Traveling in the pitch-black abyss of space was a singular spaceship
It wasn't particularly massive or impressive as far as spaceships go. It looked like an economy-class vessel, something that you'd usually find on any first-world planet traversing short distances. But this certain spaceship wasn't just bouncing on a nearby planet which was a couple of lightyears away...
This one was way too far away from home
And even though the authority of the I.P.C (Interastral peace corporation) has made most of the celestial roads in the universe safe from harm, it doesn't mean that it's completely devoid of it. There were still handful counts of bandits robbing any ships, especially ones departing from the Xianzhou Alliance, that seems to be weak and defenseless. At a glance, this particular ship seems to be one of those
Yet despite this, this particular ship showed no signs of such an encounter...
Was it luck? Or was it something else?...
This was the question that was plaguing the mind of one of the cargo control guards in Herta's space station. He took a sip of coffee as he watches the ship close in from his monitor. It was clear that the ship was about to land in the space station, but oddly enough...
"Yeah, this guy isn't on the list..." The guard muttered to himself as he scratched his head
He's been looking high and low for a scheduled landing that was bearing the signals that the ship was emitting, but despite searching for a good ten minutes, it still came up blank. And the fact that the ship hasn't made any sort of attempts to establish communications to request a landing permit was quite concerning
The guard was quite experienced in his job...and in the past, he had encountered a trick that was pulled off by space bandits. They would get a low-class ship and rig it all with explosives before driving it straight to them in order to bus through their defenses. The ship was still at a considerable distance from the space station, but if it gets close enough and hits full throttle then even their defenses couldn't stop it
He knew that they had to act now
And act now they did
He took another sip from his coffee before reaching for the intercom
"This is Herta space station cargo hold security, verification 1403. Unidentified spacecraft traveling at 134.235.6789 please bear in mind that you do not have the appropriate identifications and permits assigned, and are therefore not allowed to travel inside. If you think there's a mistake then state your name and purpose"
He waited for a good minute, but there was no response
"Unidentified spacecraft, please state your name and purpose. Should you get any closer without responding then I am fully authorized to use deadly force and blow you up then and there"
After a while, he managed to get a hold of someone...
Or something...
"[This is the built-in a.i navigation system of this ship, codename Avalon. It's a pleasure to meet you. The captain of the ship is currently handling some...important business. I shall be the one who'll tend to your questions and concerns"]
The one that responded to him was a monotonous female voice
And while he couldn't help but wonder if a ship like this was capable of running a navigation a.i capable of conversation, he pushed these thoughts aside as the ship continued to approach closer and closer
"Avalon, please be advised that you are approaching the space station without any sort of records or landing permit. State the name of your passenger and your business with the station"
"[Of course, the passenger of this spacecraft is a member of the Genuis society and is currently visiting the spacecraft upon the request of Madam Herta herself...]"
"A genius society member?..." He honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing right now
"[Correct. Should you need to verify it, then our invitation reference number is...]
Avalon told him a series of numbers and codes, and after typing it in their systems...
"It's coming up as blank. There are no records of your verification codes in our coms, and to be honest with you...I don't buy your story one bit. If there was a bigshot like a Genuis society member coming in then there would've been a wide announcement. But I've heard nothing of the sorts"
Saying this, he opened up another intercom and began to fiddle with it
Protocol indicates that he should contact Herta with concerns like these, but she wasn't answering as per usual. Which leaves to lead researcher Asta, but oddly enough the comms on the main control room were inconveniently under maintenance. And since the other members of the security team were on break, the decision and responsibility of guarding the space station falls to him
"[Apologies, but I don't know what to say. The verification codes that I've provided to you are the ones given to us]"
"Could I request you to halt your engines as I verify this with my superiors?"
"[Negative. Very sorry for this, but the captain has set the navigation to be on auto-pilot...and frustratingly enough, he kicked me out of the system because of some petty argument we had so even I cannot put a stop into it"]
"Huh?...Then what on earth can you do?"
"[As of right now, I could only use the comms and turn the air conditioner on and off as punishment"]
"What the-? That is just... wait no, you need to stop the ship, or else I have no choice but to declare you guys as a threat! Stop the ship if you value your lives!"
They were getting dangerously close so he prepared the security turrets to point at them, all he had to do was press a button and they'd fire till the ship is nothing but metal scraps. And while he's done something like this in the past, he still wasn't used to the weight of pressing it
But the ship showed no signs of stopping
Gritting his teeth, the man could only utter these words as he directs death at the passengers of the ship
"You forced my hand...I-I'm sorry!"
"[I apologize as well, for making you all waste your supplies]"
The turrets then all locked at the ship and began firing at it
Despite being far from the security room, he could feel the intensity and tremors of every shot. Each turret was enough to dish out damage that was capable of taking down Xianzhou Alliance armada ships as well as the peacekeeping spacecraft of the I.P.C
He was expecting the ships to be blown to bits by the first shot...
"W-Wha..." But such a thing did not happen
In fact, the ship didn't seem to take any damage despite the barrage that was laid down on it.
The spacecraft continued to head for its cargo and dock itself
"Damn it! How tough is the armor of that thing?!"
The guard continued to press the button and fire the turrets on the ship, but just as before, it still remained intact. A shiver began to crawl up his spine as his mind went into overdrive. How on earth can a measly ship like that survive all of this? he began to question reality as the ship slowly parks itself at their supply zone
Seeing this, the man quickly sounded the alarm which caused the entire area to blink a bright crimson light...
[***]
Arlan hadn't felt this nervous in quite some time
As the head of the security team of the space station, he's obviously had his fair share of experience when it comes to dealing with threats that would plague them. Fighting with anti-matter legions as well as the occasional greedy bandits was nothing more than Tuesday for him. But after hearing the situation from one of his men, he couldn't help but feel a bit...frightened...
After all, a lone ship like this managed to hold out against their defenses?
It was just strange...
If the person inside was really a member of the Genuis society, then Arlan wouldn't be surprised. But he knew full well that not all of the members are buddy-buddy with each other, and considering Herta's personality, he wouldn't be surprised if there was someone among their ranks who was out for her
He had to be prepared for anything...
With this in mind, he took a deep breath before tightly clenching his weapon...
"Any news from Lady Asta?" He asked one of his men who was fiddling with a tablet
"No, brother Arlan...I-It's really strange, we can't get through the master control room at all. It kept saying that it was under maintenance but...it usually isn't this big of a scale. And I'm certain that they'll still keep a line open for communications"
"Yeah, I'm with you there...Something is definitely not right with this. Keep me updated once there are any changes..."
"Yes, brother Arlan!"
He nodded as he turned his attention back to the ship
It's been about five minutes since it was able to completely dock itself in, but the shuttle doors showed no signs of opening. They had all attempted to see through the ship via sonar as well as infrared...but they weren't able to pick up anything. Or more accurately, they couldn't penetrate through the ship's security to do so...
Arlan was about to shout a warning, but before he could do so the shuttle door finally opened
He, as well as the rest of the team surrounding the ship, stiffened as they all readied their weapons
The ventilation air from the ship created some sort of smoke screen upon the opening of the door. And after a while, the sound of footsteps echoed in the supply room...
Tap
Tap
Tap
As it gets closer and closer, Arlan could feel his heart beating faster and faster. And once the smoke was finally able to settle, they were able to see the person...
"Ah, finally! This was one hell of a bumpy ride, and we've wasted too much time, Avalon. You see, this is exactly why we should incorporate wormhole traveling into our ships! But nooooo the I.P.C folks are like; this is too dangerous, there's a chance that people might die. Like, okay? I'm sure that most people would prefer to do that they waste precious, valuable time traveling at deep space. There's absolutely nothing to see in this vacuum"
Emerging from the smoke was a tall man with a lavish smile
His black hair was as dark as the night, and fluttered with each step he took. And his purple-shaded eyes were looking at them as if they were some sort of exotic species. Arlan was familiar with his gaze...it was the one that Herta gave him once he first joined the security team...
"Ohoho...well, well, well, this is quite the reception I'm getting"
He was wearing a finely made black suit, as well as a long jacket which he was currently using as a cape that stretched down to the floor. There was a purple orb at the top of his tie which was giving off some sort of...mystifying feeling
The man adjusted his monocles as he walked closer to Arlan. He wasn't sensing any sort of bloodlust from him, but he still instinctively readied his weapon...
"Hmmm...you don't seem to be a member of the crew back when I last visited this little treasure chest of hers. So this means that you're new. And considering the fact that you're the strongest out of the entire lot here, I assume that you're...the head of Herta's security team?"
"Y-Yes, that's right" Arlan stammered as he moves a few steps back
"Ah, I see! Since that little shrimp barely gives a damn about anything else, I was expecting the head security team to be incredibly incompetent, but you seem to be capable...more capable than the last one at least. Anyway, so I couldn't help but notice that you folks are incredibly weary of me..."
He glanced at the others with a smile, which seemed to shake them up a bit...
"Why is that?"
"I-It's because you're not authorized to enter here in the space station"
"Not authorized?...Ah, so that's what she's playing at. No wonder the ride earlier was so bumpy, I thought we encountered an asteroid belt or something. Please rest easy, boy. Your boss is just playing an incredibly unfunny prank right now...Trust me, if I really wanted to destroy this space station I would've done it in a thousand ways you never even imagined could be possible"
The fact that he was able to say this in such a half-hearted tone was enough to send alarm bells down Arlan's head
"I-I'd appreciate it if you don't blurt out threats so openly like that. Now if you don't mind, we need to verify your identity, so I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to ask you to come with us"
"Hmmmm..."
He gave a wicked smile as he slowly walked closer and closer, seemingly not concerned at the fact that he was well within Arlan's striking range
"I never really liked the idea of people telling me what to do, especially if those people are Herta's lackeys. So riddle me this, boy...what will you do if I don't comply?..."
"Then I will take you by force..." Arlan's voice was stern and resolute, something that the man seemed to find amusing...
The next series of events was so confusing that Arlan couldn't even comprehend a single bit of it...
Before he knew it, the man had already disappeared out of his sight. And just as he and his men looked around for him, Arlan then felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He wanted to turn around and swing his weapon, but for some reason...he couldn't. His hands were shivering and his body seemed to be paralyzed...
"You really think you can do that?" The man whispered in his ear
Just as he was able to calm himself and regain control to turn look around, there was nobody there
"W-Wha..." And as he turned around once more, he saw the man back in the same spot he once was
He could feel his throat drying up as he asked-
"What did you do?..."
"Hm? Oh, that? It's a little trick I can do...just a bit of tweaking with the laws of quantum physics in our surroundings in order to stop time. It's nothing special really, I reckon that anyone can do it if they try hard enough..."
"You...you can stop time?"
"Yep...but don't get too surprised there, boy. Believe it or not, there are other members of the society who are capable of doing so much more. Heck, our founding member created an aeon from nothing more than a scrap of a computer, isn't that just fascinating?"
"..."
Arlan didn't reply. Instead, he closed his eyes and eased his breath before he shifted into a fighting stance
"Enough talk. Under the authority that was granted to me as the head of security, I am bringing you in for questioning!..."
"Ahaha! Wow...I was trying to scare you earlier, but it seems you have guts! I like it! Fine then, you seem amusing enough so I reckon that you'll keep me entertained while-"
"Alright, alright, you've had your fun so hands off my subordinate already" A new voice joined the fray
And the moment Arlan laid his eyes upon her, he felt a sense of relief blooming inside
"M-Madam Herta!"
[A/N: Hello, thanks for picking this up. It's my first time ever writing a fic, more so one with an OC so I'm not entirely sure if what I'm doing is good or bad lol. Also, engrish isn't my first language might not be good lol please be gentle.
By the way for context, the timeline of this fic is set a year or two before the Stellaron Hunters attack. I'm planning on focusing on the relationship between Kuru kuru and the OC, but if I feel like it I might expand the roster a bit and involve him in the in-game events.
No promises though
Anyways stay safe and brush your teeth always, bye!]