‘How stocked are we?’

They were congregated around the large dining table in the Kitchen, eating a dinner of sorts.

‘We’re at 70% with our fuel cells, 81% with our water cells, and 68% with our Beamers,’ Hoseok reports at once, referring to the screen in his hands as he spoons soup into his mouth.

‘How long until we need to Dock and get supplies?’ Namjoon asks, he feels a headache coming on. Yoongi pushes a cup of tea towards him surreptitiously. 

‘If we’re going in warp and with our shields running at this rate, then I’d say a week to 10 days.’

Namjoon grimaces, before giving Yoongi a nod of thanks.

‘Are the shields really taking that much?’ Sk’jin asks with a frown, piling his plate with a lot of food.

‘Based on the readings yes,’ Hoseok sighs. ‘The Užkulisai is built for exploration and not for running away from authorities. Using the shield will drain our supplies by a whole lot.’

‘Orvanan has a wide network of “trade”,’ Sk’jin supplies, spearing a meatball with a long pronged fork. ‘I think it’s safe to assume that they would alert their channels- especially considering what we know, or at least what we all know now,-‘ Sk’jin waves his fork around, meatball dangerously tethering onto a single prong. ‘-and every pirate clan, planetary system or trade routes they’re in league with, will be alerted.’ Sk’jin places the entire meatball into his mouth, chewing with relish. Yoongi stares at a meatball for a while before he mimics Sk’jin as well and puts the entire thing into his mouth. Sk’jin gives him a thumb’s up that Yoongi doesn’t return.

‘Just how far does this even extend?’ Namjoon frowns, tapping along the side of the cup in his hand. ‘I know that the Isbahaysiga Alliance was collapsed a little before the Gaia Case, but seeing as Orvan is still running their business, it’s safe to assume that a whole bunch of other networks are still running. We should report this back to the GLA.’

‘There’s more to this than just that,’ Hoseok sighs. ‘With the main “source”, meaning the Akramanese, gone. The Alliance, or what’s left of it, still benefits from trading with other parties. Buyers still exist.’   

‘Like the Orvanan – they sell their own people to other Federations mainly- for labor or “immoral industries”, if you can pardon my saying.’ Sk’jin supplies through a mouthful of food and saying with some difficulty as he swallows, ‘Or to scientific academies.’

Namjoon scowls at that, sipping at his cup of tea.  

‘I’d say that we can keep going off-grid for about a month max,’ Hoseok ruminates as he tears apart a bread roll, throwing the pieces into his bowl of soup. ‘Then we’ll have to get supplies somewhere.’

Namjoon nods, pulling up a small holographic projection of their now completely abandoned trajectory.

‘There aren’t a lot of ways of getting to Bhumi without going completely off track and taking too much time.’ Namjoon pushes the screen closer to the center, making Sk’jin pull away the platter of thick meat cutlets to make space for the device.

‘We’re here,’ Namjoon indicates a small orange dot at the outer most edge of the holograph. ‘And this is where Bhumi is.’ He points at the blue spot on the opposite end of the projection. ‘If we had been able to take our original-…fixed trajectory, it would have taken us 10 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days to get to its borders.’

A line lights up showing a rather zigzagged course.

‘But if we go off-grid and just find Dock in any available outpost,’ Namjoon lightly taps on the side of the screen and a rather curved but somehow shorter path lights up. ‘We could actually reach Bhumi in less than 7 months.’

‘Assuming if nothing goes wrong,’ Hoseok looks at the projection carefully, stirring his bowl absent mindedly.

‘Going off-grid and using outposts will most definitely guarantee delays and stops- potentially getting us arrested,’ Sk’jin waves about a sausage now. ‘We’re not associated with anything or anyone. We’d be targeted at once and brought in for questioning. And if it’s an outpost with Orvanan connections, we’d be arrested at once.’

Sk’jin reaches for another meatball but Yoongi deftly blocks his fork with his spoon. They engage in a short tiff, utensils clashing rather noisily for a few seconds, but Yoongi wins and Sk’jin digs into the cutlets instead, throwing Yoongi a dirty look. Yoongi triumphantly puts another meatball into his mouth.

Not even sparing a glance at the brief fight over meatballs, Namjoon continues, ‘Yes- this is assuming if nothing goes wrong. However, if we are cautious and carefully plot out our fuel supply, we won’t have to make landings in outposts too frequently.’

‘Should you be eating that much?’ Yoongi asks out of nowhere, one eyebrow raised behind the messy fringe of hair over his forehead. It’s the most expression any of them have ever seen on the Human’s face.

‘I’m weak. I’m storing up, don’t ‘tack me,’ Sk’jin grumbles at Yoongi, looking entirely unattractive as he chews on a bread roll.

‘Also food supplies- how much do we have?’ Hoseok asks, eyeing the amount Sk’jin was consuming in one sitting.

Sk’jin rolls his eyes, ‘The pantry is stocked- we have enough for a month minimum.’

‘We’ll need to make sure none of our cargo will get us into immediate trouble,’ Namjoon sighs heavily.

While a lot of the underverse routes were pretty much free-passes, their cargo could still get them into trouble. Besides, they weren’t affiliated to a pirate clan, or worked under known mercenary lines, and neither were they excavators who often used these channels to export/import stolen treasures and relics. To an extent they could pretend that they were escaping the GLA, which was something they could definitely work with, but then they wouldn’t be able to explain why the ship was registered under Namjoon’s name.

Proton missiles were not the most powerful weapons out there but did carry a lot of value in the black-market. They were light-weight, powerful, and easy to rewire and control via simple control systems. But these weren’t just any proton missiles; these were GLA issued, brand-new unregistered serial coded proton missiles.

A lot of Beings were under the impression that the underverse allowed any and every form of illegal activity to simply go in and out of its network. This was extremely inaccurate.

To an extent, the criminal underverse was far more complex and deeply controlled by their “government” of sorts. There were laws, rules, and though unwritten and undeclared, methods of action you had to abide by.

And outposts, the illegal equivalent of Docks, had pretty strict guides and regulations on their own, maintained by either a single or a small team of Beings called “governors” who watched over the ins and outs of each outpost.

‘Yoongi- how did you travel around when you were under the GI?’ Sk’jin asks, offering the Human a roll as though in exchange for information. Namjoon looks over at Yoongi curiously as well. The GI were the best kept secret, other than the Akramanese and the Yisheng’s betrayal. Yet they were able to traverse the entire Known Universe, biding the crazy and mind-boggling orders issued to them by the Yishengs. If anyone knew how to get around the Known Universe without leaving a trace, it would be a GI Agent. Even a field agent from the Venture Unit like Hoseok had to rely on outposts and fake identity to traverse across the Universe.

Yoongi reaches over and snags Sk’jin’s last cutlet instead and replies, ‘Unlimited access through the Yisheng Directory.’

Everyone pauses to stare at Yoongi who cuts into the cutlet and takes a bite. He clearly likes it, taking another bite again.

Hoseok and Sk’jin immediately turn to look at Namjoon with an expectant look.

‘Don’t look at me, this is the first time I’m hearing this.’ Namjoon frowns. ‘Could you clarify what you said Yoongi?’

Yoongi doesn’t look up from the cutlet he’s now heartily digging into as he says, ‘Yisheng’s have unlimited access and passes to any and all galaxy, system, and planet they choose to enter. Their ships are never checked. As an agent, the ship was registered to carry Yisheng supplies and was never questioned or searched.’

So much made sense now.

‘If that’s the case why didn’t the special-jury assign us one of these ships and just let us go to Bhumi without any issue?’

‘It’s obvious isn’t it? They want to track us- make sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to,’ Sk’jin rolls his eyes. It paints an extremely unflattering image considering his stuffed cheeks.

But this triggers an instant silence around the table where they all share shifty looks. Even Yoongi glances around at them.

‘So. Who’s going to tell the special-jury that we’re going off-grid.’ Sk’jin asks after he swallows his food.

No one speaks up.

Namjoon sighs.

‘How about we don’t tell them,’ Hoseok suggests. ‘I mean after all, doesn’t this entire operation prioritize utmost secrecy? With the special-jury not knowing we’re the only ones who know where we’re going. All ties are cut, we move with the utmost secrecy and no one knows.’

Namjoon studies Hoseok curiously for a brief second before saying, ‘I would rather not entirely fall off the radar like that.’

‘I agree with Namjoon,’ Sk’jin chimes in. ‘I think it’s better to report our situation to them. I doubt we’ll be pulled out from the mission- but it’s possible that they might have be able to clear something up for us.’

Hoseok nods in acquiescence, finishing his bowl of soup by soaking the remaining amount with a piece of roll and swallowing it up. ‘So, who’s gonna report in? I’d rather not have to talk to Lal Haenoon.’

Both Namjoon and Sk’jin grimace at that.

‘I guess I can-‘ Sk’jin doesn’t even have time to complete his sentence before Namjoon cuts across and says, ‘I’ll report back to Lmiura. I should send in the Captain’s Log after all.’

Sk’jin’s expression is very carefully controlled as he nods, suddenly completely disinterested in what he was eating, pushing his plate away. Hoseok notices this and glances over at Namjoon who was checking the Captain’s Log on his screen, his expression poised but guarded. 

‘We’re going to have to plan our next step carefully- we need to find an outpost and where we can somewhat “safely” dock and restock,’ Namjoon looks up. ‘Any suggestions?’

‘Satellite or station?’ Hoseok asks as he pulls out his screen, going through the Venture Unit’s list of outposts.

‘Preferably station,’ Sk’jin chimes in, wiping his delicate looking hands on some tissues as though he had been merely nibbling on some biscuits instead of nearly emptying the entire table. ‘Escaping stations is easier.’

Hoseok nods in agreement.

Satellite-outposts were normally set up on moons or planetoids or even within asteroid belts. Low levels of atmosphere, if any, fluctuating gravity, and difficult to get into. However they were ideal for hiding or escaping into- but this was only advisable if you were from a known or partnered pirate-clan. Station-outposts were very much like Docking Arcs except they were mainly reconstructed or refashioned mega-ships from ages past. Sort of functional and somewhat unsafe, station-outposts made for quick touchdowns and even quicker liftoffs. But regardless of the general instability of their structural nature, were well maintained and stocked by either mercenaries, pirate-clans, or even ex-agents from the Venture Unit.

And as Hoseok eyes the list of possible outposts in front of him, he pauses at a station-outpost 3 weeks from where they were.

‘I think I found an outpost.’

Namjoon and Sk’jin lean forward to listen.

‘This is an outpost run by a few former agents of the Venture Unit- it’s 3 weeks from here, more or less,’ Hoseok reaches over and writes in the coordinates of the outpost and the location pops up near Grezma, a moon-graveyard. ‘I know one of the governors who now runs this place.’

‘Sounds good-‘ Namjoon begins but Sk’jin raises a hand and interrupts.

‘How safe is it?’ the Khol’isa asks, frowning down at the information.

‘Outposts aren’t meant to be safe-‘ Namjoon begins.

‘That’s not what I meant- former agents of the Venture Unit are normally some of the worst information dealers.’ Sk’jin replies sharply. ‘I’m sorry to say this so bluntly Hoseok but most former agents are s who too willingly sell information in order to gain units or favours from parties they might consider stronger. Not to mention governors in general make for unreliable Beings in general unless you buy their allegiance or threaten them into loyalty.’

Hoseok takes no offence from this, because he knows this all too well himself.

‘We’ll take that one,’ Namjoon says firmly.

Sk’jin glares at Namjoon before standing up and walking away.

Hoseok watches Sk’jin leave, headed for the stairs. He glances over at Namjoon quickly, noting that the Kutsogleran had a rather resigned yet ironed expression on his face. Did something else happen again between the two of them? It was starting to become less petty and somehow more serious. Hoseok can’t rightly explain it but puts it down to the two of them having another argument again.

Hoseok waits until Sk’jin is well out of earshot and asks Namjoon, ‘Are you sure? Sk’jin has a point.’

Hoseok doesn’t think Namjoon would make decisions purely out of spite or for the sake of having the last word, but then again, he doesn’t know Namjoon well enough to entire rule it out.

‘You said you knew one of the governors running this outpost right?’ Namjoon asks.

‘I do- but last time I spoke to him was some decades ago.’ Hoseok replies, ‘I’m not sure if he’s still the governor of this outpost or not.’

‘Outpost governors rarely change- we both know that,’ Namjoon replies. ‘Did you have a bad relationship with this Being?’

‘Nothing like that- I worked with him once when I was younger for a few missions- I don’t know if he’ll remember me,’ Hoseok clarifies again.

Namjoon nods at that and says, ‘We’ll take it. It’s better than going into an outpost we have no idea about.’

Hoseok glances over at Yoongi who, to his disquiet, was staring hard at him.

‘Is there anything you want to add Yoongi?’ Hoseok asks hastily.

‘You finished the soup.’

‘Ah…’ Hoseok glances down at the bowl. ‘I’m sorry?’

‘However if you find that it’s a risk, then we won’t go,’ Namjoon adds, leaning back with a heavy sigh. ‘We still have time to find another outpost.’

Hoseok also leans back, crossing his arms over his chest as he thinks.

Namjoon looks over the Ngfy’widan carefully, studying his mannerism.

In Namjoon’s view, he posed the least amount of threat and suspicion compared to Sk’jin and Yoongi. Namjoon doesn’t know if this is purely projection or if he was reading the Venture Unit agent correctly, but he felt that Hoseok was genuinely in for the mission and its objectivities without added intent or agenda.

‘No, leave it to me,’ Hoseok says easily a few seconds later. ‘I’ll get us there.’

However there were moments, just like this, where certain aspects of Hoseok’s mannerism and tone, made Namjoon wonder if he was being deeply deceived.

*

Dock NIW-43002 was better known across the Known Universe as The Hive. It was one of the largest Docks this side of the Universe, orbiting Cabcd’s sun like a planet would. Its proximity to the sun powered and energized the entire Dock, making it almost entirely independent of fuel cells. The Hive housed over 150,000 launch rings leading up to over 300,000 private/public Hangar Bays. These launch rings, which were made of a yellowish metal, were shaped in a nontraditional outline of a hexagon rather than a circle. This was what gave rise to its nickname. From a distance, the entire structure gleamed a deep gold in colour, making it appear even more like its namesake. The Hive is stunningly beautiful, and slightly overwhelming. It’s teeming with life and all sorts of Beings who make their way around, busy in their own missions.

Yoongi had made sure that the other agents were taken care of in relatively empty areas, where chances of being interrupted were slim. Places like the sewer network, locked down cargo hulls, and closed down shutter stores. He had tried again, downloading and presenting the Android Core to the other agents. But no agent survived the ordeal.

Yoongi watches the last agent succumb to the information and sensory overload, blood bleeding from every single orifice of his body.

And like every time it has happened, Yoongi watches as they disintegrate into nothingness.

That could have been him. To an extent, that was him. They were all the same. Faceless and unknown, no mark left upon the arrival of their being into the Universe, and no mark remained once they left.

But it was important that Yoongi remembered. He doesn’t know why. But he wants to. Because he has to.

The helmet dissolves and fades away as well and Yoongi quietly steps out of the cargo hull. He makes his way towards their ship, docked in the reserved launch-ring at the top most level of the Hive. From here, he would be able to keep track of all of them. They would be landing in a few minutes, Yoongi was notified of their arrival at the borders of The Hive a few minutes ago.

Yoongi stares down at the continuous flow of Transporters, Shuttles, and Ships flying in and out of this busy Dock. He’s never noticed it before.

A strange sort of pain takes over his chest as he watches light and colour blend into one, forming shapes and movements that Yoongi cannot explain.

He removes his helmet and listens to the lights and colours around him.

*

The Hangar Bay of the Užkulisai is organized systematically and structured in a way that offered easy access despite being highly secured. Each cargo load was attached and bolted down using magnetic strips that used their own conductivity to generation friction energy, thereby securing it independently from the rest of the ship. According to the roster Namjoon was looking at their cargo consisted of 20 3x2 OrTanks, 15 storage units, 5 weapons crates, and 8 capsules carrying compressed terraforming biochemical agents.

But occupying the most space is the massive Spardyti- a Transporter that could be used for aerial, terrain, and water exploration in-planet. While it couldn’t be used to operate off-planet, it was a sturdy and durable automobile with a very famed reputation of being used by excavators during their not so legal “tomb-raidings”. There was a smaller 2-man Transporter that could be used for off-planet purposes as well. A compact Pluns’na that could be used to navigate through asteroid fields, and maybe scout ahead because the Transporter was speedy and used solar energy to power itself. But the Pluns’na is mainly used for repairing damages outside a ship; it’s typically armed with several automotive arms that could be controlled from within the Transporter and could perform delicate mechanical operations.

They had a few stacked gravity-lifts in various sizes as well as collapsible table-lifts stored under the floors.

‘Oh- they’re not that shade of blue anymore!’ Sk’jin exclaims from where he’s standing.

Namjoon turns to look at what Sk’jin is talking about. The Khol’isa is holding up spacesuits that were jet-black with grey and teal detailing around the cuffs and seams of the suit. Most standard spacesuits were dark blue with orange and blue details.

‘These feels a lot more serious and impressive doesn’t it?’ Sk’jin asks Hoseok who also looks over the spacesuits, looking impressed.

‘It feels much lighter as well,’ Hoseok remarks, feeling the fabric between his fingers. ‘Are the helmets in there too?’

‘Oh- yes. Here,’ Sk’jin reaches for the higher shelf and pulls out what looks almost like a glass bubble.

‘Woah,’ Hoseok exclaims, taking the fragile looking object into his hands. ‘These are expensive.’

The “glass bubbles” were the latest models of the standard spacesuit helmets readily available to the public. They had only been issued about a month ago and only to deep-space explorers from the scientific community of the GLA. Lmiura wasn’t lying when she said that they wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

Except, of course, individual criminal records and just general team dynamics or lack of it.

Namjoon understands that to an extent, Sk’jin was completely justified in his anger. However, Namjoon also knows that what he did was also completely justifiable. Because it all filters down to the fact that they were all brought here by different Beings with different sets of interest and the succession of these individual interests could very well reshape much of the Known Universe.

And it was up to Namjoon to find out what these interests were and make sure no one came out on top. And if that meant listening in on conversations and more or less, violating privacy of the rest of the crew, then Namjoon would do it.

So of course, Sk’jin wasn’t the only one he was actively “watching over”- a term he prefers to spying. He was keeping tabs on everything Hoseok and Yoongi were doing as well.

There was practically no activity beyond what was normal for Yoongi. The Human barely used his screen unless it was to watch movies or other entertainment programs from his home planet. But that didn’t make him any less suspicious. He had an odd “personality” if you could call it that. He frequently did and said things that seemed entirely out of place with how he behave and appeared. There was more to Yoongi than met the eye and it makes Namjoon uncomfortable.

Hoseok was a lot more active than Yoongi but still never went past anything suspicious. Hoseok conducted extensive research on each of them as expected of a former agent of the Venture Unit. He was also very thorough, and had quite a long list of hacks and shortcuts under his belt. But that was it.

By default, just because of association, Namjoon would find Hoseok the most suspicious and capable of carrying out a complete heist over the ship. If Hoseok could pilot a ship of almost every make, it made him highly capable in Navigating as well. He was a trained and seasoned agent in the Venture Unit and so his skills in weaponry would be extensive, no matter what type. He’s had to infiltrate and live many lives as an undercover spy, relying only on his ability to make himself believable, so Hoseok is very likely extremely good at talking himself out of potentially messy situations.

If anyone was going to overthrow and take over this mission to abide the order of their representee, in this case Lal Haenoon, and succeed: it would be Hoseok.

But Namjoon has seen and known of Hoseok since the Gaia Case. He knows of his backstory and based solely on that, doesn’t believe Hoseok would throw this mission down for a single individual’s ambition.

Sk’jin on the other hand, was a different story altogether. The Khol’isa had not only conducted extensive research, but also called and messaged unregistered lines. And Namjoon couldn’t have them translated. For a while he wonders if Sk’jin was perhaps speaking in a code of sorts. But he soon came to realize, after listening intently a few times, that it wasn’t so. The language Sk’jin was speaking in wasn’t registered in Lisai’s registry of spoken languages. Which was why the AI couldn’t translate the Khol’isa’s conversation.

This revolution had once again filled Namjoon with an unknown fear. Lisai was the AI that granted them access to every available information within the GLA Digital Network. The language Sk’jin spoke most definitely had to be registered and made translatable- the GLA Directory of Language, Speech, and Communication was extremely thorough and had a department of extremely dedicated teams to continuously update and expand their database. If any habituated moon, planet, system has been discovered by the GLA then one of the first things they would do would be to study their language. Culture, identity, and understanding of the species psyche was better grasped after gaining linguistic information on their language. So even if they weren’t a planet under the GLA Treaty, then their language would be studied and logged into the database. 

So if their ship’s AI had limited, or as Namjoon believes it, purposefully restricted access to information just for languages, then were any of the information he was receiving complete? Were they even true?

And more importantly, why were they being restricted?

‘What is all this anyways?’ Sk’jin asks, kicking the OrTanks lightly with his foot.

‘According to the roster they’re carrying birthing sacks-‘ Namjoon replies immediately.

‘Gross-‘ Sk’jin pulls a face of disgust.

‘-to help aid the growth of plants, animals, anything back in Bhumi,’ Namjoon continues, rolling his eyes. He wants to point out to Sk’jin that his species practically ate themselves at a cellular level and were reborn in a cocoon- he had no right in feeling grossed out.

‘Should we open one, I feel like opening one-‘ Sk’jin looks a bit too excitable as he reaches for the lid of one of the OrTanks.

‘We’re not opening anything Sk’jin please step away from the OrTanks or so help me-‘

‘You can’t threaten me, I’m injured.’ Sk’jin replies, pretending to be appalled at Namjoon’s words.

Sk’jin was far from being frail and weak. Khol’isa were known to be some of the hardiest species of Beings across the Universe and their recovery rate was one of the fastest as well. They rarely ever needed any form of extensive medical aid or check-up. Sk’jin’s health tab was nearly at full, and he didn’t need any medication in the first place either. He had pretty much bounded out of the Medical Bed, showered, changed his robes into a much more elegant looking one, and dedicated himself to repairing his damaged robes. He even employed Hoseok’s help because apparently the Ngfy’widan was quite skilled with a needle and thread and could actually embroider. They had spent 5 hours on the hem of Sk’jin’s robes, stitching little golden flowers over the torn fabric while Yoongi watched, obviously fascinated.

Ever since that conversation yesterday, Sk’jin had been acting odd. In the sense he wasn’t being petty or bitter in regards to Namjoon with his actions of words. There was a strange patience in what Sk’jin was doing- like he was waiting for something and Namjoon doesn’t know what. But what he does know is that it probably wouldn’t bode well for him.

So Sk’jin is civil and rather “friendly” with Namjoon, treating him the way he treats Hoseok and Yoongi but with something else added to it. Frankly speaking, this makes Namjoon very uncomfortable. But he tries his best to ignore it. If Sk’jin was looking for an opportunity to “get back at him” it would be difficult to do so because Namjoon really doesn’t have anything to hide, and neither was he secretly communicating with unknown Beings.

‘Can we please move on.’ Hoseok asks tiredly. ‘The readings registers that all biothermal functions are operational and the contents are stable.’

‘Nothing that will get us into trouble?’ Namjoon asks as Hoseok reads the tabs keeping track of the conditions inside the OrTanks.

‘All safe,’ Hoseok replies. ‘But maybe we should open them, I’d rather know exactly how everything looks inside each of these to know exactly what we’re dealing with.’

‘I’m with Hoseok,’ Sk’jin calls from his end of the shelves. ‘And though this is last resort, we could even use them to get out of sticky situations by using them as trade- I mean, this sort stuff is prime trading units.’

Sk’jin had a point. There was a lot of this stuff on board with them and if needed, or if they were truly desperate, then they could use it to trade in exchange for things like their freedom. Namjoon sighs inwardly as he heads for the first of the OrTanks. 

‘All right- but let’s be careful when looking through,’ Namjoon warns. ‘Some of these have carefully maintained chemical balances in them- I’d rather not mess up anything and suddenly have mutated creatures roaming the ship.’

‘That sounds like fiction.’ Yoongi chimes in unexpectedly.

Unsure how to answer, the three of them look around at each other, expressions of amusement on their faces.

‘How’s the Bridge?’ Sk’jin asks.

‘Functional.’

‘Great!’ Sk’jin chuckles before he continues conversing with the Human.

Namjoon turns his attention back to the task at hand. The OrTanks were layered and thick, hosting inside of them clear cases filled with birthing sacs and some form of amniotic fluid. It’s a little bit gross, if Namjoon is being honest but doesn’t have a problem with it. Unlike Hoseok and Sk’jin, both of them reacting strongly to the contents.

Hoseok shudders, an honest to goodness full body shudder as he nervously looks into blood-filled birthing sac; its purpose clearly for hosting animals of sort.

‘So these sacs would just- birth things?’ Hoseok asks, looking a little green.

‘It’s part of the preservation technology,’ Namjoon explains. ‘It’s similar to AI technology, it takes the eggs or even just single DNA strands and replicates a sort of womb for the cell to grow and expand.’

‘Will it work on every type of species?’ Hoseok asks, stepping away and taking deep breaths as though trying not to throw up.

‘It should- most living creatures are made of the same basic elements after all- despite being born in different terrains, planets, systems- we all live in the same universe made of the same matter,’ Namjoon closes shut one of the OrTanks. ‘The mass of the universe exists in us, as we exist in the universe.’

He’s met with an extraordinarily loud silence and Namjoon looks up with some alarm. Hoseok and Sk’jin are both looking at him with an expression he can’t quite translate or understand.

‘What?’ Namjoon asks, feeling a little defensive.

‘Nothing,’ Sk’jin replies, before pushing himself away from the OrTanks and going up the Transporters.

‘Can you drive this?’ he asks Hoseok, pulling the Ngfy’widan away from the sight of the birthing sacs because he really did look like he was about to throw up.

‘Yeah I can,’ Hoseok looks relieved at not having to check the OrTanks as he pats the side of the Spardyti.

‘I’ve piloted her a few times before. Easy functions- good user interface,’ Hoseok looks over the Transporter with a pleased expression. ‘You could drop a 50 ton rock over this and it wouldn’t budge.’

‘That’s good to know,’ Sk’jin comments dryly.

‘And given the correct speed, it could break through said rock,’ Hoseok laughs as he opens the door to the Spardyti. ‘Lisai, can you switch her up?’

‘Starting up the Spardyti.’

‘Thanks,’ Hoseok looks around the Transporter, clearly comfortable with the entire set up. The Transporter hums to life and it makes a surprisingly quiet whirring sound.

‘It’s very quiet,’ Namjoon hears Sk’jin comment as he checks through the last OrTank. The birthing sacs were all stable and neatly secured within their cases. Namjoon, checks their systems one more time before closing the lid.

‘We should probably check on the storage units as well,’ Namjoon calls the attention of the other two who were fawning over the Spardyti’s functions and extra added features; he should probably go over them with Hoseok in detail later.

‘Aren’t they mainly extra parts and stuff for maintenance?’ Hoseok asks, jumping out of the tall Transporter.

‘Mostly yeah,’ Namjoon nods. ‘But I think it’s important that we keep a list based on what we find rather than rely on what’s noted.’

At that, both Sk’jin and Hoseok give him a searching look followed by a look of understanding and they both nod. Strangely enough, this manual search of the Hangar Bay seemed to be putting them all in the same metaphoric page of wanting to get things done quickly and with as little hiccups as possible.

‘I guess we should start with the smaller crates first- Sk’jin could you hand the medium sized gravity-lift?’ Namjoon asks, looking up at the smaller crates stacked over their heads.

Sk’jin starts walking up to where the gravity-lifts were stacked when he abruptly stops. Hoseok notices at once, a frown growing on his face as he asks, ‘Is everything all right?’.

Namjoon also turns, noting that Sk’jin’s posture looked strangely contorted. With some difficulty, Sk’jin turns a little, facing them again. He opens his mouth to reply but a strange look passes over his face. Sk’jin raises a hand, touching the side of his temples, then his movements pause oddly.

‘Sk’jin-‘ Hoseok calls again, walking forward, a little confused.

Then quite suddenly, without warning, Sk’jin’s eyes roll back and he crumples onto the ground.

Namjoon and Hoseok just stare, frozen in their shock for a whole 3 seconds before Namjoon recovers first.

He approaches the Khol’isa carefully, calling upon their AI system as he does so, ‘Scan Communications Manager Sk’jin for any physical issues.’

‘Scanning.’

‘Is he all right?’ Yoongi asks.

‘I don’t know,’ Namjoon frowns, pulling back Sk’jin’s eyelid to check on his eyes. ‘And I have a feeling Lisai won’t be able to help us either.’

*

The Hive was going to get caught in the middle of a space battle that would render it asunder.

Yoongi doesn’t understand. Why was this happening? If they wanted this ship and the Beings inside of it, then why were they trying to have them killed? Or was Yoongi misunderstanding this from the very beginning?

He’s able to keep track of some of them as they walk around the Hive through his helmet. They’re all talking amongst each other, laughing and enthusiastically approaching stalls. The other two; the Captain and the Navigator, were inside the Immigration Office, obviously clearing their pass. The other group were there for more tourist-y reasons.

They seemed like ordinary happy Beings, all just living their lives together.

Together.

Not a unit of Beings designed and built to carry out missions. Not as individuals who were constructed for the sole purpose of not existing.

They existed in this pane of life and were Alive.

But they wouldn’t be.

They had all planned it. Make it look like a clash of pirate-clans, and the Hive would be an unfortunate victim to it all.

Yoongi holds a small screen in the palm of his hand, a line calling through.

‘This is the GIU Yaaig’Ra Ari Mothership Communications Tower. How may I help you?’

‘I would like to speak to Admiral K’mara. This is a Code-AlphaBlack emergency.’

*

‘So.’

‘What are we going to do?’

Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok were gathered at the Bridge, standing at the Navigator’s Mast. Sk’jin was in the Medical Bay, still unconscious.

‘This isn’t supposed to be happening right?’ Hoseok asks Namjoon. ‘Khol’isa don’t just faint.’

Namjoon looks entirely unsure as well. He’d been on his screen for the past few hours, doing Spaces knew what, and he had even asked Yoongi for his screen. The Human had handed his over easily, never having really used it much to start off with, and had said something about making food. But that had been nearly 8 hours ago and Sk’jin was still knocked out and they had no answers either.

‘Communications Manager Sk’jin is waking up.’

‘Thank you Lisai,’ Namjoon looks relieved. It would be difficult to explain a sick team member back to the special-jury; even more so if he wasn’t waking up.

Hoseok makes to follow Yoongi out of the Bridge but Namjoon holds him back, nodding towards the stairs instead.

‘What is it?’ Hoseok asks at once, sensing something serious.

‘I think…I’m thinking of not sending in the log just yet,’ Namjoon says unexpectedly.

‘Why?’

‘There’s something else going on,’ Namjoon says to Hoseok, his expression wary and grim. ‘There’s something up with Lisai.’

‘The AI?’ Hoseok asks, feeling apprehensive at once. He can’t help but glance up towards the cameras.

Namjoon nods.

‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘It’s missing information and data,’ Namjoon sighs out. ‘I noticed some things, missing from Lisai’s search capacity. At first I thought it was simply an issue of firewalls or data encryption but it’s not the case.’

‘Missing information? But Lisai- the ship is connected to the GLA Digital Network. We can’t be missing any information,’ Hoseok frowns. That seemed rather impossible and also considering the nature of their task, detrimental to the successful outcome of their mission.

Unless it was done on purpose. And one look at Namjoon confirms Hoseok’s suspicions.

‘You think they did this?’ Hoseok asks, ‘But why?’

‘I don’t know. And-‘ Namjoon pauses a moment at the landing. ‘And while I do not apologize for having to do it, I am sorry that it was at the cost of your privacy but I did conduct research-‘

Hoseok already knew this. He had expected it and it’s not news to him. He waves it off quickly and says, ‘I understand. What’s your point?’

Namjoon looks a little taken aback but he recovers quickly and says, ‘While your files were available to me after digging around-‘

Hoseok wants to snort. Namjoon must be very good in order to “dig” around his classified files that weren’t supposed to exist.

‘-there were aspects of Sk’jin’s history that I couldn’t find or couldn’t access because of active firewalls. Then a few days ago, before th incident with the Orvanan, Sk’jin made an unregistered call to an unknown and unregistered line in Ngobut’jha.’

‘Ngobut’jha?’ Hoseok cannot, for the life of him, understand why the Khol’isa would make a call to the rather unimpressive planet. ‘What’s in Ngobut’jha?’

‘Nothing,’ Namjoon scowls, slowing down as they walk down the stairs. ‘And he was speaking in a language I couldn’t understand- and Lisai didn’t have it registered either.’

Now this is news to Hoseok.

‘Lisai was unable to translate a language? Not even identify it?’

Namjoon nods grimly.

‘Let me listen to the audio- I might be able to recognize it,’ Hoseok offers. Namjoon gives him a searching look, as though sizing him up and his offer. Then he nods.

‘Later?’ Namjoon looks down the stairs, they can hear Sk’jin’s voice speaking indistinctly.

Hoseok nods and they make their way down.

Sk’jin was sitting up, not looking particularly good.

His skin, normally a pearlescent rosy hue that highlighted Sk’jin’s natural beauty seemed dulled and oddly faded. His normally faintly rosy fingers were pale and almost see-through. Hoseok swears he sees Sk’jin’s blood vessels under his skin but the Khol’isa is quick to cover up any skin, shivering a little as though cold.

‘So- what’s wrong?’ Namjoon asks.

Sk’jin rolls his eyes and Hoseok privately thinks Namjoon could do with some classes in bedside manners.

‘If I rightly knew, then I would tell you,’ Sk’jin replies, gratefully accepting the blanket Yoongi digs out from one of the compartments that lined up the walls of the Bay.  

‘So you have a general idea of why you’re like this?’ Namjoon asks.

‘I can’t be sure but I think it’s the sun actually,’ Sk’jin shrugs- or shivers, Hoseok isn’t sure. ‘Khol’isa, as you all know, have a strange affiliation with the sun. I’m not as young as I once was; all of this fighting and bleeding takes a lot out from me.’

‘Like a plant?’ Yoongi asks.

‘Something like that,’ Sk’jin replies with an amused grin before looking over at all of them. ‘I’m touched- you all came to see me.’

‘These outposts randomly have Yishengs with them,’ Hoseok says worriedly, looking over Sk’jin. ‘If this really is a sun thing- we should land us somewhere on a moon, maybe sneak into a federation Deck and-‘

‘You’re really sweet you know that?’ Sk’jin interrupts Hoseok with a smile, a true and genuine smile. ‘It’s nice. It’s rare.’

Hoseok doesn’t know what to say exactly.

‘We’ll plot the next stop where we can get some sun,’ Namjoon concludes. ‘We’re only a week away from Grezma- it’s possible that we might find a synthesis booth.’

Sk’jin wrinkles his nose at that. Which was understandable because synthesis booths were honestly a little disturbing and gross. There were some creatures who required sunlight to exist- using a form of photosynthesis to generate energy and just live. While there was technology that existed that allowed these species of Beings to travel through space without having the need to sun bathe in the nearest available planet, soaking up as much of the UV rays was a sure and go to fix for any of their anaerobic accidents. Hoseok once witnessed a Being die from UV starvation, basically rotting from the inside out.

So synthesis booths were the fixes these species relied on in order to get these quick fixes. But they weren’t always the cleanest or safest. Some were crudely made, the UV generators inside of them going berserk and sometimes cooking the Being inside of it with radiation.

But it would be the only option they have right now, so Sk’jin nods after a while.

‘Oh Yoongi!’ Sk’jin exclaims, looking genuinely surprised and touched.

Turning, Hoseok finds that Yoongi had left the Medical Bay and had come back, bearing with him a tray of food he had obviously prepared earlier. Hoseok looks at the tray and is surprised to find what looked like actual edible food of decent quality. Namjoon also looks thoroughly surprised as Yoongi pulls out the table-tray from the side of Sk’jin’s Medical Bed and places the tray on it.

‘You need to store up.’ Is all Yoongi says, and hands Sk’jin a spoon then leaves.

‘That was the most precious thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life,’ Sk’jin whispers.

Hoseok has to somewhat agree.

*

Sk’jin continued to pass out at random intervals. It was never predictable and no one knew what triggered this bout of fainting. But the Being in question didn’t seem too bothered or worried by it. A different story for the others on board. They were more or less Sk’jin’s nurses at this point as well as his personal ‘ he’s falling caTCH HIM!’ guards.

At one point, Namjoon had to hack through Sk’jin’s cabin’s security to open the door and Hoseok had to pull him out of the shower where he’d collapsed. Luckily he hadn’t injured himself but carrying a soapy and wet Khol’isa out of the narrow showering stall proved to be detrimental to Hoseok’s elbows as he slipped and balanced himself by slamming against the wall, his elbow bruising spectacularly as a result.

Sk’jin had apologized to him but had also laughed, saying that they now had no secrets between them.

But he seemed all right now. Sk’jin hasn’t fainted in the past 17 hours and they were now close to Grezma and had just pulled out of warp. Though staying in warp had no physical effect in the overall environment of the ship, Hoseok always felt relieved when they pulled out of warp. Seeing the stars splayed endlessly around him made him feel much better.

But the relief is short-lived. From this distance they can see the moon-graveyard, an expanse of space where hundreds of thousands of years ago a planetary system once existed and then just died, leaving behind dead planets and moons.

The Grezma-space was one of these former systems. And though the sun of this system no longer existed, the remains of the planets congregated into a stationary pile of planetary remains, forming what looked like a planet of sorts but it’s entirely segmented and separated. The Grezma outpost was at the very top of this “planet” and Hoseok can see lights blinking from this distance. It was covered in a crosspatch of Atmoshield, rendering some areas of the “planet” with a pale blue glow from the distance.

Hoseok wills himself to calm down. He wasn’t sure about the outcome of this docking; he’s used outposts countless of times before. In fact, he’s so used to outposts, it had taken him a while to get used to using actual Docks legally. But all of that had been before the Gaia Case, and way before the Venture Unit’s internal scourge.

‘We’re getting  a call from their tower,’ Sk’jin reports.

‘Patch them through,’ Namjoon replies.

‘Who is this, what do you want.’

It certainly was different to the standard GLA Dock and Hoseok hears Namjoon snort faintly.

‘We need to restock our supplies,’ Hoseok calls out. ‘And we’d like to speak to Governor Keghtsa.’

‘Your ship is a registered GLA ship, are you out of your ing minds? You’re lucky we didn’t shoot you down at once.’

Hoseok rolls his eyes but before he can answer the line opens again, ‘This is Governor Keghtsa. Who is this?’ a calm and quiet voice replaces the coarse voice of the previous operator. Hoseok recognizes this voice.

‘Governor, this is Hoseok of the Infiltration Division. We worked together in the Antsy’aly case-‘

‘-understood. You can land on Debris 51. Do you have a Transporter to bring you here or should I send one to pick you up?’

Hoseok looks over at Namjoon who mouths ‘pick up’, ignoring Sk’jin’s questioning look.

‘Pick up.’

‘Sending one over. We’re patching you through.’

‘That went easier than I expected,’ Sk’jin comments, not at all sounding relieved before adding, ‘We have the Pluns’na, we don’t need a pick-up Transporter.’

‘That’s because Yoongi and I are taking the Pluns’na and going over to the Flotsam and Jetsam,’ Namjoon explains.

Sk’jin raises an eyebrow at that but doesn’t comment. Namjoon had told Hoseok that he was going to get a screen that wasn’t based off of Lisai’s digital connectivity once they landed in Pluns’na. Hoseok had listened to the conversation and couldn’t recognize the language Sk’jin had been speaking in. It had a familiar ring to it but Hoseok has been exposed to a lot of languages already so he could just be overthinking it.

Yoongi is already making his way out of the Bridge, dressed fully in black as per usual. Namjoon had told him not to carry any weapons repeatedly and he had agreed though Hoseok could see the reluctance (?? Was it reluctance??) in Yoongi’s expression.

‘Yoongi if you can find any other ingredients that are similar to the ones on Earth then that’d be great!’ Sk’jin calls out. Yoongi nods in reply and exits the Bridge.

‘We’ll go get ready.’ Namjoon says, ‘Can you report the Pluns’na to their tower?’ he asks Sk’jin as he makes his way out of the Bridge.

‘Sure, why not, it’s not like I’m ever included in any of the plans here,’ Sk’jin mumbles under his breath before reporting to the tower.

‘By the way,’ Sk’jin calls over at Hoseok as they approach the rather make-shift launch-ring that was attached onto a large flat slab of moon-rock. ‘You sure you’ll be okay with this?’

‘What do you mean?’ Hoseok asks, hoping Sk’jin doesn’t voice out his fear.

‘Waiting for me while I get a tan in the synthesis booth,’ Sk’jin drawls out.

‘If there’s one,’ Hoseok replies, voice a little strained as they land.

‘And about the entire Venture Unit thing.’

It’s a good thing Hoseok has already landed them because his hands slip out of the control shafts.

‘I heard all about it,’ Sk’jin shrugs from where he sits. ‘It’s your main concern isn’t it? For using outposts.’

Hoseok sighs, standing up wearily. ‘Yeah it is.’

‘Well, your governor left a long time ago- I doubt he’s gonna hold anything that happened after his time against you.’

Hoseok glances out of the large HUD windows and grimaces as a light-grey Transporter approaches them.

‘Yeah I hope so too.’

*

Hoseok watches as the Pluns’na smoothly exits and drift off towards one of the larger slabs below them. The light-grey Transporter waits for them at the edge of the slab and closing the Užkulisai and locking it, Hoseok makes his way across the hard moon-rock with Sk’jin. The air was definitely thinner here, seeing as they didn’t use a natural atmosphere and it was entirely generated. He glances over worriedly at Sk’jin, wondering how he was holding up. The Khol’isa looked unwell, but that was only because Hoseok knew how he originally looked. The employees around the Grezma outposts however, didn’t seem to notice and ogle at Sk’jin.

Sk’jin seems to glow under the attention he’s receiving, looking like he was thinking ‘finally I’m being appreciated for my face’ as he smiles rather benignly at the pilot and working crew of the Transporter they enter.

‘You’re Hoseok?’ one of them asks, a green-tinted Being with obvious bionic features added to his form, making him look like a strange skeletal insect, in Hoseok's private opinion.

‘Yes- that’s me,’ Hoseok nods.  

‘We’re taking you to the Governor’s Hall,’ he explains. ‘Is your…friend, coming along as well or do we drop him off somewhere else?’

‘Do you have a-‘

‘I’m with Hoseokkie,’ Sk’jin drapes his arms around Hoseok from the back, hooking his chin over his shoulders with a beatific smile. ‘Right?’

Hoseok is grateful for his training and experience as he nods and replies with a convincing sigh, ‘Yeah, he’s with me.’

The Being nods and they’re shown to a sitting area where they buckle themselves in.

‘You know,’ Sk’jin says in a low whisper next to his ear, leaning in more than needed. ‘If I tried this on Namjoon he might punch me.’

Hoseok chuckles, imagining the stoic Kutsogleran snapping and most probably freaking out as a result. The Transporter hums to life and Hoseok hears his Comm-Device make a small clicking sound and knows at once that the Transporter was rigged with a magnetic pulse that blocked out all communication lines. There’s no change in Sk’jin’s teasing expression so Hoseok doesn’t know if it’s just him or not.

‘Best not try it on him them,’ Hoseok sniggers, playing along.

Sk’jin laughs melodically, leaning his head on Hoseok’s shoulder and twisting their arms together. Hoseok notes how many of the crew around them look let down because of this single action.

‘But why are you doing this?’ Hoseok ask in a low whisper.

‘Because I don’t trust Venture Unit agents,’ Sk’jin replies easily, playing with Hoseok’s fingers. ‘And judging by that sound I just heard, I think I was right in doing so.’

‘Ouch- I’m a Venture Unit agent, you know that right?’ Hoseok laughs, pretending to be wounded.

‘What makes you think I even trust you?’ Sk’jin shoots back and Hoseok isn’t really surprised by Sk’jin’s response. He didn’t expect Sk’jin to trust him at all.

Because this wasn’t about trust.

They all had that mutual understanding that they didn’t trust each other. But they all knew they were working for the same mission, meaning they would cooperate and play their part but that was the extent to which they would go. No more, no less.

This was compromise, and the desire to complete their given mission.

‘My unfailing charm, embroidery skills and piloting expertise?’

Sk’jin lets out an uncharacteristically unflattering snort, slapping Hoseok on his arm before leaning in comfortably again.

‘Trust is such a fickle notion.’ Sk’jin comments, observing his fingernails nonchalantly.

Hoseok wholeheartedly agrees.

‘But your embroidery skills moved me in a way no Being has moved me before,’ Sk’jin leans in dangerously close as though kissing the side of Hoseok’s neck. ‘Where did you learn how to move your fingers like that?’

Hoseok, to his chagrin, finds himself flushing. Because Sk’jin had said the latter part of that sentence in a carrying whisper and everyone was throwing him quick looks. Hoseok recognized jealousy, disgust, and lust in their glances, to name a few. One in particular was full on glaring at Hoseok.

Namjoon would definitely throw a fit if Sk’jin tried this on him. Or faint. Talk about fainting, Hoseok hopes Sk’jin doesn’t faint any time soon.

They land fairly quickly and as the Transporter doors open Hoseok’s previously unfounded and unexplained fears are confirmed when a whole array of TeorSers greet them. Hoseok hears the crew members behind him also raise their TeorSers at them. They were surrounded.

‘Spaces, not again,’ Sk’jin mumbles under his breath, dropping all of his previous act and releasing Hoseok from his clingy grasp.

They all look like pirates, most of them had green-tinted skin like the Being that had spoken to them earlier. Closer inspection tells Hoseok that they’re probably K’it’y; a species of Beings from the war-torn planet of Kana’ch. They were mostly humanoid in appearance with the exception of their tails that they looped around their waist when they weren’t running. They were some of the fastest runners across the Universe with the exception of the species of Beings from Kalchak and Begach who out ranked them. Their tails were used to balance them as they twisted sharp corner, shifting their axis of motion and balancing them over bumpy terrain. 

‘Hoseok,’ a voice greets and the K’it’y spread out to let an exceptionally small Being pass through.

Barely 3 feet in height, Governor Keghtsa had a voice that didn’t match his appearance. While his voice was mild and soft sounding, rather soothing if that’s what floats your boat. But appearance-wise he was close to a grotesque yet childish nightmare.

Governor Keghtsa was from the planet of Hasarak; a small and humid planet in the distant galaxy of Andromeda. Characteristic of the Beings there, he had pale puckered skin more or less swathed around his form and he would have looked rather amphibious if it weren’t for the random tufts of wiry hair that grew out of deep and buried pores. His eyes were small and watery, but were a piercing magenta in colour. He had no hair, save for the random strands that grew here and there. His arms were thin and oddly long for his frame. And though he wore robes (in unflattering shades of yellow) that covered his lower body entirely, Hoseok knew that he had 2 pairs of legs under those robes. They were horrifying agile and fast and fighting one was frankly just exhausting because you didn’t know how to defend yourself or even attack.

‘So what’s a traitor doing here- crawling to me to beg for aid is that it?’

Sk’jin seems to have difficulty containing himself from making facial expressions of disgust. Keghtsa glances up at the Khol’isa briefly, magenta eyes narrowing.

‘Governor Keghtsa I am not here to cause any trouble,’ Hoseok says firmly. ‘I’m just here to restock my ship-‘

‘That may be so but tell me why you’re wanted by the Orvanans?’ Keghtsa asks.

‘That would be my fault,’ Sk’jin chimes in brightly. ‘I’m Sk’jin- I tried to kill their minister.’

Keghtsa blinks up at Sk’jin, clearly not amused.

‘What are you doing- you can’t be on a mission. You no longer work for the Venture Unit, seeing as how you stabbed them in the back.’

Hoseok grimaces.

‘Yes I’ve heard all about it Hoseok,’ Keghtsa comments. ‘How the Venture Unit tried to break away from the GLA, something I always supported you know, and how the Board was about to completely free themselves from the restraints of the GLA when you came along and killed not just one but three of the Board of Directors.’ Keghtsa laughs humorlessly. ‘All stabbed in the back. How cowardly of you Hoseok- your parents must be so disappointed in you.’

Hoseok keeps a mask of calm. He can feel Sk’jin’s curious eyes turn on him briefly.

‘A lot has changed since your time Keghtsa,’ Hoseok says calmly. ‘There were matters of great stake being weighed in inside the Board- I did not wish to-‘

‘But you did,’ Keghtsa shrugs. ‘And in doing so you killed not just one, but two of my closest friends- oh yes, Directors Drōhī and Gadd’a were close to me. They were good Beings- wise, strong- and they had to die in your hands.’

Hoseok sighs inwardly. He hadn’t known about this.

‘So now you have come to my outpost.’ Keghtsa waves his too thin, too long arms in a waving gesture. ‘I think I would be serving justice if I returned your head to the Board wouldn’t it?’

The K’it’y nod their approval, their TeorSer never lowering.

‘I heard a lot of accounts Hoseok- how you tortured them for days on end.’ Keghtsa his head to the side. ‘I think it would be fair if I returned the favor don’t you think so?’

‘Okay that’s it,’ Sk’jin sighs out. ‘Look- Governor, I don’t know what you’re talking about but we’re kinda short on time and we just really wanna refuel and-‘

A hand appears out of nowhere and smacks Sk’jin straight across the face.

‘Look at this one speak,’ one of the K’it’y sneers. Hoseok recognizes him from inside the Transporter. The one who had been giving Hoseok very foul looks. ‘Aren’t you a Khol’isa?’

He steps forward, a bit too forward and is inches from Sk’jin’s face.

‘What happened to your horns pretty boy?’

‘What happened to your nose, -face?’ Sk’jin asks, a serene smile on his face.

‘My nose-?!’

Sk’jin head-butts him with a resounding smack and the K’it’y howls in pain, doubling over instantly, clutching his nose.

‘You -‘

Hoseok winces as Sk’jin is kneed in the stomach. But the Khol’isa has this wicked grin on his face, as though he was finding all of this amusing and once again Hoseok wonders how in Spaces the Khol’isa hadn’t been killed or was wanted by every pirate-clan across the underverse.

‘Run off now little runt,’ Sk’jin spits out with a menacing grin. ‘Tuck that tail between your legs and run to your midget of a master.’

‘Khol’isa?’ Keghtsa repeats, looking a little alarmed before ordering. ‘Bag him!’

4 of the Beings behind them converge on Sk’jin, man-handling him roughly.

‘Oh you’ve got to be kidding me-‘ Sk’jin huffs as a bag is thrown over his head. ‘Really? A ing bag oUCH!’

He’s smacked heavily over his head with the end of a TeorSer.

‘You in’ I’m gon’ rip you a new one-‘ Sk’jin growls as he faces the direction he’d been hit from only to be sent reeling back as he’s knocked clear unconscious.

Hoseok winces again. It shouldn’t be good losing consciousness so frequently.

‘Take them to the gibbets. We can sell the Khol’isa to the Orvanan,’ Keghtsa says easily before looking up at Hoseok and saying, ‘You’re a good agent Hoseok. Working with you was easy and you were a reliable partner. But you crossed the line. You should have known better than to come here.’ Keghtsa walks away. ‘Bind them both- be careful of him, he’s worth at least 5 of you.’

The K’it’y corner and bind him. There were a tad too much of them for Hoseok to handle- that and an unconscious Sk’jin to mind as well. Keghtsa clearly had it all planned.

‘Find the other crew members and take them down to the gibbets too. Then strip their ship.’

Hoseok is compliant as they pull a full body-bind over him. He doesn’t fight back or struggle. Sk’jin is hoisted up onto someone’s shoulders and they start marching forward.

Hoseok was well aware of the risks he was taking.

He always knew that this day would come.

*

Yoongi is at a safe distance, watching as the Hive falls apart slowly. Large chunks of goldish metal falls away as the Atmoshield around the massive Dock diminishes.

Yoongi watches as waves of Beings float out into space, struggling and flailing but all succumbing to the cold vacuum of the nothingness that would consume them inside out.

The Hive chips away, power explosions ripping it apart as fighter-ships and shuttles let fly their missiles and lasers. Unfortunate passenger ships and shuttles are caught and explode into bright light and energy, diminishing at once as the emptiness of space crushes them.

Yoongi can see the Stravechi Nava, stuck between a few ships- nestled almost, as though placed there purposefully.

And Yoongi wouldn’t have thought this in the first place, if he hadn’t seen it.

There was no explanation for it. Database and his mind weren’t able to explain what he saw. And he definitely saw it, because he had recorded it. It was not a hallucination, it was not a trick of light. It had been “real”- but what was real anymore?

A specter of light, gigantic in form and shape- moving as though the stars in the dark of space moved as one to form the shape and outline of a Being. But it had been for a  brief moment of time- a flame of blue rippling and extending, guiding the falling ship to safety through clouds of flame before exhausting into vacuum.

What had happened?

All he understands, is that they survived.

Yoongi watches as the GIU arrive. Their fleets launching in neat deadly rows, almost plowing through the ranks of pirate ships.

The GIU Yaaig’Ra Ari Mothership is massive; the size of an average moon. During this time of rescue and transportation, Yoongi would be able to slip in easily. For the time being, he would wait again.

*

Namjoon realizes, rather belatedly, that he’s never actually spent time alone with Yoongi.

He’s spent time with Hoseok, and even with Sk’jin if you can believe it. But never with Yoongi. But when Namjoon really thinks back to it, Yoongi’s presence was so entirely ambiguous that he can’t remember if he was ever with them as a group inside the Bridge or not. It didn’t help that Yoongi’s form could be entirely hidden behind the large seat of the tower-mast and that he was always dressed entirely in black. Yoongi just had the tendency of fading in with the rest of his surroundings with uncanny nonchalance. Not to mention the fact that Yoongi rarely ever spoke- but that wasn’t true either. Namjoon distinctly remembers Hoseok and Yoongi’s conversation on some trivia from an old Earthian movie. Hoseok sometimes watched these movies with the Human and Yoongi would explain the backstory in extraordinary detail. They had spent an entire morning talking about the lore of “elves” and some interspecies romance that according to Yoongi had been “very depressing”. Sk’jin had been trying not to laugh out loud, cheeks bulging with food, face turning red from the exertion of it all.

So it wasn’t like Yoongi didn’t talk…it was just…really easy to somehow overlook him.

Just like now, inside the Flotsam and Jetsam. Namjoon can’t believe that he’s lost Yoongi.

Taking a deep breath, Namjoon scans over the heads of the crowd. For a rather flung out and small outpost, the Grezma outpost certainly had a lot of Beings- mainly all K’it’y and a smattering of other Beings as well. But no short, black-clad, Human Being around.

Spaces, it hasn’t even been 10 minutes.

‘Yoongi- where are you?’ Namjoon calls, sighing deeply.

‘Behind you.’

‘Where were you?!’ Namjoon demands at once, hoping no one heard him squeak.

‘I found ingredients.’ Yoongi holds up a bag of said ingredients.

‘I- you- why didn’t you tell me?’ Namjoon demands, feeling like he was talking to a child.

‘I did.’

‘…you didn’t.’

‘I did.’

‘Yoongi, you didn’t.’

‘I did, Joonie.’

Namjoon and Yoongi stare resolutely at each other, neither of them giving in.

‘I did-‘

‘Fine,’ Namjoon huffs, turning away. ‘Let’s not separate again. We tell each other clearly, and wait for confirmation before we make a move.’

‘Fine.’

They stare at each other again.

‘I’m looking for a screen. I think we should look there.’

‘Understood. I will follow.’

‘…right…’

‘You mean left.’

‘Spaces- you know what-‘ Namjoon sighs in exasperation. ‘Let’s just go.’

Yoongi keeps to his side, just a little behind him as though using him as a shield or cover of sorts. And it sort of works because no one really looks at Yoongi. Everyone’s eyes just latch onto Namjoon at once.

‘Why are you looking for a screen.’ Yoongi’s questions, Namjoon found out, normally sound like statements.

Namjoon thinks for a while, wondering if he should tell Yoongi about Lisai’s shortcomings.

‘I needed something translated- Lisai doesn’t have the language set to her database,’ Namjoon replies, hoping that Yoongi would pick up on what he meant. The Human doesn’t say anything for a while before asking, ‘Can I listen to the audio.’

Honestly, Namjoon doesn’t know what to expect of the Human. He can’t predict his thoughts or movements so he doesn’t know if he should be surprised that Yoongi would ask him this question. He wasn’t surprised when Hoseok asked him, but in Yoongi’s case, he can’t help but be taken aback.

‘Yeah sure,’ Namjoon shrugs, handing Yoongi his NaviLet and pulling up the audio file. He might as well.

Yoongi taps the side of his Comm-Device, attaching it to the NaviLet instead.

Namjoon finds one of those shady little stalls with outdated screens set up around the front, as though it would be enough of a front to fool other Beings into thinking what they sold wasn’t illegal.

‘That’s Long-Huon.’ Yoongi suddenly says, making Namjoon stop halfway.

‘-what? How do you know?’

‘I understand it,’ Yoongi answers as though it was obvious.

‘-…really?’ Namjoon gapes at the Human. He wants to ask more questions. Like how did Yoongi understand and come to know Long-Huon? And also, why was Sk’jin of all Beings speaking the language?

‘What is he saying?’ Namjoon asks at once.

Yoongi opens his mouth to answer but he closes his mouth abruptly, puts the NaviLet into his jacket pocket and spins Namjoon around to face frontward.

‘Yoongi what the actual fu- oh.’

‘Please follow us and don’t cause a scene or we’ll have to use force.’ The K’it’y says easily, at least a dozen TeorSers aimed right at them. They wore slightly different looking clothes- probably employed for this outpost. They don’t look trained or skilled- rather they were just low level pirates who were bought to work in this outpost.

What had happened that they were being “arrested”? Did Sk’jin do something again? Namjoon sighs. Also, why hadn’t they tried to contact him or Yoongi? Their lines were open, but no word from Hoseok or Sk’jin. Namjoon studies the K’it’y around him quickly again. Calculating roughly, Namjoon guesses that he and Yoongi should be able to fight their way through-

Yoongi.

Where was Yoongi?!

Yoongi was missing.

Again.

Sighing deeply, Namjoon raises his arms and crosses his arms behind his head.

*

The GIU Yaaig’Ra Ari Mothership is massive.

Yoongi follows the crew member of the Stravechi Nava, separated and placed in different private medical rooms.

They were friends with a Yisheng who was part of the emergency unit sent to the GIU Yaaig’Ra Ari Mothership in order to aid with the disaster at the Hive. He watched as the Human Navigator rush up the Yisheng, hugging him tight.

Friendship, according to database and his mind, was considered a precious memory.

Why was it not considered a precious Present?

He didn’t understand.

He also watches as Admiral K’mara comes into view. He’s obviously too far to really hear what was happening or what was being said.

Behind her was Jongin, the Venture Unit agent that was supposed to have died in Nuqtai. And next to him was a Long-Huon. He bore a resemblance to Zhoumi in that fact that they were both from Long-Huo. But there was something different about him- a red light shone through his eyes and behind him, a shadow lingered.

Their group pauses in front of the medical rooms where the Captain was being kept. The Human Navigator was there as well.

Admiral K’mara walks away again and following her were the Captain and the Navigator.

Yoongi watches as they enter a Transporter and vanish through the wide streets of the internal city in the GIU Yaaig’Ra Ari Mothership.

Yoongi makes up his mind and follows their Transporter. There were massive train networks that interconnected each internal city within the Mothership. Yoongi sneaks into the one with Admiral K’mara, laying down flat on his back inside one of the empty cabins down the hallway, under the small beds. He hears occasional voices speak but he sees no one.

He feels the train stop and shadowing one of the last guards, Yoongi ducks out of the train before the doors can close in on him and then walks out into the grand city of Unnivel.

It’s not difficult tracing where Admiral K’mara would be from this point on. The GIU Yaaig’Ra Ari Mothership was run by K’mara so this city was in fact, her city. So Yoongi knew he would find her there. The largest and tallest tower within the city of Unnivel was dedicated to the core Headquarters of the GIU- or the seat of the Trifecta.

K’mara’s main office is massive. With many rooms and layers of levels. It was designed to make whoever came in here feel lost and confused and overwhelmed. But Yoongi easily walks through, bypassing the security with ease. They must have overestimated the security of the building because Yoongi simply walks down the long and tall hallways without alarming any security systems.

He places himself next to one of the many pillars inside her main study, where the covers on the couch look the most worn. The silk over the cushions threading just a little more than other places.

The flowers here were fresh too.

Yoongi counts them at 18 stalks in total.

K’mara had come in an hour ago and was now talking with a few of her lieutenants. They left one by one, receiving little missions and assignments, or handing in their reports.

‘Send Zitao to pick them up,’ K’mara says. ‘They trust him. They will listen to him and feel better at ease.’

‘Understood Admiral.’ The last of the lieutenants replies.

‘That is all. Are the others in their quarters?’

‘Yes Admiral.’

‘Very good. Have a good night lieutenant.’

‘Goodnight Admiral.’

The door closes shut and all Yoongi hears is the quiet sound of the air filtration units, the tapping of Admiral K’mara’s fingers over her screen, and if Yoongi listened closely, the sound of her breathing.

He steps out from behind the pillar silently and makes his way across the room. He doesn’t know what gives him away but K’mara turns on her chair to look at him.

‘How did you get in?’ Admiral K’mara is unafraid and calm. Her red eyes pierce into Yoongi’s but he looks back calmly.

K’mara doesn’t move. She simply watches. She knew that Yoongi wasn’t here to hurt her. If he was, she knew that he would have already done so.

‘Through the front door.’ Yoongi replies, lifting his visor.

‘I see.’

It’s silent again.

‘You wish to speak to me?’

‘I do.’

‘You were the one who made that emergency call from the Hive.’

‘I am.’

‘Take a seat,’ K’mara gestures to the couch.

‘Thank you Admiral.’

Yoongi sits down on the couch.

‘Would you like some tea.’

‘No, thank you.’

‘Who sent you?’

‘No one. I am by myself. I am Alone.’

K’mara stares intently at him for a while.

‘You seem to know me, yet I do not know you. I cannot place you or your species. Who are you?’ K’mara asks finally.

‘My name is Yoongi, and I am a Human,’ he answer, taking off his helmet fully. ‘I have information regarding the Galactic Inquisition and their involvement with the Yisheng Headquarters.’

*

(Author’s Note)

YOU MUST COME BACK HOOOOOoooOOOoOoOOoOoME!

Sorry

But I love Seo Taiji and that’s one of my favorite songs and I can’t believe BTS covered it I’m still shook I need to listen to this a billion times more bye.