─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

SEASON 2 EPISODE 12

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Location:

System: Narion

Faction: Freestar Collective

Planet: Niira

Place: Mech Scrapyard

A/N: I told y'all that if we keep hitting 25-30 votes per chapter, I'll update more often, so here you go, an early Starfield update. Keep smashing that vote goal and you'll get more! We're nearing the end of s2, so I'm sure you're eager to see the ending :3

P.S. Thank you for just about 4.6k reads. At this rate, we'll reach 10k by mid to late season 3, and I can't believe that. This was just a passion project I thought would get 1k reads at most. Now, here we are with over 4k by season 2. It almost has as many reads as TCFB, and TCFB has been out for twice as long. It even has more votes than TCFB. You guys are awesome, thank you so much!

☆☆☆

Y/n

Being a Vanguard sucked sometimes.

Y/n stood at attention while undergoing a fierce staring contest with Commander Min. Jungkook wasn't there thanks to his demotion, and the other SysDef officers in the room didn't pay her any mind.

They were on the UC Vigilance, which was stationed by the Key in the Kryx system. Jimin had opted to stay home, and she couldn't blame him. Being back near the Key was the last thing he needed when he was dealing with enough on his own. It had been one month since he had met with the mystery man he hadn't told her the identity of, not that she had expected him too. In that month, he had done more paperwork than Y/n could count. It was the Cabinet's way of punishing him for being out of line on more than one occasion.

The truth was, they needed Jimin. Jimin was a hero, whether they liked it or not. He took on a Terrormorph by himself. And won. If that didn't warrant celebration, Y/n didn't know what did. However, that didn't mean they wouldn't punish him and assert minor displays of dominance over him. If only they knew about his superpowers. They'd run for the hills.

Or sell his organs on the black market.

"I'm going to accompany you," Commander Min said as chatter stomped around the bridge. Other SysDef officers were laughing up a storm. With the pirates gone, SysDef wasn't as large of a branch. Most officers chose to go into the Vanguard or UC Navy, leaving about a dozen officers left on the Vigilance's bridge. "You are to go to Narion and retrieve Kim Seokjin's research partner, Kaiser."

"With all due respect, why are you assigning me this mission and not Commander Tuala?"

"There are rumors there are pirates hiding in the mech graveyard, where Mr. Kim's partner is."

Well, that wasn't going to be fun. Commander Min was a fierce warrior to say the least; he had gone down in the UC's hall of fame when he had been held captive by the Crimson Fleet. Instead of giving up, Commander Min bit out the jugular of one of his captors, then freed himself. She didn't know if that was a rumor or true, but considering the scar under Commander Min's chin, she had a feeling it was real. Not only real, but a watered down version of what had happened.

Y/n saluted. "Very well, I am ready to depart on your command, sir."

Commander Min affirmed he was ready, and she guided him back to Jimin's ship. The ship he wasn't on. When she said he had opted to stay home, he was home, like at the Lodge. He was avoiding Narion like the plague, and she understood, though it wasn't going to be much better for her considering it was a mech graveyard.

In all honesty, both Jimin and Y/n should be sidelined for the mission. Commander Min and Jungkook should be going; it was a mission that needed to be handled by trusted higher-ups, but with Jungkook demoted, Y/n outranked him, leading to her being next in line.

AKA: She had been forced to go on the mission.

They entered, and Y/n allowed him to sit in the co-pilot's seat. Jungkook, who stood in the hallway, gawked and had a shade of red creeping up his ears and neck.

"Commander," Jungkook said, and Yoongi craned his head back at that. "I wanted to offer my deepest apologies for breaking the rules. It was not my intention to enter the vault, but I couldn't let Jimin stay there when he was having a medical emergency."

Commander Min shook him off. "Mr. Jeon, I don't blame you. I fought back and tried to get them to keep you onboard the Vigilance, but they didn't listen. Please, don't worry about your standing with me, you're still my friend and colleague in my eyes. You are more than welcome to accompany us on this quest if you'd like, just don't tell my superiors I'm letting you come."

Jungkook bowed. "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down."

"You never have."

Jungkook thanked him and scrambled to take a seat. Y/n did the same, plopping down in the cockpit and booting up the ship before disembarking. When she turned to give orders to her co-pilot, she expected to see Jimin there. He wasn't. In fact, he rarely was.

Ever since they had fought about the mech parts, they had been distant. Jimin had been giving her the space she had desired, but after a month, she missed him. They had kissed a few times, held hands, shared giggles when the others weren't looking, but not much else. They hadn't done the devil's tango or cuddled since it had happened. His warm arms were therapeutic, and she didn't have that. It was like her heart had been squeezed out of her.

Though she had to admit she was furious with him. She understood why he had done it, and maybe even approved of his reasoning, but that didn't change how it made her feel. He was the love of her life, yet he had been the one to sell illegal mech parts for extra credits. If it were any other type of contraband, even human organs, she would get over it faster.

She was dumb, but she wasn't stupid. Jimin had been a criminal his entire life. Getting over that and being squeaky clean was impossible, and she wasn't expecting him not to slip up and do crime. After all, back on Paradiso, he had pickpocketed someone. Or, attempted to, anyway. It was just the memories it brought that made it such a big deal.

Mech parts were scattered around the galaxy, and she was about to head straight to the core of it and see new mechs being produced at the scrapyard. There was a factory there. Not illegal, but Y/n thought it should have been. Mechs were banned as per the terms of the Colony War's peace treaty, yet scrapyards existed to tear apart the decommissioned machines and turn them into something new. Whether that was new mechs or other tech, she didn't know. Part of her didn't want to.

Either way, Y/n put her personal bias aside and jumped to Niira, in the Narion system, as instructed. Niira was a forest planet, but where they were going had no such life. Mech scrapyards tended to be dark and barren. Any grass, trees, and life would be purged from the vicinity. And as Y/n landed the ship near the yard, she realized she was right.

There were no clouds in the sky, but somehow no sun shone down on them. What replaced clouds was a pitch black horizon that caused shadows to form over the bumpy terrain. There were hills scattered about, littered with broken, sparking tech. There were crashed ships, too. Mechs protruded from the earth with their weapons cut off and skeletons inside the cockpits. The amount of parts missing were unnatural, even for battle. When she landed the ship near the only clean spot available on the terrain, she saw the factory nearby.

And its lights were on.

"1-of-a-Kind," Commander Min said. "It's one of the last standing mech factories, only allowed to stay in business since its mechs are small and used for farming. All the weapons are dismantled."

Y/n wished she could curse, but she opted to squeeze the yoke tighter instead. "So the Freestar are allowed to keep building mechs? The peace treaty said none." She knew the answer, but she hoped he'd give her a different one.

He didn't.

"Sometimes exceptions are needed. The Freestar are starving, Y/n. The mechs built here go all around Narion to farm and bring them supplies."

"At what cost? What if one day the Freestar decide to put weapons on those mechs? It'll be another Colony War."

Commander Min didn't answer that time, and she knew it was because she was right. Regardless of the reasoning, allowing even one mech to remain operational was against the treaty and a threat to humanity. Yet the Freestar did it under the guise of "farming." Bullcrap excuse. If anything, they were taking away more jobs and driving the economy further into the ground by relying on machines. Sure, mechs were primarily piloted by humans, but the ones being made were too small, meaning they had to be AI-driven. That meant there were no real farmers, just a bundle of bolts.

"Jungkook," she said, and the bunny-like man perked his head up. "How many shotguns are in the armory?"

"At least five, why?"

"Get them. All three of us are going in with one. I want Sam to stay outside the ship and guard it with his rifle, and if he sees anything moving toward him within a kilometer of him that isn't us, he shoots. We'll go into the factory and ask about Kaiser, and I want weapons on the ready at all times, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

Jungkook saluted and went off to gather the weapons. Right when Y/n unbuckled and stood, Yoongi reached out and took her elbow, pulling her back toward him.

"Y/n, look-"

"Save it," she interrupted in a snap, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. "You took me to a mech graveyard knowing damn well how I feel about them. This is my mission now, so if you have any complaints about how I run it, write me up and take it to Commander Tuala. I'm sure he'd love to discuss how smart of a decision it was to make me take this mission."

She stormed off and met up with Jungkook near the back. Sam was there, and Cora was locked down in her room. Though Y/n doubted there were any real threats on Niira, that didn't change how her hands shook with every movement she made. She loaded her shotgun, but ammo clattered to the floor after slipping between the beads of sweat on her fingers. Jungkook ended up loading it for her.

"Suits on," she said, and Jungkook stiffened at that.

"It's a breathable atmosphere-"

"Don't care. Suits on. Helmets too. If you disagree, you're welcome to stay onboard."

Jungkook and Sam exchanged a glance before Jungkook sauntered off to leave Sam and Y/n alone in the back. She pressed her forehead against the cool metal as Jimin had done whenever he got angry or stressed. For her, it didn't work. If anything, it made her temperature rise.

"Y/n," Sam said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She allowed it. "You've been through too much, I'm sorry. I wish I could take your pain. Please, let me do this for you. Stay on the ship with Cora."

Her lower lip quivered. She took a few seconds longer to reply than she intended. "No. I already let my boyfriend fight a Terrormorph on his own because I wasn't strong enough to help. I'm not doing that again, I'm not letting you step up so I can be weak. Stay outside with a suit and your rifle. If anyone comes close to the ship, shoot. I'll take the fall for anything you do."

"I'm not killing potentially innocent people, Y/n. And I don't think you want that either."

Tears spilled out of her eyes, and she pressed her fist against the metal wall before pushing up and wiping the moisture off her face.

"Fine. Comm me if anyone comes close, but if they show any signs of aggression..."

Sam squeezed her shoulder. "I'll deal with it. Trust me."

She did. Sam was one of her most-trusted members of Constellation. Despite him hating the UC, he always had her back and didn't judge her for where she was born. They had their disagreements about the galaxy and how good or bad the UC was, but they were family. He was her best friend. Jimin's too.

"Thank you," she whispered, and he nodded and helped her suit up.

Once she was all dressed, Jungkook came back with his suit and helmet covering his body. It took an extra minute for Yoongi to do the same, but as soon as they were together, they departed the ship. Her boots made contact with the gravel of the surface, and she knelt so her gloved hands could pick up every ounce of it.

Like the sky, the ground was black and ashy, almost like a volcano had gone off just minutes prior. Her suit's filters kept out the bad smells, but she imagined a rotten, smokey aroma sat in the air. Although her hands were covered, she could tell the dirt was more like sand than anything else.

It was silent other than the hiss of steam blowing out of the landing gear and her rapid breaths. The mech shop was up ahead and was built into the side of one of the many large hills that appeared more like mountains. It was made of sturdy metal that had brown stains on it from the dirt surrounding the place. Turrets were set up near all the doors with red laser sights mounted in between their two guns. Luckily, they were programmed to go after hostile alien life, not humans.

With Y/n leading the charge, they entered the 1-of-a-Kind shop and stepped into the middle of a mech being designed. Y/n stalled and stumbled back. Jungkook held her steady, and she rested her shoulder against his so she wouldn't go tumbling to the mucky floor.

It was a giant room with a ceiling high enough that she couldn't see it. The lights were so bright they scarred her vision, and she winced as she regained her balance. The enormous mech in the center of the room was not a small one meant for farming, no, it was a repurposed mech with high quality titanium plating matched with a comfy cockpit and weapons that could level skyscrapers. Y/n's body didn't even come up to the knee joint of the beast, that was how ginormous it was.

There were four employees working on welding the plates near the top of the mech, likely to finish it off. They were in boxes carried by cranes, though she turned her attention to the man in the center of it all wearing an open helmet that was meant to protect from all the sparks flying around. She didn't know what good it was doing if it was open, but what did she know? It wasn't like she was a starship engineer or anything.

A Freestar mech

"Y/n," Commander Min said in a tight, deep voice, but she was already stomping forward and grabbing the man by his shoulder pads.

She slammed his back against the leg of the mech and didn't care that she was shouting in his face. "What the fuck is going on here?! Why are you putting weapons on mechs?!"

"Woah, woah, cool it!" The man waved his hands back and forth as if they were white flags. The goatee on his face frowned with him. "We're removing them! Look, we're rebuilding the frame so when we take the weapons off, it won't completely fall apart! This mech is for a new major farming plant near Hopetown, that's the only reason we're making it so new and big, okay?"

Y/n peeked up and saw there were giant laser cutters mounted near the weapons, and the weapons themselves were covered in grime, almost as if they had been hauled in from outside instead of built from scratch like the rest of the mech. That caused her to release him and mutter an apology before retreating to Commander Min's side.

"We're looking for a robot named Kaiser. He's military-grade and used to do xeno research for the UC, if that helps."

Right away, the man scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "You want me to help the UC? After you just attacked me?"

"I could report you for negligence. Keeping the weapons on a mech could look really bad for you, especially one of this size. Your own faction would turn against you if they thought you were risking the peace treaty, which, in my eyes, it looks like you are. Hopetown is small. That's why it's called Hopetown. How hard would it be to convince the Freestar that you and Hopetown are making deadly mistakes?"

At Y/n's threat, the man shut up and avoided eye contact. Then, he sighed.

"Don't know anyone by that name, but we took a microcell from a robot matching that description not too long ago for our mech buddy here. Maybe the one you're talking about is on that old UC ship that crashed during the War. It's called the UC Syracuse. It looks more like a racing ship than anything else. Can't miss it, it's crashed in the middle of the scrapyard."

Y/n wanted to thank him for his help, but she couldn't be bothered. She didn't care if they were going to obliterate the weapons from that mech; the fact that they were making it at all brought trembles to every ounce of her skin down to her fingertips.

With her shotgun in her hands, she departed the factory, and Jungkook and Yoongi hurried to follow. If they disapproved of her methods, they didn't raise their voices to protest. Not like she would listen anyway.

Back in the mech scrapyard was a pile of ships, and any of which could be the Syracuse they were looking for. It was supposed to be in the middle of the site. If his description was correct, it looked more like a racing ship, and that meant there would be an emphasis on the engines, and it likely wouldn't have noticeable weapons. Maybe it'd be long and phallic, too. Y/n never understood why they were shaped that way, but as long as she didn't have to fly in one, she didn't care.

"Let me lead," Yoongi said, and Y/n agreed. "I think we're getting close to the pirates."

Jungkook perked up at that, and Y/n did the same. They stayed on their toes and followed Yoongi to the middle of the hills. It put a strain on her calves. The cardio training she had done for over a decade didn't stop the burn in her muscles, and seeing as Jungkook heaved, she wasn't the only one feeling it.

They passed by various ships of various qualities. Some were red and black, others were lime green, others were white. What they were looking for was a gray ship with a UC logo. Most of the wreckages were unmarked. Due to the unknown nature of their surroundings, Yoongi insisted on checking each unmarked vessel. Not a single one had pirates hiding in them.

It took two UTC, or Universal Standard Time, hours to locate a vehicle that matched the man's description. It was gray with white UC letters painted on it, and it was, as expected, phallic. It was long and curved near the head. All it was missing were two ball-shaped objects on the rear.

There was a side door that had been blown off, and it was crippled on the ground a few feet away. There was a skeleton hanging out of the opening. Yoongi kicked it aside and entered the ship first. Once he reached his hand out and beckoned them in, Jungkook and Y/n followed.

What awaited her was a dark, narrow corridor that had to be an engineering bay of some kind. With the lights off and sparking wires hanging out of the broken ceiling, it was hard to tell, but the amount of fuse boxes and control panels inside alerted her that it had to be one of the most vital parts of the vessel.

Her suits filters smelled stale, and she imagined the area surrounding her did too. With her gloved hand, she strapped her shotgun around her shoulder and touched the wall. The panels there felt bent. She pulled, and one of them snapped off to reveal the wires inside. None of them were online.

Shocker.

"Over here," Yoongi said, and Y/n and Jungkook approached.

Yoongi stood in front of a robot that was taller than him by about two heads. However, what it lacked in height it made up for in width. It had shoulders the size of three Jins, and weapons were attached to both of its arms. It was different from the VAS models in the sense that it had a circular head instead of a boxy one. Instead of being white, it was a dark crimson mixed with black accents. Still, it was human-shaped since it had two arms and legs. Only difference being that its legs and arms were bulkier than any human was.

Jungkook opened the robot's chest and sighed. "Yep, that guy was right: it's missing a microcell. Any clue where to get one?"

"Maybe the factory, but I don't think any of us want to go there," Y/n said with an eye roll. "Let's scavenge the other ships and see if they have any working ones."

Returning to the factory could work, but a microcell was military-grade. If the factory had any they could spare, it'd cost them more credits than the Legacy had. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but it was true. Microcells were expensive enough as is due to their power capacity and how sturdy they were. For military robots like Kaiser, who Y/n was sure was the robot in front of them, the microcells could keep them powered for fifty years, even after seeing countless battles.

"Gives me a chance to look for pirates. I'm up for it," Yoongi said, and Jungkook agreed.

The trio exited the ship, and Jungkook took the time to mark it on their maps just in case they got lost. Y/n relayed the information to Sam to keep him updated, and after they double-checked their ammo, they went off searching for a microcell.

It didn't go well.

Five ships later, they didn't find so much as a spark plug. There were no pirates, either. Yoongi stayed quiet. Jungkook gripped his shotgun tighter than normal. Y/n wished she could chuck every mech into a black hole. Overall, their mission had been a disaster. They could bring Kaiser back and have the UC deal with him, but it'd take gear to carry a robot back to the ship. Their options were to either:

1) Find a microcell

2) Go back to the factory and get their help to move Kaiser, which would cost credits

3) Call for backup and have the UC handle the hauling process

No matter what they chose, it'd take time and energy, so the best choice was still finding a microcell, that way Commander Min could do his little pirate hunt while they worked. Though it hadn't worked. Y/n questioned if they should keep going. After all, it wasn't like they had much to lose other than-

"Up here," Yoongi said, and Y/n snapped up at that. "Keep low and quiet, I see lights."

Y/n did too. In between the two hills closest to them was scaffolding that had been broken apart to create what looked to be a mini outpost. There were lights set up, and from the distance, she could see a few robots trotting around carrying boxes. There were tents shaded black and maroon. Although there were no skull logos in sight, she had a feeling they were who Yoongi was searching for.

"Robots will have microcells," Jungkook whispered. "I'll circle around and distract them, you guys move in. If it's the Fleet, are we opening fire or arresting?"

Yoongi huffed. "Kill those fuckers. They'd never hesitate, so we won't either."

Y/n was beginning to see why Universals disapproved of her.

Plenty of times in the past, she had opened fire with little to no hesitation, but earlier that same day, she had almost broke a man's neck all over a misunderstanding and told Sam to open fire on potentially innocent people. No, she had made too many mistakes. She wouldn't let it happen again.

"You're both crazy," she said, and the pair halted at that. "We don't know who they are. Do you remember what happened the last time one of us reacted to something brashly? Let me talk to them, and if they shoot, that's what the suit is for. Be ready to open fire if it's the Fleet. We try to arrest first, not shoot."

Yoongi didn't answer for a long moment. Then, he nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just... I can't let any pirates get away."

Jungkook tightened his grip on his shotgun once again. "Me too."

"I understand," Y/n said, getting between the two. "But we're keepers of the peace, not murderers. The second we open fire on potentially innocent people is the second the UC loses its way for good. We already have enough of a bad rep, do you want a worse one?"

Silence.

"Good. Move out, get behind cover and prepare for combat. I'll go speak to them."

That was what she did. She didn't bother waiting for confirmation if Yoongi and Jungkook were in position. Instead, she approached the camp and noticed how two VAS model robots patrolling the exterior didn't shoot her. That was a start. Not a good one, not a bad one, but a start. It was better than nothing.

"Hello, my name is Commander L/n of the UC Vanguard," she said to the closest robot, which looked almost identical to VASCO. "Can you tell me who lives here?"

The robot beeped and dropped the boxes it was carrying to sprint inside and sound off the alarms. There were only about five actual, breathing people around, but they had AA-99s and suits without helmets on. They were more vulnerable than Y/n and her crew, but that meant the trio had to have perfect aim and hit headshots every time. Or a bunch of body shots.

It was safe to say she didn't have the patience for that.

As soon as the first shot went off, Y/n ducked behind one of the many spotlights and returned fire with her shotgun. It had armor-piercing ammo, but she aimed for the head anyway. That resulted in brains splattering on the gravel and robots fleeing the scene. Luckily, Jungkook was on it and rushed after them. Yoongi kept himself perched not far away and used his Eon pistol to provide suppressing fire while Y/n performed the killing blows.

Without so much as an injury, the five pirates were disposed of, and Jungkook came back with a microcell. If any of the robots survived, Y/n didn't see them.

Yoongi looted the camp and found no plans of a larger pirate conspiracy, so he declared the mission a success. They had a microcell and had wiped out a few pirates. There were more out there hiding in the shadows, but SysDef was cracking down on them, and Yoongi would never back down until every last one was dead.

In silence, they strolled back to Kaiser and had Jungkook insert the microcell. Once he was done, there were a few clicking noises, then Kaiser activated and snapped his weapons up. The one on his left arm was a minigun while the right had a grenade launcher; however, the minigun had no rounds, and she doubted the launcher did either.

Kaiser

"Identify yourselves," he said in a robotic yet masculine tone. It was static-filled, and Y/n jotted down a mental note to have his voice box fixed.

"Commander Min Yoongi, UC SysDef. By my side is my assistant, Jeon Jungkook, and UC Vanguard Commander, Y/n L/n."

"We're here on Kim Seokjin's behalf," Jungkook said, and Kaiser lowered his weapons at that. "They need you at the Red Devils Headquarters. We'll transport you there on Commander L/n's ship, and as soon as you're there, Jin will need you to give him any data you have on the Londinion Terrormorphs."

Kaiser made another clicking noise. "Lon... dinion. I see."

His speech was delayed, though Y/n couldn't tell if that was the voice box or because he was having trouble processing the information. Robots were robots, sure, but they were artificial intelligence that could think for themselves. They didn't feel emotions, but they were smart enough to understand the complexities that came with them.

The robot nodded. "Very well. Lead me to the ship."

The human members of Jin's research team were already at the headquarters, so that left Kaiser. Every research team needed a robot, and Y/n wasn't surprised Jin's was a military-grade one. After all, when researching the deadliest creatures known to humankind, they'd need a minigun or two.

Or three.

"Jungkook, lead him back," Yoongi said, and Jungkook accepted the task. "Commander L/n and I will do one more round to make sure no pirates followed us."

That was an excuse, but Jungkook didn't seem to care seeing as he guided Kaiser out without so much as a squeak of protest. Not that Y/n was expecting him to stand up to the person he worshipped like a god, but still.

Y/n and Yoongi exited and stood outside. It was safe to say they didn't move to check if they had been followed. It was quiet for a long moment, and then, after Jungkook got out of earshot, Yoongi shifted his attention to her.

"The Fleet kills everything it touches. We did a good thing, taking them out. You know that, right?"

That was a silly question. Of course she knew that. Why wouldn't she? After all, she had been the one to kill the first pirate, not him. What could-

Oh. He was just like everyone else.

If she could get away with slapping her superior, she'd consider it, but Universals taught her not to resort to violence. Considering she did that more often than not, she figured any opportunity she had to handle situations with conversation, she should. That included her current predicament.

"How... disappointing," she said, and Yoongi tilted his head at that. "With all due respect, I'm not a baby, sir. I joined the Vanguard because I wanted to protect the UC, and I've done just that. Me being a Universal has nothing to do with my duty. How many more years of perfect service do you need until you see that?"

Yoongi took a step closer. "Don't take it personally. The last Universal I knew stopped me from killing Delgado a few years back, so forgive me if I'm cautious around your people."

"My people want to resolve conflicts with peace. I'm sorry Delgado was spared because of it, but we have good intentions."

"Those good intentions led to the deaths of thousands if not tens of thousands of people."

Y/n had a helmet on, but she tried to lock eyes with him anyway. "You're right, some people need to die, but does one bad experience excuse you treating me like this? I did my job and did it effectively. I always have. Tell me, Commander Min, have I ever hesitated to pull the trigger?"

He didn't answer.

"Precisely," she said with a tongue click. "The UC trained me to take lives since I was a teenager. You really think I'd suddenly go soft as an adult?"

"I apologize, Commander L/n. I've never had the opportunity to work so closely with you, and based on the Vanguard reports, I assumed you were one of the weakest."

That had her stalling. "Sorry?"

"You've been voted out more times than I can count. I thought you were promoted because of your friendship with Tuala, not your skill. I see I was wrong, and for that I am truly sorry. Forgive me for judging you based on your file and religion, that wasn't fair."

"Obviously, but I can't blame you. I didn't know the reports said that about me."

Well, that wasn't true. She had a feeling the reports didn't paint her out as a saint despite her religious affiliation. However, what she didn't know was that she had been voted out. If she had been voted out, then why was she in the Vanguard? That was a question she'd tackle later. For the time being, she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and pretend that day had never happened. It had been a successful day where she had gotten through the mech scrapyard without a panic attack, though that was still a possibility if they were there much longer. After all that work to keep herself focused, she needed a year or two off.

"I'll put in a good word with the Cabinet, and I'll make sure my report details how you took charge when I couldn't. I'll leave out the... incident," Yoongi said, and although she couldn't see his face, she could hear the wince he made.

Ah, the incident when she had pinned an innocent man against the leg of a mech. She was quite the charmer, huh?

"Thank you, sir. For whatever it's worth, I think you did a good job handling the Fleet. I wish Jungkook was still your assistant, he's a good man."

Commander Min chuckled. "I can't believe you're showing me kindness after what I said. Thank you, Y/n. I wish he was too, but I think he's right where he belongs. Take care of my boy, yeah?"

Not too far away, she could see Jungkook hauling Kaiser onboard and chatting with Sam outside the ship. She smiled at the sight.

"Don't worry, sir. We will."

☆☆☆

She buried her face in her hands.

Warm air tickled her cheeks as she sat on her bed in the Lodge. In the distance, she could hear Sarah and Sam laughing, likely in the bar. Barrett and VASCO were back from a voyage and were restocking the book collection. Walter and his wife were visiting and helping Matteo out in the garden while Noel micromanaged and took a break from her countless piles of research. Even Vladimir was there, probably sharing crime stories with Andreja in the basement as they worked on the minerals Constellation had gathered from different planets on their various journeys.

With the lights flicked off and the door shut, Y/n burrowed herself in the darkness and wished she could sleep, though no such mercy came. Groans and grunts left her lips as she banged her head against her mattress over and over again. Her hands clutched the sheets, though it did nothing but give her something to fiddle with while her mind descended into a plethora of memories.

She rolled onto her back and gazed at the ceiling. The Lodge was so fancy, she couldn't spot a single tear in the paint. Her knife was on her nightstand. If she wanted to, she could throw it up and see if it'd stick.

More thoughts bounced around her skull, but none of them felt individual enough for her to want to focus on them. One said she should go to Commander Tuala and ask for an extra assignment. Another claimed she should visit Sanctum Universum again. Yet another screamed at her that she should join the others and gossip about what juicy drama had happened in her life recently. It wasn't like she told anyone about how her and Jimin were distant, so that could fun to chat about.

Speak of the devil, the door creaked as it parted, and she knew there was no one else it could be. The lights came on, and she whined like a child about it. That didn't deter him from sitting on the side of the bed and placing his hand near her waist, though it didn't come close enough to touch her.

"Go away," she mumbled, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and not bothering to glance at him. "I'm not in the mood."

Jimin made a soft humming noise before nodding. "Okay."

He got up and took his time to do it, almost as if tempting her. She wanted to slap him for it, but not really. Not a real slap. Like a why do you always make me feel better, and why do I feel bad about that? slap.

When he reached the door, she sat up and huffed. Without her needing to speak, he turned away from the exit and went right back to her side.

"Just hold me," she whispered as she slumped under the covers and patted the side of the bed.

Jimin did as he was told: he joined her and used his warm arms to scoop her up against his chest. A kiss planted itself on her forehead, and his gloved hand went to her back while the bare one twirled her locks. She sucked in his sweet peachy scent and kissed his neck, the area not covered by Hoseok's scarf, a few times. His skin tasted like sweat, and she had a feeling her suffocating room was to thank for that.

She peeked up at him and frowned. "You should get changed and shower."

"Not when you're like this."

The desire to slap him rose in her chest again. That time, it was a stop making me feel better, I don't deserve that slap. She would never lay her hands on him, though she wanted to at least scream at him to go, to hate her like everyone else did. Like the Vanguard did. The Universals. The UC.

"Stop it," was what she said instead, and it wasn't a yell, it was a hiccup-filled murmur that cracked more than it spoke. "Just tell me you hate me."

He stared into her eyes and placed his hand on her cheek. "I love you."

Tears shot out and dampened her face. Little wheezes and coughs twisted through her lungs and peeled themselves off of her tongue. The soft noises entered the already thick atmosphere her bedroom created, and they contrasted Jimin's gentle breaths. His delicate hand went to hold hers, and he placed it over his calm heart. Every beat was like a second ticking by on the clock of her past, and she didn't know if she should destroy it or never let it out of her sight.

"I love you," he repeated, giving her a squeeze that made her shudder. "I love you, Y/n L/n."

That ended with her sobbing against his chest for seconds, minutes, hours—she couldn't keep track. All she knew was that by the time she was done, Jimin had more wet spots on his clothes than dry ones, and she managed to convince him to shower and change. However, he refused to leave her alone, which meant...

Droplets of water soaked through her hair as Jimin rubbed the washcloth over her back and cleansed the sins of the day from the pores of her flesh. Any clamminess that had infected her was gone, replaced by the pads of Jimin's fingers. His lips kissed every inch of skin she allowed him to, and he didn't go more than a centimeter away from her body, even when he covered his hair in shampoo and conditioner. The products were hers. They smelled of strawberry, and she had to admit the scent was charming on him.

He held her, and when they were done cleaning, he kissed her. It wasn't hot; it was a gentle make out session, and he kept her up against the wall with her thigh in his grasp, resulting in her wrapping her leg around his waist. The pleasure the contact brought numbed her brain of all memories and thoughts. It was a distraction, and she wouldn't complain about it.

Still, she felt the need to throw clothes on and vanish from his view. She felt like her breasts weren't the right size, or her arms had too much extra flap near the biceps, or her thighs weren't shaped the way they were supposed to be. Insecurity wasn't the reason she hadn't wanted him to see her naked, but it was becoming one the longer she stayed with someone like him. The truth was, whether her boyfriend was Park Jimin or a drug dealer from the Well, she wouldn't feel good enough. She never was.

The shower concluded not long after that, and he carried her back to her, or their, room. He wore a white t-shirt despite her past self telling him he didn't need to wear shirts around her. He paired it with gray sweatpants and put his messy, damp hair into a small ponytail. Then, he dressed her in her alpaca pajamas and poked her sides with a grin and a giggle. There was no article of clothing Jimin loved more than her pajamas, as he had informed her many, many times. Yet she hated them. She didn't know why.

He helped her into bed and cuddled her afterwards. A smile remained on his face as he played with her wet locks and hummed a soft tune she was sure he had learned from his mother.

"I offered Barrett and VASCO a spot on our crew," he said, his teeth, including the chipped and jagged one, showing as he spoke. "I hope that's okay. They said they were winding down on their adventures and wanted to do something different, so I thought why not? VASCO can defend the ship while we do our hot Vanguard shit. What do you think?"

She didn't answer.

"Honey? What do you think?"

She latched onto the fabric of his shirt and sucked in a breath. "I think I don't want to be a Vanguard anymore."

That time, he didn't answer. He responded by kissing her forehead, and after a beat, she realized that was his way of telling her to keep talking.

"I think I don't want to be a Universal, either. I... I don't know. I don't know what I want."

"Constellation?" he asked, though the single word was hesitant and slow.

"I don't know. Maybe. This is the only place I don't feel like everyone's waiting for me to make a mistake."

Sam and Sarah would never so much as raise their voices at her if she ever made a mistake. VASCO would analyze the situation and say robot wisdom, and Barrett would crack jokes, likely about his dead husband, just to ease her soul. The others were—mostly, anyway—the same way, all except Andreja, who was the most serious in Constellation. Y/n treated Andreja like family, but that didn't mean there weren't high tensions at times.

Y/n lifted her head and felt exhaustion invade her. The bags under their eyes cried out and begged her to flee to the comfort of Jimin's chest, but she couldn't. At least not without looking him in the eyes first.

His hickory irises were like a puppy's. Not just in the color, but also in the way he peered at her with his lids resting in a wide position, almost like he was asking for a favor. There were freckles on his cheeks that decorated his eyes, and each red splotch gathered to create the painting of Park Jimin, who was the single most beautiful human Y/n had ever seen.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice, for the first time that night, not breaking or lowering to a whisper. Those were the two words she had wanted to shout at him since the first time he had kissed her on the Vigilance. "I'm sorry you love me."

He shushed her and kissed her forehead. "Oh my sweet baby girl, please don't say that. Please. Do you have any idea how much you mean to me? How lost I'd be without you? You're always enough for me, and I don't care what mistakes you make, I love you unconditionally. That means I loved you yesterday, I love you today, and I'll love you until the universe prevents me from doing so, but even then, I'd like to see it try."

She laughed. Somehow, there was humor in it. "You're such a goofball."

"I know," he said. Then, he kissed her and brought her closer to his core. When they parted, he booped his nose off hers. "But it's true. There's no one I love more than you."

Although she felt cruel for it, she fired it out before she could stop herself.

"Even over your mother?"

He paused for a moment, and he went from giggly to stoic within a few beats. "She fucked me up, Y/n. I love her, but I can't pretend she loves me. No matter what she says now, she showed me she doesn't. So... yeah, more than my mother. More than myself. More than all of Constellation."

"I'm sorry," she said in a sigh. "I shouldn't have said that, it's not fair to compare how much you love people. You love them for different reasons. I'm so sorry, I'm just... I'm such a mess right now."

"Shh, baby girl, you're perfect. Please don't cry." He wiped her tears away and rubbed her cheek with his thumb when he finished. "Part of that is my fault, isn't it?"

"Of course not-"

"Don't," he interrupted, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against hers. "Don't coddle me. You're allowed to be mad at me and not feel bad about it. I fucked up, baby. I know that. Don't sit there and blow smoke up my ass about how me selling mech parts didn't do anything to your mental state."

Her lower lip quivered. "You're an asshole."

He hummed and played with her hair. "I know."

"You shouldn't have done that."

"I know."

"I'm so mad at you," she said, and her voice broke in the middle of the sentence. "But I don't want to be, so please tell me you won't do it again. Do all the crime in the world for all I care, just nothing to do with mechs. Please."

His freckles were like stars shimmering in the sky. They were paintings on his face that sculpted him into an angel, similar to the ones Y/n believed in. Or, wanted to believe in, anyway. If she still wanted to be a Universal after the Terrormorph war was over. It wasn't that she didn't believe in God or her faith had wavered, but she thought she didn't deserve to stay in such a prestigious group. She didn't pray, she didn't follow many of the rules, and she had cursed more in the past month than she had her entire life. It wasn't fair to them. Maybe it wasn't even fair to her.

"I won't. I promise," he murmured.

He would never break a promise. If there was one thing Y/n knew about him, it was how dedicated he was when he put his mind to it. For Constellation, he had found several artifacts and temples, not to mention he allowed Noel to run tests on him every other day. For SysDef, he went into unknown pirate territory and came out on top. For her, he fought a Terrormorph, all so her emotions would be spared.

"Okay," she whispered, sinking into his heat and wrapping her arms around him. "I love you. I miss you. Can we start cuddling again?"

"Oh good lord, I was praying you'd say that. You were right: the nightmares are worse when you aren't there. I almost blew up the Lodge three times."

"Don't do that, you might hurt your precious books."

He threw his head back and laughed, and she got the perfect view of his jagged tooth. It was shaped like a fang, and the angle of it made it appear as though it had been chipped in combat, or maybe by something stupid, like him banging his head off a wall or toilet seat. There were tiny cuts on his lower lip, probably from his fang. Whenever they had kissed, she didn't notice it, but she wanted to find out.

She kissed him, and soon enough, he was on top of her and tangling his legs with hers. It wasn't hot, more slow and sensual. She took the time to rub her lower lip over his and feel what was there. If the cuts were present, she didn't notice, that was how minuscular they were.

He pulled back and grinned. "I like where this is going."

She snickered. "Calm down, horny boy, we aren't there yet. But... cuddles?"

"Yes ma'am!"

He collapsed on her, and the engulfing weight of Park Jimin was as heavy as it was endearing. The heat in the room was an afterthought as his body temperature seeped into hers. Any sweat that had been on her disappeared in favor of his sweet strawberry aroma. She smelled the same due to them sharing her favorite soap. Jimin had bought it for her a couple weeks back and said it reminded me of you, so she used it every night. It was almost out. She'd have to beg him for another.

"You're my baby girl," he muttered as he played with her hair and planted gentle kisses on her neck. "I never want to hurt you, and I'm so sorry I did. I'm gonna talk to Jungkook about it."

"Jungkook?"

"Yeah. Back during the whole..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Fleet ordeal, SysDef made me go to psych evals. I'll start going again. It's called therapy, I guess. Ew. Feels gross saying that word."

"Why?"

He stiffened, then shrugged. "I... don't know. On Neon, it's frowned upon. If you aren't strong enough to survive without it, you're either gonna get robbed or killed. Or both."

"I know words won't undo an entire life of that, but for whatever it's worth, I think it makes you strong when you say you have a problem. I think it makes you even stronger when you try to do something to fix it."

He hovered over her, and the bed creaked as he moved. His grin flashed his dimple. "Does it make me hotter, too?"

She whacked his shoulder, and he laughed as he fell next to her. Squeaky sounds followed. His little giggles caused his body to hiccup and his legs to kick. His eyes were squeezed shut, and waves of his black hair covered his face, even the freckles she adored more than anything.

"Alright, alright, calm down, I want to know more about it," she said as she snuggled up on his chest.

"About what?"

"Neon. Tell me a story about baby Jimin."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Baby Jimin got beat up a lot. I almost starved at least once a month, if not more. All the food I got went to my mom."

Jimin lifted his shirt and lowered the waistband of his sweatpants, and near his left hip was a small, pale scar. On instinct, she crawled her way down and kissed it.

"Woah, baby," he said with a whistle. "Careful, I thought you were doing something else-"

"Shush."

He giggled and waited for her to scoot back up before continuing. "I got that when I was fifteen. Got stabbed with a bone."

"A... bone?"

"Mhm. Human bone. I think it was a rib, not sure, but it hurt like a bitch. Didn't have the creds for a doctor, so I stole a needle and thread and stitched myself. Safe to say it got infected. I almost died a few days later. I was in Ebbside, but near the outside. Maybe it was stupid, but I wanted to watch the rain as I died."

"But you didn't," she said, slowly, and he smirked.

"Hmm... maybe I am. This is all a dream." At her glare, he laughed and kissed her nose. "Sorry, bad joke. No, I didn't die, and that was thanks to a young boy who found me passed out and decided to take a chance on me. He patched me up, but kicked me out as soon as I woke up. That was Taehyung. Didn't know it until I got a tattoo from him years later and he saw my scar."

"Your only friend on Neon?"

He hummed. "Don't think he considers me a friend, but I do. He's one of the few good ones on Neon."

"A good one? Does that mean he helps people often?"

Jimin snorted. "Oh please, 'good ones' is a relative term on Neon of all places. He doesn't shoot people on sight, that's what I mean. And he only helped me cause he was an innocent kid who didn't want me to die. Thanks to him, you have a hot boyfriend."

"Of course you had to say hot."

"Would you expect anything less?"

No, she wouldn't. If he ever called himself anything other than hot, or another adjective along those lines, she'd probably shoot him with a flamethrower thinking an alien possessed her lover. Though if she did that, he'd say thanks, babe, now I'm even hotter!

"I guess I wouldn't," she said with a giggle. "Thank you for sharing, I know you didn't have the best childhood."

"Thank you for listening." He paused and scrunched up his nose. "Ew, manners."

They shared a laugh before cuddling up and deciding to go to bed. They were far too lazy to get up and turn the lights off, so they prepared to sleep in brightness, not that she minded. As long as she was with Jimin, she could sleep anywhere. His warm hands soothed her rapid heartbeat. That was all she needed.

Forever and always.

☆☆☆

A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Only four more episodes left in s2!