Eight people were the first to step forward and confront the Pilot, being braver than the rest of them all, who were stricken with fear at the sight of the Pilot. The group knew that, being only a day out in the Stellar Pioneer so far, they weren't far enough out to the point of no return. If they could gain control of the cockpit and fly the spacecraft to the original destination of Europa, they would all be free. There were still three days remaining until they inevitably reached the end of their solar system, where the undiscovered planet lay.
A burly, tall man with short-cut dark brown hair and a stubble beard stood alongside a handsome black-haired boy, who was attempting to perform a confident pose in the front.
Behind them, there was a well-built tall woman with tan skin and long brown hair, smiling with a grin that showed all her teeth. Not far away from her towards the left was a short girl with long blonde hair, staring at the tall woman with her piercing olive eyes, then turning her gaze towards the Pilot.
A young girl with black hair reaching only to her shoulders was standing to the right of the tan woman, yet she could care less about any of their drama. Her eyes were fixated on the blast door protecting the cockpit, her long, eagle-like//// wings flapped at the sight of it.
Behind the three of them stood a scrawny, fair skinned boy with unkempt black hair who was around the same height as the elegant, platinum blonde woman standing next to him. The boy's wound on his right hand no longer existed, and the woman's veil remained.
And behind them, stood no one.
'Damn Mono! Way to ruin the show!'
Theus bit his lip in both anger and anticipation. Angry at Mono for ruining the group's initial display of power and his own ridiculous imagination depicting them as some sort of heroes, and anticipation of who would be the first to start the fight.
Granted, he already knew who would start.
Stepping forward while cracking his knuckles, Ronan continued walking towards the tower of a man, the Pilot. Both were evidently battle-hardened and showed signs of immense experience, yet there was a stark difference between the two of them.
One was determined, yet still immature, while the other was fearless and grown.
Clenching his fists and throwing the first blow, the fight had begun.
Ronan threw the first punch, attempting to catch the Pilot off guard with a left hook shot straight to his liver at close range.
Uncrossing his arms, the Pilot blocked the blow with his right forearm. By using Ronan's momentum to his advantage, he cut the block off short and wrapped his right hand around Ronan's wrist and, while doing the same with his left, he took a step back and threw Ronan against the wall protecting the cockpit.
Ronan put his hands up to stop himself from slamming head first into the wall, taking the brunt of the damage and redirecting it towards his hands and arms. However, thanks to the immense force at which the Pilot hurled Ronan with, Ronan misjudged the strength of the impact, breaking his right wrist due to all of the pressure he put on it when attempting to break his fall.
The Pilot walked slowly towards the wincing Ronan, who was attempting to push himself off of the floor using his unbroken hand.
"You call yourself a soldier for Mars when you can't even get back up on your feet?! The sight of it all is almost pitiful."
Kneeling on one knee to get a better look at Ronan, he continued.
"I thought we trained you well, but of course. That damn planet wouldn't be ridden with the Thoughtless if it weren't for the weak and feeble army!-"
Cutting him off by ruining his balance, Isaiah kicked the kneeling Pilot on the side of his ribs as hard as he could, causing the Pilot to fall on the metal floor of the cargo ship. The Pilot quickly regained his balance, standing tall and waiting for Isaiah to make the first move.
This wasn't Isaiah's plan, however.
Taunting the stoic Pilot, Isaiah laughed and started speaking, yet fear made his voice shaky.
"You're really gonna let yourself tumble to a kid like me, huh?! G-Guess I really am that great-"
Buying the bait, the Pilot lunged for Isaiah, who was ready to perform a leg sweep to catch him off-balance.
Putting both of his hands up to protect his face, Isaiah waited until the Pilot reached the necessary distance. When he did, Isaiah drew his right leg in an arc across the ground with all the strength he could muster.
Except the arc got stopped halfway by the Pilot's firm standing on the ground.
Isaiah stumbled slightly from his leg being stopped, toppling over straight into the grasp of the Pilot. Picking up Isaiah with ease, the Pilot threw Isaiah's body towards Ronan, the two of them crashing into each other and ruining Ronan's attempt at getting up.
"Argh! Dammit boy, move!"
Isaiah immediately pushed himself off of Ronan, trying to alleviate any further pressure from being put on Ronan's broken wrist. He turned around and saw Talia stepping up to fight the Pilot.
"Hmm, I wonder if you'd be my type of man behind that helmet of yours… Yeah, let's see if I can knock it off!"
Holding the dented blade that Theus had made many hours ago, which she picked up from the floor once again near the lever while the fight had been going on, she readied the blade to be thrown once again.
The Pilot scoffed at the sight of the blade, continuing to walk towards Talia.
"You think that dull blade would be enough to pierce my helmet, really?"
Talia reared back, preparing to throw the blade with all the strength she could muster.
"Nah, I'm pretty confident that it can."
Throwing the blade with three fingers as if it were a dart, it escaped from her grasp and began flying towards her target.
And kept flying right past it.
Turning around to look at the blade, then around again towards Talia, the Pilot began laughing.
"Was that your confident throw?! God, this batch is hopeless-"
A loud clang was heard behind him, then another, until the point of the slightly dull blade pierced through the Pilot's suit, into his back.
Wincing in pain, the Pilot tore the knife from his back and threw it aside.
"Told you it could. Wasn't the helmet though, damn."
Talia brushed her hair back, satisfied with her perfect shot once again.
Half a second later, however, a loud blast was heard from in front of her. Then, her hair was roughly grabbed by the Pilot.
Bolstering his muscles even more, the Pilot swung Talia around by her hair, throwing her in the dogpile formed around Ronan's recovering body. She flew across the room with little resistance, landing on top of Isaiah, who then fell back onto Ronan.
The Pilot looked at the four remaining people who were still standing in his way.
"If only you all knew why I truly made this army, why I went against the word of The Messengers despite them being our so-called 'saving grace.'"
While taking another step closer and continuing on, the four people backed away, taking a step back as the Pilot shouted.
"Can't you all see?! Or have your minds been eaten away already at your young age?! Those damned aliens are hiding something from us, it's why they strictly prohibited any form of travel towards that new planet!"
Theus' eyes lit up at the words of the Pilot. Seeing that there was someone who held the same suspicion as him, he stepped forward, leaving the side of Caylie, who tried to walk alongside him. However, he put his hand behind him, motioning her to stop.
"So, you think they've hidden something away on that planet as well, right? That's why you've rounded us all up?"
The Pilot stood for a moment, shocked that there was someone willing to hear him out. He stopped shouting, speaking in a calm tone once again.
"I don't think so, I know it. After how they ignored the condition Mars was in all while spewing their 'betterment of the human race' bullshit. Something on their side doesn't make sense."
He raised his voice once again, addressing the people instead of the small group.
"Those who fled from Mars, didn't you see how The Messengers never once listened to the calls of the citizens in need?! Instead of running away to a new, temporary safe space, why don't we find out the real source of the issue?!"
Murmurs and whispers traveled through the people, who were quiet while listening to the Pilot speak. One member of the crowd raised his hand, posing a serious question.
"Was it really The Messengers who ruined Mars for us? Or were we the cause of it all? Shouldn't we try to redeem ourselves by treating Europa better than we did Mars?"
The man who played devil's advocate caused even more whispers among the crowd. Eventually, a wave of silence slowly washed over, with the people staring at the Pilot, waiting for his answer.
The Pilot deeply inhaled, giving in to the people's wishes.
"I see. Tomorrow, we will make a pit stop at Europa. Those of you who wish to depart, feel free to do so. As for those of you who see the true nature of it all, I hope you return to the ship by midnight tomorrow."
Turning around, he walked towards the blast door of the cockpit once again, waving to the mass of passengers.
"Good luck handling the truth, you all."
The door closed behind him, and a majority of the passengers shouted in glee.
Yet for some, the Pilot's speech sparked the flame of adventure in their hearts, a feeling long forgotten.