As Zion followed the scavenger through the corridor, he couldn't shake the weird feeling he got from Ravel.
'He's intelligent and shrewd,' he thought, eyes narrowing slightly. 'But I guess you need that much to survive as a scavenger.'
The more Zion thought about the possibility that Ravel would do something to him before reaching Daresk, the less he believed he'd actually do so.
After all, why would Ravel risk something going wrong when he's guaranteed to earn a massive profit from the trade?
'Of course that'll change if I can't give him the schematic,' Zion thought, nodding slowly as he turned another corner.
[Host is right,] Uriel said calmly. [Even if the scavengers don't kill you right away on Daresk, they could simply wait for host to leave the planet.]
Zion nodded as he frowned. 'Generally, scavengers are really vengeful people. Offend them once, and they'll go to great lengths to kill you.'
[Host should avoid that outcome,] Uriel's voice sounded in his head again. [It's not worth risking your life for a simple schematic.]
Before Zion could respond, the scavenger stopped walking, having already arrived in front of the same room he'd been in before.
With a loud metallic click, the scavenger unlocked the door and held it open for Zion.
''Thanks,'' Zion said, giving a simple nod to the scavenger as he walked inside.
Without a word, the scavenger closed the door behind him, leaving him completely alone in the small and empty room.
''Feels more like a prison,'' Zion muttered, sitting down on the simple bed. ''Still beats sleeping on the floor though.''
As he lay down on the simple bed, he took out the crystal chip Ravel had given him and held it above him.
''Uriel, could you scan this and see if it's all truly clean?'' he asked, staring at the chip.
[Affirmative.]
Without another word, Zion felt energy moving under his skin, slowly flowing towards the tips of his fingers.
[Scanning now…] Uriel's voice echoed through his head again.
Zion raised an eyebrow as a pale blue light ran through the chip, before it started vibrating faintly between his fingers.
'Amazing,' Zion thought, smiling faintly. 'All the trouble I used to go through to scan something like this… and now it's done between my fingertips.'
After a few seconds, the blue light faded away and the chip stopped vibrating.
[Analysis complete,] Uriel said. [No tracking units detected. Credit balance: thirty thousand.]
''So they kept their word,'' he muttered, exhaling softly.
He turned the crystal chip between his fingers before slipping it into his pocket.
''I want to rest for a little bit, Uriel,'' Zion finally said. ''Watch over me please.''
[Naturally.]
Without another word, he lay down on the simple bed and closed his eyes.
Hours passed in complete silence as Zion slept. Outside, the scavenger fleet drifted through space in a tight formation, heading straight towards their destination.
Finally, Zion's fingers twitched slightly.
''Ugh,'' he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
[Good morning, host,] Uriel greeted. [You have been asleep for nearly ten hours.]
''Ten, huh,'' Zion said, sitting up. ''Explains why I feel so refreshed.''
After rubbing his eyes, he glanced around the nearly empty room, slowly remembering where exactly he was.
'Right,' he thought, stretching his back. ''Uriel, are we still heading straight for Daresk?''
[Affirmative,] Uriel responded quickly. [Would you like current positional data?]
''Yeah, might as well,'' Zion said, letting out a groan as he slowly lowered his arms to his side again.
[We are currently on the outer rim of the Echelon Sovereignty's territory,] Uriel continued, its voice low and steady. [Nearly at the neutral corridor with the Helian Empire, in which Daresk lies.]
Zion raised an eyebrow. ''Neutral corridor between Helian and Echelon? They really dumped me this far out?''
When he got sentenced, he was still in the middle of the Echelon Sovereignty. To find himself this far out truly surprised him.
'And near the Helian border too,' he thought, frowning slightly. 'Not exactly where I want to be though.'
The Helian Empire was a known ally of the Sovereignty, though the balance between them was far from equal. The Empire relied heavily on Sovereign trade and support to maintain itself; even its borders were occasionally held by Sovereignty troops and fleets.
''How did you figure all of that out though?'' Zion asked, still frowning. ''Didn't you say you only had basic information of our surroundings?''
[Originally that was the case,] Uriel responded cheerfully. [But during your rest, I accessed the ship's navigational feed and connected to the local galactic network.]
Zion raised an eyebrow. ''You did?''
[Affirmative,] Uriel said. [Through it, I've gathered data on the general history and current political standings throughout the universe.]
Zion stared at the ceiling above him for a moment, many thoughts and ideas running through his mind.
Finally, he turned his head slightly. "So… does that mean you have access to classified files too? From the Sovereignty for example?"
[Negative,] Uriel replied quickly. [Attempting to access restricted archives would risk detection by stronger AIs.]
''Meaning they could track us, huh,'' Zion muttered, scratching his left cheek.
[Not could. They will track us,] Uriel corrected. [It's far safer to remain in public channels until host grows stronger.]
Zion fell silent and leaned back against the wall. As the room went still, his mind drifted to the countless memories he'd made at the Sovereignty.
His hands clenched slightly as he stared up at the ceiling, the pure silence and darkness in the room suffocating.
[Host?] Uriel asked carefully.
''I'm fine,'' he said, pushing himself off the bed. ''Did any of the scavengers bring food here?''
[Scavengers have checked on you, but since you were asleep, they left again.]
Zion let out a sigh, cracking his back before continuing towards the door. ''Well then, let's see if I can find some way to walk around or eat.''