─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

SEASON 1 EPISODE 14

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Setting:

System: Luyten's Star

Faction: None

Planet: In orbit of Luyten's Rock

Place: SY-920

Remember to vote if you want faster updates. I'll release the next chap as soon as we get 20 votes. The next chapter required a lot of images, so I already finished it and formatted the chapter. So as soon as we reach 20, I can release it. Otherwise, I'll release it in a week or so.

⚠️Long chapter alert ⚠️

(They're all long but this is longer than normal-)

☆☆☆

Jimin

"You want me to do what?"

Delgado and Hoseok grinned at Jimin, who stood next to Y/n on the Key. She was geared up in an unmarked spacesuit, including a helmet to hide her face. They were in Delgado's office, which was just as dim and messy as ever. Did pirates ever clean? Seeing as the rest of the Key was in disarray, he knew the answer was a giant no.

"Hoseok looked over Larry Dumbrosky's data, and as it turns out, the Legacy went down in orbit of Bannoc-IV. Probably got the grav jump cords wrong and all the systems malfunctioned," Delgado said, but Jimin had no fucking idea what Bannoc-IV was. Delgado noticed his confused face and sighed. "It's an EM-class gas giant."

"What?!" Y/n said in a high-pitched tone. "Then there's no way Jasper Kryx got there. That's impossible. It'd be a miracle if the Legacy was still intact."

"GalBank transports are built to last through the worst of the worst, but Bannoc-IV is a challenge even for them. I'm willing to bet it's out there, just malfunctioning and in need of our help."

Hoseok threw an arm over Delgado's shoulder. "By help, he means steal. We're stealing all the credits and leaving everyone else to die."

"No shit," Jimin said with a blank expression and an exaggerated blink. He turned his attention to Del. "Does anyone want to tell me what an EM-class is?"

Delgado narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were a pilot."

Hoseok laughed so hard he slapped his knee. His red scarf bounced on his back as if laughing with him.

"Del, you got it all wrong: Jimin's girl is the pilot."

"Wow," Delgado said with both his bushy brows shot up. "You're pussywhipped."

"Hey!" Jimin shouted. He wished he could cover Y/n's innocent ears. "Don't dodge the question! What's an EM-class?"

"Jimin, sweetheart," Hoseok said, batting his eyelashes at him. "Figure it out. What does EM stand for?"

"Uh... electron microscope?"

Jimin felt the disappointment in the room as soon as he said that. It was so dumb, even Y/n, who was normally in his corner, facepalmed. She had to walk it off by pacing back and forth. When she was done, she stood behind him and acted like she didn't know him. Hoseok burst out laughing to the point where he almost fell to the ground.

For once, Delgado was the one who defended him.

"Knock it off," Del said in a sharp tone. That made Hoseok immediately shut up. "Jimin is doing us a huge favor, so show him some respect, yes?" Del met Jimin's eyes. "EM stands for electromagnetic. Bannoc-IV has an EM field that makes it dangerous for any ship. It fries systems and leaves you dead in the water. If you jump into a planet's orbit and it has an EM field, you can kiss your life goodbye. No one can help you, and even if they could, no one would be crazy enough to try."

Jimin tilted his head. "Wait a second, doesn't that mean the mission is over? No one would be crazy enough to go after the Legacy now, right?"

Just like that, two pairs of eyes fell on Jimin.

"Nuh uh," Jimin said, shaking his little index finger. "I'm not your scapegoat, you're not sending me after the Legacy. I may have said electron microscope before, but even I'm smart enough to know that's suicide."

"Kryx wouldn't have given up, so neither are we," Del said. "I have part of a plan, but I was hoping for a new set of eyes. Maybe your girl can help?"

Y/n came out from behind Jimin. "With?"

Del handed her a data slate with the Legacy's information on it. "Do you notice anything about the Legacy's design? Nothing stands out to me, but maybe you..."

Y/n lit up almost instantly. "It has a CBR27 Transponder."

"Oh good lord, I barely passed English class, let alone this," Jimin said with a whine, and Y/n chuckled.

"I didn't know you went to school."

"I... I didn't, but anyway. What the fuck is that?"

"Don't worry, you don't need to know," Y/n said, smiling. She handed the slate back to Del. "It's a transponder that can withstand high pressure. Like Delgado said, GalBank is built to handle disasters. If that transponder is still intact, we can track its precise location. That way we don't need to play needle in a haystack when we go to look for the ship. Knowing the location could cut the difficulty of the journey in half."

"Damn, rook," Hoseok said with a whistle. Once again, Hoseok was chewing gum and making a whole show of it. "You got a good woman. If you won't treat her right, I sure as hell will."

"Ew," Y/n said. Then, she slapped a hand over her helmet as if that would shut her mouth. "I'm sorry."

Hoseok snickered. "Cute."

"Excuse me?!" Jimin asked.

Delgado got in between them. "Enough. Have a dick measuring contest later. Now, we need to get the Legacy. Jimin's girl who I forgot the name of, can we track it?"

Y/n sighed and didn't bother telling them her fake name again. "It's a military-grade transponder. You'd need ultrabit encryption, not to mention you'd have to have the patience to constantly reshuffle the frequencies. Your decoder, what was his name? Shinya Voss, right? He may be able to do it, but I doubt you have good enough gear to crack it."

"Ah, finally, something I can help with," Hoseok said, clapping his hands together. He hesitated, then turned to Jimin. "Or, more like Jimin. I don't want to do it. Jimin, how do you feel about stealing shit from the UC?"

Jimin's eyes bulged. He swore he was drooling like a hyena. "I think I came a little."

"I swear to God," Delgado said, rubbing his nose and shaking his head. "Hoseok, what is your idea?"

"You had me researching UC tech, and I found a device called the ComSpike. It's a ship signal decryption system that could potentially locate the Legacy. I hear it's at a UC station called SY-920. The location is undisclosed, but we have a contact who delivers to lucrative UC routes, including that station. She'll smuggle you and your girl there, and after that, you'll go in and locate the ComSpike while your girl keeps the guards busy."

"Can anyone explain in baby language? This is too complicated for me," Jimin said, stomping his tiny foot.

Y/n grunted. "ComSpike good. ComSpike locate Legacy. You go UC station with smuggler, you steal ComSpike, I distract guards. Is that better?"

Jimin beamed. "Perfect, thank you."

"Moving on," Hoseok said. "Your contact is Huan Daiyu, she's based out of New Atlantis. You'll board her ship, the Jade Swan, and she'll take you there. I'll reach out to her now to get the details of the time, but she owes us a big favor, so I'm sure she'll be more than happy to drop whatever she's doing to make a delivery to SY-920."

Jimin stiffened. "Wait, why am I doing this and not one of you? I'm just a rook. Surely you have more trusted members to take care of this."

"Jimin, bud, we all have trust issues. I don't even trust Del," Hoseok said, flipping his scarf in Del's face. "I told you, we're trying to keep this mission a secret. The fewer people who know, the less likely anyone goes tattling on us to the UC. As much as I hate to admit it, you never know who's a traitor, and in most cases, you don't know until it's too late. Plus, Del is too valuable. If we lose him on this mission, it's game over."

Jimin snorted. "Gee, thanks. I'm that expendable?"

"Well... yeah. Back to the plan: this station is crawling with UC pests, so everything's locked down tight. The odds of success are low. Very low. You'll need to use stealth and stay in contact, so bring ear pieces. Get the ComSpike and bring it back here. Simple!"

"That sounds the opposite of simple-"

"The next part of our plan involves Hoseok, so that's why I'm not sending him," Delgado interrupted. "Hoseok is going to Neon to break into Generdyne Industries."

At least Jimin knew what that was.

"Don't they power Neon?" Y/n asked, and Delgado nodded.

"Correct. They designed what's called the Conduction Grid. It takes the lightning strikes from Neon's storms and converts them into energy. It absorbs the energy, meaning..."

"If you get your hands on the Conduction Grid schematics, you can build a smaller version of it to resist the EM field," Y/n finished with awe in her tone. "Holy moly, that's genius."

"Thank you," Delgado said with a higher tone than normal. Funny. For the first time since Jimin met him, Delgado seemed genuinely happy. "These are the last two things we need before we get to the Legacy. Hoseok will get the schematics, Jimin will get the ComSpike. Jimin, don't screw this up. I already consider you a loyal member of the Fleet, but if you pull this off, I might just start respecting you."

"Woah, wait, what if they catch me?"

Delgado shrugged. "Shoot them, but keep in mind it's a UC station, so you'll need to be carrying an arsenal if you want to stand a chance."

Jimin didn't actually want the UC dead. After meeting Y/n, he received a sprinkle of hope that some UC citizens were decent people. He made a mental note to stick to stealth and not blow his cover.

"You should sneak into the barracks and get an ensign officer uniform. From there, it should be smooth sailing as long as you act natural," Delgado added, and Jimin hummed.

"Sneak onboard, find an ensign uniform, find the ComSpike, don't get caught by the gazillion UC guards patrolling the station. Got it. No biggie."

"Don't be so dramatic, that's Hoseok's job," Del said. Hoseok didn't deny it. "You handled stripping, you can handle this."

Jimin whined like a brat. "Yeah, but I'm naturally good at being hot."

"You're a criminal who specializes in pickpocketing and fleeing security. You don't think you can handle this?"

Jimin huffed. "Depends. How much am I getting paid for this?"

"A lot," Hoseok said with a whistle. "If you actually manage to get that ComSpike, shit Parkie, I'll give you head and five thousand credits."

"I..." Y/n trailed off and sighed. "Men."

"Alright, alright," Del said, holding his hands up to interrupt them. "Jimin, Jimin's kind of girlfriend, go to New Atlantis and meet Huan Daiyu at the spaceport. Hoseok will call ahead and make sure she's there by the time you are."

"Kind of girlfriend?" Y/n muttered.

"Don't question it," Jimin said before backing away and saluting to the two pirate commanders. "I'll be back before you know it."

Jimin led Y/n out of the office and didn't bother making eye contact with any of the pirates in the operations area. He had far too much on his mind to care about what others thought of him and his dazed appearance. After all, he was about to break into a UC station and steal an expensive piece of tech. Throughout his life, Jimin had taken numerous risky jobs to stay afloat.

But he doubted anything could have prepared him for the Fleet.

☆☆☆

After meeting up with Huan Daiyu, Jimin found himself in a system with a dark red star.

Luyten's Star was a system with one star and one planet—Luyten's Rock. Despite not being UC-controlled territory, a giant space station called SY-920 was there. That was hypocritical, wasn't it? The UC had fired on the Freestar for breaking the treaty and attempting to colonize another system, yet the UC had one of their most secretive stations hiding in a system not officially bound to the peace treaty. Their entire justification for commencing the war fell flat in the face of SY-920's presence in Luyten's Star. He'd have to ask Y/n about it later.

As soon as they entered the area, the Jade Swan received a hail. Captain Huan Daiyu, who stood at attention with her hands clasped behind her back, cleared her throat as she went to answer.

"This is Captain Huan Daiyu with the Jade Swan. Cargo class ship ID UC-793A. Requesting permission to dock."

The Jade Swan was a large transport ship that had more crew than Jimin could count. Jimin sat in one of the seats on the bridge, which was connected to the cockpit. It seemed more like the bridge was the cockpit.

With a white color scheme and not a hint of red, the bridge was far too bright for Jimin's eyes. He was used to darker colors. Granted, Neon had flashing lights, but they were the same color palette. The Jade Swan was an obnoxious amount of white that reminded Jimin of a hospital.

"Permission granted. Please approach slowly as we scan your ship for contraband," a male voice said over the comm. Huan agreed and let them do their scan. Soon enough, they heard a clicking noise. "All good, you are clear of contraband. Please dock at port 3B."

Huan shut off the comm and went to Jimin. He sat with his legs crossed and his hands folded together. The seats were comfy and padded with yellow cushions that made him sink down.

"Okay, we're about to dock. You sneak in, get what you need, get out. We need to bail as soon as our time's up, so you may need to find your own way out."

Jimin shot up. "Del didn't mention that. How the hell am I getting off a UC station without anyone noticing?"

"You can figure it out. I'm not losing this route. It makes more money than the entire Fleet combined, not to mention it makes me valuable to Del," she said, and she had a tight accent that made her words sound shorter and sharper. Her dark eyes were as sharp as her voice, and she used an abundance of eyeshadow to highlight them.

Her black hair was short and showed off every curve of her face. Her jawline was as straight and defined as Jimin's, and her nose was slim. Part of Jimin was jealous. She was symmetrical and had smooth skin that displayed how few moles and dark spots she had. In fact, Jimin couldn't find a single one.

"Fine, whatever. No point in arguing."

"Good," she said. Again, her accent made the one word sound rushed. It wasn't quite hostile, but it did sound harsher than he was expecting, and that was coming from the Neon street rat. "I would suggest having your friend find a way off the station for you. Even if you have the time to circle back, we don't know what the ComSpike looks like. It might be impossible to sneak around. If that's the case, I don't want that thing on my ship."

"I'll find him a way out," Y/n said, approaching the two with her spacesuit still on. "I have UC clout, I may recognize some of the ensigns."

Huan nodded just as the ship shook to indicate they docked. "Alright, that settles it. Get onboard while my crew unloads the shipment. You have thirty minutes until we leave, maybe twenty-five. We can't stall, they'll kick us out by force with or without the full shipment."

The UC were uptight dickwads making Jimin's life unnecessarily difficult. If they weren't so suspicious about the tiniest acts, maybe Jimin would have a higher chance at completing his mission.

However, Jimin had no time to dwell on it. With Y/n by his side, he went down the ladder, located the docking bay, and departed the ship. The UC station met his gaze, and he noticed how massive it was. It was just as massive on the inside as the out. With metal walls and pristine white lights that were somehow even brighter than the Jade Swan's, SY-920 screamed 'I'm richer than you' at Jimin in at least thirteen different languages.

The hallway they were in led to the core engineering section that had two layers. The top layer was the one they were currently on, but if they took the metal staircase on the right side, they would go to the lower level with countless engineers and small vehicles intended to do heavy lifting.

The end of the hall had a UC ensign there. Y/n and Jimin approached while Jade Swan crew unloaded crates Jimin didn't know the contents of.

"Loading and unloading only. Stay in the docking area or we will consider you a trespasser and shoot on sight," the guard said with no remorse in his tone. If anything, he sounded worse than some of the criminals on Neon.

"No need, sir," Y/n said. She peeked back and saw the Jade Swan were too busy unloading to care about her. She removed her helmet and offered the ensign her hand. "Captain L/n, UC Vanguard, ID 1013C. Commander Tuala granted me full access to this station a while back."

Jimin refused to let his shock show. Instead, he forced a smile. "I'm just her handsome escort, don't mind me."

Y/n kicked him and cleared her throat. "May I speak to Commander Natara?"

"Madam L/n, it's an honor to meet you. You're a legend around here. I wish I could say I can help, but I'm sorry, ma'am. Vanguard clearance was limited recently. We're working on more advanced projects, so we're limiting the scope of who can be here. The best I can do is give you an empty office to work in, but Commander Natara is off limits."

"That's quite alright, you're just doing your job, don't apologize for that. I'll take that office."

The ensign led them downstairs. He had a bulky black uniform that seemed more like a night ops outfit than a uniform for SY-920. A beret of the same color hid his hair and part of his forehead. Jimin mentally cursed. Great, he'd have to wear one to hide his precious hair. Wonderful. At that point, he'd rather get caught and shot.

"It's in the barracks, I hope that's okay. It may be a little noisy in there," the ensign said as they passed by busy engineers with sparking tools.

"I don't mind noise. I appreciate you doing this."

There was an orange door in the corner of the room that was labeled 'barracks,' and the ensign opened the door and entered with Jimin and Y/n on his tail. Inside was a long and narrow hallway with a bunch of doors on the right. They were the bedrooms for the ensigns. At the very end of the hall was the series of offices. He brought them to an office and motioned for them to enter. They did without complaint.

"I need to return to my post, but if you need anything, there are plenty of ensigns around and ready to help," he said, dipping his head to Y/n. "Thank you for your service, ma'am. My daughter wants to grow up just like you."

Y/n grinned. "How old is she?"

"Nine. She already has a dozen Vanguard posters in her room."

"She'll make an amazing pilot. If you ever need flight lessons, talk to Commander Tuala. I'm more than happy to give her lessons. For free."

"You're too kind. Thank you so much, ma'am. If she's still interested by the time she's a teen, I'll take you up on that. I hope to see you around."

The ensign left without another word and shut the door behind him. Y/n went over to the desk and plopped down in the chair. The computer there turned on, and she scanned her Vanguard ID on the scanner to gain access to it. The screen lit up with a cyan color as all the files loaded on it.

"Check if he's still there," she said without taking her eyes off the tech.

Jimin did, and he found that not only was the ensign gone, but no one was in the hallway at all. There was distant chatter, but nothing else.

"It's lunchtime in UTC. I bet they're in the mess hall," Y/n said as if sensing his thoughts. "There's a map here, I'll talk to you with the earpiece. Go get a uniform from one of the barracks. If anyone spots you, tell them you're Captain L/n's assistant and to come talk to me in officer 2A if they have any questions. You'll want to find Commander Natara, she runs the entire station and knows everything about... well, everything. If anyone knows where the ComSpike is, it's her."

"She'd never give it up."

"That's why you're eavesdropping, not confronting. And if all else fails, do what you do best."

"And that is...?" Jimin asked with a quirked brow.

Y/n beamed. "Be annoying."

Jimin sighed. "Okay, I deserved that. Got it: I'll annoy them until they either shoot me or give me the ComSpike. I'll be back soon. Hopefully."

Jimin left and went into one of the bedrooms. He made sure to listen for any noise before entering, and his efforts were rewarded by an empty room. It was surprisingly cozy. The lighting was less obnoxious. Instead of the glaring white, it was a soft orange, almost like the inside of a mango.

God, Jimin hated mangoes. How could anyone stomach those things?

Jimin shuffled to the back of the space and observed the scene. There were four bunk beds that were unmade and had two pillows each. The navy blue covers were thick and hung off the sides of the queen-sized mattresses. Jimin searched the area and found a spare uniform. The name read Ensign Ziremi, and before Jimin could question what the fuck kind of name that was, he decided to strip and put it on. He was wearing a flight suit, so it wasn't much of a change. There were plenty more on his ship if he ever missed it.

The device in his ear crackled right as he put the finishing touches, AKA the beret, on. A moment later, Y/n's voice came to him.

"Get down to the command bay, you can find it behind the office space. The ensign uniform should come with an ID card. You have your digipicks, right?"

Jimin pressed on the device to respond. "Miss L/n, I'll have you know I never leave home without them."

"I'll take that as a yes. Hack into one of the computers and find more information on the ComSpike. And scratch Commander Natara, you'll want to find Doctor Gabriel Vogel. I was poking around the files and found the higher-ups and their positions. It looks like Doctor Vogel is the advanced tech lead, so he should have information on the ComSpike. It won't say where he's located, though. That part's on you."

"Got it, I'll check in when I can. Try not to comm me unless absolutely necessary."

He dropped his finger and searched the pockets of the uniform he wore. There was an ID card, and Jimin knew he identified as Ensign Ziremi from then on.

His legs carried him outside and past the office space. The desire to check on Y/n hit his core, but he resisted and resorted to prying into his memory to find an image of her smiling. When he found it, he latched onto it and replayed the picture over and over again knowing he'd never get tired of it.

The back of the hall, past the offices, had the elevator for the command bay. Jimin kicked the stupid metal doors, plugged his ID card into the scanner, and grunted. How fantastic, he had to go into a metal box of doom. Well, it could be worse. Jungkook could be on it.

The doors slid open, and Jimin thanked the gods he didn't believe in when he saw no one was inside. He hopped in and pressed the descend button. It rumbled, and Jimin groaned and held the wall. Within less than twenty seconds, the doors parted once more, and what awaited him was a small hall that bent off to the right. It had black and yellow stripes painted on the floors to act as caution that elevators were near. Jimin stepped over the lines and noticed how many cameras were mounted on the ceiling. He did his best not to make eye contact.

The right side had an open archway leading to the core part of the command bay. It was a seating area with blue seats and landscape paintings hung on the walls. For a station holding the most secretive gear the UC possessed, it had more elegance than Jimin anticipated.

He stepped in with his chin held high and his shoulders refusing to slump. All those years on Neon meant his posture was shit, but he did his best to hide it.

The room was more like a lobby. To the left was the security office, where two ensigns chatted outside it with their hands hovering by their sidearms. Dead ahead was a wall that had a long slab of glass to show another ensign waiting inside to give clearance to whoever came by. To the right was a hallway that went to the operations center. He assumed that was the next step.

Jimin shimmied off to the security room and cleared his throat when he approached the two ensigns. The two men turned their heads and, much to Jimin's amazement, smiled.

"Hey ensign, you look miserable. What boring assignment did they give you today?" one of the two, a man with buck teeth and no eyebrows, said.

"Ugh, don't even get me started," Jimin said with a drawn out sigh. "They want me to take out the trash. Can you believe that?"

"I had that last week," the other, a man with no hair and a hooked nose, said with a snort. "We in your way?"

"Oh, you two fine gentlemen could never... but yeah, I need to get in there."

They laughed and stepped back. Jimin laughed with them and slipped inside the security room. There was no one inside, likely because the two who were supposed to be were outside guarding it. Not that it was much of a security room. If anything, it was more of a cramped closet. Jimin had the distinct feeling the "security room" was more for the tiny lobby of the command bay and not the actual security room that overlooked most of the station.

It was dimmer in there than anywhere else. It felt like night. There was one computer that was turned off, and upon flicking it on, he noticed it was locked behind a password.

"Any chance you have it conveniently laying around?" Jimin mumbled, searching through the white desk that only had two drawers. Nothing, of course. That would be too easy.

Jimin took out one of the three digipicks he had on him. Considering the station was massive and Jimin had no clue where he was going, the last thing he wanted to do was waste digipicks. They could, quite literally, be the difference between life and death.

The digipick hummed to life as Jimin pointed it at the computer. It was an expert lock, one of the most difficult right behind master-level locks. It went novice, advanced, expert, then master. Jimin had never seen a master lock before, and that was because they were reserved for the most secretive places in the galaxy, such as the UC's precious Armistice Archives that held all the data and intel from the Colony War. It was based in New Atlantis, but even if Jimin was allowed within breathing distance of it, he had heard anyone going in needed approval from the Freestar, UC, and House Va'ruun. It was the most well-protected location in the Settled Systems.

But he wasn't hacking into the Archives, he was hacking into a UC security terminal. Well, maybe not currently hacking; he had already finished only a few seconds after loading up the puzzle. He had hacked more computers than he could count, and he learned they were relatively easy to hack even with expert locks.

The screen flashed and greeted him with files. Right away, he went for the profiles of as many UC officials as he could find. There he found the doctor he was looking for. His office was in engineering bay four. After pulling up a map, Jimin realized he'd have to journey through the operations center in order to get down there.

The computer had updated clearance codes for the day, divided by rank and last names. Jimin searched for the section that was ensigns, last names Q-Z. Jimin clicked and found his code was a bunch of gibberish. ZX321D.

Jimin repeated it over and over and over until he was sure he would remember it without stuttering. In that moment, Jimin wished he had a photographic memory like Hoseok.

After turning the computer off, he got up, shoved his now useless digipick in his pocket, and saw the trash was empty. He snorted and opened the door, leaning against the frame as the two men outside locked eyes with him.

"They sent me to do trash," Jimin said, turning and pointing to the trash. "But there isn't any trash. I searched the entire room, but nope! Nothing! I walked my fat ass down here for nothing."

The two men laughed at Jimin's expense, and Jimin huffed like an angry toddler before storming away. In reality, he went to the end of the hall with the operations center entrance. It was a cramped space with dimmer lighting, like in the security office. There were two dark red security doors at the end of the corridor.

On the left was the glass that separated him and an ensign. The ensign lowered his tablet and made eye contact with Jimin with his brows knitted together.

"Ensign, do you have clearance to be down here?" the man asked.

Jimin, don't screw up.

"I have clearance, yes. The code is ZX321D, Ensign Ziremi."

The man ran it through the tablet before nodding, and the doors opened. "You're clear, Ensign Ziremi."

Jimin marched through the doors like he imagined a soldier would. Inside was a room that felt like it belonged on a different station. It looked nothing like anything he had seen so far, and that was because it was filled with high tech and loud humming noises coming from the countless computers. The right wall was one large screen showing reports Jimin couldn't comprehend even if he tried, and on the metal floor in front of the screen were several rows of desks with one chair and one fake plant each. There were several ensigns working and click clacking away at their keyboards.

Dead ahead, on the other side of the room, was a doorway with no doors that led to the archives. Jimin glanced at the ensigns doing their work and made his way to the back, as far away from them as possible. Then, he clicked his earpiece.

"Y/n," he said, keeping his voice loud enough so she could hear him, but not loud enough that the ensigns could. "I need to get to engineering bay four, it's where that doctor is. I'm in the operations center. Do I go through the archives? It's the only door I see."

"Yes, go through the archives and use one of the terminals to upgrade your security clearance. You can't get that far without clearance."

"I already got a clearance code to enter operations."

"I figured, but Jimin, the UC are freaks with security. You need a new code every time you go lower. So you need to either get a new code or override the elevator. If you go through the archives, you'll find transport lifts in the back. Find the one labeled engineering bay four. Once you get down there, I'll guide you more."

Jimin released the earpiece and went up to the entrance to the archives; however, before he could move, he heard footsteps that made him jump back and act "natural." For Jimin, leaning against the wall and pretending to take a break was natural.

"Commander Natara, test flights for the latest prototypes are ready to go," a male voice said from in front of him, though it sounded distant and muffled.

A woman stormed through the doorway with her head held high and her dark hair thrown in a bun as sharp as her brown eyes and slim jaw. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she brought a sense of elegance to the room Jimin was almost jealous of.

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant," the woman, who Jimin realized was Commander Natara, said. There was a man trailing behind her with what appeared to be UC officer gear on. "Inform them they are clear to launch."

The two went right by Jimin without noticing him. Jimin acted like he didn't just piss his pants a little then went through the door and found the archives. Luckily, the archives were large and didn't require as many workers. Immediately Jimin was able to find the elevators in the back.

Would Jimin ever stop going on elevators?

Jimin mentally groaned but physically carried himself to the nearest terminal and plopped down. The archives looked like the previous room he was in, but the archives had, well, archives. They were giant blocky walls full of data shaped in cubes. There had to be a dozen empty terminals. Jimin chose the one in the corner and had to hack into it again. An expert lock that he cracked in ten seconds.

From there, he found the override to the elevator and pressed it. The doors opened, and Jimin shut off the terminal and scurried his way back before anyone could see him. As soon as the metal walls of death embraced him, he slammed the down arrow and let out a sigh of relief when he was alone.

He pressed on his earpiece. "I'm on my way. Any clue where the doc's office will be?"

"Research lab, should be on the left as soon as you get out of the elevator. On the bright side, you should be in a less crowded area of the station. He'll be in the main office. Hopefully."

"Hopefully. Okay, I'm going dark for a while. See you on the other side."

"Jimin," she said, and even through the earpiece, he could hear the tremble in her voice. "Please be safe."

The line went dry after that. He wished he could reassure her. Above all else, he wished he could hold her and whisper in her ear that he was alright, but he knew he couldn't do that until he completed the mission. He didn't want to lie to her and say he was fine when he wasn't. She had never lied to him, so he refused to lie to her.

Jimin got ready to go, but he froze when he observed the elevator. His heart twisted and turned like it had been stabbed, and he felt his tongue swell up.

There were cameras.

Well, shit. Jimin made a rookie mistake, but in his defense, his area of expertise wasn't breaking into UC stations. That meant Jimin had to hurry. It was only a matter of time until he was caught.

The doors parted, and the research lab was to the left. Without paying attention to anything or anyone else, he ducked his head and went that way. He wasn't fast, but he had to admit he probably seemed like a maniac due to the way he was attempting to avoid attention.

Going into the research lab revealed how it was more of a lounge than anything else. There were couches with marines relaxing and laughing with one another. Jimin zoomed past and found the main research office, entering it and shutting the door behind him without hesitation.

Inside was a white room with two cabinets, a desk with a computer on it, and a whiteboard a single man stood in front of. He was mumbling to himself, and Jimin saw he had graying hair and a bent posture that made his back appear deformed. A lab coat covered the man's body, and he swayed on his feet as if in his own world.

"Excuse me, Doctor Vogel?" Jimin asked.

The man stopped and whipped around, and Jimin saw his golden eyes and wrinkled face. Doctor Vogel stared at Jimin for a few moments before parting his thin lips to answer.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I'm Ensign Ziremi, sir. I was told to come talk to you about joining the ComSpike team, and I was also wondering if I could see the device."

"Device? It's a module for a prototype ship."

Oh. Well, that solved a problem and created a problem. The problem solved was his way out of there. The problem created was he had no fucking idea how to fly, let alone fly a prototype ship.

"Yes, that's what I mean, sir," Jimin said. The one thing he was excellent at was controlling his facial expressions, which meant he had a neutral face despite how he felt like he just got punched. "I was told the test pilots are cleared for launch, and if possible, I'd like to become a test pilot. You need someone unafraid and ambitious to test such advanced and impressive tech, and I guarantee I am that person."

Scientists were crazy. Beyond that, they enjoyed feeling good about themselves and their creations. That was the tactic Jimin applied: suck the doctor's metaphorical dick by praising his tech.

Vogel chuckled. "Give me your ID card, please."

Jimin did, and Vogel scanned over it before handing it back. The man left Jimin in suspense and hummed to himself while stroking his chin. Then, he grinned.

"Splendid! No one's volunteered for the ComSpike yet! You can get the pilot uniform from the locker room, just go outside and take a left. Here's the keycard you'll need to enter the prototype. It's in docking bay five."

Jimin deserved head for the way he handled that, but for the time being, he'd take the uniform and keycard. After thanking Vogel, he departed the main office and went down the hall, entering the locker room that was far smaller than the rest of the station. It was quiet, and Jimin was grateful for the downtime.

The lockers held many uniforms, and Jimin chose the pilot gear. It came with a helmet, but as if Jimin was covering his precious face. He launched the beret off his head and scrambled to put on the heavy gear. Unlike the other UC uniforms that tended to be black, red, and navy blue, Jimin's was an ugly dark green. The helmet was black and red, but the flight suit? Ugly dark green. Who designed these things? They needed to be fired.

As soon as Jimin zipped up his flightsuit, he turned and almost bumped into the person in front of him. It was a fellow pilot who wore a helmet. The man crossed his arms over his chest.

"There's been word of suspicious behavior, from someone matching your description," the man said. Oh, great. Jimin had been caught, but it wasn't over yet.

Jimin would perform his ultimate strategy: gaslighting.

"I don't match the description, you match the description," Jimin said, keeping his face blank.

"No, you match the description."

Jimin resisted the urge to giggle. "No, you match the description."

"No, you match the description."

"Then we must be twins, because you totally match the description," Jimin said with a neutral tone. If he got too excited about it, he could blow his cover and his strategy.

"We look nothing alike! I'm beginning to think you're the intruder."

Jimin scoffed. "I'm an intruder? Takes one to know one."

"I'm not going to say this again. There's only one person who matches the description, and that's you," the man said with his voice raising and his fists shaking by his side. The man was somehow shorter than Jimin, which meant he looked like an angry puppy. Not exactly very intimidating. "Now explain yourself, Ensign, or face the consequences."

"When you say face the consequences, do you mean your face or mine? Because it's the same face."

The man stalled and stepped back. "What? That doesn't even make sense. Ugh, you got me so confused I don't remember what we were talking about. Just get back to your post before I lose my temper."

Jimin watched the man rush away, and he swore he heard sniffling. Jimin gave himself a mental high five before moving away and slipping into the supply closet to let out a breath and press on his earpiece.

"They know I'm here, they're looking for me. But Y/n, I have a bigger problems: the ComSpike is built into a ship, so I have to somehow fly it. What do I do?"

I need you were the words he didn't say, but they were true. He needed her. He didn't know why, but he did.

"It's okay, I'll walk you through it. Make sure you boot up the grav drive first so you can get out of there fast. Set the coordinates for the Key. I taught you that, do you remember?"

Jimin held a hand over his mouth and tried his best not to tremble. "Yeah, yeah, I do. Wait, what about you? How will you get out?"

"Huan's still here, I'll leave with her. You worry about you. Get to the ComSpike and let me know when you're there."

Jimin agreed and left the closet. He cut through the locker room to get to the docking bays and was quickly able to locate the one he needed. There were two guards outside Jimin had to show the keycard to, and after that, they let him in. Inside was a tiny ship with only a cockpit. As soon as Jimin plopped down in the chair, he realized he recognized two controls.

And one of them was the damn yoke.

He pressed on his earpiece. "I'm in. I don't recognize any of these controls, what do I do?"

"Find the grav drive first. That's normally the same on every ship, even UC prototypes. Maybe on yours it's labeled 'Jump' instead."

It was. He pressed on it and brought up the holomap to locate the Kryx system. He diverted all power to the grav drive and shields just in case he needed a quick escape, and he waited for the coordinates to load before he sat back and buckled in.

"Done, but I don't know how to start the jump."

"Look for the lever, it should be attached to your seat."

Jimin located it and held it. "Do I pull up or down?"

"Up for starting jumps, down for canceling them. Undock and jump immediately. I'm heading back to Huan now, but you better be back at the Key when I get there."

"I will. I promise," he whispered.

"Good luck. Be safe."

The line went silent, and Jimin knew there was no more stalling. He had to begin the jump. So, he undocked with one of the two controls he recognized. Luckily, Jimin had overheard that Commander Natara approved test pilots for launch. He wasn't questioned when he undocked, but that didn't mean he had time. Right away, he shoved the lever up and began the grav drive. It would take ten seconds.

Over the open comm channel the prototype had, he heard shouts directed at him. He sucked in a breath and realized he was about to be fired at, and he still had nine seconds left.

Lasers came his way from the dozens of UC ships. He had diverted all power to the grav drive and shields, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. He had to take matters into his own hands.

He had to fly.

Jimin grabbed the yoke and yanked it, dipping down and avoiding the first storm of fire.

Eight seconds.

He did barrel rolls and bit his tongue by accident from the force of it. Lasers scratched his ship, but he was alive.

Seven.

The prototype bumped and squeaked at the sudden force of Jimin's movements, but he didn't stop. He descended further and flew behind the station to put an obstacle between him and the UC ships.

Six.

More ships were waiting on the other side, and Jimin cursed as the prototype suddenly took a blow to the face. It caused sparks to fly, and Jimin had to perform immediate evasive maneuvers.

Five.

The engines growled and spurted out exhaust he could see from the cockpit window. He used it to his advantage by doing a 180 and covering himself in the heavy cloud of gas.

Four.

UC ships surrounded him from all sides. Above, below, left, right. Jimin decided to fly straight forward and spin in the process to make himself harder to hit. He already had a tiny ship, but the more he could do to dodge, the better.

Three.

The prototype took more hits, and Jimin couldn't help but let tears slip by from the pressure on his chest. He turned the ship sideways and zipped right through the blockade the UC had attempted to form.

Two.

The ship got shot, and one of the two engines died. He lost a shit ton of speed to the point where he was thrown forward. If it weren't for the seatbelt, he would've went flying. He coughed from the oxygen that got wrenched from his lungs. The stars called to him as the prototype rumbled from the grav drive coming to life. The UC closed in with their lasers ready to take him out, yet he had faith. He could do it.

He promised Y/n he would.

One.

Now.

The ship tore space and time apart as it opened up a gateway between one end of the galaxy to the next. Jimin saw the light before him, and it was a gorgeous bright blue with hints of purple that hugged the ship like an angel coming to guide him to safety. A smile blessed his face as the grav drive jumped him from Luyten's Star to Kryx. The UC fighters disappeared, and what replaced them was the Key. Jimin unbuckled himself and shot up, cheering and laughing. He even banged his fist against the wall.

"Take that, you UC dickwads!" Jimin shouted. He couldn't stop his laughter as he fell back in the seat and heaved. Sweat decorated his head and dripped down his skin. It didn't dry the whole way to the station, even after he docked and departed the prototype.

Inside was Jasmine, or Jazz, the Fleet's ship technician. She had a tablet in her hands and a team surrounding her. Much to his amazement, she grinned at him.

"Impressive work, rook. Looks like you got a new toy for me. Huan and your girlfriend already filled me in on what happened," Jazz said.

Jimin rushed up to her. "She's here? Where is she?"

"Calm down, lover boy, she's not here yet. We just got word through the comms. She'll be here in a few minutes. For now, go see Delgado and tell him your progress. I'll get to work with the ComSpike. And rook? Good work."

Jimin sprinted his way to Delgado's office and didn't care how pathetic it made him look. His adrenaline had never been so high. Neon had trained him for high stress situations, but none like that. He had broken into a UC station and survived. Barely, but he did it. Maybe he wasn't so useless after all.

Jimin almost broke down the door to Delgado's office. The pirate commander was alone and standing in front of his table that had a hologram map of the galaxy on it. Del shut it off immediately and turned toward him.

"Holy shit, rook. You actually pulled it off."

Jimin snickered like a psycho. "I did it. I fucking did it. The ComSpike, I got it... I survived the UC raining hell on me. I... I..."

Delgado came forward and sighed. "Don't tell anyone I did this."

"Wha-"

Delgado hugged Jimin.

Jimin couldn't stop the giddiness from invading his veins. He gladly returned the embrace and giggled like a baby. Delgado patted him on the back and chuckled with the most joy Jimin had ever heard from him.

"You fucking did it!" Delgado said in a cheer. "Shit, rook, I think I might care about you now."

Jimin pulled back and squeezed Del's shoulder. "Well, that's good, cause I sure as hell don't care about you. No offense."

Delgado snorted. "None taken. Do you have any idea what you just did? My family-" Del cut himself off and cleared his throat. "The Fleet is one step closer to Kryx's Legacy. We can finally make ourselves stronger. Safer. I'll buy you a drink at the Nova whenever you get a chance. You just did the impossible, rook. I know I don't say it often, but thank you. Truly."

Jimin didn't think Del had it in him to have a soft heart, but there he was, witnessing it. Jimin didn't reply and instead nodded with a grateful expression. As soon as he backed up to continue speaking about it, he heard pants and shouting. He swiveled around and saw Y/n bursting her way into the room.

"Park Jimin!"

He couldn't react. She was already tackling him. Just like she did on Suvorov, she took him to the ground from the force of her hug.

"You did it! I can't believe you did it!"

Jimin grunted. "Gee, thanks. Glad to know you have confidence in me-"

"Shush, don't ruin the moment," she interrupted, nuzzling her head against his chest. He had to admit he enjoyed it more than anything, even the feeling of victory from finally doing something right. He didn't freeze in that firefight. For once, he succeeded. For once, he amounted to more than just a criminal on Neon taking care of a drugged-up mother who barely remembered his name.

For once, he was someone.

"Alright, PDA makes me sick," Delgado said from above them. "You two have fun, just please don't fuck on my bed. I'm going to get drunk. Feel free to join me."

Delgado left, and Y/n got off Jimin as soon as he did. Jimin sat up. When he got into a comfortable position, Y/n placed her hand on his cheek and gazed into his eyes.

"I am never, and I mean never, leaving you alone again," she said, and he placed his hand over hers.

"Good, I wouldn't want you anywhere other than by my side anyway."

She hugged him one last time, and Jimin wrapped his arms around her back and buried his head against her neck. Y/n smelled of sweat, and maybe even tears, but he adored it. He adored her. When he was fighting for his life, he realized he wasn't doing it for himself, the Fleet, or Constellation.

He was doing it for her.

☆☆☆

Upcoming destination:

System: Serpentis

Faction: House Va'ruun

Planet: Serpentis-II

Place: Scanner anomaly

☆☆☆

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

SEASON 1 EPISODE 14

𝐄𝐍𝐃

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

☆☆☆

A/N: Just so you're aware, the whole "No, YOU match the description" conversation is a real thing that happens in the game. This game is fucking whack, bro.

BTW we're getting close to the season 1 finale already. I thought it'd take me a hundred years to get to the s1 finale, but we're actually making great progress.