Crossroads in the Stellar Gateway

Somewhere deep in the Trivium Space Station lies a repair shop for travelling ships. An old repairman was having his coffee break, listening in on the local news.

“The hopeless bubble awaits the 10 month countdown. Several planets have opted to migrate to the edges of the universe. One scientist attempts to abandon the 3rd dimension entirely. More updates to come.”

The old man couldn’t help but laugh.

“The world’s going to shit, huh? Well I was planning on retiring sooner or later. I guess I can start by closing up shop early today-”

“Gramps! We got a customer!” One of his workers popped through his office.

“Ugh, reel them into the garage. Let’s see what the damage is.”

The old repairman almost had a heart attack looking at the state of Ako and Hikyaku’s ship. It looked like the ship was made of scrap junk. The old man dropped his coffee, feeling offended at the fact that the duo could even ruin such a great spacecraft.

“So… how much will it cost us?” Hikyaku asked, with Ako on her shoulder.

After receiving a passionate lecture on how you should treat your spacecraft with care, fitted with a bill on the damages, the duo walked through the market nearby. It was a grand hall, filled to the brim with shops that sold any and all goods that travelled along the Andromeda trail. At least, that’s what it used to be.

Now stores were quietly closing up, others going through mass clearances. Anxiety filled the air as people rushed to grab whatever supplies they needed for their journey. Families huddled together as people pushed and shoved their way to get into stores. The sight didn’t surprise Hikyaku, squirming into the local helmet shop. She needed a replacement helmet, managing to pay for one amidst the desperate mob.

She made sure not to make eye contact with the people around her. Drawing attention away made retrieving the helmet that much easier. Escaping the market, the two decided to take a seat near the food court. Hikyaku set the helmet on her lap, letting out a big sigh.

“Seems like you’re right, my job’s not finished.” Hikyaku said, patting Ako.

“You almost lost yourself back on planet Rufus, good on you for reeling yourself back together.”

“Thank you for saving me, really. You managed to do fine with all the dents you sustained.”

“My body can return back to its original shape, like popping a dented can of soda back into its rather cylindrical form. My wires… however, they take time to self-repair.”

“So this was just a walk in the park for you. You definitely would’ve been fine without an oxygen breather like me.” She joked in her usual self-deprecating way.

“Still, last I checked you were the one controlling the ship during that takeoff. When the going gets rough, it takes a little push before you can tackle anything. I can see why Omne trusts you.”

“Ah well, I don’t know about that. I guess I’ve been under her command for a long time. Though I can’t quite recall too much… Once this is over, I have some questions I need to ask her.”

“That reminds me, why was there no backup helmet on the ship?”

“If I didn’t have you I’d be dead without a backup. It doesn’t make sense for Omne to half-ass the preparation, let alone me messing up inspection. She’s always the type to have a plan B no matter the circumstance.”

As the two continued their conversation, a voice echoed in the distance.

“I thought I recognized you!” The voice made Hikyaku raise an eyebrow.

Turning around, they find a woman dressed in a carbon fiber suit fitted with a shiny black cape. Ako was impressed by her outfit, Hikyaku was annoyed.

“Hikya. It’s been a while.” The woman said.

“Who are you?” Ako asked.

“Dalain Oron Zai, call me Dalain for short!”

“Out of all the people I could’ve met, it had to be you again.” Hikyaku was giving Dalain the side eye.

“I’m curious as to the relationship between you two.” Ako commented, letting the two girls say their part of the story.

“Well Ako, this woman robbed me of my possessions during a routine delivery a while back.” Hikyaku started.

“I paid the price, didn’t I? Plus it wasn’t a robbery, it was a scam.”

“Does that make it any better?”

“Well, I went to jail for it so that’s karma for you.”

“It’s called ‘the law working just as intended’.”

“But now I’ve abandoned my old ways. No more crimes from me, I’m going to live as pure as possible.”

“Oh really? Do you still have the things you stole off me? Or have you sold them too?”

“I didn’t sell it.”

“Prove it, where’s my old stuff?”

“Uhhh, it’s back at my old house.”

“Really? I don’t buy it.”

“Well you have to trust me on this one-”

“I’d rather trust a snake than share the same cockpit as you.” Hikyaku was offended by Dalain’s behaviour.

She got up and headed into the food court with Ako, Dalain trying to follow them. They settled on dining at an old ramen shop called Gamma Ra-men.

“We’ll have the cosmic udon, for here please.” She asked.

“5 Vonze.” The chief said.

Hikyaku tossed 5 coins over to him.

“Thank you. Seems like you two aren’t in a rush. It’s a breath of fresh air to see people slow down and enjoy the finer things in life.” The chief over the counter said as he went to work making the order.

“Well I wouldn’t say that. Besides, the people around the station have every right to be so jumpy.” Hikyaku responds.

“I guess in these times, my coping mechanism is to keep optimism flowing through my head. Keeps me sane at times like this.” The chief says.

“As long as you are accepting of what can come next, I see no issue in your methods sir.” Ako comments.

“Well, let’s hope so. Here you go!” The chief hands Hikyaku her udon.

She dived right in, chowing down on the noodles.

“Next stop, Ira system. After that we’re headed to the Pactum System.” Ako noted their next objectives.

“You know I noticed. You’ve changed, little Miss Hikya.” Dalain pops up beside her, making Hikyaku choke on her noodles.

“The hell is wrong with you!?” Hikyaku shouted.

“I was merely observing you.” Dalain raised her hands up, convincing herself has innocent.

“Yeah well, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re acting differently from your usual stupor. The old Hikya would’ve pulled up her stun gun to me like so-” Dalain reaches for her plasma gun to demonstrate, only to be stopped by the chief.

“Read the sign.” He pointed to the blaring ‘No weapons of destruction shall be un-holstered!’ sign.

Dalain complied, crossing her arms together.

“Could it be that you’ve changed now because the whole world is going to crap. The spark of passion in your words made it fun to play around with you. Now every sentence that comes out of your mouth is colored in monotone.”

“Well, Dalain, maybe you’re right. I’ve learned to accept the truth and move on. No business in trying to fight change.”

“Well, Hikya, maybe you're right. Or maybe you copied most of Hikya’s traits before replacing her.” Dalain stared into Hikyaku’s eyes.

Her piercing glare could only see Hikyaku’s tired expression for a couple seconds before bursting out into laughter.

“I’m just messing with you! Work’s been hounding you so it makes sense.” Dalain’s humor had no effect on Hikyaku, who was continuing to eat her meal.

“Are you done here, Dalain? I have my work to continue after my ship’s done with its routine repairs.”

“Hm, routine repair huh?” Ako jokes.

“Well it was more than that, but you get the idea.” Hikyaku got called out.

“Hah! Ako’s got some jokes.” Dalain responds.

The three quickly fell into an awkward silence, Dalain standing beside them hoping to break the ice. As Hikyaku finished her meal, Dalain spoke out,

“So… Can I hitch a ride?”

“What?”

“I overheard you guys talking about going to the Pactum system, so could I join you guys? I’ll pay you for the travel of course.”

“No.”

“But my ship was confiscated. My poor Regalia…”

“Take the transit over to the Pactum system instead of annoying us.” Hikyaku said.

“You guys are also going to the Ira system too, no? I heard a battle broke out there not too long ago. I can be your hired security.” Dalain tried to negotiate with them.

“Why though?”

“We’re all gonna die, so I might as well go out helping somebody.”

“...” Hikyaku had a grumpy look on her face.

“Actually Hikyaku, she could help us in delivering the message in Ira. ” Ako decided to take part in the deal.

“Usually for these deliveries, Omne would hire extra bodyguards. Sadly no one was motivated enough to join this time around.” As Hikyaku pondered the idea, a sly grin covered her face.

“You know what? You’re hired, Dalain. On a couple conditions, this will be an unpaid opportunity with the chance that you will be sacrificed for the completion of this job.”

“How very kind of you.” Ako sarcastically commented.

“I’ll do it for 5 Vonze an hour!” Dalain proposes.

“1!” Hikyaku and Dalain start haggling.

“4!” Dalain shouts.

“1.5!” Hikyaku retaliates.

“3!”

“1.75!”

“2!” Both of them settled on 2 Vonze an hour.

“Deal, but the hourly rate will start once we’re at the system.” Hikyaku confirms.

“Fine by me!” Dalain states with confidence.

‘Why do I get the feeling this’ll go horribly wrong?’ Hikyaku was second guessing herself by letting Dalain join them.

There was no backing down now, as the trio were now a team. Shouting can be heard from the market, it wasn’t the usual ruckus of people rushing. Stock around the stores were running thin with supplies, making people angry. This snowballed into a riot, marching around and trashing everything they could find. Eventually they crossed paths with a ramen shop that the trio resided in.

One man from the mob opens the door.

“Old man, I hate to do this but uh… we’ll need your food stock.”

“What are you looking to buy?” The chief asked, remaining calm.

“We’re not buying.” The rioter replied.

“If you are here to ask for a donation, your presentation is not giving a good look.”

“I don’t care about presentation. My family needs rations for our trip!” Another person from the crowd shouted.

“Hey! Quick pushing!” One man was shoved to the ground.

Chief took a deep breath, signaling Ako and the others to head out through the back door.

“Don’t you need any help?” Dalain asked, gesturing to her gun.

“Don’t worry about me. Like you said, these people are desperate. Hard times are making them do harsh things. Just let me do my job, and I’ll let you do yours. From what you guys were talking about, you’ve got some serious responsibilities to uphold.” The chief said, saluting them off.

“Thanks for the meal.” Hikyaku stated.

The trio sneaked their way through the back door and through the market. The shopping district had been turned into broken glass and torn storage spaces. In the direction of the ramen shop, they continued to hear arguments from everyone. They couldn’t do anything but move along to the repair shop.

Their ship, the Ricther, was ready to take to the stars once again.

“Next stop, the Ira System.”