As the words settled in, relieved expressions appeared on the insectoids' and subhumans' faces.
"Thank you," the green insectoid said, lowering its head. "We won't forget this."
Zion waved them off weakly, feeling the exhaustion set in hard now.
"Get so rest," he said. "All of you. We'll talk tomorrow."
The green insectoid nodded once more before turning back to the others.
Quiet whispers spread through the group as they began to move, so helping the injured, others sitting down wherever they could find space. The tension that had filled the hangar slowly eased, replaced by a strange calm.
Zion didn't stay to watch.
He wandered further into the ship, following the footprints Koru had left behind.
As he turned the corner, he found the stone giant standing in front of a closed door with a puzzled expression.
"Koru," he called out.
"Huh," Koru let out, turning around. "Zion?"
"Follow , I'll bring you to the control room," Zion continued, smiling faintly. "We can rest there."
Koru's eyes lit up, nodding once before following after him.
After passing through a few corners and corridors, both of them arrived at the massive doors leading into the control room.
"Woah, big," Koru said, eyes wide as he stepped inside.
Before either could react, two very comfortable-looking chairs lifted up out of the ground. They adjusted automatically, going completely flat as they clicked into the surface.
Zion blinked. "Huh."
Koru stared at them for a mont, then slowly turned his head toward Zion. "I can get used to this."
"Sa," Zion muttered.
[Host, a cable is underneath the chair,] Uriel said calmly. [Please plug it in while resting, as host energy levels are at two percent.]
Zion nodded once, slowly making his way over to the smaller chair and practically letting himself fall onto it. The surface adjusted instantly, supporting his back and neck perfectly.
'Wow,' he thought, closing his eyes for a mont. 'That hits the spot.'
He quickly pulled up the cable and jabbed it into his arm as he felt the exhaustion start to take over.
Koru watched him for a mont, then walked over to the larger chair. He didn't hesitate and lay down, letting out a groan as it adjusted to him.
The control room went quiet after that, both of them falling asleep within minutes.
Outside, the ship slowly drifted up, leaving the planet's atmosphere without the slightest vibration.
The ship continued deeper into space, leaving planet Heliax behind in its entirety.
Uriel remained active the entire ti. With its host unconscious, it shifted its attention to the inside of the ship.
It slowly made detailed maps of each room of the ship and quietly recalibrated things like the temperature and oxygen levels.
[This ship has drones?] Uriel said quietly, a hint of surprise in its voice. [That'll be nice for internal managent.]
Several dozen compartnts opened up all over the ship, small maintenance drones soaring out of them.
They flew through the hangar, lowering themselves near those with wounds to provide dical necessities.
After that, they flew through the ship and started repairing all areas damaged by the opponents' guns. Even the plate Koru had ripped from the ground was quickly fused back into place.
Just like that, hours flew by.
Finally, Zion stirred in the control room, his eyes slowly fluttering open.
"Ugh," he let out, rubbing his eyes.
After a mont of silence, he spoke again.
"How long was I out for?" he muttered.
[Six hours and twenty-three minutes,] Uriel replied calmly. [Host recovery at forty-seven percent.]
Zion cracked one eye open, then imdiately closed it again.
"Too early," he mumbled.
Beside him, Koru let out a low rumble, woken up by Zion's voice.
"What?" he muttered, pushing himself up.
Zion scratched his head, also sitting up. "Sorry for waking you up," he said.
Koru waved it off with his remaining arm. "I was already half-awake."
Zion let out a slow breath and leaned back in the chair for a mont, staring up at the ceiling. His body still felt heavy, but the exhaustion from before had eased sowhat.
At the very least, he could think straight again.
'We survived again,' he thought, staring at the ceiling of the control room. 'But there's so much to do now.'
As he looked around the large control room, a small smile appeared on his face.
"I really own a Titan-class ship now, huh," he mumbled, heart pounding. "Getting one so soon was far outside my expectations."
But he still had multiple problems to deal with.
The entire ship needed to be cleaned up, with each private room swept for any precious belongings from the forr crew.
'I hope there's enough stuff to sell,' he thought. 'Calder's ship did kind of blow up after all.'
To repay Calder, he'd need to spend a few million credits at least.
Finally, he needed to take a look at the insectoids and the subhumans, and even so ordinary workers from the previous crew were still on board.
'I should sort all of that out first,' he thought, letting out a quiet breath as he pushed himself off the chair.
Zion stretched his arms above his head, joints popping softly as he stood up fully. The slight dizziness that followed faded quickly, leaving behind a dull sense of fatigue.
"One step at a ti," he muttered.
He glanced toward the large window at the front of the control room, watching the stars slide past.
"Alright," he said. "First off, where are we headed right now, Uriel?"
[Host, we're currently heading for planet Dubus, a fifteen-day flight,] Uriel replied calmly.
"And why?"
[Staying near planet Heliax was risky, and heading for the other nearby planets all carried their own risks.]
Zion nodded slowly. He still didn't know what research group was after Koru, and staying nearby while reinforcents could arrive was dangerous.
'It must be a pretty wealthy group too,' he thought, clenching his fist. 'Considering the ship, crew, and even all the creatures they were after.'
He rembered the insectoids' stories. Their ho planet was ravaged, which ant it was likely a large organization as well.
Zion shook his head lightly, pushing those thoughts aside. He had too much to do to start investigating all of that now.
"Uriel," he continued. "Give a quick overview. How many people are on board?"
[Current onboard population: eighty-seven,] Uriel replied. [Including insectoids, subhumans, and remaining forr crew mbers.]
Zion winced slightly. "That many…"
[Food reserves are sufficient for approximately thirty days without rationing,] the AI added. [Longer with controlled distribution.]
He let out a slow breath, nodding. "That gives us so room at least."
Zion stepped away from the chair and walked toward one of the control panels, resting his hand against the smooth surface.
A faint holographic display flickered to life, showing different sections of the ship in a live feed.
"First priority," he said. "Let's get them sorted into rooms and account for each of their future plans."
If he was lucky, a decent number of people would get off the ship at the next planet—but he mostly cared about getting rid of mbers from the forr crew who still bore grudges.
He glanced at the hologram one final ti, then turned around.
"Let's get started," he mumbled, leaving the control room.
Zion wandered through the corridors slowly, finally taking the ti to properly look around.
Everything was completely different from the lance-class ship he'd been using before. The walls and floors were smoother, cables completely hidden inside them. Even the lights were far brighter and clearer.
As he arrived in the large hangar, his eyes widened for a mont.
The bloody floor was nowhere to be seen. Even the dismbered limbs and bodies had vanished.
"Huh?" he muttered.
[The insectoids and subhumans worked hard during the ti you were resting,] Uriel's voice ca through. [They cleaned up the sses, covered their fellows' corpses with cloth, and laid them inside the empty cages. They even helped my drones with the repair work.]
Zion's eyes widened slightly.
Even now, he spotted several insectoids carrying tools and scrap tal.
'Hadn't expected that,' he thought, nodding slowly. 'I thought they'd sit around and recover like and Koru.'
Zion let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Good."
He turned away, mind already moving ahead.
"If they're willing to work like this," he said quietly, "then maybe this isn't so bad."
As he took a few steps forward, a few noticed him and imdiately put down their tools.
They straightened their posture, eyes following him cautiously. None spoke, but the air shifted slightly, tension seeping back in.
Zion raised a hand. "You don't need to stop," he said. "I'm not here to check on you."
There was a brief pause.
Then, slowly, they picked their tools back up and continued working.
Zion watched for a mont longer before turning away, a faint sense of relief settling in his chest.
'Let's go check out the rooms now,' he thought. 'I want to get them ready today, and I'm curious to see what kind of items are stored there.'
A crew this strong surely had so good items stored, right?
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