Miren sat with her brows furrowed as she cleaned her guns, her hands flowing around her weapons as she reloaded them in a few fluid motions. "I could have saved him," Miren mumbled to herself while popping a bullet into a newly cleaned rifle stored in The Flisea. "Who does he think he is? To have me dragged away."

Castyr's gaze softened as he turned toward the human and sweetly said, "It's not your fault."

"Hm?" Miren looked up from her weapon. The star's assurance caught her off-guard. Castyr had been silent since Devyn's capture, so when he first spoke, Miren was shocked that it was to assure her she had done nothing wrong. 

Noticing the human's shock, Castyr added, "Devyn doesn't blame you. Do you think he'd want you to blame yourself?"

Castyr's words struck Miren like a freight train. The human narrowed her eyes as she turned her gaze to the floor. No...he wouldn't. The star was right. That was the last thing that Devyn would want.

After a few moments of internal silence, Miren returned to cleaning her weapons. Castyr's assurance had aided her in leaping over her self-guilt. Miren had come to the conclusion that once she had safely delivered Kilo and Castyr to Earth, she would chase down the dendrum and rescue the captured Devyn. She would not stop until she found him.

"How long until our next stop?" Kilo inquired as the next hour rolled around, breaking the silence.

"Two days if we're lucky," Miren quickly answered before adding, "Sometimes migrating meteor fields can be a nuisance and cause us to take a detour. It's rare that a meteor field shifts hundreds of light spans, but it does happen. So, we will need to be on the lookout for those. Other than that, it should be smooth sailing."

Though Miren stated the journey would take two days or less, an uneasy feeling began growing within Kilo's gut. Hoping it was nothing to worry about, Kilo pushed the uneasiness to the back of his mind and, instead, focused on the small sounds floating from the back of the ship that instantly drew his attention. Turning to investigate, Kilo caught Castyr fumbling around the containers in the ship's compartments. 

The star gave a quiet huff as he reached into a big compartment in the side of the ship and dragged out a long blanket. Kilo could not stop the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips as he watched the small store drag the blanket back to his chair. 

Feeling the angel's eyes on him as he passed Kilo's chair, Castyr quickly explained his actions. "I thought it'd be better to find a blanket than take your coat again." The star gave Kilo a bright smile as he settled into his chair and wrapped the blanket around himself. Castyr was still used to his warm residence in the Heavens, so his instinct was to get as warm as possible.

Kilo watched amusingly as Castyr shifted in his chair restlessly; he was unsatisfied with all positions. The star finally huffed a breath of air before sliding out of his chair. Taking the blanket, Castyr then walked over to Kilo. The angel remained still as Castyr climbed into his lap and leaned against his chest. Finally finding a comfortable position, the star settled down as he slung the blanket over himself and his guardian angel.

As Castyr snuggled into Kilo, the angel found himself leaning his head down and brushing the tip of his nose against the top of Castyr's head. Kilo's entire body relaxed as he breathed in the star's warm, airy scent, and he moved his arms under the blanket to wrap them around Castyr, securing the star who sighed sweetly and quickly fell asleep.

While Castyr slept in Kilo's lap, a lump formed in the angel's throat as his sense of uneasiness grew. Kilo's brows furrowed as he pondered the source of his uneasiness. Were they followed? Had they been found by dendrum? Was it space pirates? Before he let his uneasiness grow any larger, Kilo turned toward the back of the ship to ensure no ships had followed them out of Borum's atmosphere.

Although he did not see any ships tailing them, Kilo's worry only grew as he looked down at the sleeping star in his arms. I have to protect him. 

The angel instinctively held the star tighter as he peered out the ship's windows. Nebulae passed by motionless in space. All was silent except for the quiet hum of The Flisea, and Kilo's uneasiness remained. What am I worried about? The angel closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of his chair. He could not pinpoint the source of his worry.

Releasing a breath, Kilo focused on relaxing when a rapid beeping sounded from the ship's control center. Miren immediately sat up straight and checked the radar. Castyr also awakened and looked toward the pilot as Miren informed the two, "Three unidentified crafts have been detected."

Lifting Castyr, Kilo stood to his feet and set the star back in his chair before making his way to the cock pit. "They're gaining," Miren updated as she watched the dots grow closer.

"Activate the shields," Kilo said as he observed the approaching ships on Flisea's radar.

"But they may just be passing ships on a tight schedule," Miren returned. Raising their shields with the ships approaching them could signal that they wished to engage in a fight when that was not the intention. But, Kilo could not afford to risk being fired upon with no shields should the opposite be true. So, he stuck true to his gut and confirmed, "Do it."

As Miren lifted the ship's shields, Kilo suggested, "Change course. Leave our route." Regardless of the incoming ships' intentions, it never hurt to actively avoid conflict, so Miren obliged with the angel's request and adjusted their course accordingly. 

Castyr was quick to buckle himself to Kilo's chair as Miren took a sharp, left turn. Kilo took the co-pilot's chair as Miren sped up and checked the radar.

"Damn it!" The human cursed under her breath. The lump resurfaced in Kilo's throat as he watched the three dots leave their original route and take a sharp, left turn. There was no doubt; they were chasing The Flisea. 

"Who are they?" Castyr inquired as he realized the situation.

"How did they know our route?" Kilo asked the human as Miren increased their speed.

"They're most likely pirates. But it doesn't make sense. This route has never been watched by pirates. It's never busy enough." Miren's brows furrowed as she also grew uneasy. The ships' sudden appearance was no coincidence.

"Will we make it to Laeroe before they reach us?" Kilo inquired as he observed the radar.

"We should," Miren answered with a nod. "Flisea is fast. I'll just have to direct power to her engines." The Flisea surged forward as Miren directed all power to the engines and thrusters. Slowly, but surely, the pursuing ships fell behind, fading from the radar.

Kilo released the breath he had been holding when the radar showed the all-clear. The angel looked back to check on Castyr to find the star sitting straight with his hands clasped together nervously. Feeling Kilo's eyes on him, Castyr smiled up at the angel. Kilo smiled back assuringly, easing the star's silent anxiety.

Miren ran her fingers through her red hair as she leaned back in her chair. "That was close."

The tension that had built up began to lax as the radar became clear, but another round of beeping instantly brought the tension back up. Miren narrowed her eyes as she studied the radar. The human and angel's hearts dropped when four unidentified ships appeared in front of The Flisea. 

"Sh*t!" Miren was quick to slow The Flisea and turn right to avoid the approaching ships. The four approaching and three tailing crafts respond to Miren's sudden turn and adjust their courses accordingly. The four new ships were much faster, and the sudden slow-down and turn caused them to gain on The Flisea.

"Where did pirates get such nice ships?!" Miren exclaimed in frustration as she focused on outrunning the now seven pursuing crafts.

"I don't think these are pirates," Kilo pointed out, causing Miren to look at him in shock. "Pirates don't usually use seven high-grade ships to chase down a lone craft that's not a cargo ship. How is The Flisea's defense system?"

"It's decent," Miren replied as Castyr joined her and Kilo at the front of the ship.

"Can we fight if we cut power to the thrusters and focus on shields and weapons?"

"It's worth a shot," Miren replied with a side-to-side head nod. "At this rate, we'll be overcome even with all the power going to the engines." Once the decision was made to stand their ground, Miren slowed the craft before addressing it," Hey, Flis, activate all defense and attack systems. Enter battle mode."

"Request affirmed." The Flisea's automated voice sounded throughout the ship as it acknowledged Miren's command. Coming nearly to a standstill, The Flisea quickly rerouted its power to the shields and weapons. Guns protruded from each side of the ship, and a light blue covered the ship's exterior as its shields were activated.

Kilo observed the radar intently as he watched the incoming ships draw closer and closer. It was not long before the seven unidentified ships quickly came into view and surrounded The Flisea. When the seven ships had The Flisea completely locked in, a ding sounded from the control center.

"They sent a message." Miren reached her hand over the screen to open the transmission. "It's in Haden (the language of Hades)." Miren gasped as she tapped the 'translate' button. A lump formed in Kilo's throat as Miren read the message. "Deliver to us the angel and his star or suffer the wrath of Vitrius."