The crew spent the rest of the day preparing. Before they knew it, the day of their mission came. Apell led the crew to the outskirts of the settlement. Each member of the crew was dressed in their battle gear. Elio wore his armor and halberd. Franz wore his duster and weapons at his side. Felice wore her bodysuit and assortment of vials on her belt. Tal had a rifle strapped to his back and two pistols at his hip. Kelsa had an assortment of knives on her belt and wore black metal gauntlets. Even though Lutz could not go on the mission, he joined the crew as they walked. He wanted to spend as much time with them as he could before they left.

  The group arrived at an area of open sand. Franz was confused when Apell stopped. He had told them that they were on their way to the ship, but there was no ship in sight. It was just an open landscape.

  “Uh, where is the ship?” Franz asked.

  “We can’t just keep our ships out in the open,” Apell explained. “They could get damaged by weather or a rampaging monster.”

  Apell pulled a small tablet from his belt. The tablet probably would be a little bigger than Franz’s hand, but fit in Apell’s perfectly. He pressed against the tablet a few times before the ground started to violently shake. Sand flowed down like a waterfall as something began to rise from the ground. Franz and the rest of the crew backed away so they did not get splashed with sand. Even after the ground stopped shaking, the group could not see because of the cloud of sand that formed.

  Franz squinted his eyes to try to see past the sand. No matter how hard he tried, he could not until the cloud finally cleared. In front of the group was now a large square building made of tan-colored metal. The building had several large doors at the front. It seemed that the settlement had a garage hidden underground. One of the large doors slid upward into the ceiling.

  “Come on, let me show you the ship you’ll be using,” Apell said as he continued forward into the garage.

  The crew followed Apell. As they entered the garage, a blue fluorescent light turned on to reveal four ships within the garage. The ships were much smaller than the crew’s ship. Each ship was nearly identical and made of a glossy black metal. The ships were long and angular. Several fins lined the sides of the ships. Wheels came from the bottoms of the ships and propped them off the ground.

  “Here they are,” Apell said. “They aren’t much for living in, but they are fast and maneuverable with plenty of digital space.”

  Kelsa’s eyes lit up as she saw the ships. She immediately ran to one of the ships in excitement. She ran her hand down the side of the ship before she started to inspect every detail. She walked all around the ship and then crawled underneath it.

  “This baby is amazing!” Kelsa yelled from underneath the ship, her voice echoing throughout the garage. Then she threw herself from underneath the ship in a quick movement. “This is a classic. They used to use these for scouting and extraction missions. The digital space is definitely a nice upgrade, too. I’m sure it wasn’t cheap on something like this.”

  “You’re right. These things were built to have memory capacity like that. So, we had to shell out a good deal of creds for it, but it has been worth it. The few times we travel off of Great Trial, it’s for supplies,” Apell said. “It’s nice to know one of you knows your way around a ship.”

  “Of course, a pilot needs to know ships,” Kelsa grinned. Her voice was still filled with excitement. “I’m excited to see how this baby flies. Our ship is good for what we need, but it does not have the same speed or maneuverability as something like this.”

  “I’m glad you appreciate it,” Apell cracked a smile at Kelsa’s enthusiasm. “With a pilot like you and its capabilities, this job should go smoothly. I have already uploaded the exact coordinates into the ship. Just avoid Imperium patrols, and you should be good.”

  “Sounds easy enough. Hopefully, we won’t even need these,” Franz said as he patted the weapons at his belt.

  “I hope so. We don’t know the long-term ramifications if you get into a fight. So, try to avoid it,” Apell said as he turned his gaze towards Elio.

  “I know, I know. Only fight when necessary. I swear you guys act like I can’t control myself,” Elio moaned.

  “Sometimes, I don’t think you can,” Tal teased.

  “Says the guy who can’t control his sleeping patterns,” Elio jabbed back.

  “I can. I just choose to sleep,” Tal shrugged.

  “Quit it,” Felice demanded coldly. “We need to get ready to leave. We don’t have time for your squabbling.”

  “He started it,” Tal and Elio said in unison as they pointed towards each other.

  “I don’t care. It’s finished now,” Felice glared at the two. “Go and board the ship.”

  Despite the ship being much smaller than the crew’s, it still had plenty of room for the entire crew. A door on the side of the ship slid open, and the crew started to file into the ship. Franz watched as the crew entered the ship and did not immediately enter. Instead, he turned towards Lutz and gently stroked Lutz’s head.

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  “It should only take us a day at most,” Franz said to Lutz. “You won’t even know we are gone.”

  Lutz brushed his head against Franz’s head. A slight vibration came from Lutz’s body like a purr. Lutz continued to gently brush his body against Franz’s for a moment. As he did, Franz rubbed his hand down Lutz’s back and felt the smoothness of his scales.

  “I’ll miss you,” Lutz said before he pulled away.

  “I know, I’ll miss you too,” Franz nodded. “We haven’t been apart like this since you were hatched. But I promise, I’ll be back.”

  “I don’t know which one is a pinky,” Lutz said as he held out his paw. “But I heard a pinky promise is very special. Do you pinky promise?”

  Franz chuckled slightly and reached his pinky around one of Lutz’s claws. His finger barely curled around the claw, but the meaning was still the same. “Yes, I pinky promise. You be good while I’m away.”

  “I’ll try my best,” Lutz smiled mischievously.

  “I’ll make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble,” Apell said as he placed a hand on Lutz’s back. “Just focus on the job ahead.”

  “Thank you,” Franz said with a slight bow of his head.

  Franz turned towards the direction of the ship and walked inside. The interior of the ship had seats lining the hallway and two seats at the front of the ship with the controls. It was definitely a ship that was supposed to be used for short missions and not long-distance travel. Franz took a seat in one of the hallway seats next to Tal. Felice and Kelsa took their seats at the controls. Elio sat across from Franz and Tal. Elio’s glaive was resting underneath the seats on his side of the hallway.

  “Everyone, strap in,” Kelsa announced to the crew. “This ship doesn’t have the same level of stabilizers as ours. So, definitely expect a bumpy ride.”

  Everyone pressed a button on the arms of their seats. Straps came from the top of their seats and wrapped around their chests in an X-shape. After everyone was strapped in, Kelsa started to press buttons on the controls. The ship started to slowly move forward out of the garage. After exiting the garage, the ship increased in speed. It continued to increase in speed through the open desert until it started to take off the ground.

  Franz had not been in a ship like the one they were in since he was in the royal guard. So, he was shocked by the feeling of the flight that hit his body. He tightly gripped the arms of his chair as the force hit him. As the ship continued to fly, he hoped that he would not feel the same pressure the entire time.

  While Franz felt like he was gripping for his life, laughter echoed throughout the hallway. Kelsa was having the time of her life. Her excitement was a drastic contrast to her usual personality. She never seemed to mind piloting, but she never seemed to outright enjoy it like she did at this moment.

  “This is what flying is all about!” Kelsa yelled out as she pushed a lever.

  With the push of the lever, the ship accelerated even faster. Franz gripped his chair even tighter, and his knuckles turned bone white. He turned his head to watch the view out the front windows. The ship started to shake as it hit the atmosphere of the moon. It shook so violently that Franz thought for a moment the ship would break. Then, as he saw the darkness of space, the ship started to fly smoothly once more.

  The ship soon entered a steady speed. As it did, the interior of the ship started to feel smooth. Franz relaxed his grip on his chair and let out a sigh of relief. Now that he was no longer focused on the pressure, Franz looked at Tal and Elio. Tal was already asleep. Franz wondered how quickly he had fallen asleep. Elio, on the other hand, had a similar expression to Franz. He looked like he was relieved that the interior was smooth.

  “That was a lot,” Elio chuckled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden in a ship like this.”

  “Me too,” Franz sighed. “I forgot how different it was.”

  “You also probably did not go on as many missions as I,” Elio said. “I at least have some more experience with it. Even if I forgot how intense it can be.”

  “Are you two complaining about my piloting?” Kelsa yelled back to Franz and Elio.

  Franz looked forward and saw that Felice looked like she was still recovering from the acceleration. Felice held onto the deck and took in several deep breaths. Meanwhile, Kelsa looked completely fine. She had a wide grin on her face as she maneuvered the ship. She had to pay close attention to the direction the ship took to avoid Imperium patrols.

  “We aren’t complaining about your piloting. We just aren’t used to the feeling of acceleration,” Franz called back.

  “Good, you better not be complaining,” Kelsa said. “I am an excellent pilot.”

  “Yes, you are,” Franz appeased Kelsa.

  “And don’t you forget it,” Kelsa replied aggressively as she steered the ship.

  Franz looked over at Tal as he began to lightly snore. He then looked towards Elio as he pointed his thumb at Tal. “You know, he might have the right idea for once. Not much else we can do.”

  “For once, I think I agree,” Elio chuckled.

  With that, the pair closed their eyes. Franz let himself fall into a light nap. He was not even especially tired, but he felt like he did not have anything better to do. Luckily, the trip to Nubleas would not take long. Their ship was fast, and even if they used their regular ship, the trip would not be long. It felt like just as he fell asleep, he could feel the turbulence of entering Nubleas’s atmosphere.

  Franz opened his eyes and looked towards the windows. Kelsa flew the ship in twists and turns to avoid any detection. Eventually, they made it to the city of Vulk. Vulk was unlike any city that Franz had been before. It was completely devoted to manufacturing, and large factory buildings littered the city. The factory buildings were all made of stone, unlike the metal buildings he was used to. There was also not a single skyscraper in the whole city. That was what made the city very different from what Franz was used to. They did not directly enter the city. Instead, Kelsa steered the ship to just outside the city to a large warehouse. She landed the ship outside the warehouse and set the landing gear.

  “Alright, let’s get this done,” Kelsa said as the straps on her seat released themselves.