Biffle sat back slowly as the autopilot kicked in and took over the controls. Six hours until they reached Shofkal. He and Henwy could tolerate each other until then.

The two sat in awkward silence as they broke out into the void of space. The ship sputtered for a second, the gravity generators kicking in while the end crystal cores were activated, launching them forward.

"So," Henwy started, turning to glance at Biffle, who was picking at a scab on his wrist, "How'd you get that ship of yours. The Guardian, you called it?"

"Yeah," Biffle replied, folding his arms and looking up at the galaxy around them, "My parents lended it to me. Gave me a year to get a ship of my own. And put me charge of their dogs."

Henwy nodded slowly and turned back to the window.

"You?"

Henwy shifted his wings, "Took out a loan, bought the Margo, and have been paying it off ever since. After this, I'm going to buy myself an actual ship. One like this."

Henwy waved his hand gesturing around, "I have a friend who I'm going to start traveling with. He's about to graduate from the Star Force as a researcher."

"That's good for you."

Henwy observed Biffle for a moment. "What about you? What's your plans after this mission?"

Biffle shrugged, "Whatever it was before this mission."

The two fell into a silence for a long time. The stars were brighter out in space. Light pollution dulled their colors, but out here they sparkled in a vast array. Nearby planets became visible, way out in the inky black abyss. The hum of the Pyrrus comforted Biffle, reminding him of better times when seeing someone didn't make him tense.

"Hey, Biffle?"

"Yeah?"

There was a pause as Henwy shifted and curled his wings around himself. "What happened?"

Biffle felt his throat start to close as he choked out a quiet, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Henwy started, struggling for words, "What happened to us? Why did everything change? Why did we start arguing so much?"

Biffle curled in his antennae, "I think we got to know each other."

The two were quiet. Henwy wiped his face with his sleeve, "Were we just...never meant to be friends, then?"

Biffle wrapped his arms around himself and pulled his legs onto the chair. He couldn't find himself to respond. It felt like his throat had completely closed, preventing him from saying the words he wanted to say, so instead he just shrugged and turned away from Henwy, looking out at space as the ship continued it's humming.

The silence smothered both of them as they watched the front window. He was starting to think that his memory was wrong, that he was picturing everything as worse than it actually was. It wouldn't be the first time it has.

Biffle kicked his feet up in the dashboard and leaned back in his chair, stretching out his fragile wings.

Per usual, Nico and Sigils were fast asleep, while Biffle and Henwy were left to watch over the ship.

An orange light zigzagged over the controls and stopped beside Biffle, nipping at his feet. Small little shocks emitted from the fox hologram, making Biffle flinch away.

He shooed off the fox, "Stop it. Leave me alone."

Henwy snickered, "I think he wants you to get your feet off of the controls."

"Uh, they're not on the controls though," Biffle retorted with a smirk, "It's over the controls."

Henwy rolled his eyes. Biffle sighed and sat normally, turning to look out the windows while crossing his arms.

Nico suddenly appeared, flopping into his chair and rubbing his eyes while setting down a mug. Biffle tensed a little.

"Morning," Biffle and Henwy said, greeting their friend.

Nico waved tiredly, "Heya."

Nico shifted, grabbing the mug and taking a drink. He set the mug back down and said, "So. The-"

Biffle was torn from his thoughts as there was a loud alarm. Henwy also jumped, but was quicker to react as he leaned over the dash and opened the notification. It was an incoming call from an unknown contact.

Henwy and Biffle glanced at one another, confused.

Henwy accepted the call, "Hello?"

"Hey! Is this the Pyrrus?" A voice responded.

"Uh- yeah it is. How can I help?" Henwy asked.

"Well, my name is Gold, and I'll be meeting you at Shofkal for the mission. I have some insight and connections, and since this is a government base, I'll have to clear you to get you in."

Henwy and Biffle glanced at each other.

"Can I get some form of registration, please?"

"Did they not tell you about me?"

"Um..." Henwy tipped his head at Biffle.

"I'll go grab the briefcase. You get his registration." Biffle replied, pointing over his shoulder to the planning room, then standing up.

Biffle made his way across the ship to the room where the briefcase was kept. He clicked open the case and started ruffling through the papers and folders. Meanwhile, he set his phone on the table, dialing SSundee.

SSundee answered, "Hello?"

"Hey man, we just got a call from an unknown person, claiming that they're going to help us on our mission, is this true?" Biffle asked, taking the Shofkal folder and examining it.

"Oh, yes, that is correct," SSundee replied, "Gold, right?"

"Yeah," Biffle replied, "Henwy is getting his registration. I'm trying to find it in the briefcase."

"It should be its own separate folder," SSundee replied, "Images and IDs of your supporting spies."

"Oh- spies?" Biffle asked, tipping his head as he forked out a folder.

"Best in the Blue Hemisphere," SSundee replied proudly, "Gold has been over in Shofkal for about five years now, on and off. He's your best guide and alibi while you're there. He's been in a government position there, sapping out information. While you're on it, be sure to look through the other spies that will accompany
you."

Biffle buzzed his wings in response, then paused as he remembered that SSundee didn't understand Aisperian. He cleared his throat, "Alright. Sorry to bother you."

"No problem, you four have my full attention whenever needed. I could be in a meeting and I'm pretty much required to step out if you're trying to contact me," SSundee replied, "Speaking of which, I need to go back to my meeting. Stay in touch."

SSundee disconnected from the call and Biffle sighed through his nose and picked up the folder and closed the briefcase. He took his phone and left the room, walking back to the cockpit where Henwy was still talking to Gold.

Biffle dropped the folder on the dashboard and sat down, then flipped it open to where a dusty gold wild-catbrid was photographed, the name "Gold Actual" printed beneath it.

Henwy slid over a small piece of paper with a registration number and tapped it. Biffle took it and matched it to the number underneath Gold's file. Sure enough, they were the same. Biffle flashed a thumbs up to Henwy.

"We just ran your number through the system, and it matches," Henwy said to Gold, "What exactly are we meant to do when we get there?"

"Well," the feline started, "You're going to dock on the northern port, just outside of city limits. Shofkal is strict and won't let starships of any sort within the city, with very minimal exceptions. You're not one of them. I'll mainly be there to make sure no one pokes around where they shouldn't and to keep officials off of your back. The rest of the mission is up to you. If anyone asks why you're there, say you transported a load of Yowkain materials that morning and are resting. If they press deeper then they're not qualified to know. If they question your story, then have them pull up records. When you get here I'm going to edit the system."

"Sounds fair," Henwy replied, shooting a glance at Biffle, "We should be there in about six or so hours."

"Great!" Gold replied, "I'll see you soon."

They disconnected from the call, and Henwy turned to Biffle. He raised an eyebrow, "So, not sure how much I'm believing this guy."

Biffle shrugged, "I called SSundee and he said to trust him, and there's not a reason why he'd lead us into a trap. I don't think."

Henwy hummed, considering the situation. "We should probably talk to Sigils and Nico when they wake up."

"I mean, I think it's fine, and if not then we can hold our own," Biffle replied, raising an eyebrow.

Henwy looked hesitant.

"Look, if it were a trap, then we can go into it thinking so, and they won't catch us off guard, right?" Biffle replied, waving his arms.

Henwy eyed him, "That's slightly poor logic."

"Henwy, SSundee confirmed it, and we have the registration in the case file. I think we're fine."

Henwy eyed Biffle for a while, then shook his head and turned away, "We'll see what Nico and Sigils think."

Biffle also turned away, leaning back in his chair and looking out at the stars.

Just six hours.