Zion had just opened the blueprint again when Uriel's voice cut through his thoughts.
[Host,] Uriel said, its tone tighter than usual. [Our ship is receiving an abnormal surge of incoming signals from external sources.]
Zion blinked. "From who?"
[Unknown,] Uriel answered truthfully. [The transmissions are going through special channels with a high-level encryption. Accessing them could potentially expose my presence.]
Zion stood up, a faint frown forming. "Encrypted signals… and this many? That's odd."
[Agreed,] the AI said. [I will continue to monitor it passively.]
Zion paced a few steps across his room, thinking.
"There's really not that many options," he muttered, closing his eyes for a moment.
From his time onboard Sovereignty ships, a sudden surge of signals would mean some kind of danger or a large-scale fleet maneuver. "But then again, I've never been on a scavenger ship before."
After a moment, he shook his head.
"Tch…" He rubbed his neck, more wary than annoyed. "If it's not about us, I should stay out of it. Just one more day and I'm off this ship anyway."
Twenty hours passed by in a flash.
In that time, Zion barely saw anyone. The corridors and even the mess hall, which used to always have one or two crew mates, were empty now.
Even Ravel's presence had completely vanished.
'Almost there,' he thought, carrying a tray of food back to his room. 'Just a few more hours… then I'm off this ship and on Daresk.'
He didn't know what exactly had happened, and neither did he want to know.
"I still have to draw the schematic in these final hours after all," he mumbled, unlocking his door. "Not really enough time for me to poke my nose in their business."
Zion set the tray aside and pulled the blueprint back up, letting the glowing lines settle into place across his vision and a piece of paper.
He traced each part carefully, creating the perfect copy of the internal pathways and the hidden mechanisms Uriel had explained to him.
Zion worked in silence, his hand moving steadily across the paper. Within hours, the rough outline became a detailed schematic with clean lines and precise structure.
[Host,] Uriel spoke again. [This version is accurate. It will pass inspection.]
"Good," Zion muttered, letting out a soft sigh as he leaned back. "Then I'm done."
He folded the sheet of paper once before sliding it into his pocket.
'All that's left now is the handover,' he thought, glancing at the crystal chip containing his credits.
Suddenly, a soft tremor ran through the floor.
Uriel reacted immediately. [The ship has started deceleration. Estimating one hour until Daresk orbit.]
'Finally.'
Zion stood up, his shoulders stiff from the sketching.
'Time to give Ravel my answer,' he thought as he reached for the door. 'Then I get off this ship… and start my real path.'
His door opened with a soft hiss, revealing the corridor outside completely.
Zion stepped into the corridor, but quickly realized he had no real way to find Ravel.
"Great," he muttered.
[Host doesn't need to worry,] Uriel's voice suddenly echoed through his head. [A crew member is headed this way right now.]
Before he could ask anything else, the sound of rapid, uneven tapping echoed from around the corner.
Jace appeared moments later, skidding to a stop when he saw Zion standing in the middle of the corridor. His mandibles twitched, and two of his insect-legs shifted nervously beneath him while the others kept him perfectly balanced.
"Z-Zane," Jace said, straightening himself as if caught off guard. "Good. I was actually looking for you."
Zion raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "Looking for me?"
Jace nodded. "There's an hour until landing. Captain wants to finish the business before then."
Zion began walking beside him, matching his pace. "The captain wants to finish business, huh…?"
Jace's mandibles clicked once. "Yes. That's what he requested."
Zion fell quiet for a moment, his curiosity peaking.
'All this haste… something must've happened,' he thought, glancing sideways at Jace. 'Maybe I can get a hint out of him.'
He let a small, casual smile form on his face while turning to Jace.
"All of this is pretty strange timing, don't you think?" Zion asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to finish after we land?"
Jace stiffened slightly. "No… everyone's pretty busy right now and the Captain really wants everything done before then."
'Busy…? He does seem pretty exhausted,' Zion thought, glancing at him closely. 'Something pretty severe must be going on after all.'
"Alright," he said, smiling slightly. "Lead the way."
Jace bobbed his head once and quickened his pace while Zion followed closely behind.
They passed through a few empty corridors before finally reaching a large corridor which Zion had only seen once.
"Are we heading for the command centre?" Zion asked curiously, glancing at two large doors at the end of the hall.
[Host, nearly 90% of this ship's life-forms are in that room,] Uriel said. [Be careful.]
Zion's steps slowed slightly as his expression turned serious.
However, contrary to his expectations, Jace quickly shook his head. "No, no, it's way too busy in there."
Instead, he guided Zion to a room with a much smaller door right beside the command room.
"He's waiting inside here," Jace said, his eyes wary. "Go on."
Zion narrowed his eyes slightly. "Just him?"
"Yes," Jace said, his expression shifting to a much firmer one. "Everyone else is just in the other room."
'A threat,' Zion thought, giving a slight nod to Jace. 'Alright then, doesn't seem like he plans to kill me outright.'
Without another word, the door slid open with a soft hiss.
Ravel sat at the narrow table, an untouched meal pushed aside while two holograms floated in front of him.
He closed the screens with one quick gesture and looked straight at Zion, his expression cold and serious.
"Zane," he said, voice low. "Good. Sit. We don't have long."