As the STARGAZER continued on its course to the spaceport above Ropesk, several ships made attempts to take them down. Yuri was having none of it however; ordering his crew to crush any opposition. With Panfilov dead though, the enemy didn't stand a chance.

After the destruction of several military ship's, Yuri was put in touch with the Panfilov Guard's Commander, who had ordered the fleet to cease fire. Not trusting a word the man said, Yuri had told the him to withdraw his fleet out of attack range. As the STARGAZER docked with the spaceport, Yuri and Nia made their way to the docking tube.

The light on the panel turned blue, and Yuri smacked the button with such force, he was surprised it didn't crack.

"Yuri. Yuri."

"Kira..."

The green-haired girl spoke, almost knocking him over as she hugged him fiercely.

"You must've been so scared. I'm so sorry. This was all my fault."

"I wasn't scared. I knew you'd come for me Yuri." She said. "You've always come through for me."

"It's all right now. You're safe."

As their reunion continued, Nia stared at them from her position behind them.

"Oops! Sorry Nia. I didn't introduce you. This is my little sister, Kira."

"H-how do you do?" Kira began meekly.

"Hey. Nice to meet you." After a second of pause in the conversation, Nia continued. "Um, don't take this the wrong way but... are you sure you two are related?"

"Huh?" Yuri began, genuinely confused. "What are you trying to say?"

"Aw, forget it. Never mind." Nia said, waving away Yuri's question. "Anyway, here's a bodysuit for you Kira. If you're gonna be travelling with us, the clothes you've got on aren't gonna cut it. Off you go to get changed."

"O-okay."

As Nia and Yuri waited in the next room, Kira, behind closed doors, had just finished getting changed. Looking at her appearance in the mirror, she assessed the way the bodysuit fit.

It was form fitting, sitting around her body like a glove, exposing her teenage curves. She blushed, embarrassed and unsure. "Um... Nia?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"This bodysuit... it's so, form fitting..."

She stepped out of the change room to listen to Nia's answer. "Ha ha ha. Ah, you'll get used to it. Besides..." Nia whistled. "It looks damn fine on you! Right Yuri?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure... whatever. Don't worry about it Kira."

"Um. Okay..." Kira said, gulping.

And as Yuri and Kira walked off, the latter being led on a tour by the young Captain, Nia was left staring after them in confusion. They definitely weren't like any siblings she'd ever met.

And as she picked up Kira's old clothes, she walked off, up the hallway and towards the DAISY, which was currently docked on the STARGAZER'S ventral hull.

She had some thinking to do.

"Intersection at point 2300056 SS confirmed at the estimated time."

"Ability to pinpoint the subject's coordinates has entered stable range of precision." The mysterious figure began, elongated arms immobile by his sides. "Phenomenon consistency rate rising to 98.7764 percent."

"Progress satisfactory. Proceeding as planned."

The tavern on Bagut was awash with news of Panfilov's death. The monitors up on the wall showing the news anchor currently reporting on the battle that had just finished raging above Ropesk.

Luckily for them, no pictures or profiles existed about their identities or appearances... only possessing the knowledge that a female pirate had kidnapped a teenage boy and forced him into cooperating with her.

As they sat at the table waiting for their meals, Yuri spoke up, a smile on his face.

"Nia, I really appreciate everything you've done for me. You even helped me rescue Kira."

"Ah, don't mention it." Waving down his complement. "I'm your Launcher. I had to make sure my customer was satisfied... right? But yeah, no problem kid. Say... I'll bet you and Kira don't have a lot of experience with guns, do ya? You want me to give you a lesson on how to shoot?"

"You mean, right here?"

"Sure. It's not like we're really gonna fire anything. Just practice aiming and stuff. You know, the basics. Then you can use what you learned on the ship's guns."

Nodding in agreement after her explanation, Yuri replied. "Okay, yeah. That would be great. Kira, you too."

"Huh? Oh, all right."

After imparting her wisdom on the basics of guns, Yuri and Kira found themselves alone at the table, enjoying their meals in comfortable silence.

Yuri found himself watching Nia, who was currently standing at the bar ordering a drink, hitting it off with the other tavern patrons... laughing and raising her glass with them.

Watching Nia for a while from across the tavern from the seat beside her brother, Kira then turned to face Yuri; whispering to him in a hushed voice.

"Yuri? What is Nia to you?"

"What is she? She's my Launcher." Yuri explained, taking a quick sip of his juice. "Launchers are people who help others get started on their space journeys. She took me on as a client, and here I am in space."

"I see."

"Huh? Is something bothering you Kira? You look kind of upset."

"Why would I be upset?" Kira asked.

As that conversation wound down, Kira turned to her brother again with another question.

"Yuri, what are you going to do now?

"I have to get money together and get dad's Epitaph back."

"And then what? What are you going to do after that?" She watched as he didn't hesitate in his reply.

"I'm going to keep going, go farther, and look for more Epitaphs. And somewhere along the way, I'm sure I'll figure out what they're all about."

He stared off for a second, before turning to Kira with a question of his own. "Don't you want to find out more about our dad's Epitaph too?"

"I...I guess so."

And as she picked at her food again, she watched him stare off into space, a small smile creeping through.

Entering Radimir's tavern on Hapsal, Yuri, Nia and Kira found the room almost deserted... save for a group of men at the back of the tavern.

They laughed and drank and talked together. More wine, they shouted in their already half-drunken merriment. They wore the signature Ropesk military uniforms: dark blue with gold trimming and accents.

The floor around them was littered with spilt food and wine, cracking and crunching under Yuri's feet as he approached their table... and he almost laughed as Nia nearly slipped.

One of the soldiers was already passed out, and as the others laughed, one of them noticed the group, slapping his friend's shoulder.

As the three stopped at their table, Kira spotted the bartender, Radimir, look their way... unsure of what to do.

Clearing his throat, Yuri spoke up. "So you're the security force that Panfilov hired to guard the Void Gate huh? I heard from a friend that this is the best place to have a chat with you."

The one who had noticed them was watching Nia with something on his mind. With a look of lust on his face, and a predatory gleam in his eyes; he looked her up and down.

"What? So you want us to let you through the Void Gate, do you?"

"I don't know about that... I mean, our jobs are on the line... you know." Another continued, turning to the others. "But, you know... if you were to give us a little something, like a bribe... well, we just might consider it."

"Here you go. Here's something like a 100G." Yuri said, handing the currency card over.

The soldier accepted the card and examined it for a moment, before looking up. "Now we're talking! We don't have any problem accepting it as long as it's only something like 100G. Thanks! Now just leave the rest to us..."

As the Otlichny-class destroyer continued its journey up the starlane to the Void Gate, Yuri was slowly becoming more and more unsettled. Tapping his fingers on the armrests, as the stars passed them by, his mind raced.

He was excited.

They were about 5,000-6,000 miles from the gate, when Kira spoke up, having taken up a position at one of the operator's stations.

"Yuri, there's a strange ship that appears to be following us."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Opening the comm channel to the pursuing ship, they heard Torlo Adkin's familiar voice over the speakers.

"Hey! Hey you guys. It's me! It's me, Torlo! Let me on."

"It sounds like he wants to board. What do you think?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to hear what he has to say."

After being granted permission to board, Torlo Adkin went straight up to Yuri and gave him a big hug, his face beaming. "They say you took care of Panfilov. I just gotta thank you man."

"You're welcome. No problem." They must have finally figured out their identities. "Uh, is that why you chased us down like this? To thank us?"

"Well, that and..." He stopped, fidgeting on the spot. "I've always wanted to travel the sea of stars myself. You gotta take me with you man!"

"You want to come with us?"

His smile growing, Torlo answered. "Oh totally! In fact, I already left the business to Kachko, so you can't say no to me."

"Uh..."

"C'mon, we'd make a great team! Lemme come with you. What do you say?"

Whew. He thought. This guy sure is... enthusiastic.

"Well Torlo, welcome to the crew of the STARGAZER." Yuri said, extending a hand in front of him.

"Glad to be aboard Captain."

And as the two shook hands in agreement, standing inside the docking tube corridor; Nia watched them. Yuri sure had changed since they'd met.

She was proud of him.

"ATTENTION! this is the Ropesk Void Gate Guard. No ships shall pass without express permission from the Ropesk government. Turn around and leave the area at once!" They ordered.

Opening up a communication to the Void Gate Guard, Yuri spoke. "Can you read me? This is Yuri. We met in the tavern on Hapsal."

"You eh? Yeah we remember you."

"Then you remember that we —"

"Just because we met you in some bar, that doesn't mean we're going to let you through. You're going to have to turn back."

"What?!"

"If you don't turn back immediately, we'll be forced to open fire. We repeat. Turn back, or we open fire!"

Gripping the console in anger, Yuri remained standing as Torlo and Kira watched him, awaiting his decision.

"So they're playing all by-the-book now, are they?" Nia asked aloud.

"How could they do that to me?!"

"Don't let 'em get you so upset. If you let this kind of thing get to you, you're never gonna last kiddo."

The command bridge went silent for a few seconds before Nia spoke. "So what do ya wanna do?"

Turning to Nia, Yuri addressed her with a stone-faced expression. "Let's fight!"

"Really?"

"Sometimes you just have to fight to get your point across. Right?"

Nia's head tilted back quickly as she laughed, hair bouncing. "Looks like you're getting used to the way things work out here in space. Let's do it!"

"Yeah!"

The fight didn't last as long as he'd thought, though the 3-ship fleet was more powerful than the standard Ropesk military ships they'd come across.

It wasn't like he hadn't expected it. If Panfilov had been guarding the Void Gate with the same ships he'd been guarding the rest of the sector with... reports of escapes from Ropesk would have been regular.

As the STARGAZER moved slowly through the debris, Torlo stood, looking through the bridge's viewport. "Wow. Check that thing out! Void Gates sure are something else!"

"I don't know why, but I'm a bit scared."

"There's nothing to be scared of. Just think of it as a bridge into space." Nia told Kira.

"We just have to go through it, and then we'll be in the Lutsk sector. Let's go!" Yuri said, turning to face Nia directly.

"Roger!"

Rippling outwards from the point of contact between the Void Gate and the STARGAZER... the blue of the gate turned white... crackling and buzzing as they passed through.

Inside the ship, eye's alight with excitement, Yuri watched as the stars and space of the Lutsk sector appeared.

It seemed brighter than Ropesk.

"Whoa! So this is the Lutsk sector eh?" Torlo said, examining this new area they were in.

"It's a frontier area just like Ropesk, but there's way more planet's here!"

As he stared through the viewport ahead, he began to notice his head throbbing... a headache coming on. Noticing the look on his friend's face, Torlo spoke up.

"Huh? What's the matter Yuri?"

"Huh? Oh, I just got a little headache."

"Hey, are you okay?!"

Noticing the object of Nia's attention, Yuri's eyes went wide. Clutching her head, bent at the waist, Kira's face showed pain. She was panting.

"Kira! Are you all right?!" Nia asked, hurrying over to check on the young teenager.

"I-I'm fine."

"Kira. Are you sick?"

Turning to face Kira, Torlo spoke up again. "What? Kira too?"

"I'm fine. I just had a little headache, that's all." Struggling to her feet, Kira replied. "It's gone now. I-I'm feeling better."

"Are you sure?" Yuri asked.

Standing beside him, hand holding her chin in thought, Nia studied Kira closely. "Hm. It might be a side effect of passing through the Void Gate."

"You two are fine?" He asked, turning to Nia and Torlo.

"Ha, ha! I'm about as tough as they come!" Torlo exclaimed, patting his chest.

"I've never heard of any side effects, but I guess Void Gates could affect different people in different ways."

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine now."

"As long as you're sure."

We'd better get Kira to a spaceport so she can rest up. Yuri thought. Watching the Lutsk sector flying by.

He'd done it. He'd really done it.

He had escaped Ropesk, and was finally in new territory. He was one step closer to Central Elgava.

And he couldn't stop smiling.