As Zion fell into a deep sleep, the entire ship fell silent, save for the soft hum of the thrusters and the occasional beeps of the oxygen system.
Stars passed by the small window every second as the ship drifted through empty space, with only Uriel awake to watch over it.
As Uriel watched over the ship, countless strings of data flickered through his perception every second, keeping track of their destination, the ship itself, and even Zion's vitals.
Two entire days passed in silence as Zion finally got the chance to rest peacefully, without any worry about running out of time or dying on a death planet.
Finally, a small vibration ran through the ship, stirring him awake.
"Ugh…" he muttered, rubbing his eyes slowly.
He sat up slowly, stretching his arms as he let out another yawn. As he opened his eyes completely, he glanced around at the dim blue lights and the empty space outside the ship.
"Ah," he said, staring at the stars. "Right…"
[Good morning, host,] Uriel said. [It appears rest has done you some good.]
Zion let out a groan as he cracked his neck. "It feels like I slept for a week," he said, reaching for a ration bar from the supply crate beside him.
"How long was I out for?" he asked between bites.
[Fifty-one hours,] Uriel replied. [Your body required extensive recovery after prolonged stress and nutrient deficiency.]
"Two days, huh." He leaned back, staring through the window at the drifting stars. "Guess that explains why my neck feels like it's made of stone."
He chewed in silence for a while, letting the calm hum of the engines fill the air. For the first time in forever, he didn't feel the constant threat of death.
"So… what's our status?" he finally asked.
[We'll be reaching the nearest mercenary planet, Daresk, in twelve days and 22 hours,] Uriel said calmly. [The ship remains stable. And there's no sign of any outside abnormalities.]
Zion nodded slowly as the words settled in his mind. "Practically thirteen more days, huh…"
As for the abnormalities… he shuddered slightly as he thought about them.
Space storms were by far the worst, large waves of energy easily capable of tearing through high-grade battleships, let alone a ship that barely qualified as one.
And if the storms didn't get to him, it would be the people.
The Sovereignty wasn't his only worry. No, there was another kind of people that would be just as bad.
'Space pirates,' Zion thought, frowning slightly.
Outside the regulated zones controlled by major empires like the Sovereignty lived countless lawless crews that raided trade routes, enslaved survivors, and plundered unprotected worlds for profit.
Zion leaned back, putting his head against the metal wall. He'd gone on many missions with his former best friend to wipe out scum like them.
Back then, the pirates stood absolutely no chance as their bases and ships were blown up one after another.
But now…
He sighed quietly and looked out the window again. 'In the eyes of others, I'm practically no different than them.'
[Host,] Uriel said suddenly, breaking the silence. [There is another concern we need to address.]
"Concern?" Zion asked, perking up right away. "What concern?"
[It's regarding your future status as a highly wanted criminal,] Uriel said slowly. [Once they realize host's disappearance from the death planet, it will be investigated deeply.]
"Investigated…" he repeated, eyes widening slightly. "That makes sense."
The Echelon Sovereignty would be more than interested to find out how he got off the death planet; a thorough search of the planet was practically guaranteed.
[If the Echelon Sovereignty discovers the Seraphael, it's only a matter of time before they seize all valuable materials left behind,] Uriel continued, much to Zion's growing unease. [Not to mention the possibility that they trace you and uncover what the Seraph-X suit truly is through the leftover data.]
Zion's expression darkened at the thought of it. Just losing the valuable materials to them was already bad enough, but letting them trace him? That was no better than a death sentence.
"What can we do to avoid this?" he asked, his voice low.
Uriel didn't respond right away as it seemed to be cycling through countless alternate outcomes, yet none brought the results he was looking for.
[Host cannot be exposed under any circumstance,] Uriel said, its voice sounding strained. [Optimal response: complete destruction of the Seraphael lifeboat.]
Zion stared at the console for a minute, countless thoughts rampaging through his head. Right now he had nothing, no ship to take the resources nor a place to store them.
Yet, these were resources on board a Universal-class lifeboat. He didn't doubt that many of them would be incredibly valuable and difficult to obtain.
"No," he said flatly as he pushed himself up from the floor. "We should at least wait, as I'm still undetected right now."
[Delay is not optimal,] Uriel replied after a pause. [Probability of detection will significantly climb over time.]
"I'm sure it will," Zion said, clenching his fist. "But it would take far too long to collect the resources on board that ship myself."
Uriel didn't respond right away, leaving only the humming of the thrusters to fill the silence.
[Understood,] it finally said.
"If you detect anything unusual," he said quietly, running a hand through his hair, "we can deal with it then. Change the plan, blow it up, whatever it takes. But for now, we leave it."
[Understood,] Uriel replied. [Future adjustments will be made as required.]
"Good," Zion murmured, lowering himself back into the seat. "One problem at a time."