Izuku followed the teenage engineer known as Tetsutetsu down the main hallway towards the back of the ship. Coming to a large reinforced blast door, Tetsutetsu pressed a button on the wall causing the blast door to slowly open.

"In here." The muscular teen growled.

Still not quite sure what he had done to earn Tetsutetsu's ire, Izuku meekly nodded and followed the engineer through the blast door. Stepping inside, Izuku immediately noticed a slight increase in temperature. Unlike the rest of the ship's interior that was polished and shiny, the reactor room was full of exposed pipes, wiring, and internal structures. With the gentle hum of the idle reactor permeating everything, Izuku looked around in awe.

"Hey, sit down." Tetsutetsu grumbled, pointing to a small folding stool that had hastily been set up in the cramped hallway.

Quickly sitting down, Izuku sat silently waiting for the engineer to begin the interrogation. However, after a minute of awkward silence Tetsutetsu appeared to suddenly remember that he was the one who had initiated the conversation.

"Uhh...I'm Tetsutetsu." He said awkwardly. "Welcome to the team...i guess…"

Unsure of how exactly he should respond, Izuku simply nodded silently.

Obviously frustrated, Tetsutetsu sighed and leaned against the hallway wall. "I'm not that good at being subtle, so I will just be blunt. What...what were you doing with Yanagi?"

Thrown for a loop and totally confused, Izuku shrugged. "I j-just needed to look at one of the alien artifacts."

Tetsutetsu narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Really? You seemed to be awfully chummy with her."

Izuku frowned and nodded. "Yeah, I think she was just excited because I opened one of the artifacts."

Suddenly Izuku realized something. "Wait a second...were you spying on us?"

Now it was Tetsutetsu's turn to avert his gaze as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Uhh...not intentionally. I was just walking by and saw you go into her lab and then I kinda listened in and heard her being really excited about something."

It suddenly dawned on Izuku that Tetsutetsu probably had a crush on Reiko. Breathing out a sigh in relief, Izuku smiled in a friendly manner at the engineer in front of him.

"Umm...Tetsutetsu right?" Izuku said slowly. "I don't know what kind of relationship you have with Yanagi, but I can assure you I had no ulterior motives when I visited her lab."

Suddenly Tetsutetsu coughed awkwardly and appeared to try and play dumb. "Uhh...what are you talking about?"

Izuku could not help but chuckle. "Well...I mean you obviously like her."

Unexpectedly, the brawny teenager's face turned bright red as spluttered and choked. "W-what?! How did you...I mean...umm...no I don't?"

Izuku stood up and held up his hands in a placating manner. "It's okay, I am not going to tell anybody. I was afraid you were mad at me about something."

His cover obviously blown, Tetsutetsu's tough guy act deflated like a balloon.

"No, I wasn't mad. I just…" The gray-haired teen sighed hopelessly. "Go ahead and laugh if you want. I know I look stupid for even trying to talk to her."

Confused, Izuku gave Tetsutetsu a curious look.

"I wasn't going to laugh at you. Honest." Izuku said. "Its none of my business who you like, but what do you mean it looks stupid?"

Sighing heavily, Tetsutetsu gestured to himself. "Because I am me and she is...amazing."

Still confused, Izuku shook his head slightly. "I don't follow."

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Tetsutetsu said with slight annoyance. "I am just some dumb musclehead and she is super smart and talented and stuff. We have nothing in common and she has all kinds of accomplishments while I am just a glorified mechanic."

Izuku shrugged. "You don't have to be so hard on yourself. I am sure there is plenty of other stuff you are good at. Plus, why do you think you need to be the same as her to have a shot?"

Now it was Tetsutetsu's turn to shrug. "Because all she talks about is stuff I don't know about. When I do try to talk to her she never shows any emotion. When you talked to her it was the first time I had heard her that excited."

Izuku felt bad for Tetsutetsu and tried to make him feel better.

"Well I think she was just excited because I can use the alien stuff she has." Izuku said placatingly.

Tetsutetsu groaned in annoyance and gently bonked his head against the wall. "That's exactly what I mean! I can't do any of that! Nobody can! She has talked to you more in a few days than she has with me ever since I joined the crew! If she likes anyone it is more than likely you!"

For a second, Izuku was happy that there was a possibility that a girl liked him. However, that happiness was immediately squashed by guilt and sympathy for Tetsutetsu.

"Oh...I didn't think of that." Izuku said honestly. "Well I am being honest when I say I don't see her in a romantic light at all. She actually kinda scares me with how obsessed she is with alien stuff. I think she sees me more as a tool or a lab rat than a possible boyfriend."

Izuku's attempt at salvaging the situation was met with another heavy sigh from Tetsutetsu.

"Thanks for being nice about it, I guess." Tetsutetsu said quietly. "Sorry for dragging you back here."

Izuku frowned. Even though he had just met Tetsutetsu, he felt a bit of kinship with him over the fact that they both had trouble talking to girls. At least Tetsutetsu just had trouble talking to one girl specifically. Izuku had trouble talking to girls in general.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, Izuku came up with an idea.

"How about this? Izuku said slowly. "Next time I use any of the alien stuff, how about you tag along? That way it gives you something to talk to Yanagi about."

Perking up considerably, Tetsutetsu looked at Izuku with grateful eyes.

"Really?! You mean it?" The musclehead said happily. "Thanks so much man! You aren't such a bad guy after all."

Before Izuku could react, Tetsutetsu shook his hand with a grip that felt like it could crush rocks.

Wincing slightly, Izuku smiled weakly and nodded. "No problem. I am glad I got to know you better. To be honest everyone on the crew is a little hard to talk to."

Laughing heartily, Tetsutetsu released Izuku's hand only to give him a hard slap on the back.

"Oh we aren't that bad." The gray-haired engineer laughed. "Kendo and the captain are pretty nice. Slick is a little...weird...but he seems nice enough. Nagant and Dabi though…"

Tetsutetsu shivered slightly.

"Nagant only really talks to the captain, and from what I have heard she is pretty dangerous. I don't know much else about her though. Dabi on the other hand...that guy is a through and through killer."

Izuku raised his eyebrows in shock. "R-really? How do you know that?"

Tetsutetsu quickly looked around as if to check for eavesdroppers. "I was out on a supply run with the captain on this space station when we got held up by some muggers. Out of nowhere Dabi shows up and straight up torches the muggers without so much as blinking! I thought I was gonna be sick. I don't have much sympathy for criminals, but being burned alive is a bad way to go for anyone. But I guess that is why the captain has him as her bodyguard."

Gulping nervously, Izuku nodded rapidly. "Thanks for warning me. I hope I don't do anything to piss him off."

"You and I both." Tetsutetsu agreed. "Anyways, I gotta go do some maintenance. You ever wanna hang out just lemme know. It's kinda nice having another guy my age around I can talk to."

Smiling happily, Izuku nodded in agreement. "Thanks! It was nice meeting you, but I gotta go talk to the captain now. See you later!"

With a quick wave goodbye, Izuku left the reactor room and sighed in relief. Stepping onto the elevator platform, Izuku rode the platform to the third floor and walked down to the captain's quarters at the end of the hall. Coming to a stop in front of the ornate door, Izuku decided to simply knock and hope for the best. After a few respectful knocks, Izuku heard shuffling behind the door before it opened.

Standing in the doorway wearing the same outfit as before, Captain Shimura looked down at Izuku curiously.

"Ah shit I knew I was forgetting something." The tall woman said suddenly. "We need to get you a comm unit. As much as I appreciate the old-fashioned knocking, it's easier to simply ring me up instead of hunting all over the ship for me. Anyways, what can I do for you Midoriya? Feeling better?"

A little thrown off track by the sudden conversation, Izuku took a minute to reorganize his thoughts.

"Umm...thanks c-c-captain, but I f-figured you would want to hear this as soon a-a-as possible."

Captain Shimura arched one of her eyebrows curiously. "Oh? And what information might be so important?"

Izuku took a steadying breath before speaking. "Umm...I know where to go. I mean...it's kinda hard to explain. But I found out where some hidden alien ruins are. There is something important I need to find in there."

A wide smile breaking out on her face, Captain Shimura laughed exuberantly. "You are full of surprises, Midoriya! Do you know the coordinates?"

Izuku shook his head slightly. "Sort of...but not really. I opened one of Yanagi's artifacts and it downloaded a...memory?...map?...into my head. I was going to ask if I could look at some of the galactic maps to see if I could pinpoint where the planet was."

The mechanical door sliding shut behind her, Captain Shimura gently turned Izuku around and walked with him to the elevator platform.

"Sounds like a good old-fashioned treasure hunt!" The dark-haired woman said excitedly. "If it is navigation you need, Slick is the one to talk to. Let's go!"

Descending the elevator with Captain Shimura, Izuku was shocked to see Nagant and Dabi having a standoff in the main hallway.

"Criminal thug." Nagant spat venomously as her right arm morphed and some sort of rifle barrel extended from her right elbow

"Corpo rat." Dabi replied flatly as blue flames flared to life in his metallic hands.

Flinching backwards, Izuku was shocked to see Captain Shimura stride up to the two combatants and give them both a hard look.

"ENOUGH!" Captain Shimura barked authoritatively. "On my ship you two will behave yourselves! Or do I need to beat some sense into both of you again?"

There was a moment of tense silence as Dabi and Nagant stared at each other. Izuku was convinced that blood was about to be spilled, but was shocked when Nagant retracted her weapon and Dabi snuffed out the flames in his hands.

"My apologies ma'am." Nagant said stiffly.

"Sorry." Dabi said emotionlessly

Seemingly satisfied, Captain Shimura nodded and gestured for Izuku to follow her.

"C'mon Midoriya, get a move on."

As Captain Shimura strode away, Izuku was faced with the challenge of passing between the two intimidating adults still glaring at each other. Gulping nervously, Izuku kept his eyes on the floor and quickly scurried past the two fighters so as to catch up with the captain.

"Don't mind them." Captain Shimura said suddenly as Izuku caught up with her. "They butt heads every once in a while, but most of the time it's all just acting tough."

Before Izuku could stop himself, he blurted out the first thought that came to his mind.

"Most of the time?!"

Captain Shimura chuckled. "Don't worry kid. They know better than to involve innocent bystanders. Worst case scenario, they both leave the ship and only one of them comes back."

Horrified at the captain's casual attitude towards a possible deathmatch, Izuku opted to keep his mouth shut.

Walking to the end of the hall with Izuku, Captain Shimura came to a stop in front of a mechanical door labelled "Bridge". Putting a passcode into the nearby keypad, Captain Shimura gestured for Izuku to enter as the metal door slid open. Nodding his thanks, Izuku walked in.

Immediately, Izuku heard the sound of loud music and singing.

Walking onto the main area of the bridge, Izuku was surprised to see Slick leaning against a wall scrolling through a datapad while singing along perfectly to the song reverberating through the room.

As Captain Shimura entered behind him, Izuku watched as Slick looked up from his datapad with a merry twinkle in his eye.

However, instead of saying anything Slick simply continued to sing along enthusiastically to the upbeat song.

"Slick." Captain Shimura said loudly over the music. "We need your help with something."

"Whatcha got for me boss?" A familiar voice suddenly said from behind Izuku.

Whirling around in surprise, Izuku's jaw dropped when he saw a second Slick standing behind him with a cheeky grin on his metallic face. Looking back to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, Izuku became even more confused when he confirmed that the first Slick was still leaning against the wall singing beautifully.

Apparently unfazed by the multiple copies of Slick, Captain Shimura simply rolled her eyes and turned around to face the talking version of Slick.

"Young Midoriya here apparently has the location of some hidden alien ruins in his head. The trouble is, it is not a precise location. We need to look at some galactic maps to help pinpoint our destination."

As the first Slick perfectly hit an extended high note in the song, the second Slick nodded in obvious interest.

"So you mean we actually have a specific goal now instead of just roaming around looking for a needle in a haystack?" The metallic pilot said impishly.

Slick's snarky question was simply met with a stern look from Captain Shimura, making the pilot hold up his hands in mock surrender and walk over to a nearby terminal with a holoprojector.

"Alright, one serving of fresh galactic maps coming up!" Slick said enthusiastically. "Hope you got some info for me to work with kid. The galaxy is a big place."

"I will leave you both to it." Captain Shimura said as she walked away. "Ring me when you are done."

Working with Slick for around twenty minutes, Izuku finally found the star system in question.

"That's it!" Izuku said excitedly as a holographic star system rotated in front of him. "I am sure of it. It looks exactly like the one in my head."

Straightening up and cracking his knuckles, Slick chuckled. "Alright! Let's get the hell off this dust bowl and get goin!"

Putting a finger to his ear, Slick spoke into the air. "Captain? We have the location, permission to lift off immediately?"

After a second of silence, Slick nodded and made his way over to the pilot's seat as he spoke to Izuku. "Have you ever flown a spaceship before Mido?"

Confused, Izuku watched as the first Slick stopped singing and went over to a music player to change the song.

"Uhh...No I haven't." Izuku said honestly as he curiously watched Slick begin pressing buttons and flipping switches at a rapid pace.

"You want to?" Slick said with a friendly grin as a classic rock and roll spacefaring song started playing over the bridge's speakers.

Izuku could not help but smile shyly in response to Slick's encouraging grin. "C-c-can I?" The green-haired teen asked hesitantly.

"Then c'mon over here." Slick said as he patted the seat of the co-pilot chair next to him. "Let's pop that piloting cherry of yours."

Excitedly sitting down in the co-pilot chair, Izuku looked at the myriad variety of controls, buttons, switches, and levers in front of him. "What d-do I do?"

Slick pressed a few buttons on his console, causing a steering yoke to emerge from under Izuku's console.

"I will take care of all the boring complicated stuff." Slick said as he pressed a button that caused the ship to rumble slightly. "Just follow the prompts on your screen. You will do great."

Nodding slowly, Izuku reverently placed his hands on the steering yoke as Slick activated the ship's intercom.

"Alright ladies and germs!" Slick said enthusiastically. "Please place your chairs in the upright position, batten down the hatches, and keep your hands inside the ride at all times. We are about to blow this popsicle stand and begin a brand new adventure with our boy Midoriya!"

Izuku felt his stomach flutter nervously as he felt the ship slowly rise into a hover and begin moving forward. Looking out the cockpit windshield windows, Izuku watched in awe as the dusty ground slowly disappeared to be replaced by blue sky.

"Alright Mido, your turn." Slick said encouragingly. "Take us out of here."

Nodding nervously, Izuku tightened his grip on the yoke and was struck by the feeling of power and speed in the simple act of taking control. Following the prompts on the screen in front of him, Izuku gently pulled the yoke back as the music increased in volume. As the starship angled upwards and increased speed, Izuku could not help but smile excitedly as the sky slowly started to darken. Breaking through the stratosphere, Izuku gasped in awe as the twinkle of stars got brighter as the sky turned black. With a final shudder, the starship broke out of the planet's atmosphere and into the dark void of space as the music reached a crescendo. Taking his hands off the controls, Izuku let out a shaky breath as he felt his heart pound in his chest as a giddy smile painted itself on his face.

"Congratulations kiddo, you just performed your first successful takeoff." Slick said warmly as he ruffled Izuku's hair in a brotherly manner. "Nothing beats that feeling of first grabbing the controls does it?"

Izuku shook his head as he looked out the cockpit windows in awe. "It was amazing." He said breathlessly.

Nodding in satisfaction, Slick leaned back in his pilot chair and smiled. "Nothing ever tops that first time, but trust me, it never gets old." Slick paused for a second, obviously thinking something over before continuing. "If you ever wanna learn some more about piloting this bird, feel free to ask. It's been awhile since I had the opportunity to mentor someone, and I can tell you are a good kid."

Izuku looked over at Slick with newfound respect in his eyes. "Really? You wouldn't mind?"

Slick chuckled. "Of course not. When I look at you I can't help but think of my own little brother. Makes me feel all squishy inside and shit. Trust me, you stick with me and I will teach you all sorts of cool things."

Suddenly the intercom squawked and Nagant's icy voice emanated from the speakers. "Midoriya, report to the armory immediately for outfitting."

With a click, the intercom shut off.

"Welp, sounds like the ice queen is calling you." Slick said dryly. "Better go see what she wants before she shoots you or something. See you later bro."

As Slick extended a fist for him to bump, Izuku smiled and tapped Slick's fist with his own.

"Thanks Slick, that was a lot of fun." Izuku said truthfully.

Standing up from the co-pilot's seat, Izuku turned around and left the bridge to see what the scary quartermaster wanted with him.