The ship went silent in the shock and anticipation of the people, who weren't sure how to react to the ascent of the lasers. They were slowly being brought up by the rusted conveyors, with the current beam at the very top reaching the roof and shutting off, joining the bundle of deactivated lasers.
The woman, who was rather tall in comparison to Theus, along with being much tanner and having dark brown hair, was in the front of it all, still holding her position from when she threw…
'Shit, that's the blade I made before!'
Theus bit his lip with a guilty conscience on his mind, if anything were to happen because of the laser's deactivation, he knew it'd be due to his negligence.
By now, many hours had passed since Theus had boarded the Stellar Pioneer, becoming number 3000 on the ship. It was noon when they had departed from Deceased Earth and heard the Pilot's speech, meaning it was past evening by now within the confines of space.
Theus presumed that the crew residing in the cockpit must be resting at this time, meaning there was no one of great power who was aware of the defense system shutting down.
The population of 3000 were free to do whatever they pleased.
Theus turned around to meet the eyes of his acquaintances, he couldn't fully trust them yet whatsoever, so he considered them as such. Ronan's conversation with Isaiah had halted as well, and the sight of the lasers' dimming light moving along the conveyor belts had plastered a confident, determined look on Ronan's face. Theus could tell what Ronan wanted, and it was revenge for losing his arm before.
Isaiah was eyeing the lasers with a mix of fear and calculation, a look Theus hadn't seen before on the original, arrogant Isaiah. Theus didn't know what to make of his expression much, akin to his lack of understanding regarding Isaiah.
Mono tried to disappear slowly, looking around the hull anxiously, afraid of the silence. Despite his attempts however, he was being held tightly by Irene, not wanting him to go away. Irene wasn't scared, however. She was expressionless.
Theus looked beside him, seeing Freya's gaze drift towards the lasers as well, hope and longing was written all over her face. He still held wonder as to what the rest of her story was back on Deceased Earth.
Theus then turned around, searching for Caylie, who appeared suddenly and tapped his shoulder, standing next to him. Her face was unreadable as ever thanks to the veil.
It was beginning to test Theus' waning patience.
Ignoring his curiosity once again, Theus turned his head towards the center of attention, the woman standing as close as possible to the lasers, a few more had reached the roof by now.
She appeared to be slightly older as well. No older than Ronan, yet no younger than Caylie. She had a necklace on with a sliced finger attached to it. He decided to focus his wavering attention on talking to her instead, thinking she was some form of crazy.
Walking away from the group and towards the woman, he stood next to her and felt the dying heat emanating from the lasers. Thinking of a few words to say, Theus looked at the woman, who was still staring at the lever she switched off with the throw of the blade, far past the lasers.
"You've got a really good shot."
Theus yawned while waiting for the woman to respond. It was a rather eventful day for him and he was running low on energy to keep up with all the situations happening around him. He stretched as the woman looked towards him, a grin etched on her face.
"Duh, of course I do, cutie. Wait, you haven't heard of me before? Parents never been scammed- ah, I mean, lost to me before?"
Hearing groans from behind him, Theus looked back and saw Ronan roll his eyes at the realization of who she was, then saw Irene's face shift to one of hatred. Theus turned back to the woman, still confused as ever.
"Look, lady, I'm from here, alright? Not Mars, not nowhere else. So yes, I don't know you."
The woman, seeing Ronan roll his eyes, winked at him, then paid full attention to Theus once again. Putting her right hand on her hips, she leaned to the side away from the lasers and put her hand to hide her mouth's movements, trying to be secretive with her next words.
"You know that hunk?"
Theus blinked a few times, unaware of what the word 'hunk' meant. The woman laughed and continued on before Theus could say anything.
"I'm Talia, Mars' famous gambler and daredevil! And you are?"
She was nearly as cocky as Isaiah, yet had the confidence to back it all up, much unlike the boy who puts it up as a front. It was almost too much for Theus. He'd never met someone so loud and outgoing in his life, almost making him want to disappear into a shell.
"Uhm, I'm Theus, nice to meet you, Talia-"
Wrapping her arm around his shoulder and walking with him back to the group, she controlled their walking pace, being strong enough to resist Theus attempting to wriggle out of her wrap.
"Look, you've gotta introduce me to everybody, kid! I know there's at least one face I recognize."
Talia looks back at Ronan once again, the latter doing his best to avoid her stare. Her attention is diverted once again by Theus tugging at her finger necklace, with Talia reacting as kindly as possible while grabbing at Theus' hand.
"Don't touch that or I'll make you touch the ground, little shit."
Theus trembled slightly as Talia let him go, allowing him to slink back to the group while Talia stood where she was, going back to her happy, confident demeanor.
"Alright, I'm sure some of you know me…"
Theus zoned out heavily as he looked back at Irene to see if her expression changed again. He hadn't had the opportunity to interact with her much after Isaiah and her dispute, so he figured the best chance would be to do so now, while Talia was talking about herself. He could tell he would get the chance to know more about Talia later on anyways, especially since her and Ronan evidently had a past.
Stepping slowly towards Irene while acting like he was listening to Talia's self-centered monologue, he eventually reached and stood next to Irene, nudging her on the shoulder and whispering.
"Hey, I couldn't talk to you much before. How come you look so pissed?"
Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Irene put on a smile and faced Theus, who was side-eyeing her, confused.
"Sorry, I can't bear to see the sight of her right now, so I'd rather look at you entirely."
Turning his head to face her as well, Theus took in her appearance once more.
Irene had golden blonde hair with olive green eyes and fair skin. Her eyes held a sharper contrast to the rest of the group, taking the shape similar to a predator despite her pretty appearance. However, this wasn't all that Theus noticed, seeing something off regarding one of her eyes. It had five purple lines formed around her right pupil, located in the iris. These five lines made a shape similar to that of a flower, and were rotating around her pupil as she looked Theus up and down.
Theus was rightfully baffled at the sight, and continued to stare at the rotating lines.
"Uhh, does that not hurt or something? How do you even get a scar like that…"
Raising an eyebrow in original confusion, she eventually picked up on what Theus was talking about, closing her eyes and reopening them, the lines disappearing.
"Ah, it's nothing important you should worry about. My eyes are simply trained is all."
She formed a sorrowful expression, looking down at the ground for a moment and then back at Theus, continuing on.
"And you? Nobody has asked much about you, have they, Theus?"
She formed a gentle smile towards Theus, who's eyes widened in surprise. He felt as if Irene was offering him a field of comfort, one where he could voice his grievances without worry.
Feeling a pang of guilt surge through him, he was at a loss for words. He had no knowledge of the capability of his Desire, he could hardly even control it. He knew deep down that the tentacle and outrage was his fault. Irene sat there patiently, waiting for Theus to form a response.
"I-I, I just…"
Just before Theus could get his feelings out, Talia walked over and interrupted the conversation, slinging her arm over Theus' shoulder again. Irene scoffed and turned away, looking back to the lasers. Theus looked at Irene longingly, slightly wanting their conversation to last a little longer.
Theus was reaching his limit, and it seemed as if Irene knew it.
As if she understood him in a way.
Talia dragged Theus back to the front of the group, who were at the head of the crowd of people who were staring at the dying gate to their freedom.
Theus glanced around at the other seven people; Mono, Caylie, Ronan, Isaiah, Irene, Freya, and Talia. In just a few hours on board the Stellar Pioneer, he was able to get along with more people than he could've ever imagined, people with the same predicament, but different stories. People who boarded this transport ship with the same thought in mind.
'The desire for a new life.'
The lasers flickered once more, reaching the top of the roof then stopping, staying shut off.
Isaiah was the first to cross the unpowered barrier. Turning around, he started yelling, albeit in a shaky tone, at the mass of 3000.
"Let's take this ship for ourselves! Who's with me?!"
As he shouted, the cockpit door opened. A titan of a man much alike to Ronan stepped out of the confines of the pilot room. Donning his helmet once again and hiding the man behind it, his skin-tight suit boasted much more durability than the ones the crew had been given.
The Pilot cracked his neck and stood assured, unaffected by the sight of the makeshift army.
"Couldn't even last one day without doing somethin' dumb, huh?"
The man waved his hand as a taunt, beckoning and agitating the people.
"Come at me, grunts. Let's see what you got."