Something about this ship bothers me.

Since getting stuck to Miime Arcadia, I, though not a Nibelung, can more or less sense some changes of the dark matter imprint of many places. According to Miime, it is an invisible force which exists everywhere, even in your body.

Not to mention a normal Tia class battleship.

Normally speaking, we can easily take over a ship like this one and quickly plunder its supply. This time, the soldiers, no, humanoids, seems to be specially designed for us. All are wounded and have been sent to the med bay, therefore I am left with the task of removing the viruses (which is also uncommon) added to the files before Tochiro can copy them to himself.

Then there is a wave.

It is not any normal wave made by water. It is of dark matter, and only people influenced with it can ever-so-slightly control it. After this whole century, I still haven't fully understand even the concept of this whole dark matter controlling issue. Out of my reflexes, I unsheathe my gravity sabre and turn.

There is nothing. I stand there frozen like a statue for a moment, make sure that there is no one behind the half-opened door and turn back to the console, letting myself sigh. But before my hand even touch the smooth glass pane, Tochiro's voice echoes in my mind.

Harlock! comes Tochiro's panic-stricken yell. There's someone on Arcadia!

I cursed, breaking off into a dash back to the ship. Tochiro can deal with the viruses. 'Then? Where's he?'

On the bridge!

So everything may just be a distraction. The humanoids with super-reflexes, the viruses added to the files, they are all specially planned by someone to weaken us.

'Where's he?'

The hangar, no, main corri...now climbing through the lift vent and is…well, I think he's targeting for the bridge.

I am welcomed by a knife whizzing next to my ear. It found the wall behind me, half-buried itself in the hard, greyish-black metal. Pulling it out, I use it to block an attack from the Gaian.

He is unexpectedly short, so short that he can only be a child.

Another knife seems to appear in his left hand. I barely manage to grab his wrist before the deadly metal found my

heart. I try to apply pressure on my grip but fail as he turns and leaps into the air, the position of his foot indicating that I would have been stabbed by the spur on his boot if I hadn't ducked. I grab the heel and flung him onto the wall.

I decide to ignore his height. Righting himself in a speed I have never seen before, he pulls something out from one of his pockets, unfolds it with a swing of his arm and leaps towards me. I, having finally manage to unsheathe my sabre, block the blade. Force makes him roll forward, and then his foot finds my shoulder. A hook shoots out from his jacket, finds the wall on my left and I am nearly beheaded when he straightens his arm. He rolls forward on the ground and, not even looking back, blocks my attack aimed towards his head. He turns slowly but makes no indication of withdrawal. Finally a chance of negotiation.

'You don't have to do this,' I say. 'Gaia's wrong. They won't reward you with anything even if you manage to return.'

'I do that for myself,' come a mechanical voice. 'Gaia only provides me an opportunity.'

His left hand gropes for something on her belt. A bomb appears, and she throw it between us. I am knocked back by the shock wave, and when I look up, the soldier is gone.

Tochiro, I think I need some help, I say in my mind.

To be frank, I think he's gone by now, Harlock, my friend replies. You didn't kill him?

'No,' I answer. 'He ran away.'

A moment of silence, then, Bring me the blade he left, can you?

I want to ask what he means, but I find my answer when I spot the knife left by the soldier on the floor. Picking it up, I examine the black knife carefully, noticing the faint bluish-green glow which I haven't noticed in the fight. Chill creeps up my spine as I realise the harm it can do when it touches Miime. I am so drawn by the knife that I don't notice Yama running towards me, a bandage around his forehead and his sleeve rolled up, showing the bruises on his arm.

'What's up, Captain?' he asks. Obviously Gaia didn't tell him about the only metal that can harm a Nibelung physically.

I do not reply, since it will take a long time to explain it to him. 'Follow me.'

It's nihilium, Tochiro confirms my guess. Definitely nihilium. Look as its glow, I can recognise it even without scanning.

'Nihilium?' Yama questions again. 'What exactly is this? You guys look so...disturbed.'

Gaia didn't tell you about it before sending you here?

The co-Captain shakes his head.

'Nihilium is a kind of metal only found in one single planet among the billions humanity has discovered,' I begin. 'To be more accurate, an asteroid. No one knows its exact location, since it has been drifting all around the universe since, many believe, it was created. Sometimes it was caught in by a star and stay there for a few years, before the nihilium inside manage to defy the gravity and it begins floating around again. Most of the times it stays in the void, where there is little galaxies and dimensions are extremely unstable, making it even harder to mine. To keep up with it, Gaia placed a tractor in the core of the asteroid, and only go there whenever it's needed. Because of its rareness, it is very expensive and it is the only thing they dare not waste.'

No one ever truly understands this metal, Tochiro continues. Not even the best chemist does. It seems to have its own mind; it rumoured that once a person wanted to steal one piece to get a good price from the black market, only to have it suddenly jumping out from his hand and it rolled all the way back to the lab. It's extremely unstable, one second it's in liquid form, and the next second it evaporates into a bluish-green gas, and then it solidifies into a star-shaped rock again, all happening in the same box, with the same pressure, same temperature and the . I actually saw it, Yama. Believe me, it will likely remain the most unforgettable sight I've ever seen in my life.

'But this is very stable,' I mutter, giving the knife a good fling. It remains the same shape, which is really a miracle to me. 'And it doesn't escape from my hands purposefully.'

Silence.

'And it's the only known metal which can harm a Nibelung physically,' I breathe, still can't believe I am holding a knife made of nihilium. 'Whatever Gaia's planning, it's targeted for Miime. If they want to kill me they can use normal weapons instead.'

Silence again.

I can't think of what to say, therefore I use telling Miime about this as an excuse and go back to my quarters, bringing the knife with me.

As usual, Miime is waiting for him in a chair with a glass of wine in her hand.

'We're going to the nearest planet for medical supplies,' I tell her. 'We suffer quite a lot from this attack. There's a soldier, a specially trained one. He left this,' I put the knife onto the table; 'whether he did this on purpose or not, I don't know.'

She looks at the weapon for a moment while I pour myself some wine. How many times we have to do this as friends?

'Nihilium?' she asks. She doesn't reach for it, knowing the harm it can do to her. After all, it's all nihilium from point to hilt. 'It looks...stable.'

'That's our biggest question,' I reply. 'I hope Tochiro is seeking for an answer.'

A moment of silence. Then I add, 'I think they're coming for you, Miime.'

'So do I,' she says with an unusual calmness. 'They want to reconstruct the Deathshadow fleet.'

'How do you know?' It is one of my guesses; Gaia is losing power quickly, and I understand they are desperate for more power. But reconstructing the Deathshadow fleet? It requires a lot of manpower. And brains they lack as well.

'The Kaleido Star System didn't kill us,' she takes a sip of her wine; a graceful movement in my eye, 'nor did the Jovian Blaster.'

'We used dark matter in both cases,' I continue. An idea starts to form in my head. 'And our only failure was a century ago when we were fighting against he other three Deathshadows. They think it's the only way to defeat us, so they need another fleet. To control the dark matter, they will need you.'

'Or not, Harlock.'

I look at her.

'When the soldier attacked, I felt some changes in the dark matter as if someone is altering their signature on purpose. One may never feel it but it does exist. If he had to change the aura around him, I...I think I can recognise him if I'm close enough. The knife...it may be some kind message to...give us a hint about someone.'

'Like the arrogant criminals who toy with the police in those old crime tv shows?' I ask.

'Sort of,' she answers.

I put down my glass of wine and go to a cabinet to take out a roll of duct tape. I tear a good length of it and wrap the handle of the knife fully, checking a few times for any uncovered spots and sheathe it in an empty leather sheath. I hold it towards Miime, say, 'Take it. Just in case he come again.'

She takes it carefully in her hands. Our fingers brush, and I feel warmth spread from my fingertips to my whole body.

'Don't die, please,' I find myself saying.

She looks a little bit shocked for a few seconds, and after that puts down the knife slowly on the table to cup my cheek in her hand. 'You too.'