The human engineer seemed to regret speaking the moment every eye inside the compartment settled upon him. Nikolai quietly observed the man for several seconds before approaching the blood-filled crystal.
"What kind of blood is best?"
"Ah... Sir, a vampire's... preferably fresh."
"That's it, nothing else?"
The man quickly shook his head.
"No, sir. The crystal doesn't power the vessel. It's closer to an ignition system and security lock combined. Once it accepts the blood, the engines and navigation controls become accessible."
Ryan glanced towards the doorway, where several dead thralls remained scattered across the deck.
"We've got plenty of vampires."
"S-Sorry, but it needs living blood... the one who fit the crystal mentioned something about coagulation affecting the purity..."
"...Of course it fucking does."
