus could see, her deep purple scales and vibrant pink fins unmarred by any kind of rotting.


    The two Kremel, however, did have some obvious signs of injury. Fwbld, the male with gray skin and short black hair, wore bandages around both forearms. Xrhrp, the female with green-gray skin and a shaved head, was missing two fingers on her left hand, and she clearly favored one leg even while standing.


    Doctor Swith was a tall, wide woman with a pleasant demeanor. Her black hair was done in dozens of braids which she tied off at the nap of her neck, and she wore tasteful glasses.


    ¡°Sanur, it¡¯s so good to see you again,¡± Swith greeted him. ¡°And it¡¯s good to see a new face. I¡¯m hopeful this won¡¯t be the last time we meet, Lucas. We can always use more repeat volunteers. But we do need to welcome the rest of the group and get everyone settled.¡± She politely motioned them back to where the other volunteers waited.


    Lus and Sanur joined them, Lus feeling a little awkward, but Sanur seemed completely unperturbed by the whole thing.


    Swith began by introducing herself and her colleagues and then explained that Vostal-Wen oversaw the food distribution in camp while Xrhrp and Fwbld were representatives from the other two camps on the planet, ones which cared for nefitis victims further along in the disease who required more attention.


    ¡°We are so grateful for your willingness to serve here on Sliaryt. I¡¯ve gone ahead and divided you into three groups. One will stay here and work with Vostal-Wen with the newly infected, one will go with Xrhrp to East Camp to deal with the mid-range infected, and the last group will help Fwbld over at West Camp with the end of life unit,¡± the doctor explained. She then read off the list of each group.


    Lus was with Sanur in the last group, which was something he wasn¡¯t sure he was too excited about given it also had the most security involved. As [Luck] would have it, so was Varyna unfortunately. But the first good news of the day came when Swith announced they wouldn¡¯t be leaving until the next morning to go through some extra orientation at the main camp.


    That put Lusac on a quick schedule, but it meant he had a small window to sneak away and steal the crawler before he was taken out in the boonies with his group. There was a chance he would be able to pull this off after all.

 Chapter 99: An Unexpected Assistant

    Lusac really wanted to look around as he walked out of the bunk tent where all fifteen volunteers would be staying for the night, but he knew that doing so would only make him seem more suspicious. Given he was holding his bag while leaving the tent was weird enough since they were supposed to drop off their belongings and then reconvene at the center of camp for the rest of their orientation.


    He¡¯d pretended to have an upset stomach and spent an awkwardly long time in a bathroom stall while he waited for everyone else to clear out. Now that he was finally alone, he had what might be his only chance to borrow a crawler and make his way to the castle and the artifact he was supposed to be retrieving.


    Leaving now was going to make it really hard when he came back and wanted to catch a ride on the shuttle back up to the space station so he could take his ship and be on his merry way, but if he waited until they separated into groups and went to the different camps, he¡¯d be facing a greater security guard to volunteer ratio, and he was assigned the most dangerous camp, so they¡¯d have even more protocols in place to keep people underwatch.


    And so Lus decided to take the risk in escaping now with hopes he¡¯d come up with a good plan sometime later to convince security to let him back through.


    The good news was that he watched Varyna leave the bunk tent behind and head to the meeting area which meant she wouldn¡¯t be able to follow him, giving him his chance to do this mission without compromising the Argo.


    Now that he was farther away from the main tent area, he glanced around and confirmed that there was no one nearby, including security guards. He might actually pull this off.


    He put all his concentration onto a single thought, activate [Dash].


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    The world slowed around him, and Lus took off at a run towards the crawlers. Now even if there had been someone watching, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him. He arrived at the vehicles and chose one at the far end to use. They would notice its disappearance, no doubt, but he figured it would be easier to get this one out of the complex than one parked among the others. Parking had always been a tough thing for even to master with crawlers, even after hours of practice with his dad back on Treft.


    Of course the crawler was locked, but Lus had an easy way around that. He¡¯d ¡®borrowed¡¯ the family vehicle a few times back in the day and learned a non-invasive way to unlock the vehicle using an all-in-cutter¨Cone of which he happened to nab from a maintenance cart on his way to the bunk tent.


    He activated the cutter to a low setting (it worked on his time instead of the rest of the world¡¯s time luckily) and placed it at a specific panel near the bottom of the front door. It took a solid ten seconds, but the crawler¡¯s emergency protocol activated, opening the door as a safety measure since it believed there was a fire inside.


    Lusac dove into the now open vehicle, tossed his bag into the back seat, and pulled the door shut behind just as a new notification crossed his vision.


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    The world returned to normal speed, but that didn¡¯t bother him as he activated the crawler and got it up from its parked position. The screens in front of him gave him a view of all sides so he could see that people had taken notice of the active crawler, but there wasn¡¯t any major alert going through them.


    He kept one hand on the main control and the other he used to put the crawler into jump position, carelessly plotting his course. All that matters was that he got over the fence.


    Once the crawler was prepped, he hit the release button, and the spindly legs pounced upwards, taking him well above the fence¡¯s height. The vehicle slammed into the ground on the other side, but the legs absorbed most of the force so Lus felt only a small tremor inside. He wasted no time using the small data chip he¡¯d brought with him to plot the coordinates to the castle where the relic waited.


    The crawler was fast as it crossed through the lush forest around him, the vehicle automatically avoiding trees as it went. Rocks, ditches, and logs were no problem for the crawler since it was designed with that kind of complicated terrain in mind.


    Lus kept glancing across the screens, making sure he remained on course and checking to see if the security personnel were coming after him. So far, it remained quiet. They might not care enough about a single, rogue volunteer to chase him down given how dangerous the planet was supposed to be.


    The scenery continued to be the same collection of green trees, bushes, and grasses as the journey progressed, and Lus found that as his adrenaline died down, so did his interest in the passing view. There was no sign of the rabid, rotted animals Tremt-Fusi had drilled him about back on the Argo, and the planet seemed almost¡­ boring now that he was here.


    Of course, he was in a big, metal vehicle, which probably scared off most of the predators in the area. Things might get a lot more intense once he was outside the crawler and searching for the artifact.


    But maybe it wouldn¡¯t get too much worse. This might end up being a whole lot easier than he originally planned.


    Something inside him warned that it would be a bad idea to get his hopes up, and he decided it was sound advice.


    Taking a breath, Lus forced himself to refocus on the screens, refusing to fall into the trap of negligence just because it wasn¡¯t exciting anymore. Things could change at any moment.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ***


    The trip ended up being very uninteresting. It was just hours upon hours traveling in the crawler. Lus only stopped for a couple brief bathroom breaks, and even those were calm. It seemed people spent a lot of time dramatizing Sliaryt given how exceptionally normal it was so far.


    The castle was only a couple of miles away when he took over for the autopilot entirely and slowed the crawler down. Supposedly a gang was in control of the castle, but his sensors detected no signs of life outside of the plants. Not even birds or insects.


    Given how old the data on it was, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the gang had died out or moved on long ago. That optimistic part of his brain was trying to take over again, and it took a lot of self control to keep himself in check. He had to remain on alert until he had the artifact safely back on the Argo. Only then could he allow himself to relax.


    Lusac carefully guided the crawler closer to the castle, watching out for signs of people or even animals in the area. About a mile out, he parked it in what he deemed a safe enough area, turned off the engines, and opened the door. He grabbed his bag and dug through it for what he thought might be helpful. It ended up being his single [Revelation Cake] since it was that, [Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies]¨Cwhich would likely prove useful when he made his return to the volunteers at the base¨Cor clothes.


    He abandoned his bag in the crawler and exited into the cool evening air. The trees had thinned out, and he stood on a small hill which gave him a good view of the castle.


    Unlike the image Cewi-Bano had shown him back on the Argo, this one was the opposite of stately. It was decrepit, with broken walls, fallen roofs, and plants overtaking almost every part of it. He still saw no signs of life, giving him hope the gang really had moved on. It would be a big enough project to worry about finding the artifact given there seemed to be a good chance he might end up having to do some excavation to get at it and he didn¡¯t have proper equipment for it.


    ¡°What I wouldn¡¯t do for someone else right now,¡± he muttered to himself.


    ¡°Wish granted,¡± a voice said from behind.


    Lus spun around with his hands at the ready, and he sighed in partial relief and partial frustration as he took in the newcomer.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he asked Varyna.


    ¡°I should be asking you that,¡± she bit back. ¡°What does a Runner want with this old castle?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± Lus crossed his arms. ¡°I saw you leave. And I used [Dash]. How did you get here?¡±


    Her eyes perked up when he said ¡®[Dash]¡¯, and he cursed himself for being so careless. It probably wasn¡¯t a smart idea to go around telling people he had a system, but he supposed it didn¡¯t matter much with her given she already knew about Leviathan. Still, he needed to be careful so he didn¡¯t tell her that he made a deal with a Demon of all things. Being a Runner could land him in prison. Messing with Demons could land him the death penalty.


    Varyna patted the crawler. ¡°Same way as you, chef boy. Thanks for the ride.¡±


    His eyes narrowed. He¡¯d been so careful. ¡°You must have used a [Skill] for that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s called my brain. You¡¯re so predictable, it¡¯s almost funny.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°But like I said before, what are we doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here on a retrieval mission. Someone wants something that¡¯s in that castle.¡± It wasn¡¯t like he could get rid of her easily, so he decided to give her part of the truth. Enough to make it make sense. ¡°And since you¡¯re here anyway, I guess you get to help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your assistant.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you come? It¡¯s not like you can arrest me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to bring you back to camp. And while we¡¯re on our way back, you can tell me about Leviathan and where you¡¯re keeping him,¡± she said.


    Lus walked away. ¡°No thanks. Hang out here if you want. I¡¯ll be back in a while.¡±


    Varyna jogged after him. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go alone. It¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Why do you care?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the only one who knows where Leviathan is, dummy.¡±


    He exhaled through his nose, doing what he could to keep his own temper in check. They walked down to the castle without saying anything else, which was just fine by him.


    Lusac slowed down as they approached the toppled walls. ¡°I still don¡¯t see any sign of the gang.¡±


    ¡°What gang?¡±


    ¡°The one that I was told might live here. Or rather, I was told this castle was part of their controlled area.¡±


    Varyna stared at him with those intense eyes. ¡°And? How big of an area is it? Do they patrol it often? I haven¡¯t seen anyone but us out here, and it doesn¡¯t seem like this place provides that great of shelter so I can¡¯t imagine anyone trying to use it.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t have any more details than that. The crawler¡¯s sensors also didn¡¯t pick up anything. Maybe they aren¡¯t around anymore.¡±


    ¡°Safe bet.¡± She walked forward and stepped into the overgrown courtyard, with Lus following behind by only a few steps. It was mainly long grasses and wide bushes. He ignored it to head directly to the remnants of the castle.


    He held in another sigh. The place was a wreck, whatever furniture it once had long since rotted or destroyed. There was no easy way to find the artifact piece in this mess. It¡¯d take days upon days to dig through all the muck to track down such a small item, and he didn¡¯t think Princess COPS was going to be getting her hands dirty, which left it all up to him. Honestly he thought he might actually rather face the gang than¨C


    A primal shout sounded from within the castle, and Lusac took a step back as Kremel walked towards him. Her once green skin was now mostly white, at least what was left of it. Nearly all of her arms and neck were simply exposed flesh, much of it rotten. The rot had reached her face, her lips covered in crusted blood and pus.


    ¡°Watch it,¡± Varyna said from behind, and he turned to see two Nemarians approaching, both with similar levels of rot.


    ¡°I guess the gang hadn¡¯t abandoned it after all,¡± he murmured. He immediately changed his mind about wanting to face the nefitis victims instead of digging through rotten furniture.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°Run,¡± Lus said. He bolted away from the Kremel, trailing Varyna. He thought of using [Dash], but decided to save it in case things became more dire. The nefitisians were quick, the two Nemarians pouncing in their way. Varyna launched her fist into one, but it hardly seemed to notice the blow.


    ¡°Run,¡± he reiterated as he sprinted past her and her opponent, ducking the arms of the Nemarian. He looked back to see if she was following and discovered her still fist fighting the Nemarian like an idiot.


    He looked forward just in time to see the unavoidable rocks in his path. Lus attempted to dodge through them, but he lost his footing anyway and fell to the ground.


    A Human appeared on the other side of the wall and jumped on him. He tried to fight off his opponent, but a Kremel joined their fight, and the pair was able to grapple Lus and get his hands tied behind his back. The two Nemarians and Kremel dragged a captive Varyna up to join him.


    ¡°These two will feed us for a week,¡± one of the Nemarians cried in joy.


    The Human smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s get them back to the boss.¡±

 [V]Chapter 100: Cannibals

    ¡°Blast it all!¡±


    Varyna wiggled her hands, but the ropes held her wrists tight.


    She was cursing herself-and the stupid volunteer minimal weapon regulations-for being unable to fight off a couple of sick people and escape. Mr. Adventurer/Chef/Idiot¡ªhis name was Lus¡ªwas no help either. Without even pulling out the laser cutter she¡¯d seen him use earlier, he¡¯d tripped on a rock and gotten caught too. And now, they found themselves immobilized sitting side by side in some old castle, surrounded by Humans, Nemarians, and Kremels that all looked like half-rotted corpses.


    Varyna resisted the urge to gag. If the scene wasn¡¯t bad enough, the smell of the disease coupled with the decomposing remains of their previous ¡®meals¡¯ was nauseating.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± she hissed to Lus.


    He shrugged. ¡°Try not to get eaten?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Varyna snorted, glancing at the roaring fire the nefitisians were continually adding more wood to.


    She looked around a little more before another realization struck her.


    ¡°Hey Runner. Lus. Have you noticed that there isn¡¯t a single Shamayim here?


    ¡°Yeah.. so?¡± Lus gave her an exasperated look. ¡°Is that really important right now?¡±


    ¡°Well, I thought Humans were the only ones who could carry the immunity gene,¡± she explained. There was no reason to explain. Clearly, this dumb Runner couldn¡¯t keep up with any logical reasoning. And he seemed to think she was the one lacking in logic by bringing up the Shamayim in the first place. But ever since Mr. Abioeosuu and the orientation, she kept getting a weird feeling, and she needed to talk it out.


    ¡°The Shamayim probably never leave their holy, amazing, exclusive planet long enough to catch something as common as a plague,¡± Lus retorted. ¡°Again, why is that important right now?¡±


    ¡°Because it means something!¡± Varyna was getting frustrated. ¡°It could be a clue to this whole disease and we could use it to help ourselves escape or something!¡±


    ¡°Yeah ok. So what does it mean and how can we use it to escape?¡± Lus raised an eyebrow.


    Suddenly Varyna remembered something else. She wasn¡¯t the logical one. She wasn¡¯t the ¡®plan guy¡¯. She needed someone like Quoppi or Hxlt for that. And unfortunately, Lus didn¡¯t seem to be the ¡®plan guy¡¯ either.


    ¡°Well.. Quoppi would have thought of something..¡± she mumbled.


    The Runner ignored her and leaned his head back against the crumbling brick wall behind them.


    In the quiet, with nothing but the incoherent mutters of half-deranged plague victims and the crackling fire, Varyna tried her best to come up with a plan. Their captors hadn¡¯t searched their bodies and taken anything, so if Lus had his cutter-thing still on his person, they might be able to use that. Maybe a distraction could be useful as well. But most importantly, they had to find a way to actually exit the castle and return to the crawler. And all the doors they¡¯d taken getting here were probably heavily guarded.


    ¡°Haaaaa. Ok let¡¯s think.¡± Varyna laid her head back against the wall as well. It had more give than she expected, and bits of ancient masonry fluttered to the ground.


    So maybe brute force was an option for getting out of the castle walls.


    And if not that¡­


    Varyna felt around the bricks for some sharp edge. Maybe she could work to fray the ropes. But every promising spot just crumbled under pressure.


    Having given up hope on wearing away the rope, Varyna went back to her first plan, and maneuvered her bound hands the best she could to dig away at the wall. By some pure stroke of luck, she hit a particularly weak spot, and an entire section of brick gave way, leaving a perfect hole. Well, not really perfect. It would definitely be a tight squeeze¡ªeven tighter with her arms tied down.


    ¡°Hey. We can scoot out this way,¡± she hissed to Lus. He had glanced over at the sound of crumbling brick, but luckily, none of the nefitisians had noticed. The Runner nodded, and Varyna began scooching herself forward in order to lie down and wriggle through the hole. If someone on the other side had noticed the sudden hole, they probably would have said something by now, right?


    Just as she was getting into position, the plague victims all began forming up together and their weird whispering noises intensified. Suns, that must be some kind of pre-dinner ritual, Varyna thought. She had to move even faster because soon the attention would be back on them.


    She didn¡¯t get to see much of the ritual before she began squirming backward. There had been some pedestal in the middle of all the nefitisians with some piece of trash on it. But, hey, as long as it kept them distracted, Varyna didn¡¯t really care what they wanted to worship.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Her blind estimation of the hole size proved to be off¡ªpainfully so. Sharp edges scratched at her clothes and skin as she tried to force herself through. Since her head went through first, she could see that this side of the wall was unoccupied, but she felt exposed with the rest of her body trapped where she couldn¡¯t see.


    All she could do was trust the Runner to alert her to any movement from the nefitisians and wriggle more quickly. After a brief struggle, she managed to get her shoulders through,the rest of her body was easy.


    Now, drenched in sweat, she paused for a minute on the other side, waiting for the Runner to start working his way through. But he didn¡¯t. She couldn¡¯t even hear him moving.


    ¡°Hey. Runner. Let¡¯s go,¡± she whispered, trying to peek through the hole. She could see Lus still sitting, almost like he was frozen. Had something happened? She stuck a leg through and nudged him, hoping it would rouse him. He did glance over his shoulder at her, but then turned away again.


    Varyna groaned. ¡°You stupid Ru-¡±


    Suddenly, Lus jumped up, the ropes on his hands falling away (apparently he had his cutter still and had used it to free himself without even offering to help Varyna) and ran straight ahead.


    Varyna was frozen for a few seconds, complete disbelief washing over her. There¡¯s no way this guy just left her? And why did he run straight for the nefitisians? Did he want to fight now instead of running?


    ¡°What an idiot,¡± she huffed, kicking the wall. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to just leave him to die.¡±


    Well, that was what she kept telling herself as she ran along the section of castle she had found herself in. At one point she found a loose scrap of metal that was strong enough to slice through the ropes around her wrists. It was long with serious weapon potential, so she picked it up to take with her.


    But before long, she found herself running back toward the castle¡¯s center.


    ¡°Stupid Runner. Stupid demon-stealling Runner,¡± she cursed. She couldn¡¯t leave without him. Not because she had formed some kind of weird comradery with him, but because he was the only person who knew where Leviathan was. And she had to get Leviathan.


    The doorway that led back to the castle¡¯s center was guarded by a Kremel and a Nemarian. Both had been sick for a long time apparently. It wasn¡¯t even clear what color the Nemarian¡¯s scales had once been. All that was there now was pale white skin and rotting flesh.


    The Kremel had lost a good portion of their face to the rot, making them more or less blind on the right side. If Varyna could slash its good eye, it¡¯d be more or less neutralized. And Nemarians weren¡¯t great fighters anyway. She paused, hiding out of sight around the corner, listening intently. The nefitisians on the inside were yelling, but it didn¡¯t sound like chaos. Which meant Lus was already gone or had been caught again.


    ¡°Am I really going to risk my life for some criminal? Who might have gotten away already anyway?¡± she asked herself, clutching the metal scrap so hard her palms started to bleed.


    She took one more deep breath, shook her head for how reckless she was being, and then charged at the guards.


    Predictably, the Kremel moved first to block her while the Nemarian shouted for back up. Varyna had her target set from the start, however, and slashed the Kremel¡¯s eye right away before moving to the Nemarian. He flailed his arms trying to grab her, and she landed a solid kick to one of his legs. So solid that her foot sank into his blackened flesh and threw her off balance. She swung the scrap metal as she stumbled backward, and it made contact with the Nemarian¡¯s neck. Curiously enough, blood didn¡¯t start gushing out as it should have, but nonetheless, the creature fell to the ground.


    With the entry clear, she turned to face the scene inside. More plague victims were already running toward her. There was still a crowd by the fire too, and Lus was tied to a wooden post right next to the flames.


    Varyna gauged the situation. She could easily dispose of the three coming her way, and then if she ran around the other side of the fire, she could get Lus and hopefully circle back to this very door.


    She grinned, swinging her makeshift weapon. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    The three approachers went down easily. She had to fight one more Human who moved surprisingly quickly on her way around the fire, but she reached Lus with two full seconds to get him free. He was already starting to redden on the parts of his skin that had been exposed to the fire. Hopefully he wasn¡¯t actually burned yet.


    The scrap metal, unfortunately, took both seconds to get through the ropes, but the Runner hopped down and pulled out his cutter.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Maybe tell me about your plan to get yourself cooked beforehand,¡± Varyna snorted. She began the path back to the door, but quickly noticed that Lus wasn¡¯t following. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Not burnt enough yet?¡± All he had to do was follow her, but twice now he had made things difficult by not doing so, and she was getting frustrated.


    ¡°I have to grab that!¡± Lus answered as he ran toward the pedestal.


    ¡°Right! Why didn¡¯t I think of that?!¡± Varyna quipped, but still followed behind him, helping him cut down plague victims. ¡°We could delay our escape and make them way more pissed off than we need to! Genius!¡±


    She couldn¡¯t fathom what was going through Lus¡¯s head, so she had no choice but to keep fighting. But the metal was digging farther into her skin, and a big Kremel with a crazed look on his rotted face and a giant.. sword? was lumbering toward them.


    ¡°They have a weapon! We have to move!¡± Varyna shouted. Despite how many nefitisians she cut down, there seemed to be an endless swarm. She hadn¡¯t planned for this, and she was running out of steam fast.


    ¡°I got it!¡±


    Varyna turned toward Lus¡¯s voice, but something glinted out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head back just in time to see the Kremel swing its weapon, ignoring the people that still remained between them. She tried to jump back, but the edge of the blade managed to catch her abdomen as it embedded itself in three nefitisians in front of her.


    Clutching her stomach, she leapt backward, right into Lus.


    ¡°You ok?¡± he asked, already propelling both of them toward the doorway. In their haste to swarm the escaped captives, the nefitisians had left the doorway unguarded. The hard part was behind them if they could just make it out.


    Varyna pushed her legs to run, even as her vision became fuzzy and her head started reeling. She couldn¡¯t collapse here. There was no way that stick-armed Runner could carry her (if he¡¯d even be willing to).


    They made it through the door; they just had to make it out of the castle now.


    Make it out.


    Make it¡­

 Chapter 101: Deathbed Confessions

    Lusac caught Varyna as her unconscious body fell forwards.


    ¡°Blast me and this stupid COP,¡± he muttered in between breaths as he hauled the extra weight away from the castle where he¡¯d quite literally nearly gotten cooked. He had a new appreciation for kechin after his almost roasting.


    The shout of the nefitisians grew closer, and Lus came to the glum conclusion that he was not fast enough to escape while carrying Varyna.


    But the thing was he couldn¡¯t just leave her. She¡¯d gone back to rescue him when he¡¯d stupidly been caught going after the pottery piece. He¡¯d be those freaks¡¯ meal if not for her, so he was determined to get her to safety. The artifact he needed was safely stowed in his pocket, meaning if he could get off this disease-infested rock, the mission would be a success.


    ¡°Varyna,¡± he said as he limped along.


    She didn¡¯t respond.


    Hopefully that meant she was totally out of it, because he absolutely did not want to have to try to explain his special system to her.


    ¡°Activate [Dash],¡± Lusac said, putting a monumental amount of thought into the phrase as well.


    [Activating Dash for 50 seconds]


    The shouting faded away into strange noises as the world slowed around him. Varyna remained as heavy as ever, but he now had the time to properly lift her into his arms and jog away. He made sure to take a strange path through the trees, hoping that the nefitisians¡¯ poor eyesight would hinder them from tracking them in the low light. His [Night Sight] was already on, making it easy for him to maneuver around the various obstacles with relative ease.


    His [Dash] didn¡¯t last very long it seemed before he got the next notification.


    [Dash deactivating]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    ¡°I hope it was enough,¡± he murmured to himself.


    They were thick in the trees now, surrounded by undergrowth. Lus carefully laid Varyna down on a mostly soft spot of moss and leaves, taking care to keep her hidden as much as possible as he investigated her injuries.


    Or rather injury.


    He discovered only one wound, but it was fairly deep and bleeding quite a bit. The problem was that they were still a good distance from the crawler where any medical supplies would be, and he didn¡¯t dare take her out of here until he was sure the nefisitians had passed them by.


    With no other options, Lus pulled his shirt off and tore it into long strips that he then used to dress her wound, careful not to aggravate it while ensuring there was enough pressure to limit the bleeding.


    A breeze blew through their little hiding spot, and Lus shivered, clutching his arms to his bare chest. It was going to be a long night.


    His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn¡¯t eaten in quite a while.


    ¡°Good thing I came prepared,¡± he said to himself as he dug into his other pocket for the single [Revelation Cake] he was allowed to bring with him.


    Before he could unwrap the smashed dessert, he noticed just how pale Varyna¡¯s face had become. If anyone needed a snack, it was the wounded one, not him.


    Lus sighed and moved closer to Varyna. He gently nudged her. ¡°Hey, wake up.¡±


    She groaned and twisted her head away.


    ¡°Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?¡± he asked her.


    The COP nodded weakly.


    He carefully undid the packaging around the [Revelation Cake], broke a piece off, and held it to her mouth. ¡°Here¡¯s something small. It¡¯s all I have.¡±


    Lus wasn¡¯t about to feed her his [Famous Chocote Chunk Cookies] and boost her [Charm] by an insane amount so she could manipulate him however she wanted. Even injured, she was dangerous, and he couldn¡¯t risk revealing the truth about his system and Leviathan to her.


    That was also why he couldn¡¯t eat any of the [Revelation Cake] himself he realized. Their power made a person reveal everything.


    Varyna nibbled the chunk of the cake slowly, every motion seeming to drain her more. It was a slow process, but after she finished that piece, he ripped off another for her. She ate most of that one before she started coughing rather violently.


    ¡°Let me find you some water to wash it down. Stay put.¡± Lusac stood up and glanced around to make sure the nefitisians were nowhere to be found. It seemed safe enough to leave Varyna in the foliage where she was mostly hidden by the undergrowth.


    Lus glanced around the dim forest, grateful for his [Night Sight], and tapped his chin.


    ¡°If I were water, where would I be?¡±


    He might have been stupid to promise her water when he had no idea where to start looking for a clean source out here. Was there even a clean water source nearby?


    ¡°Wait a second.¡± Lusac grinned to himself. ¡°I have just the thing for this.¡±


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    His last level up had given him a new cooking [Skill], [Ingredient Selection], and based on the description, it was supposed to help him locate ingredients for cooking. There wasn¡¯t a more basic cooking ingredient out there than water.


    ¡°Use [Ingredient Selection] to find water,¡± he said aloud, making sure to put the proper amount of force into thinking it as well.


    [Activating: Ingredient Selection]


    [Ingredient Detected Nearby]


    A small arrow showed up in the upper corner of his vision, opposite of the notification which pointed him to the left, away from Varyna and the castle of cannibals.


    Lus hastily moved in that direction, doing his best to remain quiet as well just in case there were some lurking living corpses wandering the woods still.


    As he followed the arrow, it guided him deeper into the forest. Eventually he no longer needed it as the sound of a bubbling stream reached his ears.


    He arrived to discover that it was small, but the water looked clear to his eyes.


    [Deactivating: Ingredient Selection]


    ¡°Bless the Watcher for this cooking system,¡± Lus said, kneeling down next to the creek. He took several sips of the water, pressing his lips to the cool surface, and he happily discovered it tasted fresh and sweet. Now just to get some back to his patient.


    Lus patted himself down. He didn¡¯t have a water bottle or other container handy to carry the water safely, and it would drain from his hands long before he got it all the way back to her. He temporarily considered sucking in a bunch and carrying it in his mouth, but he decided he¡¯d only use that method as an absolute last resort.


    Biting his lip as he sat by the stream, Lusac checked his pockets one last time. All he had was the pre-wrapped food and his all-in-cutter¡­


    The cutter¡­?


    Lus glanced around the small stream area, noticing several thick stones. It wasn¡¯t the best idea, but it had to be better than using his mouth for the water.


    Selecting a stone that seemed a nice enough shape, he then pulled out the cutter. It took several tries to find the right setting, but eventually he found one that was hot enough to cut the rock without melting the entire thing.


    It was dangerous work carving out the center of the rock, but he was able to form some type of rough bowl after several minutes. He rinsed the rock bowl several times to ensure it was properly cleaned and then filled it up with water and lifted it out of the creek.


    It held, no leaks.


    Perfect. Now he just needed to get back to Varyna without spilling any of it.


    Lus glanced around, suddenly very aware of the fact he hadn¡¯t kept a firm mental map in his mind since he¡¯d been so focused on following the arrow. Taking a calming breath, he replayed his movements from their little camp to give himself some kind of direction. He then carefully retraced his steps the best he could from memory. A few stumbles caused him to spill bits of his precious cargo, and it took more wandering around than he would have liked, but he did eventually locate Varyna once again, bringing with him about half the original amount of water.


    She looked a little stronger.


    He hoped.


    Lus knelt down next to her, keeping his hands as steady as possible.


    ¡°Here. Water. Drink,¡± he said.


    Varyna¡¯s eyes half opened as she parted her lips just enough to accept the fluid. Lusac was careful to keep the flow slow to prevent her from drowning, and after a full minute, she¡¯d consumed all he brought.


    ¡°T-thanks,¡± she breathed.


    ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do after you saved my life. Honestly, I¡¯m a little surprised you were willing to come back for me. I was sure I was toast.¡± Lus set the empty bowl down and hugged his knees close.


    Varyna coughed before responding. ¡°I-I had to. Y-you have¡­ Leviathan.¡±


    ¡°Why do you care so much about Leviathan? Not that I have him¨Cit. I¡¯m just curious.¡± Lusac looked down at her pale face. He needed to get her to a real medical facility, but he knew the nefitisians were still out looking for them.


    ¡°Need a¡­ Demon¡­ to get into D-demon Division,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Eh. Who cares about the Demon Division? Surely what you do now is far more exciting.¡± Lus hadn¡¯t realized that her need for a Demon was so¡­ personal.


    ¡°Dream s-since a kid. Even have class¡­ [Demon Hunter].¡±


    He sucked his cheek. Great. Now by hogging Leviathan, he was crushing this girl¡¯s life-long dream. That made him feel extra terrible.


    ¡°Does it have to be Leviathan? For the Demon Division?¡± he asked.


    ¡°J-just need¡­ a Demon. No o-others are still¡­ free.¡±


    ¡°You really chased me all the way across the galaxy for Leviathan?¡± he said, picking at the grass under his feet.


    ¡°N-no. Nemarian mafia, trouble, forced me into¡­ hiding.¡± Her voice was becoming faint, and Lus decided to let her rest.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You should sleep a little. In a couple of hours I¡¯ll get us back to the crawler and then we can return to camp so you can get some real help,¡± he promised her.


    Varyna closed her eyes, and her breathing became even.


    Lus bent over her and checked the makeshift bandages. He knew his [Night Sight] wasn¡¯t perfect, but something was off about them. The blood, it wasn¡¯t the red it should have been. There was a black tinge to it.


    Underneath the wrappings, he discovered something very bad.


    The wound was infected with¡­ something. It couldn¡¯t be nefitis since Varyna was immune. She had to be in order to be eligible to be a volunteer, but this still looked bad. Very bad.


    Lusac replaced the dressing carefully and looked at the woods around him. If only he had the medical supplies from the crawler so he had ointment or something to fight the infection with. All he had out here were leaves and crap.


    Or maybe not crap completely¡­


    He remembered a lesson back on the Argo for the off-ship mission team members about certain healing herbs which could be used in an emergency. That had been about the common ones which grew on the colonized planets in the Gemini Sector, but surely there had to be some helpful ones on this planet too, right?


    The only problem was that Lus wouldn¡¯t know what things could help just by looking at them. He¡¯d need a guide book or something.


    Why, oh why, didn¡¯t he have a [Skill] that could help him right now? He pulled up his system screen to look at the [Skills] available to buy, but none of them seemed all that applicable.


    [Unfailing Feet]


    [Unarmed Strike]


    [Bottomless Pit]


    [Boosted Metabolism]


    Nothing that could cure Varyna¡¯s infection or guide him to the plants which could do so.


    Lus had another idea as he swiped the screen away. Who was to say [Ingredient Selection] was limited to only the kinds of ingredients he knew? Surely it could help him find any kind of ingredient, even one for a healing poultice.


    ¡°Use [Ingredient Selection] to find plants that I can use to make something to cure an infection,¡± Lusac said aloud. He thought hard about it too, shaping his mind to envision exactly what he wanted in hopes it would guide the system better.


    [Activating Ingredient Selection]


    [Ingredients detected nearby]


    An arrow pointed off to the right. Lusac grinned and followed it. Being a [Chef] really was coming in handy after all.

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    <h2>Chapter 1: Grandma¡¯s House¡­?</h2>


    I put the car in park and blew out a long exhale, resting my head against the steering wheel. Even after months of knowing this was coming, I didn¡¯t feel ready. How could I? How could anyone?


    Grandma Marks¡¯s house waited just outside, hollow and lifeless without a dozen grandkids playing games in the front yard. It¡¯d actually been years since those summer days, but they were some of my favorite childhood memories.


    The oak tree out front still had the rope swing hanging from it, and decorative lights lined the walkway up to the front door, nearly overrun by the flower bushes. They were finally in bloom, unlike how they¡¯d been two months prior when I was here for the funeral.


    ¡°Come on, Madi. You can do this. It¡¯s just walking inside, facing all the cousins, collecting a few trinkets, and going back home,¡± I said to myself in hopes of igniting some kind of motivation to get out of the car.


    Taking one more deep breath, I mustered my strength and opened the car door. A gentle late spring breeze blew past, helping to calm my emotions.


    I walked up the cracked sidewalk leading to the porch. The welcome mat was worn to the point of being unreadable, and the cushions on the patio chairs looked like they¡¯d been through a lawn mower a few times, but that¡¯s how it had always been at Grandma¡¯s house.


    My hand hovered above the doorknob as I braced myself to step back into a memory. Finally twisting it open, I walked into the living room I knew like the back of my hand. One long couch under the main window, and a TV positioned directly across from it with a large collection of DVDs and VHS tapes along a bookshelf next to it. Two armchairs were nestled along the far wall while a lamp with a colorful shade lit the entirety of the space.


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    The only problem was that it wasn''t the room I walked into.


    In fact, I wouldn¡¯t call it a room at all. More of a cave-cabin thingy.


    The walls were stone, roughly hewn, but cobbled together in what was obviously man-made while the floor was straight dirt. A few glowing orbs provided light, but the ceiling above me was pitch black, a seemingly endless void. Whatever door I used to enter was gone, leaving me stranded in the middle of the cavern.


    I immediately panicked.


    This couldn¡¯t be¡­


    It wasn¡¯t possible!


    There was no way that this was¡­ a Dungeon?!


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    Gram-Gram''s Dungeon</a>


    A typical stay at Grandma¡¯s house¨Chome cooked meals, a whiny dog, and a recliner that tries to eat you.


    Who would have guessed sweet, gentle Grandma Marks was a System-Integrated-User with magic abilities beyond comprehension? Definitely not Madi. But she soon learns the truth about her deceased grandmother when she¡¯s sucked into a Dungeon alongside the other grandkids.


    Only one of Gram-Gram¡¯s descendants gets to inherit the power, so Madi is pitted against her siblings and cousins to race through a Dungeon made up of ludicrous monsters such as [Overused Recliners] and [Incomplete Knitting Projects]. The first one to reach the end not only claims the greatest inheritance left behind by their grandmother but also gains the coveted title of [Grandma¡¯s Favorite]. In honor of her grandmother¡¯s legacy, Madi will do whatever it takes to reach the end of the Dungeon first, if only to ensure it doesn¡¯t go to any of her unappreciative cousins.


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