A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the fantastic sarara1.8, who made me my first piece of fanart ever! AAAAAA! And yes, I made it my cover. Because I want the whole world to see it. Really girl, you made me the happiest I've been in months.
Now, my fantastic readers, a plea from your author: do not skim or skip this chapter. I know it may seem kinda boring because it isn't action-packed and has a lot of talking, but this sets up a LOT. Like, two of my three major plot points for this story are set up here, and it is all extremely important to the storyline. So please, for your sake so you don't get confuzzled, pay attention.
And don't worry-some things may not make sense at the moment, like perhaps there won't be an explanation for certain actions or people just magically seem to know/assume things (or don't), but trust me-I'll cover everything in the end, it just may take a while, depending on what's going on in the story.
Also, friendly reminder that this is unbeta'd, so I'm sorry for any mistakes.
I've rambled on long enough-the time has come to shut mine trap. Enjoy the chapter!
It took another week after leaving the plasma storm to reach the next sector. During that time Lucy managed to stitch Natsu's scarf back up and with his precious family token restored, he was in much better spirits. In fact, they all were. So when the Zoltan outposts signaling the entrance to their homeworld territory finally appeared, the crew of the Torus was more than pleased. The Zoltans at the outpost, however, were not.
"Identify yourselves," a flat, tinny-sounding voice commanded over the comm.
Lucy paused only to glance briefly at Natsu and the others before saying, "This is the Torus. We require permits to travel through your space to reach the…" she squinted at the name on the star chart in front of her. "Klom? Yes, sorry, the Klom system." The Klom system would set them on a course on through the Mantis controlled sectors and hopefully from there to the Federation.
There was a short pause on the Zoltans' end. Then the voice said, "You will submit yourself to a security sensor sweep to ensure that there are no harmful items aboard your vessel save for self-defense weaponry. Any toxic or nuclear weaponry will be confiscated, in addition to certain foreign consumable products and various medicinal items that are deemed hazardous by Zoltan law."
Lucy cleared her throat. "Understood." She closed the channel. A loud sigh of relief behind her caused her to turn around and raise an eyebrow and Gray questioningly.
"I was afraid they'd ask for a crew roster," he explained upon seeing her confusion. "Sometimes when entering a species' home territory they can profile the crew of a ship they think is suspicious. That's why I hate crossing borders the normal way—it's way too easy to get caught."
"Oh," Lucy said, taken aback. "Well, why didn't you tell me that before we came this way?"
He exchanged glances with Natsu, who shrugged. The dark haired thief looked back at her. "You seemed…stressed," he said. "I didn't want to pressure you anymore than you needed to be."
"And you three getting your wanted butts hauled in by the local authorities would totally relieve stress." She nodded firmly. "I see. Thank you for your consideration—that was very thoughtful of you."
A drop of sweat slowly made its way down Gray's brow as he gulped. Natsu pretended he couldn't hear the conversation and examined his fingernails with feigned interest, whistling to himself.
The ship suddenly was illuminated in a bright yellow-green glow emitted from the outpost. The four of them instinctively covered their eyes with cries of shock.
"Aw geez, what kind of scanner is that?" Natsu yelped.
Happy curled up in a little blue ball. "I don't like this."
The light continued to shine for a few more moments before it shut off. Seconds later the Zoltan's voice came over the comm once more.
"We apologize for the inconvenience. You have been scanned and have qualified for a temporary Zoltan ship permit that will expire on the date specified in the document. We shall send it over promptly, together with informational brochures about our homeworlds. However," it added, "we would like to issue a warning to you as well.
"As you may or may not be aware, we the Zoltans, while an independent people on good terms with various planetary groups and associations, are a part of the Alvarez Empire in that we are allied to its main forces. Due to the massive civil war that has erupted closer to the heart of the empire, we have begun to seal off our borders to certain ships. We will not take part in this conflict, as civil war is against our nature. We believe in peace and diplomacy, and defend ourselves only against those with more primitive mindsets than ours. Because of this we wish to make certain terms clear: you shall not provoke a conflict within our systems. You shall not broach the topic of civil war, nor shall you openly take sides. This is a neutral zone, and failure to treat it as such shall result in your immediate detainment and possible eradication.
"We wish you a pleasant journey through our system."
The transmission ended, and silence pervaded the bridge where the four of them were gathered.
"Well," Gray said loudly. "That was dramatic."
"'Massive civil war?'" Lucy echoed. "I knew that there was some internal conflict going on in the Empire, but I didn't realize it had gotten that bad."
Natsu frowned. "This must be recent. There wasn't anything like this going on when Happy and I left."
"I think it started right after, actually," said Gray. "But I'd heard that it was just some political stuff. Not an actual full-blown civil war. Then again, I've been out of the loop almost as long as you have at this point, so I wouldn't really know."
Happy scratched his stomach. "Maybe they were exaggerating."
"I don't know, Zoltans don't really seem the type to exaggerate," said Lucy thoughtfully.
"Ah, whatever." Natsu shrugged carelessly. "It's not like we're heading deeper into the Empire anyway, so this shouldn't bother us too much. Things only'll get dicey if the Federation gets involved."
"I think they already are," Lucy murmured. "Or at least, they were thinking about it."
"How do you know?" asked Happy.
"When I got stranded with Natsu, the mission of my ship was to assess the situation of political unrest in the Alvarez Empire," she explained. "The whole ship was on super high alert. I never got to find out what was going on though, thanks to a certain someone." Natsu flushed.
"That's not good," Gray commented. "Natsu's right—if the Federation gets involved in another planetary coalition's civil war things could get real dicey."
"Well, hopefully things won't come to that. Maybe we'll just run into someone who isn't even related to this mess and it'll all be good."
Happy snorted. "Keep dreaming, Lucy," he said in a singsong voice. "Nothing's ever that easy with us. Oh, hey!" He tapped the screen on his console. "The Zoltans sent us the stuff. Cool!"
"Awesome," Natsu said. "What've we got?"
Lucy pulled up the permit and informational brochures on her console screen as well. "Most of the main planets are out of our way," she said, examining them. "But it looks like there are a few outposts and stores on the way to the Klom system. We should be able to stock up on some stuff if we manage to get some money to buy them with."
"Hey Lucy!" Happy exclaimed. "It looks like they've got a Federation starbase here!"
Her heart seemed to stop for an instant. "They—they do?" she stammered.
"Why are you surprised?" asked Gray. "The Zoltans are on good terms with the Federation. I know they're pretty far apart, but it still stands to reason that they'd share starbases."
Lucy bit her lip. "I guess I…I guess I didn't think about it," she murmured.
Home might be a couple light years away…She might be on the way back to her beloved Zodiac in less than a week. She waited for the surge of joy to flood her senses as it would have a month ago, but to no avail. Instead, the same empty feeling that had come over her in the plasma storm waiting for a ship filled her stomach. For some reason, she felt the urge to look at Natsu to see his reaction to the news.
She chanced a glance in his direction and felt her mouth go dry. The rosy-haired thief was staring at the dashboard registering the starbase's existence with an inscrutable expression. He seemed for the most part rather relaxed, but she saw that he was fiddling with his scarf. More specifically, he was running his fingers over the stitch in the scaly material where Lucy had sewn it back together. But then his eyes flicked up from the console to meet hers and he gave her a blinding smile.
"All right!" he cheered. "We're real close to getting you home now."
She swallowed heavily. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah, we are."
He flipped her a double thumbs up. "Hey, perk up. Soon you won't hafta deal with me and my crappy ships anymore."
Far from cheering her up, those words seemed to only make her feel worse. Lucy managed a weak smile at him, but said nothing. She wasn't sure what she would have said, anyway. There weren't words to describe the sick feeling that was growing in her gut. The only thing she could figure out based on these sensations was that it would be a very bad idea to leave the crew of the Torus.
She didn't utter another work for the rest of the way to the starbase, and no one tried to make her. They seemed to pick up on her uneasy mood and gave her the space she needed. However, it didn't help all that much. By the time they actually reached the Federation outpost, she was pretty sure that if she tried to open her tightly sealed mouth she would vomit all over the floor.
"Um, Lucy…" Happy said tentatively. "We're in range. You can talk to them now."
All she could manage was another painfully dry swallow. But then a familiar smoky scent filled her nose and she looked up to see Natsu standing next to her with an encouraging smile on his face.
He clapped a warm hand onto her shoulder and said, "Go on, what're ya waiting for?"
Warmth seemed to spread through her body from where he touched her and she nodded, suddenly filled with determination. She reached out with a pale hand and hailed the starbase.
"This is Federation Starbase 436 Alpha-Tango," a cool female voice said. "How may we be of service?"
"Hi," she said nervously. "I'm Lieutenant Lucy Heartfillia of the Federation starship Zodiac, registration number NCC-1827. I was separated from my ship over a month ago and have been trying to get back since. This starbase is the first Federation contact I've had since then. Is it possible I'd be able to get a transport back to Federation space?"
"Let me see…NCC-1827…Lieutenant Lucy Hearfillia, was it?" the woman said. "Please give me a moment to look you up."
There was a lump in Lucy's throat that refused to go away no matter how hard she swallowed. Her entire body was a tense wire with nerves as she waited for the woman to continue. Without thinking she reached up to her shoulder to put her hand on top of Natsu's, and he responded by gripping her shoulder more tightly.
"Miss Heartfillia?" The woman was back.
Lucy leaned forward slightly with anticipation. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry, but we have no record of anyone with your name serving under the Federation."
All her nerves froze in her body, leaving her numb. "What?"
"There is no Lucy Heartfillia in our records."
"That… that can't be right," she stammered. "I'm the communications officer aboard the starship Zodiac; I've served aboard it for three years now. Are you sure you spelled my name right?"
"I have tried multiple variations of the name given," the woman replied. "I do apologize but we have found no results. The ship you mentioned is registered as a Federation vessel, but we do not have a copy of the crew roster for comparison. However, there is a possibility that our registered member database is incomplete or outdated—we are one of the furthest bases from Federation headquarters, after all."
"But then what—what should I do?"
"I apologize once more, but we cannot accept you aboard this starbase for transportation without the proper credentials. As far as we are concerned, you do not exist as a Federation officer and therefore cannot be treated as one. I suggest you head further into Federation territory in hopes that you appear on other officer lists."
"I—I see," Lucy said blankly. This couldn't be happening to her. "Thank you for your time." She cut the transmission and stared at the console uncomprehendingly.
"Is it uh, normal for the Federation to not recognize its own officers?" asked Gray.
"No," she murmured through still numb lips. "No, it's not. I have no idea what's going on."
"Hey, it could be like the lady said," Happy said bracingly. "It might just be that we're too far out."
"Maybe…"
"But it's weird," Natsu said in a hard voice, his grip on her shoulder almost painful now. "I mean, first your intergalactic bank accounts were frozen, and now a Federation starbase doesn't have a record of you on file? This doesn't feel like an accident."
"Woah, woah, wait a second," Gray said, waving his hands. "Hold up. Lucy, your bank accounts were frozen?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Back when it was just me and Natsu, a few days after I got stuck on his ship. I tried to use my money to get us some supplies and maybe even a new ship, but they told me that my accounts had been completely frozen. All of them. I don't have a single galactic credit to my name."
Happy's ears twitched. "A few days? But that's not fast enough for you to be registered as a criminal, even if someone thought you were in cahoots with Natsu."
"That's what we thought," Natsu said. "But we ignored it 'cause we thought the Federation just got a mix up or whatever. But this is super weird and—"
"I know," Lucy broke in softly. "I know it's really strange, but can we please just keep on ignoring it? For now, at least?"
"Huh?" Surprised, Natsu pulled his hand away. The instant the warmth of his hand vanished Lucy felt a light ache where it had been and wished that she had held on. "Whaddaya mean, Luce? Aren't you worried about this?"
"I am, yes, but…there's nothing we can do about it right now. We're still extremely far out and well, like I said, there's not much we can do. If we get closer to home and things are still strange then maybe, but for now we need to focus on getting through the sector and on to Klom."
Her crewmates exchanged concerned glances with each other. "Are you sure, Lucy?" asked Gray.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am," she said, this time with confidence. There really was no point in worrying about it, after all. They had more important things to do.
Natsu stared at her for another brief moment before shrugging and cracking his knuckles. "Hokay then," he said. "It's up to you." He spun around to face Happy and pointed dramatically in his direction. "Onwards then, navigator! Lower the sails and set sail for the Klom system!"
Happy blinked. "We don't have sails."
"Aah, you get my point. Just set a course and get us there."
"Aye, sir! I mean, aye, aye, captain!"
Gray choked. "Are you some kind sea pirate?"
Natsu scowled. "Hey, pirates are awesome. Don't diss the pirates. They're basically what we are, anyway."
"Yeah, except we don't speak like we walked off the pages of three thousand year-old play script."
"Meh, y'dunno what you're talking about."
"I know more than you do, flame brain!"
"Watch it, ice princess—want me to give you a pirate beating?"
"What're you gonna make me do—walk the plank?"
"I think using you to mop the deck works just fine for me."
"Why don't you just try it, you little—"
"BOYS." Lucy interrupted them with a glare. "Grow up or you'll both be mopping the floors for the next hour."
"Geez, fine," Natsu grumbled. "But only 'cause I really hate mopping. Happy, why aren't we moving?"
"Because you were too busy boosting your own ego to notice that we're being hailed."
All three of their heads shot up. "Huh?" Gray said. "Where's it coming from?"
"This big Zoltan cruiser pulled up near us while you guys were arguing," Happy said with chagrin. "I figured you guys would have noticed it. Sorry."
"God, don't apologize," Lucy said, flustered. "It's my fault, I should have been paying attention." She answered the hail. "This is the Torus. How may we be of assistance?"
"This is a Zoltan peace envoy," a high-pitched voice responded. "We carry no weapons or shielding and rely on the mercy of others to communicate our message."
"I…see," said Lucy slowly. "And?"
It continued. "We take your lack of elaborated response for interested contemplation." It began to talk at length about peace and harmony, but it was either beyond Lucy's simple mind or it was all nonsense. A quick glance at her crewmates told her that they had no idea what the Zoltan was going on about either.
After far too long of it speaking of topics way over their head, the Zoltan finally finished: "Please, spread the word of enlightenment to those that have not heard. Once you have, contact our brethren." The transmission cut out. A second later, a beep at Happy's console told them that the Zoltans had transmitted the coordinates of their so-called "brethren."
Lucy brushed her hair away from her face. "Well then."
"That was kind of funny," Happy said. "You couldn't get a single word in. I've never seen that happen to you, Lucy."
"I really hate diplomats," she muttered. "They have way too much time on their hands."
"So…do we go?" asked Gray. They all turned to Natsu.
He blinked. "Why're you all looking at me?"
Happy curled his tail. "Well, you're the boss, aren't you?"
Lucy shrugged. "I'm just the communications officer. I do what I'm ordered."
Gray folded his arms. "I don't decide where we go—I just make sure we get there in one piece."
A light pink dusted Natsu's cheeks and he didn't seem to know where to look. Instead, he stared at his sandals and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay then," he muttered finally. "I guess, um, we'll do what they asked."
The other three crewmembers nodded and went to work at their respective tasks. Gray left the room and went over to engineering while Happy put in the coordinates given to them by the Zoltans, and Lucy headed for her quarters to go to the bathroom. It was never a good idea to try and negotiate with potentially hostile aliens with a full bladder.
Out of the corner of his eye Happy watched her leave and saw Natsu looking after her with a decidedly unhappy expression. Clearing his throat, he said in a helpful tone, "Y'know, she looks pretty out of sorts."
"Huh?"
"I mean, the whole not popping up in the database thing? She seems a little discombobulated over it."
He shifted uncomfortably. "She said not to worry about it for now."
The Exceed tried not to roll his eyes. "I know that Natsu, but she was really saying that for our benefit. She doesn't want us to worry—that doesn't mean she isn't going to."
"Oh." He frowned. "Then what should I do?"
Happy's eyes gleamed. "I'd say you should probably walk up to her and give her a giant k—"
"Oh I know!" Natsu exclaimed, his features brightening. "I'll give her a hug! She likes hugs. Thanks buddy!"
"—iss," finished Happy as his friend ran out the door. His ears drooped as he sighed, "Oh well… I guess that's better than nothing."
Natsu ran through the medbay and down the corridor after his blond crewmate. "Oi, Luce!" he called down the hall as she came into view. Surprised, she turned around to see what he wanted and let out a startled yelp as he crashed into her in a massive, crushing embrace.
Arms pinned to her side, the most she could do was try to inhale as her face was pressed against his lean chest. She tried to ask what he was doing, but before she could she heard him mumble into her hair, "Everything's gonna be alright, okay? We'll figure it all out."
Those two simple sentences created a lump in her throat that choked off her words and caused her eyes to prickle with tears. Blinking furiously, she nodded against him.
He pulled back slightly and gave her a warm smile. "Just wanted to let you know." And with that, he released her completely and darted back through the corridor he had so unceremoniously barreled down.
Lucy didn't know how long she stood there in the hallway, completely poleaxed. She only moved when the screaming of her bladder reminded her why she'd been heading towards her room in the first place. It took several minutes and three sessions of dousing her face with water before she felt ready enough to leave her room again, and just in time as well. As she stepped out of her quarters into the hallway, Happy said over the intercom, "Lucy, we're coming up to the coordinates the Zoltans gave us. You'd better hurry up and get back here."
She rushed onto the bridge just as they arrived at the location specified by the peace-loving Zoltan. Sliding smoothly into her overlarge seat, she said to Happy and Natsu, "What've we got?"
Natsu was intently scanning the surrounding system. "Nothing so far, but then again, those Zoltan weirdoes didn't really specify when their pals would be showing up."
Happy groaned. "So that means we're just gonna hafta sit here and wait?"
"Aaaactually, I take that back," Natsu said quickly. "There's a ship coming in on us, fast. But what the—" he broke off, frowning. Then his eyes widened. "Wait a second—fuck, that's not a Zoltan ship, that's an Alvaresian battle cruiser! That thing's armed!"
"What?" Lucy cried. "I thought the Zoltans said that they weren't letting in any of those ships because of the civil war!"
"Yeah I know, but clearly they got their shit wrong—yo, Gray!" he yelled into the intercom. "You hear this? Can we take on an Alvaresian battle cruiser?"
"Yeah I heard, and hell no! Not with this crappy ship! I know it's better than what you had before but it's no galaxy-class starship; it barely passes for a transport vessel!"
"Well then what should we—"
The helm beeped. "Natsu, they're hailing us!" Lucy said warningly.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "Crap. Uh, open a channel, I guess."
She hit the button that filled the room with the sound of a harsh, barking voice: "We've found you! You're not getting away this time!"
Lucy was so startled she forgot to say the traditional greeting. "S-sorry?"
"I can't imagine there's anything you could say that will save you," the voice snarled. "The rebellion must destroy those that are still loyal to the obsolete Empire."
"Um, I think you've got the wrong ship—"
"Lucy, they've raised their shields," Happy cautioned.
"Wait, wait!" she said hastily. "Perhaps there could be a reconciliation of our ideals without war?" She had no idea what their problem was so the most she could do was offer vague suggestions in the hopes that it would satisfy them.
"Our ideals are too different to be so easily reconciled. You think this could end any way but war?"
"Well, the galaxy is huge; you can easily find a place for your ideals elsewhere—"
"No! We will not be consigned to the backwaters of space just because we don't fit into your 'Empire ideals!'"
"They're powering up their weapons!" warned Happy.
"Then—then—" Frustrated, she slammed a fist down onto the console, trying desperately to remember what the Zoltan ship had been rambling on about. "That still won't bring you anything!" she finally managed to blurt out. "True progress can only be achieved without bloodshed!"
"What the—" Natsu gasped. "The ship just disappeared!"
Shocked, Lucy looked up at the viewer in time to see all indications of the Alvaresian ship fade away and for a Zoltan fleet to materialize around the Torus. A voice crackled on the communications channel. It was the captain of the ship they had met previously.
"Although your methods are crude and most certainly ineffective," the Zoltan said, "it is clear you took our previous meeting to heart. If your ship represents the Empire's willingness to adapt, then we shall do what we can to aid in their fight. We offer you a gift to help in your quest."
Natsu wrinkled his nose. "A gift?"
"We have analyzed your ship and found it to be inferior to ours. We offer you a new ship, free of charge."
Lucy's eyes widened and, glancing at the others to see their dumbfounded expressions, said to the Zoltan captain, "Um, hold on a moment please. We need to confer among ourselves." She muted the hail.
"Wait—but—wha—" Happy was shocked to the point of inarticulacy. "They're giving us a free ship?" he finally managed to squeak out.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Looks like it," she said, impressed. "But the question is: do we want it?"
"Hell yeah!" insisted Natsu emphatically. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Well, we just resupplied the Torus and all, and we've gotten pretty comfortable…"
"I'll say!" chimed in Gray over the comm. "I finally get used to these wacko Engi engines and designs and now you want me to try and figure out a Zoltan's? C'mon man, that's seriously uncool."
Natsu shook his head. "Yeah, I know, but guys." He pressed his palms flat against the edge of his seat and leaned in. "It's a Zoltan ship."
"You're gonna have to tell me more than its name to sell me on it," replied Gray flatly.
Rolling his eyes, Natsu made a face before huffing, "Well for starters they have actual weapons, not this drone crap. Also, my bro always told me that if I could I should always get a ship with a Zoltan shield augmentation."
"What's so special about a Zoltan shield?" inquired Lucy.
"They're awesome," Happy answered with sparkling eyes. "They're a literal force field surrounding your ship that's separate from the actual shields, and it requires a certain amount of hits to go down. Only then can stuff start smashing your actual shields. They also prevent hacking and boarding, which is great when you're up against jerkish pirates."
She tilted her head, considering. "Alright, that does sound pretty handy," she admitted at last.
There was a stiff silence over the comm in which Lucy could envision the dark-haired engineer screwing up his face as if in anticipation of excruciating pain. "Fine," he snapped. "We can switch ships. Just lemme inspect the other one first, to make sure that it's in proper working order."
"You betcha!" Natsu crowed. "Hot damn guys, we've got ourselves a new ship! I'm all fired up now!"
Lucy giggled, and reopened the channel to the Zoltan ship. "We accept your generous gift," she informed them. "However, we'd like to inspect the ship to make sure that all is well with it before we trade."
"This is acceptable," the Zoltan said, and they watched on the viewscreen as the Zoltan fleet before them parted to reveal a small, sleek, dark green ship shaped like the double curve of a lobster claw. "This is the Adjudicator," the Zoltan said. "We hope she serves you well."
Natsu started to scan the ship. "Woo-hoo," he whistled. "This isn't a bad ship, not bad at all. I mean, it's still not great, but it's another step up from where we are now."
"Woah woah woah," Gray protested. "Don't do anything without me. Meet me in the transporter room, pyro!"
"Who're you callin' pyro?" Natsu squawked indignantly, but Gray was already gone. Grumbling to himself, Natsu headed out to meet him. "We'll contact you from the ship to let you know how it is," he said over his shoulder to Happy and Lucy, and left.
Lucy pursed her lips. "Should I be worried about them?" she said to her feline companion. "I mean, they aren't going to try and kill each other over there without us, right?"
"Naaah, they'll be fine," Happy said airily. "They work fine together when they're trying to get something done…usually."
"Usually?"
"Well, there was this one time they went out together to try and steal some fancy backup engine. They didn't come back for a loooooong time and the guild started freaking out, so we ran to check on 'em and see if they needed help. And you know what we found?"
"I can hazard a guess…"
"The two of them were beating the stuffing out of each other, right in the middle of the enemy base. And not just each other—they'd knocked the guts outta all the guards and officials on the base as well as wrecked half the place. They also trashed the backup engine they were trying to steal. Gramps wasn't exactly happy, y'know?"
"Who's this Gramps you and the boys keep mentioning?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, he's the head of the Fairy Tail thieves guild," Happy said. "Makarov Dreyar."
The name struck a chord in her memory. "Dreyar? Wasn't that Laxus's last name?"
Happy nodded. "Yup. Makarov is Laxus's grandfather."
"Ohhh…I get it." The helm beeped as they were signaled by the Adjudicator. She answered it. "How does it look, Natsu?"
"Eeeeh," he said skeptically. "I was right before—it's really not the best ship. It's got a Halberd Beam though—I can't wait to start carving chunks out of enemy ships' hulls!"
"What's the main problem?" Happy said.
Gray responded this time. "This ship is a Zoltan ship, meaning it was designed to be used by Zoltans. Because of this its engine power is absolutely pathetic, as they rely on the Zoltan's innate energy to power half the systems. Using this ship will give us greater mobility and stronger weaponry and shields, but it'll require a lot of shutting down some systems to power others."
"It's also really inconveniently designed," Natsu added. "The main bridge is like a billion miles away from the rest of the ship's main systems, which means that Gray'll have a hard time getting back and forth."
"So… do we still want it?" Lucy asked nervously. "'Cause this isn't exactly inspiring confidence."
"I'd say yes," Gray said, "but just not for very long. It's faster than the Torus so we'll make more headway, but this is not a ship we want to stay in long-term."
"Alright!" Natsu exclaimed loudly. "If that's settled, then let's start moving our stuff over!"
"Ouch, don't shove me you flaming moron!"
"Well then don't stand in my way, droopy eyes!"
"You—"
Lucy closed the channel with a tight smile and twitching eye. She turned to Happy. "Let's separate them before one of them breaks an arm, shall we?"
"More like you break it for them," Happy muttered under his breath.
"What was that, cat?"
OOOOO
It took them a little under an hour to transfer all of their belongings to the other ship. They barely had anything to begin with—the things that took the longest were uninstalling a couple systems, transferring what little data they had accumulated, and removing the cloaking device. Lucy walked in on Natsu apologizing profusely to the stolen piece of machinery for not using it lately, and that he would totally make up for it later. Then he saw Lucy watching, turned beet red, and hurriedly left the room, muttering something about needing to do some last-minute checkups. Finally all was done, and they beamed over to their new ship.
When Lucy materialized in its transporter room, she had to blink very hard. The whole room and, she suspected, the ship as well, was glowing a painful, bright yellow that she had to squint her eyes to see through. She persuaded Gray, who was seemingly unaffected by the brightness to lower the lighting in the ship, and once she could see she proceeded to inspect the rest of the ship. It was bigger than the Torus, with fifteen rooms total rather than ten, and each room was slightly more spacious.
Natsu hadn't been kidding about the inconvenient design of the ship—it took Lucy nearly three whole minute running to get from the bridge to the engine room. Also, engineering, weapons controls, and shield controls were all right next to each other, meaning if the ship was damaged in that area, they could potentially lose all three of their major systems in one well-aimed blow. It was not, Lucy concluded in agreement with Gray, a ship they wanted to stay in long term.
At last, the four of them stood aboard the bridge of the Adjudicator and watched as the Zoltan fleet captured their old ship in a tractor beam and started to take it away with them.
"She really wasn't a bad ship," Natsu commented as it started to fade away with the Zoltans. "I mean, it was a crappy fifth-rate Engi transfer ship, but still…that ship got us off the floating scrap heap that I had to fly around in before."
Gray shook his head. "I still don't get how you could have had a ship so bad that the Engi tin can seem good in comparison."
Natsu snorted. "Gray, that thing was such a piece of junk that when we were boarded by an Engi I couldn't even swing my arm with all my strength 'cause I was afraid I might rupture the hull."
"We were happy to see it go," Lucy inserted bluntly. "But I think because of that I'll always have a soft spot for Engi ships now," she added with a fond glance at the disappearing fleet.
"Who knows," Happy said, "maybe one day we'll get another one."
"Maybe," she said. Happy was right. With their luck, who really knew?
And with that, together the four of them silently said their goodbyes to the Torus and prepared to complete their voyage through the Zoltan homeworlds and head to the Klom system to greet whatever would come at them next.
You all know what I'm here for: R! E! V! I! E! W! S!
You guys were great with this chapter-I got over twenty! Honestly, I'm thrilled when I get half of that, but I swear you guys are what make me write. I read each and every one of them at least five times and I grin like an idiot all the while.
And as always, thank you so much for reading!
