Chapter 2

The strange-looking window in front of us flickered and then suddenly revealed the blue sky, and we rushed through the clouds so quickly that I gasped in fear. We always flew with Grandpa on our birthdays, but it took a lot of mana to levitate, so we never went up in the clouds and never this fast.

I glanced at Ecrou scurrying across the buttons on top of the box. I wanted to ask him where we were going, but he seemed so busy that I didn’t want to disturb him. Mirage, of course, didn’t have such hesitations.

“Where are we going?”

“Later, later,” he chirped and then murmured to himself, “We might not go anywhere if we’re not careful."

I chuckled. He always spoke like that, and it reminded me of playing with him when we were kids. But then I remembered what we were doing and that Grandpa was no longer with us, and tears filled my eyes again.

The room suddenly shuddered, and the blue sky disappeared in the window, replaced by stars spread across the night sky.

“Are we there already?” Mirage asked as we came to a halt.

She hesitantly unclipped her belt and got up from her seat.

“I don’t know.”

Ecrou nervously licked his paw.

“Your grandpa never figured out how to fly this ship. We were still researching how it works. Maybe? Maybe we’ve arrived?”

“Grandpa…” I whispered. “Is he okay?”

Blue sigils suddenly sparkled in the air, and I turned to see Mirage squinting her eyes. Her face was scrunched with effort as she poured more and more mana into the spell, but she stumbled, and the sigils faded.

“We are too far," she stammered, trying to catch her breath. “I can’t reach them."

I undid my belt and walked over to her, hesitantly putting my hand on her shoulder. I’d expected her to hiss at me, but she just looked at me, surprised.

"I-I’m okay..."

“I wish I could..." I began, but she shook her head.

“Even if you could, we are too far..."

The stars suddenly faded from the flickering window, and the dark figure of a demon appeared in its place. I hissed at it, pulling my sword, but I stepped back as I saw its empty gaze.

“Surrender your ship, and you will be spared."

“They followed us here," Mirage whispered.

“We need to go!" I cried.

“Can you start the ship again?”, Mirage asked Ecrou.

He pressed a button, but nothing happened.

“I don’t know…"

The red lights suddenly flashed on the wall, and the ship shook.

“This is a warning. Surrender, and your life will be spared."

“What can we do? They already broke the barrier protecting our town."

“We need to do something. Grandpa is counting on us!”

I rushed to my seat and started pressing the buttons on the box.

“Don’t! We don't know what…" Ecrou cried, but it was too late.

The moment my hands touched the box, a strange blue light enveloped me, and an unfamiliar voice echoed through the room.

“Biometric scan positive. Full access granted.”

I blinked and looked at the tall figure that suddenly took shape before us. She looked…just like me. She didn’t have any fur or a tail either, and even though she wore strange silver clothes and looked older than I was, I felt a strange kinship towards her.

“Who...are you?”

“I’m Athena, the visual interface of the ship's computer. How can I help you?”

I suddenly stumbled into the wall as the ship jerked.

“Help us escape!”

"Understood."

The window flickered, and I could see the night sky once more. I had so many questions I wanted to ask her, but the ship suddenly veered to the side, and the red lamps flashed on the wall.

“What is happening? I don’t like it, I don’t like it!” Ecrou cried, covering his head with his paws.

“The fire from their station is trying to cut our escape route, and their interceptors are approaching us from behind," Athena replied calmly.

The window flickered again as she spoke, revealing a strange, menacing structure floating in the air.

“Can we escape?” I whispered.

“Can we fight them?” Mirage hissed.

“Open confrontation is futile. Our only chance is to go FTL and hope they will keep trying to capture us rather than shoot us down."

I didn’t understand what she meant, but she said it so calmly that she reminded me of Grandpa, and he always knew what to do. I took a deep breath and tried to relax my clenched fists when the ship suddenly shuddered and the room went dark. After a moment, the red lights flashed again, but Athena was gone, and Ecrou lay scrambled on the floor.

“What happened?”

"I don’t know..."

I picked up Ecrou from the floor, and Athena’s distant voice echoed in the room.

“Structural damage to the starboard thruster. Diverting power output to prevent further damage."

“No good, no good,” Ecrou chirped in my hands.

Mirage hissed and jumped from her seat.

“We need to do something!”

“You can fool them! You are good at it!”

She nodded and closed her eyes, and shimmering sigils began wrapping around her. I held my breath for what felt like an eternity when the ship suddenly jolted forward. Mirage stumbled and collapsed to the floor, and I rushed over and knelt next to her.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“She used too much!” Ecrou chirped and hopped down on her chest. “She needs to rest!”

Suddenly, white light streamed across the window, and a strange lightness filled my body, lifting me off the floor for a few moments.

“FTL drive stable. Core capacity 87%."

Athena’s calm voice filled the room, but she was nowhere to be seen. I took Mirage in my arms.

“Are we safe?”

“They will follow us, but we are not in immediate danger."

“Are...are you okay?” I asked her, looking around.

“The damage I suffered didn’t affect my core systems."

I blinked.

“Systems?”

“She must be something like me," Ecrou whispered.

She could use magic? But then, why couldn't I? It wasn’t fair. I wanted to ask her about it, but Mirage shivered in my arms and murmured something.

“She needs to rest, Etoile.”

Ecrou hopped to the floor.

“Follow me. I know a place."