Cassian had so many questions that he didn't even know where to start. He had been with this ship for a long time, yet he had never seen anything like this.
As far as he knew, the ship used old technology, and didn't even have an artificial guidance system. It was from an era that predated most of the modern advancements.
In fact, he had been trying to save money so that one day he could afford a complete refitting, and have a Guidance System installed.
"I want to have a long conversation with you, but now isn't the time."
He didn't even have the time to be happy. Even if his ship had a guidance system that he didn't know about, there was no point in it.
With most of the ship being damaged, there was only limited help that a guidance system could provide.
"Esme, I'm going outside. After I leave, place the ship on lockdown. If I don't return within two hours, or if there are other intruders that manage to get near the control room, initiate self destruction. Can you do it?"
If it was a normal situation, Cassian would have been dancing with joy. But that wasn't the case. He was already planning something absurd. And he had only given himself two hours to achieve it and return.
There was no response from the ship's system.
Only when Cassian left the armory, a mechanical voice came, "Acknowledged."
Cassian's weight increased once more as he walked towards the hole in the ship's hull.
He placed his gauntlet on the wall next to the massive hole and whispered, "Activate Dynamic Magnetic Field."
With a thud, his palm slammed onto the metallic wall of the ship. With the support of the magnetic field to prevent him from floating off into space, he went out of the ship.
The force tried to pull him out, even making him feel as if his arms were going to be ripped apart. He used his other hand to grab onto the outer hull
His gauntlets kept sticking to the outer walls, and slowly Cassian climbed up the ship. He only stopped after he reached the top of the ship to get a better view.
In this place, there was no oxygen. His mask allowed him to breathe, but even it only had a few hours' worth of oxygen left. That was another reason he had given himself only two hours.
The scenery from outside the starship was magnificent. Even though there was no sun in the starfield, space wasn't entirely dark either.
In the distance, he could see hundreds of stars twinkle, appearing no different than tiny dots.
Cassian's lonely figure was standing above the giant ship, which was thousands of times larger than him, creating a picturesque scenery. However, Cassian wasn't in the mood to enjoy it.
His gaze looked all around, trying to see the glimpse of the ship that had attacked him. Only after finding that ship, could he put his second plan into motion.
There was only one problem though. He couldn't find the attacking ship anywhere.
"Enhance vision."
He activated another feature of his mask, and the surroundings became crystal clear. But even then, he couldn't see the ship.
"Did it really leave?"
There were ships that could use stealth, to become invisible. Even if a person was standing right next to those ships, they couldn't see them. Even radars had a hard time finding them.
He found it hard to believe that someone would send a stealth ship after him. Ships like those were not only expensive, but also rare as they could only be created in the Empire.
Even in the Star Union, only the higher ups used those ships as their personal fleet. Even if he wanted to feel important, he didn't believe that the old man could afford to send a stealth ship after him, given its importance.
"Hah, so they really left."
Cassian sat down. No, it was closer to falling on his butt with exhaustion. The one that had attacked him, had already left after completing their mission.
They had damaged his ship to the point that all doors were closed for him.
Cassian laid on his back, resting his head on his arms. He glanced at the distant stars above, wondering what he could do next.
He didn't even have his revenge. He had thought that he could use his importance to attack the other ship. He might even be able to use that ship's parts to repair his own ship, and get some crew members hostage.
"Did they guess my thoughts?" He slowly closed his eyes, and wondered if everything was over.
"Captain, why are you waiting above the ship?" A voice came through Cassian's earpiece.
"Nothing. I'm just laughing at myself." Cassian smiled.
Only a brief moment had passed when he suddenly opened his eyes. "Wait?! How do you know what I'm doing? Is LROM back online."
Even if the ship had a guidance system, it couldn't see what was happening outside since the Long Range Optical Matrix of the ship was broken. Unless it was somehow repaired, it should've been impossible.
"Long Range Optical Matrix has been repaired."
"How did you...? Esme, what exactly are you?"
He slowly sat up. He had ignored Esme's existence, thinking that it was an ordinary guidance system. But the more he thought about it, the more Esme stood out.
He forced his body up and started climbing down, using the same magnetic field in his gauntlets.
"Wait, where did the hole go?"
He was sure he had come out of a giant hole in the ship's hull. It was supposed to be right there, but he couldn't see any opening.
With no other choice, he moved toward the direction of the hole that was supposed to be near the Secondary Bridge, but the same situation was there.
He even wondered if he was hallucinating now. Was this all just a dream? If it was, Esme's existence would make perfect sense since he had always dreamt of something like this.
Unfortunately, it was too real to be a dream.
In the end, he moved toward the main entrance of the ship. The metallic gate was closed, but as the captain, he could easily open it.
The gate slowly slid down, and Cassian rushed inside. The door closed once more, and the chamber was once again pressurized to the normal extent.
Even the gravity had returned to normal, along with the oxygen status. But Cassian didn't stand up right away.
His eyes were wide open. He looked at a humanoid figure that was carrying a heavy box.
The humanoid figure had no skin. It was made purely of metallic parts. It was an android.