People from all over The Great Trial started to congregate at the settlement that Franz and his crew resided at. The settlement soon became very crowded. While homes were opened up to people, temporary shelter had to be built for the overwhelming number of people. Franz was genuinely shocked at how many people came to the settlement and at how quickly they came.

  After Lutz’s morning hunt, he and Franz returned to the settlement to see where they could help. As they walked through the settlement, people started to gather around the two. The various new people to the settlement were still in awe of Lutz and wanted to see him up close. Lutz had started to become a sort of celebrity for them. Which made Franz very uncomfortable. He was not used to attention unless it was by someone who meant him harm.

  Voices overlapped each other in a wild cacophony as they tried to talk to Lutz. Franz quickly noticed that even Lutz was getting overwhelmed by it all. While the dragon did love the attention, he could not respond to all the voices that called out to him.

  “Quiet!” Franz’s voice overwhelmed the crowd. “If you want to talk to Lutz, do it one at a time. He can’t answer any of you if you keep speaking over each other.”

  The crowd quickly became silent at Franz’s outburst. Lutz then brushed his head against Franz, and Franz rubbed it gently. Lutz used that chance to whisper, “Thank you. It’s a little much.”

  “I could tell,” Franz whispered back before he turned to address the crowd. “Form a line, and then you can come ask Lutz a question or talk to him one at a time. We have things to do, though. So, keep the line moving.”

  Franz impatiently tapped his foot as the people lined up. He knew that the line was the best way to handle the crowd, but he still got annoyed waiting on them. He could only hope that the novelty would die soon. As he waited, people came up and asked Lutz various questions or just wanted to pet him.

  Franz did not pay them much attention. They were mostly interested in Lutz. They had no interest in the person who found and bonded to him. It did not bother Franz, but he did find it kind of humorous how little they cared. If it were not for Franz, Lutz would not even be there.

  As the last person walked away, Lutz let out a heavy sigh. “I thought all the attention would be nice.”

  “Getting overwhelmed?” Franz chuckled before he took a sip of water from a canteen at his side.

  “Very, they just don’t stop,” Lutz moaned. “Like, how many times can they ask about my hunt or want to pet me? Then they all keep asking if I can breathe fire. I’m not even a fire dragon!”

  “I have sort of been wondering about that myself,” Franz said. “What would your breath attack even look like?”

  “I’m really not sure,” Lutz said. “I still have a while before I am old enough to have one anyway.”

  “Fair enough, it’ll be a surprise then,” Franz nodded before he started to walk. “Now, let’s go see if Apell has any work for us.”

  With the crowd satisfied, the pair was able to walk to Apell’s home unobstructed. Apell had turned his home into a base of operations. He spent most of his time there, and people came to him. Apell decided that things would be smoother if he were in a central location and not working throughout the settlement.

  Franz knocked on the metal door of the home. His knocks echoed throughout the building. The metal homes conducted sound incredibly well, and Franz could even hear each footstep as he waited at the door. The footsteps came quickly after another in deep echoes. Then the door swung open to reveal Apell. Despite the fact that he was in his home, the Nublean still wore his two axes on his back.

  “Just the guy I was waiting for,” Apell said dryly. “I have a job for you.”

  “A job for me? You usually don’t have anything specific like that,” Franz replied with a raised eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

  “This is a job that only you and your crew can do,” Apell said. “I need to show you something inside. Is that alright?”

  “Sure,” Franz said before he turned to Lutz and rubbed his head. “I’ll be right back out. Are you okay waiting?”

  “Yeah, you guys are probably going to talk about boring stuff anyway. It gives me a chance to nap,” Lutz nodded.

  “I should have expected that,” Franz grinned. “See you later, then.”

  “See you,” Lutz replied.

  Apell led Franz into his house. As he did, Lutz walked to the side of the house and curled his body up into a ball. Franz could swear that he already heard light snoring by the time he entered the house. Franz closed the door behind him, and an echo filled the room.

  The main room of Apell’s house had been completely turned into a workspace. A large table sat at the center of the room with diagrams and maps scattered on it. Apell continued to lead Frank to the table. Once he did, he grabbed a small rectangular object that could fit in the palm of Frank’s hand. It looked especially tiny in the much larger man’s hand.

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  Apell pressed a button on the object and placed it on the table. Blue light shone upward from the object and formed into several lines. The lines started to become more numerous and take various shapes. The lines continued to construct shapes until a 3D image of a city was floating above the object.

  “This is Vulk, a major city on Nubleas," Apell began to explain. “It is a major manufacturing hub, but all the intergalactic trade is done through the capital city of Sol.”

  “Okay? Why are you telling me this? I’m not too interested in the economics of Nubleas,” Franz sighed.

  “Just some quick background,” Apell said as his eyes narrowed into a glare. “Despite the alliance with the Imperium, they have considerably less presence and influence outside of Sol. This is where you come in. The senator from Vulk has been in contact with us and is sympathetic to our cause. He has worked with some manufacturing companies to procure resources. As you probably know, no matter how well trained we are, we do not have the technology that matches the Imperium. The weapons and armor that we get from this manufacturing company could turn the upcoming battle to our advantage.”

  “Where do I come in? That’s great that we are getting weapons, but I’m not sure how that is relevant to me,” Franz asked.

  “Despite sympathy for our cause, no one wants to risk the actual delivery. You and your crew have experience smuggling goods, correct?” Apell asked.

  “We’ve done it before, yeah. Is this what you want us to do? I’m not sure if we are the best people for the job. The Imperium is probably going to be watching for our ship specifically. Not to mention, they’ll be able to detect Lutz,” Franz replied. The entire idea of the mission seemed like suicide to him. While he did appreciate the hospitality of the settlement, he was not sure if he wanted to take such a big risk.

  “I’ve thought about both of those points already,” Apell said. “We have a few ships for when we need to leave. You’ll use one of those. As for Lutz, he’ll probably have to stay here.”

  “I’m not just going to leave Lutz,” Franz said angrily.

  “Look, I understand. The bond between a dragon and their partner is very strong, but this is our chance to make sure we win. It won’t even be a long trip,” Apell tried to reason with Franz. “We will make sure to take care of him when you are gone.”

  “Maybe,” Franz began to consider. Apell was right. They could fight the Imperium, but they did not have the level of technology that the Imperium had. At best, they could drive the Imperium off for a little while. At worst, they could all be slaughtered.

  “Personally, I think that the shelter we have provided you is enough. We actually do have another incentive,” Apell said as he noticed Franz start to sway to his side. “No one has openly said so in the senate, but we have gotten word that many of them want us to succeed. If we win, it will probably mean civil war to decide whether we stay with the Imperium. At that point, we can get you payment as well.”

  “Fine, we’ll do it,” Franz declared without further thought.

  “I should have known that money was key to it all,” Apell said before he let out a frustrated sigh. “Typical pirate.”

  “That wasn’t it, but I can’t blame you for thinking that,” Franz said. “Do you know why I’m a pirate?”

  “I’m assuming because you thought it would get you rich,” Apell said dryly.

  “Nah, anyone who tries to become a pirate for that reason is stupid. I’m sure you heard from Elio that I was part of the royal guard. That’s how I met him, actually,” Franz explained. “I lived a life of luxury, but there was one thing I did not have. That was my freedom. If you guys are serious about breaking free from the Imperium, then I’ll help.”

  Apell let out an unexpected chuckle. “You’re a lot different from what I thought.”

  “There are plenty of idiots who think that way,” Franz shrugged. “But that’s just not how the world actually works.”

  “Fair enough,” Apell nodded. “Do you want to get started with the plan then?”

  “Let’s get the rest of the crew here first,” Franz replied. “They are going to want to know the details.”

  “Fine, they'd better be quick, though. I have another meeting soon,” Apell said flatly.

  Franz rolled his eyes at the comment and pulled out his tablet. With his battle gear, he usually had a communication device, but outside of it, he needed to use his tablet. He quickly swiped through the tablet and sent out a signal to the crew. With the signal, he sent a message to tell everyone to come to Apell’s home.

  It did not take long for the crew to arrive. One after another, knocks came at the door and echoed throughout the building. The whole crew gathered in anticipation. Franz had been pretty relaxed throughout their time on The Great Trial. He did not usually send a signal unless something was very important.

  “I’m guessing Apell told you,” Elio was the first to speak as the crew gathered.

  “Told him what?” Kelsa asked. “Why are you in the know before me?”

  “I’m guessing it has something to do with the map,” Felice said as she pointed towards the floating model of Vulk.

  “This better be good. I was in the middle of a nap,” Tal yawned.

  “That doesn’t mean much. You are always napping,” Kelsa pointed out.

  “Hey! I have seriously cut down since we arrived,” Tal argued. “Give me some credit.”

  As the group bantered, Apell rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “Could you shut up? I don’t have time for this.”

  “Sorry about that,” Franz said to Apell before he addressed the group. “So, let’s get to business. Apell has a job specific to us. He wants us to smuggle goods out of Nubleas for the upcoming battle. You are all here to go over the plan.”

  “About time we get out of here,” Kelsa said as she sighed in relief. “I was getting stir crazy.”

  “I actually agree. I don’t know the last time I stayed in one place for so long,” Tal nodded.

  “Well, you heard them. They are fine with it,” Franz said to Apell as he gestured to the group. “Now, show us the plan.”

  “This is the target,” Apell reached his hand forward and pointed towards the image of a warehouse. Then he continued to explain the overall plan of the job.