A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 156: No Loose Ends
Chapter 156: No Loose Ends

In the restaurant on the spaceship...

When the siblings stepped in, the buzz of lively chatter and the clinking of glasses came to an abrupt halt. All eyes were glued to Drexel. But this time, they weren’t just looking at him. They were watching him, like they’d spotted a real troublemaker.

Seeing the curious and anxious faces around, Drexel felt a rush of excitement. The wealthy businessmen and ladies present suddenly felt a wave of tension, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Arix, equally on edge, quickly grabbed Drexel’s arm. ”Drexel, let’s be decent. Even if they were wrong before, they deserve a chance to be forgiven.”

Seeing the concern in his sister’s eyes, Drexel sighed and decided to hold back. The room exhaled a collective sigh of relief as the tension eased, and conversations resumed.

The spaceship’s restaurant was set up buffet-style. After finding a seat, Drexel and Arix went their separate ways to gather their favorite foods. Drexel headed straight for the roast beef with red wine sauce, while Arix joined the group of ladies, picking a few desserts and fruits.

”Hey, did you hear? Tonight at 11 PM, the Empire is going to announce a new law banning the sale and hunting of Celesterrors,” one well-connected lady said, flaunting her insider knowledge.

”Really? Is the Empire trying to follow the Alliance’s example? Why suddenly introduce a Celesterror protection act?” another lady asked eagerly.

”I heard it’s because someone saved Prince Cassian, and Alpha Leonidas granted that person a wish. Instead of choosing to become a Duke, that person wished to protect the Celesterrors,” the first lady explained, with a hint of regret in her voice.

”Yeah, what a waste! If only that opportunity had been given to me,” the second lady sighed.

Hearing the conversation, Arix was first taken aback. Then she remembered Mama Tiger, and a warm smile spread across her face.

”It’s not a waste at all,” Arix thought silently. She picked up her tray and headed back.

”Why are you eating so little? You’re already so thin, and you’re still picky,” Drexel grumbled when he saw the small selection of desserts and fruits on Arix’s tray. He then forked a piece of steak from his own heaping plate and placed it on hers.

”Just woke up, no appetite. If I can’t finish it, you’re on clean-up duty,” Arix grumbled, eyeing the steak that was nearly the size of her face. She felt stuffed just looking at it.

”Fine, I’ll handle the leftovers,” Drexel said, rolling his eyes. He started eating at lightning speed, as if delaying was an offense to the food.

Arix sighed and picked up her knife and fork, ready to tackle the enormous steak. But just as her knife touched it, the spaceship began shaking violently.

The restaurant erupted with the sounds of plates and glasses shattering.

Wealthy businessmen and ladies screamed in terror, their faces turning pale. The elegance and composure they had moments before vanished. They scurried around like frightened mice or huddled together, trembling.

The businessmen fared slightly better than the pampered ladies. Though clearly scared, they managed to contact the captain to find out what was happening.

The captain tried to calm the passengers while muttering curses under his breath.

They were near the Alliance border, and now a Supergiant-Class insectoid had appeared. The ship’s top security, the Maple Mercenary, consisted only of Planet-Class mecha pilots. They were utterly incapable of protecting the ship or even saving themselves.

As the captain grew more frantic, a crew member, panic-stricken, ran up to him. ”Captain, bad news. The Maple Guard stole all the escape pods and left.”

”What did you say? Not a single escape pod left?!” The captain looked at the crew member in disbelief.

The crew member nodded, despair written all over his face.

After confirming the news, the captain shoved the crew member aside and sprinted to the escape pod bay himself. Finding it empty, he angrily punched the wall and gritted his teeth. ”The Maple! If I survive this, I’ll destroy your reputation!”

”Captain, the Maple only has eight people. Why did they take all the escape pods?” a terrified and confused crew member asked.

”Why else? They don’t want us surviving and seeking revenge, tarnishing their reputation in the mercenary world. So, they cut off our only hope of survival,” the captain replied, struggling to keep his anger in check.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he opened his opticomputer.

As he suspected, the Maple had installed a signal jammer on the ship. Now, calling for help from the Alliance or even contacting the Fifth Legion was impossible.

Despair washed over the captain as he closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the hopeless situation.

”Captain, what do we do now?” the young crew member asked, tears streaming down his face.

The captain opened his eyes and looked at the young crew member. He wanted to say there was no hope, but seeing the crew member’s youthful face, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Finally, the captain sighed, ”Go tell the other crew members to find the signal jammer.”

”Okay!” The crew member nodded and ran off without hesitation.

After the crew member left, the captain opened his opticomputer again, preparing to inform the passengers of the situation.

He hoped that someone among them could delay the insectoid long enough for the Fifth Legion to arrive.

In the spaceship’s restaurant...

Unlike the panicking businessmen and ladies, Arix and Drexel’s first move was to protect the food on their plates. Once they confirmed the food was safe, they both sighed in relief.

”Arix, from my experience, we should eat quickly. We probably won’t get another chance,” Drexel said, shoveling steak into his mouth while reminding Arix.

Arix nodded, and they both dug in, eating their steak directly and quickly.

Just as they finished, the ship’s captain appeared on all the screens throughout the spaceship.

The captain looked serious, with barely hidden panic in his eyes. Arix and Drexel exchanged glances, both realizing things were bad.

The captain bowed apologetically. Then, with a look full of guilt, he said, ”Ladies and gentlemen, due to an attack by a Supergiant-Class insectoid, this ship can no longer move forward, or return.”

”Right now, the ship has a temporary energy shield holding off the insectoid’s attacks, but it will only last another 10 minutes. We have requested help from the Fifth Legion, but it will take them an hour to get here. We have to hold out on our own for that hour. I ask any capable passengers or mecha pilots to come to the front of the ship to help delay the insectoid. Thank you.”

The restaurant erupted in angry shouting.

”You know it’s a Supergiant-Class insectoid! Going there is just suicide! Do you think we’re idiots?”

”Yeah, we paid for this! Why should we go? What about the security? Aren’t they mercenaries?”

”Why don’t we use the escape pods? Yes! Let’s escape in the pods!”

As the passengers were about to take action, the captain spoke again.

”I’m very sorry. Due to the selfish actions of the Maple, they have taken all the escape pods and fled. I apologize deeply for this. Once again, I ask any capable passengers or mecha pilots to come to the front of the ship to help delay the insectoid. Thank you,” the captain explained, trying to calm the passengers.

With the harsh truth revealed, the passengers couldn’t muster the courage to face reality, let alone fight back.

In the midst of this despair, Arix and Drexel moved. They headed firmly towards the front of the ship.

”Where are you going?” the people around them, though guessing their intent, asked in disbelief.

Drexel turned to look at the dining hall. This time, he didn’t have his usual playful smile. Instead, he saluted them solemnly.

”I am a reservist of the Fifth Legion and a military student at the Hecaris Military Academy. I apologize for the earlier joke. You are civilians, and it is my duty to protect civilians. Goodbye, everyone,” Drexel said with a smile.

After saluting with Arix, they quickly ran towards the front of the ship.

The people watched in stunned silence as the siblings left. The restaurant fell quiet again, broken only by a few stifled sobs.

”They are still just children,” one lady choked out.

Most of the wealthy people fell into deeper silence, some bowing their heads in shame. A few, after a long pause, stood up and headed towards the front, including the fawning lady.

Before leaving, she turned to the others and said, ”If the kids aren’t afraid, why should we be? Those who aren’t cowards, follow me!”