Time slipped by slowly as they drifted through the endless darkness.
For Zion, the silent drift was torture. He couldn't train in the cramped space, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Occasionally he'd speak with Uriel… but there wasn't much to talk about really.
'Neither of us want to share our past,' he thought, shaking his head slightly. 'Not that I can blame him for it though.'
Even though he was curious, the consequences of learning the ancient history were pretty clear to him.
Zion stared blankly in front of him, wishing time could go faster.
After a few more hours passed, he couldn't take it anymore and stood up.
''Uriel, how far away are we now?'' he asked as he began pacing through the ship.
[Only nine more days, host,] Uriel answered immediately.
''Nine more…'' Zion muttered, running his hand through his hair.
He stopped pacing and sank back to the ground, letting the silence surround him again. And with every minute that passed, it forced him to think.
'Looking back at it now,' he thought, expression hardening. 'It's pathetic how long I believed in the Sovereignty.'
Over the years, there'd been countless situations that were strange… yet he hadn't hesitated to push the doubts away.
'All those speeches about unity and justice… they were nothing more than lies,' he thought bitterly. 'Why couldn't I have just seen that earlier? How could I not have seen the obvious corruption?'
Zion's mind went silent as he clenched his fists.
'If I had… maybe my parents would still be alive now… I wouldn't have been a simple scapegoat.'
For a long moment, the only sound came from the humming of the thrusters. Then, Uriel broke the silence.
[Host, I am detecting faint metallic signatures around two hundred thousand miles ahead.]
Zion stood up immediately, his expression growing pale.
''Pirates?'' he asked, walking to the small window.
[Could be,] Uriel responded calmly. [The energy readings are faint. This should be the aftermath of a very recent conflict.]
Zion nodded slowly, squinting his eyes until he could finally see the countless metal parts floating through space.
''Can we go around?''
[Affirmative.]
''Good,'' Zion responded, his fingers tapping restlessly against his thigh as he watched the fragments get closer.
[Adjusting trajectory,] Uriel added. [We'll pass above the debris field by approximately two hundred miles. Minimal risk of collision.]
Zion nodded slightly, eyes fixed on the drifting metal. "Let's keep it that way."
All he could think of were the dangers of battleship remains like these.
'Scavengers, pirates, mercenaries… depending on whose battleship it was, even the nearest empires could show up,' he thought. 'We need to get out of here as soon as possible.'
Minutes passed but the end of the metal scraps hadn't come in sight yet, worrying him even more.
''It seems to have been at least a Fighter-class ship,'' he muttered.
[Affirmative,] Uriel said, its tone serious. [The debris field will end in approximately three hundred miles.]
Zion let out a slow breath, frowning as he stared out of the window.
'Three hundred miles…' he thought. 'If we're lucky, the conflict just happened and scavenger groups have barely started traveling here.'
Finally, after a few more minutes, their ship had flown high enough for the debris field to be completely out of sight.
Zion let out a sigh of relief, plopping back down next to his crate of food. Though the most danger seemed to be over, the scale of the destruction remained in his mind.
'Most Fighter-class ships are between eighty and two hundred meters long,' he thought. 'And it seemed like this one was on the longer side, probably belonging to a decently wealthy group.'
He reached for one of the ration bars from the crate, staring at it for a moment before unwrapping it. The taste was still awful, but at least it gave him something to do.
"Uriel," he said, leaning back against the wall, "can you tell if there's anyone else nearby? Any movement around the field?"
[Negative,] Uriel answered. [Our detection range is extremely limited.]
Zion exhaled slowly. "Right… I forgot how bare-bones this thing is."
[Apologies, host.]
''Nothing to apologize for, Uriel,'' he said, shaking his head slowly. ''I'm already glad we managed to get off the death planet.''
For a while neither of them spoke. Zion's gaze drifted back to the window, staring at the stars outside as he thought about the future.
'I'll need to earn money for a better ship at the mercenary planet,' he thought, nodding slowly. 'I'll probably need to become a mercenary for a while too.'
It seemed like the most plausible path for earning money while also being able to create a completely new identity for himself.
[We've left the debris field behind us, host,] Uriel said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
''Ah, great,'' Zion replied, smiling slightly. ''Uriel, what do you think about temporarily becoming a mercenary?''
[It's a good idea, host,] Uriel said. [Combat experience is needed to further merge with the suit and grow stronger.]
Zion nodded slowly. Before his smile could even widen, Uriel's voice suddenly echoed through his mind.
[Host!] he said, its tone serious and mechanical. [Three large energy signals are rapidly approaching us!]
''What?'' He froze for a moment. Then, his head shot towards the window. ''Approaching us? From where?''
[Right in front of us.]
That's when he saw them. Three large ships completely overshadowing his small ship. Each one was massive and slowly drifting closer until he couldn't see the stars behind them anymore.
His throat went dry as their lights flickered on, washing over his ship.
''Uriel…'' he muttered under his breath. ''Are they mercenaries? Or…''
[Unclear,] Uriel said hesitantly. [Their approach speed and formation suggest they aren't hostile… for now.]
Zion's gaze followed the ships as they tightened formation, surrounding him completely. He could feel his heartbeat quickening as he stared at the ships in silence.
''All we can do now,'' he muttered, ''is wait.''