With the Void Gate, and the problems of Kalymnos now behind them, Yuri's fleet blasted up the starlane.
The headache that he usually felt was still there, but he had managed to bury the pain somewhat.
With his mind on the subject, Yuri turned to watch Kira.
She hadn't even flinched while going through the Void Gate. It made him think...
Had she been doing something similar too?
"Kira, you were okay this time, weren't you?"
"Huh?" She was surprised by his presence.
"Coming through the Void Gate, I mean." He explained.
Realizing what Yuri was talking about, she replied. "Oh yeah. I had a little bit of a headache, but it was no big deal."
"Oh good. Maybe this means you're getting used to travelling more." He said.
She smiled, watching as he walked off to check on the others.
She had never liked space travel. It scared her half to Grus just thinking about it.
She thought that she had come a long way from that girl she'd been on Ropesk. She'd been through so much. But even with all that...
She just wanted to live her life on the ground.
Maybe it was the feel of grass and dirt under her feet. Or the wind on her face. The smell of the countryside.
She wasn't sure. But what she did know, was that someday, she'd make that dream come true.
Looking over at her brother, she sighed.
She just wished that he'd understand.
But he never would...
"Why you son of a -"
With the sound of flesh on flesh, a small fist shot out, catching Torlo hard on the chin.
"Ow! Ouch!"
Entering the tavern, Yuri was able to spot the two crewmembers fighting. Knowing the two, he knew that things could get out of hand pretty fast.
He had to do something.
Noticing his crewmember's red face, who was fuming with anger, Yuri rushed over to break it up, pulling Roubis back.
"Calm down now Roubis! What's going on over here anyway?"
Yuri's words did nothing to ease the situation and Roubis spat. "WHAT'S GOING ON? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON! YOU SHOULD'VE HEARD WHAT THIS JERK SAID TO ME!"
Lifting his hands, Torlo shrugged in confusion. "What?! All I said was you oughta put a little muscle on those bones, if ya wanna look like a real man!"
Roubis's eyes blazed with fire again.
"SEE?! HE'S STILL SAYIN' IT! I'M A GIRL, YOU IDIOT!" Roubis shouted, pulling her hair out in frustration.
Yuri froze. "What?!"
Whirling around to face the Captain, Nerissa eyed him dangerously. "Whaddya mean What?! Captain?"
"Oh, uh. Nothing." He stammered. "Okay, I've heard your stories."
He was in the same boat as Torlo.
He too had thought that Roubis was a boy. Though with a name like Nerissa, that should have been obvious. This wasn't about him though, it was about Torlo.
The boy did have a tendency to speak without thinking. He had also known that Torlo's mouth would get him into trouble one day, and that he would have to do something about it.
He had to make Torlo apologize.
Turning to face his friend, Yuri spoke. "Shame on you Torlo. How could you think Roubis here was a boy? You should apologize."
After opening his mouth, even he too, thought his words sounded a bit hollow... like he had just found out...
Which he had.
Luckily for him though, the other two hadn't noticed. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry Roubis."
"Unbelievable! I don't think I've ever been so insulted in my life!"
Still sputtering, Nerissa Roubis took the opportunity to leave, a shocked look still on her face, as she took a seat by herself. After a moment, she appeared to calm down, and began sipping on her drink thoughtfully.
Beside him, he heard Torlo sigh.
"That was bad man. But I really, truly thought she was a dude!"
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Huh?" Torlo turned to look at Yuri, not sure what he'd just heard.
Realizing his mistake, the young Captain answered quickly. "Oh uh, nothing."
Excusing himself, he headed up to the bar, finding himself in a conversation with the bartender... who began to speak softly.
"Just between you and me... The manners of the customers who over from Kalymnos through the gate are so poor, I just don't know what to do. And that's bad enough, but when I think about what they might be plotting against our country..."
The man took a look around the room, as if afraid they were being watched. He shuddered.
Yuri rolled his eyes.
The Kalymnians and the Nova Nacions were so paranoid about each other, that they risked losing what they already... just to one up the other.
Turning to look back at his crew, Yuri smiled. They had come together from all over. Sure, they had their spats and disagreements now and then... but in the end, they were still friends.
They were a family.
The fighter design company on Riveli yielded no results, and the group were asked to leave; an employee stating that they didn't sell to the general public.
Afterwards, they visited the Guard Post, which they didn't expect to get into.
Much like the one on Volos, the building was very heavily guarded, and several soldiers eyed them suspiciously as the approached.
"Not exactly what I'd call a warm welcome."
"I agree. This is a little scary." Tatiana said.
"This is a true illustration of how strained their relationship with Kalymnos really is." Ian told the group.
As they walked away, Yuri turned to look back...
He was honestly getting sick of all these problems that the two nations seemed to have with each other.
After a brief touchdown on Shelo, they had gotten themselves into a conversation with the bartender, amongst other things.
"This sector is a hub for anybody travelling to Elgava or Kalymnos. That's why there's a Lanco Warship Manufacturing branch here, and academic facilities, because this sector is the export base of our nation's industries." He had explained.
As they continued down the starlane towards Hermeta, they decided to leave visiting Populara for another time.
A big blue planet with a population of over eight billion, Yuri wasn't surprised to see the spaceport packed to the rafters. It was the busiest he'd ever seen one in his life.
"You folks are spacefarers, aren't you." The bartender asked Yuri and Torlo.
The two turned to look at each other as the man continued.
"I have some good information for you if you're interested. Only 500G."
Thinking on it, Yuri forked over the money. Having information was better than no information.
"I appreciate it." He said with a small laugh, pocketing the money quickly. "There's a little guild in the alley behind this tavern. This area attracts people who want to work in the Lanco Warship Manufacturing branch plant, so there ought to be some good people there. You know, like tech experts an the like. Or so I hear."
The two exchanged another look.
This was definitely good news indeed.
"The buildings and ships and stuff in Nova Nacio sure are pretty." Torlo admitted, once they had returned to the table. "It's so different from Elgava and Kalymnos. I feel kinda outta place here."
"But you shouldn't stare so much when we're out on the streets, you know. It makes you seem like a tourist."
"But I am a tourist man! And so are you!" Torlo told Yuri.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Well, I don't plan on looking like a tourist." Ian added.
Torlo just rolled his eyes.
Making their way down the alley behind the tavern, Yuri briefly wondered if the tavern bartender had tricked him.
Yuri shook those thoughts from his head, leading his group down towards a big door at its end.
The door swished open at their approach, and they found themselves inside a very well lit, and very clean room.
Just as the guild in Elgava, they browsed through the people on the list, narrowing it down to two people.
The waiting room was unlike anything they had seen in Elgava, loud, and packed to bursting.
Yuri and Nia had decided to go in, the others agreeing to meet them later.
The first, was a swarthy middle-aged man with gleaming white teeth, who smiled as they stepped up.
"My name is Pachjo Palmo. I've had almost ten years of experience as an engineer. If you want me to be a part of your crew, you'll have to show me your phenomenon log first."
"All right. Here you are." Yuri handed over the log, watching for the man's reaction.
"Those are some pretty impressive achievements for such a young man. All right, fine. How about you quote me a figure? Whatever you think is fair."
Yuri though for a second. The man was skilled, there wasn't any doubt of that. It only seemed fair to keep the figure higher than normal.
He didn't want to risk scaring a potential crewmember away.
"How about 800G?"
"Thank you for recognizing my qualifications. So do we have a deal at that figure?" Palmo asked.
"Okay, here you are." Yuri said, paying the signing bonus.
"All right. We have a deal, and I'll do my absolute best for you!"
After exchanging details, Yuri and Nia left the man to gather his things.
As they made their way through the crowd, Yuri spotted a long haired woman in the corner... Nia elbowing people out of the way as she walked.
She was beautiful, Yuri had to admit, with white hair, and startling royal blue eyes.
"My name is Brava Soneto and I'm a very qualified engineer, if I do say so myself. If you want to hire me, I'll have to see your phenomena log first." She told them, a no nonsense tone in her voice. "I won't work with just anyone you know."
"All right. Here you are."
She was impressed, Yuri could tell, if the wide eyes were any indication.
"Well! Not bad. Not bad at all. How about 500G."
It was a reasonable amount. She wasn't as good as Palmo, but pretty close.
"Hm, hold on. I'll have to make some preparations first." She thought aloud, pausing for a second. "On second thought, I'll need a prep bonus of 100G, for a total of 600G. Do we have a deal?"
He couldn't complain. He paid the signing bonus. "Okay, here you are."
"Okay, it's a deal! Thanks for having me Captain." She smiled brightly.
Thinking back to the list they had gone through, Yuri knew that there wasn't anyone else here they he wanted to recruit.
Maybe I'd better look in some other guild.
With the recruitment process completed, they went back into the tavern next door for a round of drinks... hoping to get to know their new crewmembers better.
Palmo was laid back, but stern and silent most of the time. He seemed to get along with Ogar and Selenia.
Soneto, on the other hand, was a different story. Sitting around one of the tables with her, Yuri and the woman found themselves with Tatiana, Nia, Torlo and Ian.
"There weren't a lot of female engineers at Lanco Warship Manufacturing branch when I used to work there. It got pretty tough sometimes. I even got sexually harassed."
"Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that. It must've been really stressful for you."
Soneto looked down for a moment, before looking up, and speaking again. "Well, I didn't put up with it for very long, let me tell you! I slugged the guy in the gut! He was my boss you know... and I quit that job right there on the spot."
Yuri found himself gulping as he watched her give a small demonstration. He found himself wondering.
Why in Grus were all the girls he recruited tough, no nonsense, and scary.
"Wow! Good for you!" Tatiana said, and almost innocent smile on her face.
"That's the great thing about the guild. You get to size up the Captain personally before you sign on. And I just knew Yuri was going to turn out to be all right!"
Yuri found himself paling at the first part, before he let out a loud laugh, the others joining in afterwards.
It hadn't taken much thought to decide on where to put his two newest crewmembers.
While the maintenance department was full, the engineering department wasn't. Palmo's skill in that area led to Yuri assigning him in the department, with Soneta as his assistant.
Upon their arrival at Tineo, they caught a ride to the famed Ludoviko Tani Observatory, and Minas smiled as he stared out at the surroundings.
"This is the Ludoviko Tani Observatory."
"Huh. It's kinda dull-lookin', 'specially since it's supposed to be the best astronomy get-up in the whole SMC." Getting a good look at the big building, Torlo turned back to the old man. "I thought there'd be all kinds of radars and antennas and cool gadgets and stuff."
As they watched the two, a voice broke the conversation. "The observatory's days of cataloguing astronomical bodies are over. Now it's primary role is the collection and calculation of data."
"Huh?"
Minas smiled, looking over at the sound of the voice. "Well, if it isn't Aminda! How long has it been?"
From inside the building, a slender orange-haired woman walked out, wearing an outrageous suit... one that he'd never seen before. Her hands were folded behind her back, and she had a grey lab jacket fastened around her chest.
"Hello Professor Minas. It's been quite a while."
She was beautiful, in a cute sort of way. "Professor, is this?"
"That's right. This is my former student, Aminda Mistika."
"And now I'm the Director of the Ludoviko Tani Observatory." She said with a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hm..."
"What is it Professor? Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked, the old man frowning at her.
"You're still single, aren't you? When are you going to get yourself a nice husband Aminda?" He asked suddenly. "I know plenty of dashing young men I could set you up with."
"You say that kind of thing every time I see you! Did you really come all this way just to nag me? I mean, is it so wrong for me to put my career first? And it's not like you've got a wife either -"
"No, no! Sorry! I respect your decision to pursue your career, I really do." He said quickly. sheesh! "Anyway, the real reason I'm here is I've brought you a little present."
"What's that?"
Explaining the situation, Aminda nodded in understanding, before leading them into the building.
A few minutes later, and they were led into a big spherical Observation Room. The platform in the centre was connected by three walkways.
"Look at all the stars!" Kira said, head turning to look around her.
"The Cosmic Trade Authority sends us images from the satellites along the various starlanes. The CTA restricts the release of a lot of the data, so this isn't all of them..." She said, pointing to a few different sections of the observation sphere panels. "But it lets us observe nearly every sector of all the local galaxies, including the Small Magellanic Cloud, in real time."
Looking around, Torlo made a sound, turning to grab Yuri's arm. "Hey, Yuri, check it out! There's the Ropesk sector!"
"Hey, you're right! It kind of seems like a distant memory now."
"And it's just been a few months." Torlo said with a laugh.
Cutting off the conversation, Minas turned to his former student. "Aminda, these are the samples I was telling you about before."
"From the ruins on Mytilene?"
"That's right. And here are copies of the writing we found on the walls there."
"Alright. Thank you Professor. It might take me some time to analyse them properly though." Aminda said, examining them.
Minas nodded in understanding, clapping his hands together. "That's fine. Why don't you contact Yuri's ship when the analysis is complete then?"
"Good idea. Here's the nationality code of my ship Ms. Mistika." Yuri said, handing it over.
"Okay, that'll do. I'll contact you as soon as I have something to report."
As the two Professors talked, Yuri found himself being included in the conversation.
"Yuri, do you have any research facilities on your ship?"
"Uh, no. I don't believe I do." He said.
"Oh, what a waste." She said in disappointment.
"What do you mean?" He was confused.
"Well, here you have the great Professor Minas on board. You should provide him with whatever he needs to do his research. If you install research facilities, I'm sure the Professor will be a huge boon to you."
Yuri nodded thinking of the advice he'd just been given.
He'd never thought of that before.
"So Yuri, why all the interest in Epitaphs anyway? Do you believe in that legend that says Epitaphs will change the universe?"
"Yes. Yes I do." Yuri replied.
"Some people think those legends are just children's stories, but I'm not one of them. I'm working on a theory that Epitaphs have the power to bring Dead Gates to life in fact." She said with conviction. "If Dead Gates can be revived, we'll be able to travel to more and more areas of the cosmos. Imagine the possibilities! If we think about it that way, Epitaphs really will have the power to change the universe, don't you agree?"
"I guess you're right." He agreed.
Blasting off from Tineo, Yuri decided to explore the couple of asteroid belts in the area, while waiting for Aminda's review.
Making their way to the furthest one, they began encountering Kreios Pirates again, who never posed a threat.
Yuri wasn't at all surprised to see them all the way in Nova Nacio. If they had dealings with the Feudal Lord of Spetses, then it would stand to reason that they be out here too.
Who knows. They may even be on the outskirts of the Interplanetary Union of Elgava as well. He thought to himself.
As the asteroid belt came into view, the group quickly saw several other objects approaching... and they weren't pirates.
"Yikes! What are all those things?" Torlo asked.
They looked like fighters, but in all honesty, he wasn't sure.
"I think they're fighters, but they don't look like they're going to attack."
"That must be Nova Nacio's border defence." Nia answered. She really was well travelled. "With all the run-ins with Kalymnos lately, I bet they're really on edge."
"Looks like they're gone now." Torlo announced, watching as they flew away.
"Yeah. They sure look like high-performance machines though, don't they?" Yuri asked, impressed.
"Nova Nacio was the first in the galaxy to come up with those small-charged particle guns. They can really deliver a major hit to a ship's armour. They're way ahead of everybody else on their fighter and carrier technology."
"Wow."
"Oh!"
Kira's cry of surprise drew his attention, and he turned to face her.
"What is it Kira?"
"This ship on the radar..." She said slowly, not really believing what she was seeing. "Its nationality code says it's the Kalymnos Sector Security Agency."
"The Security Agency huh?"
"That's weird." Nia said, coming to a stop in the middle of the bridge. "What would a Kalymnos ship, let alone a Security Agency ship, be doing wandering around here?"
"Guess they're too far away to get a visual. Kira can you tell where they're headed." He asked.
"Hold on..." She said, consulting with her monitor. "Got it. It looks like they're most likely headed for the planet Populara."
"Populara huh?" Yuri said to himself.
"Yuri, they're on the landing stage over there. It's definitely a Security Agency ship." Tatiana said.
"So we were right huh?"
"I don't get it. How can a Kalymnian ship even get into a Nova Nacion port?" Torlo asked.
He was right.
"One just did, so I guess there's clearly a way."
"That ain't what I mean -"
"The Cosmic Trade Authority is run by AI. It's totally independent. They're not influenced by nation or power." Nia informed them. "Spaceports are under their jurisdiction and are pretty much neutral."
"Huh. When did the Cosmic Trade Authority come about?" Torlo said, turning to Nia.
"They say it was already around back in the early days, when people first started venturing into space."
Yuri smiled in interest. "Huh. That Cosmic Trade Authority sounds pretty interesting."
Before following up on why the Sector Security Agency was in Nova Nacio, Yuri decided to stop in at the tavern for a break first.
Nia spoke then, turning to the group. "Ya know, about the Nova Nacion area bein' discovered by Kalymnos way back when... it was the Interplanetary Union of Elgava that gave Kalymnos the dough to scope out the region in the first place. That's why Elgava had the right to let the Nova Nacions immigrate there."
"What? So ya mean Elgava just gave away an area somebody else discovered? Why would they do that?" Torlo's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.
"Because Elgava had its eyes on Nova Nacio's technology and money, that's why. And that was all fine and good by Nova Nacio, 'cause it meant they'd have Elgava to back them up over there."
Ian nodded in sudden realization. "And so that's what all the friction between Kalymnos and Nova Nacio stems from, is it? And I'm sure it suits Elgava just fine that the two nations are snarling at each other and not at Elgava."
"That's a pretty messed up situation!"
"I'm a Kalymnian, but I don't hate Nova Nacions like some Kalymnians do. Their way of thinking is so logical. I always learn a lot whenever I talk to them." Leo added. "People should try getting to know each other more. I'm sure they'd find out a lot of interesting things about them if they did."
Ian, who had been following the conversation, jumped in.
"I was watching the news in one of these taverns the other day. They said that Kalymnos and Nova Nacio were getting ready to sign some sort of agreement."
"Really? I never heard nothin' about it!" Torlo said.
"It was just on the news at that tavern. Weren't you watching?" Ian asked him.
"I never watch the news. Total yawn." Torlo replied, a smile on his face.
"Well, you'd better start paying attention for a change Torlo."
"Huh? What's with the big lecture all of a sudden?"
Ian let out a deep breath. "Listen, we're going to be travelling to all kinds of areas of space. At the very least, we have to keep up with the news to gather as much information as we can about them."
"I, uh -"
"Your lazy attitude and indifference is just disgraceful Torlo. Why, just the other day -"
"Oh man..."
Torlo complained as Ian gave him a lecture, and in the end, making him promise to watch the news every day from this day forth.
"What are Kalymns doing here anyway? I hope they don't stir up any Grus!" Soneto joined in.
"Kalymns? What do you mean by that?" Yuri frowned.
"It's a derogatory slang word, used to refer to the Kalymnian people. It's often used by Nova Nacions." Ian explained.
How in Grus does he know everything?
"Well that's not very nice!"
Noticing the attention on her, Soneto raised her hands. "Hey, what are you looking at me like that for? Alright, fine! I guess I'll have to remember that our ship crew isn't all Nova Nacion. I'll try to watch what I say from now on."
Sensing the conversation winding down, Palmo spoke up, pushing away his empty beer bottle.
"You know..." He began. "There's definitely a rumour going around that my country is proposing an economic agreement with Kalymnos. It all depends on how serious Kalymnos is about the idea."
"What do you think Kalymnos will do?"
Palmo frowned, eyes half closed in thought. "I'm afraid I have no idea at this point. The Kalymnos government hasn't made a statement yet either. I'm sure the diplomats on both sides are still ironing out the details."
"Lanco Warship Manufacturing?" Yuri asked aloud, reading the name on the building.
"The biggest shipbuilder in Nova Nacio. The president, Jozefo Lanco, is an important guy in the government and financial sector."
"Wow."
Torlo pointing in front, grabbing Yuri's attention. "Hey Yuri, check it out! Take a look at this message panel!"
"What is it?"
"Read it! It says, seeking courageous private ship captains. Generous compensation offered! Sounds like it was written just for you man! 'Cept it doesn't say handsome."
Nia whistled. "And I bet when a big, rich company like Lanco says generous compensation, they aren't messing around."
"But I bet they want you to do something really dangerous..." Kira said.
"You're probably right. It's odd that it doesn't say anything about the requirements, don't you think?"
I'm not too sure what it's all about? But I might as well give it a try.
Yuri reached out to touch the message panel menu, scanning his nationality code. Almost immediately, a woman emerged from the back room.
She was tall and pale, with dark brown hair and a hard expression... a perpetual sneer on her face.
"Are you the ones who just applied on the message panel?" She asked, fierce blue eyes boring into his.
"Yes, that's right. And you are?"
"Adorinda Nobelo, Secretarial Office Manager, Lanco Warship Manufacturing. And which of you is the captain please?"
"That would be me." Yuri said, stepping forward.
"Excuse me?" She asked, eyeing him up and down.
"I'm the captain."
Yuri and Adorinda seemed to exchange silence, waiting for the other to say something. Soon though, the latter sighed.
"Thanks for stopping by. But I don't think we're interested."
What?
"Huh? But we -"
"I've seen your type before, flying around on your father's private ships, getting overly cocksure and daring. I'm sorry, but this isn't a job for a child, this is real, grown-up work. Thank you for coming by. And have a nice day."
Yuri spluttered for a second, hardly believing what he was hearing. "But we -"
"I said thanks for stopping by. Here's a packet of pocket tissues for you troubles." Adorinda said firmly, dropping the packet into Yuri's hand. "Now if you'll please excuse me, I have work to do."
"But -"
"I don't know what they were thinking! I mean, how do they expect to find qualified people this way?" She muttered to herself, agitated.
Turning around, with her back facing them, Adorinda Nobelo disappeared into the back room.
"Hey Yuri. Can I grab one of those tissues from you man?"
"Here's the whole pack. Knock yourself out." Yuri ground out in annoyance.
"Thanks man. My nose has been running all day. It's off the hook." Torlo said, earning himself a glare from Tatiana.
"I guess it's a good thing we applied then, huh?"
"Yuri, look! There, in the lobby." Ian called out.
In the hotel lobby, the group could see two men they recognized, talking to two other men who appeared to be Nova Nacions.
"Hey, it's Commander Ioannou and Belen Pappas!"
"So it must have been their ship we saw in the spaceport." Ian figured.
"One of the guys they're talking to looks like a Nova Nacion military guy." Nia said, staring at him.
The surprise on Ian's face was justified. "Nova Nacion military? I wonder what's going on."
Figuring that standing around talking wasn't going to help, Yuri stalked forward. "Commander Ioannou!"
"Hm? Oh, it's you!" Ioannou said in surprise.
"What are you folks doing here?" Pappas asked.
"That's what we were just gonna ask you." Nia said, coming to a stop beside Yuri. "What's the Kalymnos Sector Security Agency doing here? And isn't that man Nova Nacion military?"
The military man eyed them carefully, dark green cloak hanging low, a cream and maroon hat on his head. "Commander Ioannou..."
Obviously unsure of the group, he turned a questioning stare to the Kalymnian Commander.
"Oh, it's all right. You can trust them. Let me introduce you. This is Captain Valso."
"Vilchjo Valso, Captain, Space Force Joint Command, Nova Nacio. How do you do?" He spoke, tipping his hat in greeting.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Yuri, Captain of the FLAKRUNNER."
"And this gentleman is -"
Valso turned an empty hand to the man at his side.
The man was well dressed, with greying brown hair, and a thick, but well maintained beard on his chin. "My name is Nikolao Garni. I work for Jozefo Lanco."
Ian's eyes shot up in surprise. "Jozefo Lanco, of Lanco Warship Manufacturing?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Huh. That's a pretty odd pair if you ask me." Nia said eyeing the two. "What are you four fellas plottin' up anyway?"
Pappas directed a charming smile towards her. "I see you're still as direct as ever Nia. But I would hardly call it plotting. Would you, Commander?"
As if he wasn't listening, Ioannou's head almost shot up in surprise. "Hm? Oh yes, right. We came here to set up a system of cooperation for a criminal investigation."
"A criminal investigation?"
The older man nodded in response, before talking.
"As you may recall, the human trafficking the Kreios Pirates had been engaged in was going through the Dominion of Spetses. Spetses is connected to Nova Nacio as well by a Void Gate." He explained. "The two nations are going to cooperate to try and get a handle on Spetses's movements. Isn't that right, Captain Valso?"
"Yes, exactly."
"And just how is Lanco involved." Ian asked, mind sharp and keen as ever.
"Well -"
"One of the employees here was a victim of the Kreios Pirates as well. This gentleman is here to fill us in on the details of the situation. We believe that this victim may have been taken to Spetses, you see."
The interruption from Ensign Pappas seemed to draw Nia's narrowed gaze. "And that's all there is to it, huh?"
"Erm, yes, of course."
Nia shrugged. "All right, if you say so."
Eyeing the four up during the conversation, Yuri could sense there was more going on.
"Is there anything we can do? I mean, we've dealt with the Kreios Pirates before, so we might be able to help." Yuri asked.
"Oh, we appreciate the offer, but we don't need any help right now." Ioannou replied.
"But don't you think an official organization like yours might have some trouble entering an Autonomous Dominion?" Kira asked.
They were on top of the ball now.
Pappas smiled, turning to look at them. "Well, where there's a will, there's a way. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."
"All right then. I guess we'll get going." Yuri finished.
"Okay. See you around!" Pappas said with a wave.
As the group turned to leave, he felt a strange feeling beginning to form in his gut.
Not again!
Back at the Lanco hotel, Vilchjo Valso watched the group disappear, before turning to the Commander. "Are you sure we shouldn't have accepted their help?"
Ioannou responded with a shake of his head. "I don't want to get those young people any more involved in this than we have to. And besides, this is my responsibility now."
Garni nodded in agreement. "As we discussed, I'll arrange, under the name of Lanco, an appointment for you to talk to the Spetses Feudal Lord, Cadmus."
"I appreciate that." Ioannou replied, directing his gaze, and his words, at his companion. "Oh, and Pappas."
"Yes sir?"
"I want you to set this place up as our base of operations, get some IP communication equipment in here, and then just stand by."
The Ensign nodded in understanding. "Yes sir. And be careful sir."
"Of course."
As the group stepped inside the tavern, Nia pointed out the familiar form of Nikolao Garni, the Lanco family steward.
"Ah, Master Yuri." He began with a smile. "It's nice to see you again."
"Hello. Where are Ensign Pappas and the others?" Yuri asked, wondering why he was alone.
"They're still holed up at the Lanco Hotel. It looks like their meeting is running a little long."
"I wish there was something we could do to help them." Yuri admitted.
The older man smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. With two nations working together like this, there's bound to be minor coordination issues to work out. I'm sure that's all it is."
"Uh, okay."
Bidding the man farewell, Yuri approached the bar, talking with the bartender as he waited for his drink.
"Populara runs on Lanco Warship Manufacturing branch money you know. Even this tavern is managed by Lanco." He told Yuri. "All of the food and drink we serve here was hand-picked by the President of LWM himself."
Wow! Talk about being rich.
"So relax and enjoy some of the finest tastes in the Small Magellanic Cloud!"
As he wandered off, Yuri found himself watching the Lanco family steward.
Despite the reassurances from the four, Yuri still found himself worrying about the situation.
Downing his drink quickly, he found his feet carrying him to the door, and towards the Lanco Hotel.
Back at the Lanco Hotel, he found Belen Pappas in the lobby.
Smiling as he came closer, Pappas greeted him warmly. "Ah Yuri, long time no see, huh?"
"Sure. Half an hour is such a long time."
They laughed together, before Yuri cut in.
"I know you said you don't need anything... but I need to ask again. Are you sure? We can be a big help. Really!"
Pappas smiled at him.*He certainly doesn't lack for determination, that's for sure.*
"It's fine. Honestly." He started, words reassuring. "With Kalymnos and Nova Nacio working together on this, we can't fail."
"I don't know..." Yuri replied. "I just have a bad feeling again."
"Look... if you come across anything interesting, don't hesitate to stop by and let me know." Pappas replied. "Besides, Ioannou and myself are on the case. And with Valso and Garni behind us, everything will be fine."
"Vlasis Delis was supposed to come with us, but that guy is a Nova Nacio hater through and through. He said it would just be too much, that he can't cooperate with those guys, even if it's to fight pirates. What a stubborn guy huh?"
"What about you Ensign Pappas? Do you feel the same way?" Nia asked.
While originally planning to go alone, he had relented at the sight of her.
"Me? As long as we crush the pirates, I don't care how we do it. What the people urgently need now is to know they can travel the starlanes safely. They don't care about some little spat between two nations.
Nia found herself staring at the man. He was arrogant, sure, and cocky. But she found herself looking at him in differently.
She still wouldn't date him, there was no doubt about that. But she was glad that at least some people from either nation were able to set aside their differences.
"Yuri, we're getting an IP communication in. It's from Elgava." Kira announced.
"Elgava? All right, connect me."
"Okay."
Up on the monitor, Commander Vladykin's familiar face appeared, the others all watching with interest. "Oh good! Yuri my boy! I caught you!"
"Commander Vladykin!"
"I've got something to show you right away." He announced. "Could you come to Zvenigorod immediately?"
"Why? What's so urgent?" He asked.
"I'll tell you the whole story when I see you. Sorry for being so vague, but please hurry over as soon as you can." He said quickly, before cutting off the feed.
"What could he want with us now?" Tatiana asked, swivelling around in her chair.
Yuri shrugged, he had no clue. "I wonder. But I guess we'll find out when we get there."