Throughout the night, Aisling was kept awake by troubling thoughts that ceased to stop. Ideas and scenarios raced through her mind. Yet, when she tried to elaborate on a single thought, her exhaustion prevented her from grasping more than a small wisp of it.

      Combing her hand through her hair, Aisling closed her eyes as her chest heaved a heavy sigh. She mumbled to herself, "Why am I so tired? I've been getting rest..."

      After a bit of thinking, Aisling came to the conclusion that her recent night terrors had prevented her from properly resting. Sitting up, Aisling felt a sudden pain in her back similar to that of a shock one experiences when coming into contact with static electricity except with greater intensity.

      Feeling her back with her real hand, Aisling ran her fingers over the cold metal going down her spine. She thought to herself, 'I can't have taken any sort of damage. I would have felt it sooner...' As she felt the hardware which connected from her neck to her mechanical arm, she came across an area which shocked her when her skin came into contact with it.

      Quickly, Aisling drew her hand away before slipping off her tank top. Using a mirror in the room, Aisling searched the hardware implanted into her back.

      The metal wrapped partially around the side of her neck which branched off to her mechanical arm. On the back of her neck, there was a piece of hardware resembling a snake's head on top of the metal connecting to her arm. This shape connected to an augmentation which ran down her spine. This hardware took the form of a segmented, snake-like piece of metal. Plates covered the wiring on the inside which was covered in a durable material which gave off a faint, purple glow.

      As she observed the spinal augmentation, Aisling noticed some of the material was cracked towards the bottom.

      A numbness began to overtake Aisling's legs and back as the hardware sparked. With a slight sense of panic, Aisling stumbled over towards her satchel which rested at the foot of the bed.

       Digging through the bag, Aisling found a small object that seemed to be no more than a simple pen.

      Returning to the mirror, Aisling held the object near the crack. Clicking the pen, the end emitted a sort of dark yellow laser which, when coming into contact with the crack, began to seal them.

      Aisling maneuvered the device with a steady hand and a precision gained by years of work similar to that of this. Or rather, the years of experience as an elite sniper.

      Once the repairs were finalized, Aisling felt feeling and strength return to her numb lower half. Her chest heaved a long sigh as she stood, muttering incoherently in what could be interpreted as, "I'm gonna shoot myself one day."

      Suddenly, the boat lurched. The unexpected movement caused Aisling to lose her balance, resulting in her falling and letting out a loud groan. The groan wasn't so much from pain as it was from annoyance at the sudden inconvenience.

      A voice came from the intercoms, which Aisling only now noticed, "Sorry for the sudden jerking. Someone, forgot to steady the boat so it wouldn't be rocked by the waves."

      Aisling recognized the voice to be that of Samuel. The sound of Aedan yelling at his brother for calling him out over the intercoms could be heard briefly before they cut out.

      Eventually, Aisling gave up trying to catch up on any form of rest. Leaving her room, Aisling traveled to the main deck. She could see Vlad and Molly on the boardwalk as she overlooked the coast. Vlad was currently teaching Molly how to fish with a spear.

      Molly watched curiously as Vlad threw the spear into the water, pulling it back in with the rope which was tied to the end. A strange looking fish was struggling on the end, impaled by one of the many sharp blades attached to the end.

      Vlad explained, "This is a spear specially designed for catching fish with hard exteriors. The multiple blades are sharp and reinforced. At least one of them has to pierce the carapace, yeah?"

      Molly was highly intrigued as she asked, "Can I try now?"

      With a smile, Vlad handed the teenager the spear. She tried to throw it, only managing to catch some poor fisherman's lost boot.

      Vlad chuckled softly before taking her hand and saying, "You're holding it wrong." Positioning her arm and the spear for her, he explained, "This will help you aim better and throw with better accuracy."

      A fish swam by, Molly's keen eyes immediately falling onto the aquatic creature. Vlad explained, "The water refracts the light, making the fish appear differently. Take your spear and aim a little high up then you see the fish."

      Vlad watched closely as Molly adjusted her aim, throwing the spear into the water. Quickly, Vlad instructed, "Now, grab the rope and pull it in."

      Molly did as he said, struggling a bit with the large fish. Vlad took it and smiled, "Not bad for your first catch. Come on, we can go give this to Cordelia. She provides fish to the rest of the community who can't afford food or can't fish and hunt."

      Nearby, there was a small setup with fish laid out on the table and hanging behind on the wall. A young woman with long, snowy white hair tied into braids that connected into a bun and deep blue eyes stood behind the table. She wore a flowing, dark blue dress with white accents.

Vlad smiled as he walked up to the woman and greeted her, "Hey, Cordelia."

     Cordelia looked up from a tool she was cleaning as she welcomed Vlad, "Ah, Nox! I see you've brought another catch. It seems you've gotten a different kind of catch with you too, eh?"

      Vlad flushed before quickly saying, "De réir Dia! How come I can't ever bring a girl in without you assuming we're dating?"

      Molly was distracted by the plenty of fish coming in wide variety displayed around the shop. The smell of fish was extremely strong as well, causing a bit of discomfort for Molly as she was unused to the stench. On the other hand, Vlad and Cordelia seemed accustomed to it.

      Cordelia asked, "What's her name?"

      Vlad replied, "Her name is Molly. She and a friend are looking to head to America so they'll be coming on Misfortune's Keep."

      The teenager looked up at the sound of her name before questioning, "Misfortune's Keep? Is that the name of the ship?"

      Vlad nodded before Cordelia smiled and stuck her hand out, "Hellu, Molly. I'm Cordelia."

      Molly shook her hand and Cordelia commented, "Nice gloves. Leather?"

      Cordelia noticed Molly was a bit confused and figured she didn't know. Shaking her head, she said, "Never mind. How old are you?"

      Molly replied, "Seventeen."

      Cordelia gasped, "Really? I'm nineteen! Vlad is going to be eighteen soon as well so you two are the same age!"

      The older of the three gave Vlad a look Molly couldn't identify. Vlad rolled his eyes and said in an annoyed tone, "Aye, stoptar suas. I'm not looking for that sort of thing."

      Tossing the fish onto the table, Vlad said, "Molly caught it earlier. Figured some other family might need it."

      Cordelia inspected the fish and mumbled, "Hmmm. Good size... Great length... I don't see many of these anymore."

      Vlad nodded before saying, "I'm gonna head out. I was planning to show Molly around Bellheir."

      Cordelia raised an eyebrow and Vlad groaned, "Eejit, mar dhea."

      The two left the fishing shop, Vlad seeming annoyed and lost in thought as the two walked. The sun beat down hard on them as noon approached.

      Finally, Vlad spoke up, "Hey, you wanna grab some grub?"

      Molly's stomach, as if on cue, began to growl. Molly nodded, "Mhm."

      Vlad led the two to a place called, "The Hangout." Molly thought to herself sarcastically, 'Creative name.'

Outside of the generic name, the building was at least mildly interesting. The first floor seemed to be a restaurant with a bar. But, the second floor was an outdoors area that had a roof covering part of it.

      Fairy lights were strung around that would provide scenic lighting at night. A bar was placed beside a small stage with a microphone. Music filled the air as a couple stood on stage. The male played an acoustic guitar while the woman sang with a sweet, melodic voice.

      Vlad led Molly to a table before explaining, "This is a local hotspot. At night, this place gets a little crowded. But at noon, not many people come here."

      A waiter that looked to be no older than thirteen walked over and asked, "How can I help you?"

     Molly noticed the boy had dirt on his face with messy, unkempt brown hair. Vlad ordered the two food and as the boy walked away, Molly asked, "Do you know that kid?"

      Vlad nodded before explaining, "His dad went missing while out fishing one day. Cordelia helps him and his mom out by providing them and other families with fish some other locals bring in."

      Satisfied with her answer, Molly waited patiently until the young boy came back with food for the two. Vlad handed him the money for the food before slipping him a couple of extra Etherium. The boy smiled gratefully before mouthing to him, "Thank you."

       Quickly, the boy scurried away as if he were afraid Vlad would change his mind. Molly asked, "Are there other boys like him?"

      Vlad answered, "Yeah. A majority of the people in Toraigh are poor. With no stable government, each city functions independently."

      Molly commented, "Aisling told me that the Resistance serves as a sort of Martial Law."

      Vlad frowned, "Somewhat. I recognize you're friend, Aisling."

      Molly asked, "You do? How?"

      Vlad explained, "Everyone in Toraigh is familiar with the current leader, Commander Lin. But not many really know the Second In Command. At least not after the last one died."

      With a keen interest, Molly listened closely to Vlad as he continued, "The last one was Arden. She died but the Resistance won't say how. Now, your friend is in that position. But before that, she was part of something else."

      Molly pressed, "What was it?"

      Collecting his thoughts, Vlad said, "It was some experiment called Doomsgate. I only know because a few of our crew members were former Resistance until the war ended. Doomsgate was a super soldier program. Supposedly, it's what turned the war against Specter around."

      Curiosity growing within her, Molly asked, "So you know about Specter?"

      Vlad repeated, "As I said, some people on Misfortune's Keep are former Resistance. All of them knew Aisling in some way. One of them was actually in her sniper squad."

      Their food had long been finished but Molly was curious to know more about her newfound colleague and the Resistance. Vlad seemed to struggle to remember details as he said, "She used to be known by another name... Saver? No. I-It was something like that... Um... Sabre! That was her codename. She was really well known because she was Arden's apprentice I think."

      Molly repeated quietly, "Sabre..."

      "Yeah. She was a sniper prodigy. According to my friend, Doomsgate gave her some ability with adrenaline. I can't remember what."

      Eventually, Vlad looked to the sky before saying, "We've been here for a while. We should get back to the ship."

      The teenager girl was slightly disappointed as her curiosity continued to stir. The two got up and left to Misfortune's Keep.

      Meanwhile, the crew was preparing to set sail once the sun was swallowed by the sea on the horizon. Aisling watched from atop a wooden beam where the large sail was.

      Seeing Molly and Vlad approaching the ship, Aisling grabbed a rope and slid down. Landing on the deck, Aisling leaned against the beam she was originally on top of.

      Molly skipped over towards the elder female with a smile, "Hey, Ash! Guess what?"

      Raising an eyebrow, Aisling awaited for the bubbly teenager to continue. Molly finished, "I caught this giant fish earlier! Then Vlad took it to this girl named Cordelia who gives the fish to poor families!"

      Aisling said simply, "Sounds cool." She didn't really think so as she had met plenty of people similar to that. Toraigh had a high poverty rate, mainly due to the fact their main currency lost its value years ago. The island was still struggling to adopt a new governmental system and uniform currency.

      Vlad walked off to help with the anchor. Molly went to help as well, leaving Aisling alone again.

      Looking to the sea, Aisling watched the fiery ball of light become submerged by the black waves which crashed down on the coast and ship alike. Sighing deeply, she said quietly to herself, "Just a little longer..." Staring at her mechanical hand, she continued, "A little longer and that bitch will be six feet under..."