âZeus-1 has broken atmosphere, weâre space-bound. Accelerating!â Mikaâs voice echoed through the bridge.
âMaintain speed,â Lan Jue ordered.
âWeâll be arriving at the wormhole in seven minutes, and will proceed to jump to the alliance border.â
In the vastness of the universe Zeus-1 was but a spec. But it was itâs speed, not itâs size that protected it from military radar. It was simply too fast for them to get a lock.
If any of them knew the materials used to make the ship, or the sheer amount of energy gems that powered it, theyâd be speechless.
The entirety of Zeus-1 was comprised like a gem. The blue coat on itâs exterior wasnât to dazzle the eyes, but was actually created from a power gem called an indigo keystone. It was mixed with other items to give it texture. It served both to insulate the ship and aid in power distribution.
The primary reason most airships had their speed capped was from heat restrictions. Air friction from going that fast caused the hull to heat up to extreme temperatures, getting worse the faster you went. Zeus-1, with itâs coat of indigo keystone, didnât have this problem. It was, in fact, capable of faster-than-light travel.
The result of itâs excellent power transference was the ability to use the natural radiation and x-rays of the universe to charge itself. When designing the ship, the concept was so long as you could see space, the thing would fly.
The coat had required a hundred kilos of indigo keystone to produce, which itself was a c-ranked gem. A hundred kilos would buy five ships the size of his own.
And it was only the most ordinary aspect of Zeus-1âs construction.
âWeâve reached the wormhole. Shields active. Commencing interstellar jump.â As Mika spoke, a series of photoshields enveloped each of the passengers.
Zeus-1 shook, and in the space of an instant the area around them began to warp grotesquely. An envelope of white light expanded from the ship to surround it.
Energy shields have always been an important staple of modern ship assembly, prized for their ability not only to protect in combat scenarios, but more importantly for protection against hazardous flying conditions.
Now, under the protection of the shields, Zeus-1âs flight became steady once again. Outside, the shield was alive with bolts of multicolored light.
In what felt like a few seconds, and yet like a century, the ship shuddered and once more the skies outside became the comforting blackness of the universe.
âWeâve exited the wormhole. Nearing the boundary of the Eastern Alliance.â Mikaâs voice crackled through the headsets.
Lin Guoguoâs voice was next. âIntelligence reports state that the Twelfth Galactic Battalion of the Eastern Alliance is currently patrolling the Shattered Starfield border. Reliance on East Lake Bastion for zone control. Weâll approach under cover of an asteroid on itâs left flank. Then, when we approach the wormhole weâll burn towards it.â
âCalculate delta-v,â Lan Jue ordered.
Silence, then Keâer piped in. âNear-SOL1.â
âEnsure safety parameters, then go SOL.â
âYes, boss. Three days âtill jump point,â she replied.
Lan Jue couldnât help but smile. âAlright ladies, go take a rest. Put her on auto-pilot. We jump in three days.â
The photoshields lifted one by one, and Lan Jue unfastened his safety harness to stand.
The serious expressions upon the womenâs faces melted away and they stood, with the exception of Keâer who was setting the auto-pilot.
Lin Guoguo giggled. âItâs nice with the boss here, we get to experience SOL travel!â
Mika smiled, draping herself around her companionâs shoulders. She muttered something in her ear, which instantly turned Guoguoâs face red. âBah! Stop talking nonsense!â
Mika gave a deep, throaty laugh.
Lan Jueâs hearing was excellent, and despite Mikaâs low tones heâd heard it all. When these girls got worked up, their topics could be worse than any manâŠ
âIâm off for a nap,â Lan Jue stated ,stretching.
ζ
CRACK!
A red lash struck forth like a viper, landing on Gao Yongâs body. The skin where the whip landed split, and a deep red rivulet of blood seeped forth.
Gao Yong grit his teeth, not daring to make a sound.
A woman in a long black dress was situated before him, her long hair pulled in to a bun on the top of her head. She looked to be in her twenties, with skin like snow and strange carnation-tinted eyes. They shone like crystal, with pupils red as the blood they looked upon. A beautiful, cunning demon woman.
She was tall, slender, standing at one hundred and eighty centimeters. Her black high-heels made her taller even than the towering Gao Yong.
âDo you know how stupid you are,â the woman hissed.
âYouâre majesty, I justâŠâ
CRACK!
Another welt grew red and angry across his skin.
The Moonfiend Empress continued in her cold, malevolent voice. âWorse than how stupid you are, is the fact that you donât REALIZE your own stupidity. If he werenât a friend of mine, youâd NEVER have left Skyfire Avenue.â
Gao Yong was as intractable as ever, the welts had done nothing to rid him of that.
âThat guyâs strong, but no stronger than you your majesty. Heâs just managed to restrain me, otherwise, Iâd haveâŠâ
The Empress snorted disdainfully. âYou think youâre a match for him, hm? Iâll tell you honestly, if he wanted to crush me he could. With little effort.â
âHuh?â Now he truly was astonished. âYouâre Majesty, you.. youâre serious?â
She glared chillingly at him as she spoke. âIn the whole of our universe, of the organizations with the power to destroy our entire pirate clan, Skyfire Avenue is ranked above them all. There are no less than three who live there with the ability to utterly destroy me. You have no concept of their capabilities. You wouldnât, since they so rarely decide to act. But the one you met? Heâs different â he doesnât care. If he were to become angry, the whole of the Starfields would shake.â
âWho is he?â
The Empress stared at him with hard, cold eyes. âThree years ago, do you remember why the greatest pirate clan was destroyed?â
Gao Yongâs eyes grew wide with realization. He thought back to the power heâd felt, and a chill struck to his very core.