At last… time for reflection. Time for the break we’d all been thirsting for. At last, rest.

  After that brutal, stressful double mission, thank God—no one died. Thank God for Marcus and his geeky genius. As I wander through the Revenge, it’s silent. No victory party. No cheering. We just want to sleep.

  The crew is out cold in their bunks, sweet peaceful faces snoring away. Not a single soul is roaming the corridors, and honestly, that feels damn satisfying.

  I head to the bridge. Quiet there too. Harvey—that rat bastard—is slumped in his station chair, feet propped on the console, snoring like a chainsaw. Jerry’s in the big captain’s chair, hand pressed to his forehead, leaning forward, also dead to the world. So who’s running the ship right now? The first mate, apparently. She gives me a small nod and a wave as I step in, then another lazy wave as I back out.

  I drift through the decks—top, mid, docking bay, med bay, engine room. Nothing. All quiet. The peace is almost unnerving… and it makes me crave a beer.

  I head straight for the mess hall. The sliding door hisses open—and there they are. Faye and Gina, sitting across from each other at one of the tables, frozen mid-conversation, staring at me like I just walked in on something private.

  I walk over to the chiller anyway. They keep watching. I grab a beer… then decide to make it three. I hold them up.

  “Beer?” I ask.

  “Yes,” they both say at once.

  So there we are—three of us, cracking open bottles, leaning against the table. One beer turns into two, three, four. We talk about random crap: the missions, near-misses, dumb jokes. Everything.

  Eventually, curiosity gets the better of me.

  “Before I walked in,” I say, “what were you two talking about?”

  Faye straightens up instantly. “Nothing. Just girl talk.”

  Gina nods. “Kinda secret.”

  They both giggle.

  “Oh come on,” I groan. “Secret? That’s ridiculous.”

  Faye smirks. “Okay, fine. We’ll tell you the secret… but you have to share one too. Fair trade.”

  I shrug, confident. “Sure. Deal.”

  “Okay, me first,” I said. “So… what were we talking about?”

  They burst out laughing again.

  Gina finally manages: “We were talking about you.”

  “Me?” I say, grinning. “What about me?”

  Faye leans in, teasing. “I asked Gina if you two were, you know… together.”

  Gina rolls her eyes but smiles. “I said no.”

  They both giggle again.

  Faye adds, “But… she likes you.” (more giggles)

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  “I told her not to worry—I’m not in her way. But if you ever decide to turn my direction instead… sorry, girl.”

  They laugh like they’ve been best friends forever. I just scratch the back of my head, a little embarrassed.

  “Okay,” I mutter.

  Gina’s eyes light up. “Now it’s our turn. No holds barred.”

  I nod. “Okay.”

  She doesn’t hesitate. “What’s Marcus’s secret? And the crystals—where did they really come from?”

  Faye jumps in. “That’s two questions.”

  “No, it’s one big thing,” Gina insists. “Marcus is tied to those crystals, right? Spill it. You promised.”

  I know it’s an unfair trade, but something inside me shifts. This feels like the moment. The weight’s been crushing me for too long.

  “Okay,” I say quietly. “I’ll talk.”

  “Ooooooh,” they both chorus, leaning closer.

  I take a long pull from my beer.

  “The crystals… they come from a woman who fell from the sky.”

  Faye snorts. “Are you shitting us?”

  “No. Truth. She was like… an angel, or something mystic. Magical. She produced the crystals by sunbathing. They formed in her rainbow-colored hair or something.”

  They stare at me, eyebrows climbing, full of doubt.

  Faye deadpans: “So the Christanium crystals… are basically angel dandruff?”

  They both lose it—laughing so hard it echoes down the hallway.

  I sigh. “If you don’t believe me, fine. I’ll stop.”

  They wipe their eyes, still grinning. “No, no—go on. What’s her name? Did you give her one?”

  “Yeah. Crystal.”

  They crack up again.

  “Okay, I’m out,” I say, starting to stand.

  Faye grabs my arm. “Wait, wait. We’re just messing with you. Please continue your fairy tale. It’s better than silence.”

  At this point, I almost walk away… but talking feels good. Like dumping a boulder off my chest. So I sit back down.

  “She’s the reason Marcus and I got so close. We kept her in his secret lab—secluded, up in the mountains north of the Imperial capital. We hid her there to protect her from the world… or maybe the world from her. Her power was unimaginable.”

  I pause.

  “Marcus treated her like…” I smirk a little, “…a daughter. Or maybe more like a wife. He loved her. Gave her everything she wanted.”

  Gina tilts her head. “Because of the crystals?”

  “No. Not just that. I could see it. Feel it. He loved her.”

  A short, heavy silence falls.

  Faye clears her throat. “So… where’s Marcus’s girlfriend now?”

  “She’s gone. I think her people came for her.”

  “Her people?” Gina asks.

  “Yeah. One day I showed up at the lab after a mission—just to chill. Marcus was at his desk, recording his logs. Then a flash of light. This woman appears. She looked like Crystal but younger, floating. Silvery robe, golden laces twining around her arms and legs, golden sandals. She looked like a Greek goddess—golden olive leaves crown floating above her head like a halo.”

  They’re both staring now, chins in hands.

  “A Greek goddess?” Faye says. “Okay… go on.”

  “Another flash—and six muscular men appear. Eight feet tall, same silks and gold, simpler halos, armed with golden spears. They grab Crystal. The woman fires some kind of energy ball—knocks her out cold. I pull my pistol, shoot. Bullets just… crumble against her force field.”

  “Force field?” Gina echoes.

  “Yeah. One giant scoops up Crystal. The others surround her. Flash—they’re gone. Crystal’s gone.”

  I swallow.

  “Marcus loses it. Pulls something from his pocket, lunges at the woman. She hits him with an energy blast—right in the legs. He flies across the room, can’t move. She turns toward him. I empty my clip—useless. She’s closing in. I charge her from behind, grab her. We’re floating, struggling. Marcus crawls toward us, desperate. He yells for me to bring her closer. I swing with her momentum, manage to get her near enough.

  He presses this pink gem—the same one we found with Crystal years ago—right to her forehead. She drops. Unconscious.”

  Faye whistles low. “So where’s this ‘angel’ who you managed to capture now?”

  “As far as I know, Marcus boxed her up and shipped her to a holding bay on the moon.”

  “The moon?” Faye repeats.

  “Yeah.”

  I stare at my empty bottle.

  “After that… Marcus changed. He became obsessed with figuring out who they were. We barely talked. Then we stopped talking altogether. I wanted to reconnect someday, but then Arthur’s tyranny started. Facility 64. All that horror. I watched Marcus turn… evil. Mad. I couldn’t stay. What’s the point of watching your best friend become like his uncles?”

  I exhale.

  “But before I left, Marcus made me promise. Swore me to secrecy about ‘these things.’ We shook hands—a pact. I walked away.”

  I look up at them.

  “There. It’s out." The burden I’ve carried for way too long… finally dumped into the sea.

  The mess hall is quiet again. Just the low hum of the ship.

  They don’t laugh this time.

  They just sit there, looking at me like they’re seeing me for the first time.