Saurai also wanted to buy the ingredients and experiment with them, but he wasn't confident yet. A quiet voice inside him urged caution. "I'll just buy them some other time," he said. Bryn didn't press, but he took mental note of the ingredients as they moved on to the next set of shops.
As they walked, Saurai noticed several tall towers rising above the deck. Curious, he turned to Bryn. "What are those for?"
Bryn glanced up at the structures, their gleaming surfaces catching the last slant of sun. "Those are multi-purpose observation and security towers. Artemis-5 guards are stationed in each one. They're used to keep an eye on deck activity, maintain order, and sometimes assist in search and rescue if anything strange happens up here."
Even though they were technically on the deck, Saurai still couldn't see the sea or even the edge of Artemis-5. The structure was just that vast.
"I want to see the sea," Saurai admitted.
Coral nodded. "There's a public-access tower nearby that gives a great view. Come on, I'll take you."
They found the tower not far from the last row of merchant stalls. It was massive, shaped like a tapering spire with a faint golden sheen and a rotating glass dome at the top. A lift ran through the center of it. The cost was ten points per person which was affordable, especially since it only cost one Academy point through conversion.
There was a short line, but it moved quickly. When it was their turn, they stepped onto the lift platform, and it began its smooth ascent.
As the elevator rose, Saurai's eyes widened. First came the rooftops of the merchant tents, then the wide pathways, then the sprawling market square with crowds looking like dots. Then the dome curved away entirely, and beyond it was vast horizon.
He saw it.
The ocean.
A boundless field of deep blue, glinting like obsidian glass under the setting sun. The sky above merged into it at the horizon, creating a seamless band of color, both infinite and unreachable. Waves rolled gently below Artemis-5, far below, like a breathing creature slumbering beneath them.
Saurai stood silently, hands gripping the railing.
He felt it in his bones a longing. A strange connection. As if the ocean itself was calling to him. Not with words, but with presence. A presence older than memory.
I want to go there, he thought. Not just look… I want to walk its shores. Study its plants. Feel its wind without barriers.
After spending a while at the top, they descended and continued their walk. Coral led them to a quiet, tucked-away shop.
The name above the old wooden door read Dalle's Curios.
It looked like an antique shop, filled with relics from forgotten times. Coral smiled. "This place belongs to my family," she said proudly.
An old man stood behind the counter, hands clasped behind his back. His silver hair was pulled into a short tail, and his eyes were sharp despite his age. Coral approached him and gestured. "Saurai, this is Riley. He's family."
Riley gave Saurai a brief nod of appraisal.
Then, turning to Coral, he asked in a low voice, "Is this the one you mentioned to your father?"
"Yes," Coral replied. "Bryn says he's really good with plants. Quiet, smart. Might be useful if we go deeper into farming trade. I think we should keep him close."
Riley looked thoughtful. "I spoke to your father. He heard whispers the world's balance won't last. It won't be long before the peace ends."
Coral's face grew serious. "How long do we have?"
"Five years. Give or take," Riley said quietly.
A silence passed between them.
Riley gave her a small smile. "But don't worry. That's not your burden yet. Adults will handle what they must."
Then, as if to change the subject, he asked, "What's his combat strength?"
"I don't know exactly," Coral admitted. "But he ranked third in the first-year rankings. What's strange is… I think he was holding back."
"Why do you think so?"
"He barely touched the bots during the drill, but he knocked out three solo and helped with two more."
Riley's eyes narrowed. "Five bots? Without proper offensive techniques?"
"Yup."
"That's… unusual," he muttered.
He tapped the counter. "What's his background?"
"I don't know much. But he seems unfamiliar with ship life and like he's new to a lot of basic things. I suspect he's from one of the F1 zones."
Riley raised an eyebrow. "F1? Are you sure?"
Coral shrugged. "Just a guess. He doesn't talk about his family. Not at all."
Riley nodded slowly. "Alright. Keep him close. We might be able to do what the Ray family did with Cassius. Bring him into our circle. Groom him. Make him part of our rise."
Coral smirked. "I'll try my best."
Riley chuckled, his voice dropping into a teasing tone. "Well, since you're working this hard for the family, your father probably wouldn't mind if you brought home a husband instead of a business partner."
Coral turned red instantly. "Riley! Stop it!"
Meanwhile, Saurai explored the shop. Ancient books with crumbling covers, broken tools with inscriptions in forgotten languages, fossilized sea-creatures embedded in glass spheres. Many things were beyond his knowledge but a few spoke to something inside him.
He asked the assistant for the prices of a few items mostly old journals and a seed storage vial with inscriptions.
They were affordable things. He bought them quietly, hiding the excitement on his face. He didn't know why, but some part of him felt like those items might be important.
They didn't buy much else. Just some fried root spirals and a bottle of iced nectar that Coral insisted on.
By evening, the three of them sat on a wide platform near the deck's edge. The shield dome overhead had fully retracted now, and wind danced through their hair.
The sun had dipped lower. The ocean was veiled in shadow. The horizon glowed faintly. And above it the first stars began to blink.
Saurai sat quietly.
The stars peeked out from behind pink clouds like shy eyes watching the world.
The sea shimmered far below, stretching out in every direction.
The sky above was limitless.
"I remember this," Saurai whispered.
He wasn't sure what he meant. The sky? The sea? The longing in his chest?
He pressed his fingers gently to the surface of the cadet watch. The new interface pulsed softly beneath his touch.
Secrets.
Lies.
Power.
And somewhere in all of it was a path forward for him.
As the stars brightened and the artificial lights flickered to life across the deck, something settled inside him.
A silent resolve.
He would uncover the truth.
And if the sky was the limit.
He would go beyond even that.