Upon reaching the door, Zion reached for the handle. As he pushed down, a faint metallic rattle echoed through the room.
'Locked,' he thought, nodding slowly. 'To be expected.'
In his eyes, it would've been strange and unsettling if it wasn't.
'Who'd trust a random person to walk through their battleship after all,' he thought, letting out a soft sigh.
He leaned against a wall, only listening to the faint noise of the engines and enduring the occasional shudder in the floor as minutes flew by.
His eyes fell on the flickering lights on the wall, it being the only light source in his room, painting everything in a soft yellow glow.
'Being locked up like this… it brings back some pretty unpleasant memories,' he thought, shaking his head slightly.
He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing slowly. Then suddenly, a faint metallic noise echoed through the walls from the corridor outside.
'Footsteps?' Zion thought, his head snapping up.
[C-rank energy detected outside,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head. [It's Ravel.]
Zion pushed himself off the wall, his body tensing up automatically. Even if he'd made a deal with Ravel, it wasn't weird for a scavenger to go back on their words.
The footsteps stopped right outside his door.
For a brief second, Zion couldn't hear any movement. Then came the sound of metal gears slowly shifting, before finally, a loud click echoed through the room.
Zion narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing for anything as the door slid open.
Ravel stood in the doorway, his arms crossed with a faint grin on his face.
''You're awake,'' he said, stepping inside without hesitation. ''Got to say, I didn't expect someone to sleep so comfortably on a foreign ship.''
Zion kept his expression calm, though his eyes followed Ravel closely. ''We've made a deal, haven't we?''
Ravel chuckled, shaking his head lightly. ''That's true… but we are scavengers. And you should know what that means.''
Zion's eyes narrowed as he took a small step back. ''Are you planning to go back on your word?''
''Go back on my word?'' Ravel echoed, feigning surprise. ''No, of course not. I still need that schematic to make all of this worth it.''
Zion said nothing. He just watched Ravel for a moment, unsure of his intent in coming here.
The man's grin didn't fade, though he didn't step closer anymore either.
''You must be starving for some good food,'' he said, his muffled voice slightly lighter. ''Can't imagine something different with the shit paste you had in that crate.''
Zion raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden shift in topic. ''Uh… yeah, something that isn't a food bar would be nice,'' he said.
''Good, then come on,'' Ravel said, stepping back and motioning toward the hallway. ''The mess hall's still open.''
Zion hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly and following after him. 'Might as well,' he thought. 'Gives me the chance to get more information too.'
The door slid shut behind them with a hiss, locking automatically as they stepped into the hallway.
''Don't mind the smell,'' Ravel said as they walked. ''Some old oxygen filters burned up last week.''
''You run maintenance yourselves?'' Zion asked, glancing at Ravel beside him.
Ravel didn't seem surprised by his question and kept walking through the corridor with a small grin on his face.
''When we have to,'' he replied. ''But no, usually we have a bunch of talented folks back at the scrapyard that fix them right up.''
Zion gave a short nod but said nothing. His eyes moved across the walls, taking everything in with much greater detail than before.
'This ship's been through a lot,' he thought, eyeing all the different metal platings and makeshift repairs. 'There's like twenty different kinds of metals fused in here.'
Ravel noticed Zion's eyes tracing the walls and smiled slightly.
''Something wrong?'' he asked, slowing his pace slightly.
''No,'' Zion said. ''Just… noticed how much patchwork this ship's had.''
Ravel chuckled, shaking his head. ''It's been through a lot of battles, but that's the life of a scavenger. Can't always be picky when it comes to this type of stuff.''
Zion nodded slowly, many thoughts running through his mind while still following Ravel.
It didn't take long before a large set of doors opened into a far larger area, easily big enough to accommodate thirty people, let alone the fourteen crew he'd noted on the ship.
As they walked through the doors, Zion noticed seven other crewmembers sitting down, biting into strange meat dishes that he hadn't seen before.
One by one, the conversations faded. Plates stopped clattering, cutlery froze midair as every gaze locked on Ravel and the stranger they had seen a few days ago at his side.
''They don't seem thrilled to see me,'' Zion muttered.
''Don't worry, all of them are excited,'' Ravel said without looking back. ''You've brought them a great treasure after all.''
''That's comforting, at least,'' Zion said, raising an eyebrow while keeping his guard up.
Ravel brought him further in but stopped near the entrance, greeting a few crewmembers with a nod. Zion continued walking, joining the short line at the familiar food dispenser, feeling several eyes follow him.
When it was his turn, the machine groaned and dropped a tray with a lump of strange meat and a few slices of bread.
'Finally, some normal food,' Zion thought, eyes lighting up. 'Can't even remember the last time I've had some actual solid food.'
Zion carried his tray towards an empty seat, feeling several eyes still glued to his back.
The room was still quiet, almost too quiet. A few crew members whispered among themselves, but most simply watched him.
As Zion looked around, he caught all the exact details which he hadn't been able to before, letting him figure out several more subhuman races among them.
Some had scaly patches on their necks, others had unnatural slits in their eyes. A few moved with a stiffness that didn't seem natural, their limbs jerking differently from normal human movements.
When he passed one table, a man's face mask clicked shut on its own, hiding a brief glimpse of something insect-like underneath.