The Fractured Empire: A Tale of Downfall

Chapter 18

(Five hours later...)

"Why are we doing this again?" Boreas prompted me.

I huffed out a chuckle and offered him the same response I gave to Jackson and Alex, "We're effectively on guard duty, Boreas. Our job is to patrol the Lichten system and report to the Baroness when we spot anything larger than a Federation Dreadknight."

"Ah...Jack's on one of the cruisers, right?"

"Indeed he is. As far as I know, Emily's with him as well."

"Of course she is."

I sighed. "She's there to pass his orders down the chain of command. Vlahos' captains may not be happy with it, but Jack somehow managed to gain control of an Ae'siirian crusier. That, in of itself, is an impressive feat."

"Tell me about it. I don't know why, but the Ae'siiri seemed extremely hesitant to show off any of their wares. the guy who brought me the drone was acting like he was giving away his first-born child."

"We have no idea how this race feels toward their technology. For all we know, they value the advancements they've made over other races."

"Eh, true. I'm just happy I got my hands on one of these babies! I was able to connect it to my holo-computer, and it couldn't be performing any better!"

In that moment, I saw a small white and golden vessel fly across my field of vision. It then doubled back and did an aileron roll.

"I can't believe how many people still think the maneuver I just executed is a barrel roll," my friend grumbled, "To that, I say 'go commit toaster bath.'"

"No one thought that was a barrel roll, Boreas," Alannah assured him, "Unlike the rest of the galaxy, Cylus and I understand our fight maneuvers."

"Good," he stated, "I'd hope so."

After that, we resumed our patrol through the system. Since I didn't want to be flying around with my entire crew on board, I planned to only have Alannah and Boreas on board with me. However, Alex was adamant when he said he wanted to come with me. Since arguing with the kid would prove to be a pointless venture, I decided to let him tag along.

Raphael also went with Jack and Emily to lend a hand in the event he was needed. Moreover, I didn't want him to be on my ship when the fireworks started to fly. Well, it'd be more like a single firework...that would probably cause an ungodly amount of damage.

At any rate, I resumed flying around the Lichten system. Thankfully, I only came across other drones who were sent out to help patrol. Before we left, I made sure to ask the Baroness just how many planets were in this system. Other than Ivoralis and Zeunia, there were four other planets that orbited the yellow star that made up the center of this solar system.

My thoughts were interrupted by Alannah yawning, and I turned to regard her.

"You okay, love?"

She huffed. "I'm bored...Where the hell are the hostiles we were promised? Silva made it sound like he had a big-ass fleet full of ships just aching to be destroyed! You hyped me up when you talked about the God Breakers you have on board your ship, so I want to see glorious destruction, damn it!"

"Don't worry, mijn sintel. I'm sure our enemies will show themselves soon enough," I assured her, "For now, let's focus on patrolling the system."

Alannah crossed her arms under her chest and pouted. "Okay..."

Our patrol continued for about another  three hours before I finally spotted something near one of the other planets in this system. I believe it was named Nihivis.