The IMG prepared for boarding their mothership once their meal ended. They left the station and accelerated forward as Sanduo gave signals to the B.O brothers to open the airlock.
Drio looked back at Zen-star. Seeing a solar system form was one of the many things he wanted to witness while he was just a child. He hoped his other dreams would come true eventually. He smiled and thrust further towards the Interstellar Traveller, which was a home to him now.
He still spoke with his family by Holo-Talk.
Only one thing was missing.
Touch.
He could only speak and see them, but couldn't touch or hug his parents. He missed their love. This was one of the major dilemmas of space travel.
The crew met at the control room and performed all the necessary steps to get the ship to run by the newly filled fuel. The reactors broke the fuel and turned it into antimatter and matter by a fancy process that somehow took less energy to break the stuff than what was released. Then the front and back of the ship warped the space time fabric around it.
[Graphical representation of a ship stretching space by using warp drive on a 2D plane]
By doing this, the warp drive allowed the ship to cheat the speed limit of the universe and move faster than light, without actually going faster than it.
As the ship shot into the void, the surroundings stretched and curled around them, though the objects around them still kept their shape.
B.O.8 reported back, "The fuel is working fine. It's of the better quality I've seen so far. We will arrive soon now, according to calculations, it'd take just a little more than a day. To be precise, one point seven nine six-"
"Okay, okay got it. Good. It would be more than one and a half day. Ready your weapons while we get there. The encounter might not be peaceful."
"Got it sir! We will be at it right away," Lily saluted and went to the storage halls. Droop helped her get the boxes down. "Whoo! Heavy stuff," she said as she got an ion blaster out. Droop got the missile launchers and fit them on his shoulders and abdomen. B.O.5 applied plating on his body and B.O.8 did the same.
"Hey! Get this to Jayden. He'll like it," Lily threw a blunt piece of metal at B.O.8.
"What is this? It doesn't seem to be any war equipment." He rotated it by his springy arms as he inspected the queer object. Black and blue lines streched across the rod.
"It is a weapon. Best for those who are good at stealth. But too complex to handle for somebody like me. It has different settings by which it could take form of different weapons- guns, spears, or even swords! Many more actually. Best to see him handling it." She got back to unloading.
"Alright, I would be right back!" B.O.8 left as he skated out through the halls.
__________
"I like her already! No doubt why Sierra loves her so much!" Jayden spoke out loudly in delight as he rotated the rod in his hands. Damn! I always wanted to handle one of these!! The metal felt cold in his hands as he gripped it tightly. He did some action poses and made some fake attacks to which Markus laughed weirdly at.
"What kind of a laugh is that?" Jayden asked curling his eyebrows and smiling uncomfortably at his friend.
"Man! I envisioned you fighting the Gods doing that. You'll suck big time," he laughed in the same way at the ending.
"Oh hell, I would leave you alone. I need somebody who could respect my skills."
"Yeah sure , Ha-ha!" Markus squeezed his belly and fell back on his bed.
Jayden exited his room, and went upto a door nearby. "Siri you there?" Jayden knocked on the door. She would definitely like it!!
"Yeah come in Jay. I'm bored. I could use some company." She got up and waved at the camera at the side of the door. The camera blinked and the automatic doors slid to a halt at the sides.
Before Jayden could enter she stopped him, "Whoa- whoa- whoa, what's that? Scrap? Not allowed indoors."
"Hah! That's certainly more than what you are describing it to be."
"Better be that way," Sierra smiled and got up. "So what does it do?" She pointed her index finger at it and raised her eyebrows. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other in impatience, like a pendulum moving to and fro.
"That's what I came here to show you!" He smiled half of his face out as he spun it, threw it upwards then catched it with his other hand. "Watch this!"
He stuck it on his forehead, holding it there for a few seconds and then removed it, "Ok it has got my bio signature and now would obey my thinking." He closed his eyes and concentrated.
Sierra gasped when suddenly the front and the back of the rod retracted and then reinforced into blades. "Ha-ha! Howzzat!"
She nodded fearfully, "Cool."
He again closed his eyes and spun it around his hands, this time it took the form of a a seed like coating that covered his hand from fist to the other end. "Now zap!" Shocks came out of the front end.
"Eeeee, careful!" She backed out.
"I am, obviously. That was just a spark. It could give shocks and make an ionised shield!"
"That's cool stuff!" This time her face brightened, now that she got to know he wasn't going to play with it. The safer the better. I don't want him to ruin my room again like last time. Clearly, it was evident that Jayden loved to practise with weapons and broke things a lot trying to do that. So, though Jayden was unaware, Sierra and Markus were on the same side. One displayed laughter and mocking, the other, fear and excitement- but only on getting assurance that nothing would happen. She sighed and sat back down as Jayden continued to do tricks with it and show his dexterity.
Lily knocked on Sierra's door after a while, "Hey Sierra, I need to know which one of these you would prefer."
Sierra stopped Jayden and waved her hand. The doors slid open in a similar fashion.
They stayed like that for most of the rest of the time they were awake- fiddling with weapons and preparing for the inevitable. Sharlotte practised with props of power orbs that were magnetic containers holding nanograms of antimatter. Sanduo watched over his cadets and gave orders and showed ways to improve. He felt proud that the team he had gathered was capable of handling tough situations like the one at present. Toughest would be the better word for this one. He noted himself as he continued to watch over.
Lunch got over shortly. They went back to training and Sanduo commanded from above, as the practice commenced, "A little higher Lily! They-", an alarm boomed throughout the ship suddenly. It was Zestor's voice. Sanduo stopped midway of his command and so did the others at the unexpected noise.
"A massive energy burst has been detected right at the coordinates we are going to. Awaiting further orders."
"It's them," Sharlotte said slowly as she nodded at Sanduo. "They have sensed us."
He calmed himself down by looking straight up with eyes closed and then looked down as he exhaled. "Alright then," he pressed the switch on his chest that activated his mic, "no diverting from the track. Update me with reports on the energy status at that part of space, momentarily. Our target has arrived"
"Followed sir!"
A cold sweat settled on the sides of their heads as they slowly got a hold of the weight of the situation. This is not going to be easy. We better be prepared for it or the admiral's gonna kick our asses. It's our first mission! We need to carry it out with dignity.
All of them exhaled their tensions away the best they could and resumed practice.