Flying out of Thander-II's atmosphere just before the surge storm fully condensed, Jason set the ship to autopilot as we drifted through space. He let out a breath, finally relaxing, while I sat back and recounted my encounter with Yerrick Kastimo. The moment I finished, the reaction was immediate.
"The Yerrick Kastimo? You met him on that blasted planet of nothing but stones and lightning?!" Nicole exploded, her voice sharp with disbelief.
Jason, meanwhile, was silent, deep in thought.
"You know him?" I asked, glancing between them.
"Of course I do." Nicole gave me a look like I'd just asked if space was big. "The guy's a *legend*—one of the best mercenaries out there. Fights with a heavily modified farmer knight that he turned into a weapon of war. People thought he was dead for years—either killed by Freiheit or vanished into some backwater system. And now you're telling me he's working for *Filch Alsier*?" Her brows furrowed, her scepticism shifting to concern. "I know Alsier as an insurgent weapons supplier, but not much else. He's the one that gave you this card, right?"
"Yeah."
Nicole reached for the Limbo Merchant's card—the one Filch Alsier had gifted me before escaping Helios Station. I let her inspect it, but my mind was already spiralling back to my conversation with Yerrick Kastimo.
Alsier's words echoed in my head.
"I'm a business entrepreneur, little lady!"
"Especially in the way of business with future clientele like yourself!"
"You did good. Consider this your consolation prize!"
The more I thought about him, the less sense he made. If Alsier was truly just a weapons supplier for Freiheit, why would he sabotage his own business by allowing me to leave with information? Why give me a Limbo Merchant's card at all?
And what exactly was Yerrick protecting on that planet?
"Well... it's too late to go back to Thander-II," Jason said, shaking his head. "We completed the mission and got intel on enemy plans. That's what matters." He took the card from Nicole, inspecting it himself. "As for these Limbo Merchants... I've heard of them. A black-market service for anything—goods, weapons, intelligence, assassinations. Their core members are all knight pilots, at least seraphim-grade lethality. Until now, their leader was unknown. But even if Filch Alsier is their boss, we can't expose him yet."
"What? Why not?" I demanded. "He's a criminal! He hurts innocent people just to get what he wants!"
Jason didn't flinch. "I'm not denying that, but listen." He took a breath, levelling his gaze at me. "Back when I worked for the Solar Investigation Bureau—before I joined Rogue Raven—I learned a lot about the Limbo Merchants. And one crucial thing? They're selling sensitive internal information about Freiheit to the Empire. More valuable than anything Nicole gathered today. So as dangerous as he is, Alsier still has his uses. At least until the insurgents are wiped out."
I gritted my teeth. I hated it. Hated how logical it was. But I couldn't argue. "...Fine."
"Besides," Nicole interjected with a smirk, "who knows? We might need to buy from them, too~."
Her tone was too nonchalant—too knowing. She'd clearly already done business with them. And probably more than once.
Feigning ignorance, Jason handed me back the card. "Keep this on you at all times. Who knows when it'll be useful again, like it was today?"
"Yeah, yeah." I shoved it back into the pocket of my leather jacket, scowling. The only reason I'd kept the stupid thing was so I could shove it in Alsier's face the next time we met. Now it turned out it was actually useful? So infuriating.
"We'll report Yerrick Kastimo's presence on Thander-II when the operation is over," Jason continued, his voice shifting back to business. "But by then, whatever he was guarding will be long gone. And so will he. Until we're out of enemy territory, any transmission back to the Empire is a no-go. The second we break radio silence, insurgents will swarm us."
Nicole leaned back, stretching. "Even if you did capture him, it's not like we'd be able to keep him." She dragged her thumb across her throat. "Standard bureau procedure: interrogate, execute."
"Did business," Jason corrected sharply, something dark flickering across his face. His jaw tightened for a second before he exhaled, stepping back. "I told you not to bring that up, Nicole."
"Whoops." She flopped onto the couch beside me, completely unbothered. "Didn't think you'd care in front of our new hunter. But if that's off-limits, I guess we can talk about your browser history instead."
Jason stiffened.
I tilted my head. "What's browser history?"
Nicole's grin widened like a cat about to pounce. "It's a receipt of every website a person visits on their computers, phones, anything with an internet connection. And some people tend to forget that." She tossed Jason a smug look. "Like Jason here and his search history of cute animal plushies."
Jason went crimson. "Urgh!" Slapping a hand over his face, he turned on his heel and stormed toward the cargo hold. "Shut up—just—just focus on prepping for our next target, you two!"
Nicole burst into laughter.
I frowned, watching him retreat. "What's a plushie?"
Nicole's laughter doubled.
As she cackled and Jason vanished in embarrassment, I found myself wondering if this was what all special forces military expeditions were like.
Risking our lives together—only to turn around and mock each other in the aftermath, laughing over small things despite everything.
It was... oddly endearing.
If this was what the rest of my missions—what the rest of my life—looked like, then maybe... maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
No matter how short it was destined to be, I knew one thing:
I'd be able to look back on it with a smile.
***
Standing at the edge of a crater on Thander-II, I watched as the storm above grew more violent, streaking the blackened landscape with relentless bolts of lightning. The air crackled, dense with static, and yet, even with the planet already scorched beyond recognition, the fury of the storm only intensified. It was remarkable, really—how the stones could get any blacker than they already were.
Beneath the roiling tempest, my knight stood firm, twin metal javelins in hand, serving as lightning rods to divert the storm's fury. Each strike that connected with the javelins coursed down the knight's metal frame, arcing into the shattered ground below, leaving behind jagged branches of scorched earth. One particularly violent arc came dangerously close to my rubber boots, but I didn't flinch.
Instead, I smirked.
"Ohohoh~ so you met the rat runner?" A familiar, lazy voice crackled through my earpiece. "I was wondering where she scampered off to after our *date* on Helios."
Another bolt of lightning struck the javelin in my knight's grip, the raw energy hissing as it grounded itself. I rolled my shoulders, watching the last traces of electricity sizzle against the stones.
"Is that what you call a girl who torched an entire division of hunter-bots, *boss man*?"
Filch Alsier chuckled through the line, his amusement practically dripping through the static. "At least she didn't try to take your bone from you, Yerrick."
The grin on my face widened as I looked down into the crater, toward something buried in the blackened rubble.
"How's that shiny new bone I gifted ya treating you?" Filch asked.
My eyes lingered on the twisted remains below—the remnants of a knight, its metal fingers clawing toward the surface, as if frozen in the last desperate attempt to escape. The sight sent a sharp pulse of satisfaction through me, the kind that only old scars could summon.
"It's one hell of a check, but... I'm not sure what to do with it yet." My fingers idly traced the scar running across my face, the pain swelling at the memory of the knife that had carved it there. "AZ and I have been through thick and thin together. But maybe I can strip it down for parts, make some upgrades. Either way, it and its grave buddy will put up one hell of a fight before I tear it apart."
"Ah, good thing I've got something even better for you then, Yerrick," Filch mused, his tone dropping to something far more interested. "Freyt's been cosying up to the Nightmare Cult—offering them a deal for their underground bug tunnels. Word is, they're giving him access in exchange for some of his big boys."
I said nothing, waiting.
"And from what I hear," Filch continued, "the Cult's Fifth Claw is going to be there when it all goes down. Now, that... how does that make you feel, Yerrick?"
I clenched my jaw, staring down at the remains in the pit.
The metal hand reaching up from the rubble was frozen mid-gesture—gripped tightly by a chitinous claw that had punctured straight through the wrist joint. A twisted tableau of betrayal. The sight made my fingers twitch.
The scar across my face burned with phantom pain, as if the blade that carved it had *just* been there.
The memories hit all at once.
The darkened corridor. The knife gleaming in the dim light.
The gloved hand grabbing my hair.
The voice, soft—almost gentle—before the pain.
I exhaled slowly, my fingers tapping against the scar, as if trying to drown out the sensation.
"It makes me feel fucking glad, boss."
Filch let out a bark of laughter. "Haha! Perfect. I'll send an excavator crew and the puppy twins to help dig up your bone. You really ought to thank the fiery rat runner for clearing out Freyt's forces. Otherwise, your bone would be staying buried."
I scoffed. "Hmph. You must really like her to hand her one of our cards."
"What can I say?" Filch's tone was practically purring with amusement. "I love a girl who could burn me to a crisp if she wanted to. That little lady plays by her own rules to get the job done, and I respect that." A sigh, as if he was reclining back into some lavish chair, utterly at ease. "If she's really worth something, she'll survive Freyt's big score. After that... well, I might actually try to scout her. Or, at the very least, come to a mutually beneficial arrangement."
I huffed a laugh, stepping back toward my knight as its cockpit opened for me. "Hasn't that psycho already marked you as hers? Doubt she'd play nice if she found out you had your globes set on another woman."
Filch's laughter returned, smooth and easy. "Ohhh, I'd love to be fought over by hot, bloodthirsty women, but let's be real—" He chuckled darkly. "I'm far more interested in where the money is. And that, my dear Yerrick, is how Limbo Mercantile operates."
***
Two months blurred by in a rush of missions, each one blending into the next. From one solar system to another, we methodically took out our targets—command droids who had all been fed false intelligence on the Empire's movements. Seventeen of them had been operating when we began. Now, there were only two left. Soon, there would be just one.
Not every target could be eliminated in a grand display of destruction. As a knight pilot, that limited my effectiveness in certain situations—but I was far from useless. Give me a sniper rifle and a pair of electric binoculars, and I could do my part just fine.
"Target is solitary," I murmured through my comms, peering through my rifle's scope. "Knives out, Thermite-1."
Through the magnified lens, I watched Jason descend from the glass ceiling of a vehicle depot, landing silently atop the command droid. With swift precision, he drove an electrified knife through the droid's cranium, then dragged it down through its synthetic spine, piercing the power core before twisting the blade free.
"Target neutralized," Jason whispered as he melted back into the shadows of parked military transports. "Thermite-2, status on the exfil?"
"Ready and waiting at the north wall," Nicole responded. "Charges are set and ready whenever."
"On my way. Thermite-3, RTB and prep for take-off. It's going to be a quick but loud exit off-world."
Through my scope, I tracked Jason vaulting over the depot's outer wall, sprinting toward Nicole's position before stealing an unmarked vehicle.
"Roger," I acknowledged, pulling away from my vantage point. Adjusting the strap of my rifle, I began my own retreat, weaving between towering mushroom stalks as I made my way back to our ship.
As I neared the clearing, Andromeda stood like a silent sentinel beside the spacecraft, cradling his handheld rail cannon. His dark-steel frame gleamed under the faint bioluminescent glow of the fungal forest.
"Andromeda, we're exfiltrating. Keep watch until the others arrive."
[Affirmative, pilot.]
Treading past the towering mech, I climbed into the cockpit, flipping switches and pressing buttons to bring the ship to life. As the engines spooled, I checked the radar—nothing on the perimeter.
Then—
Du-pfussh!!!!
The ship shuddered as a thunderous explosion rocked the sky. A bloom of fire and smoke lit up the canopy above, sending a shockwave through the mushroom forest. My stomach twisted as I grabbed the radio.
"Come in, Thermite-1! Why have the explosives already detonated?!"
"We've been made! Had to detonate early!" Jason's voice crackled through the speakers, barely audible over the rapid staccato of gunfire. "Bring the ship to us—we won't make it to you!"
"Copy." I shoved the throttle forward, preparing for emergency take-off. "Andromeda, rush to their position and cover them until I arrive!"
Without hesitation, the knight surged forward, tearing through fungal stalks with reckless abandon before leaping down the hillside, thrusters flaring behind him.
Lifting off, the ship's thrusters scorched the damp mushroom floor as I accelerated toward their signal. On my HUD, Jason and Nicole's trackers raced across the terrain, their vehicle weaving erratically as they fled. Andromeda was rapidly closing the distance.
"Jason, head for the river south of your position!" I ordered. "There's a cliff overlooking it—I can extract you from there!"
"Copy that, Thermite-3! Hauling ass now!" Nicole shouted. Jason, meanwhile, sounded busy—probably fist-fighting a droid.
Banking the ship low over the forest, I caught sight of them. Their stolen troop transport ploughed through rough terrain, kicking up mud and bioluminescent spores as APCs and hound-bots tore after them.
Right as the lead APC swerved, its mounted turret beginning to rotate—
BOOM.
Andromeda erupted from the treeline, slamming through the vehicle's chassis and sending it rolling across the battlefield. Raising his magnetic shield, he caught an incoming rocket in one hand, then hurled it into another transport, obliterating it in a fiery burst.
[I will hold position until you have safely extracted,] Andromeda transmitted, holding the line against the oncoming swarm.
Jason and Nicole gunned it for the cliff. I angled the ship into a hover, setting autopilot before sprinting to the side hatch. As the door hissed open, the wind *howled* against my face, whipping my hair back as I peered over the edge.
"Come on!" I shouted.
Jason was first. He vaulted from the transport, hitting the ramp hard and scrambling past me into the ship.
Nicole, right behind him, screamed as she leapt—arms flailing, eyes wide—and in the split second before impact, we both realized the same thing.
She didn't jump far enough.
"Nicole!" I lunged forward, snatching her wrist just as she dropped.
Weight wrenched against my arm, but I gritted my teeth and held on.
"Jason, go!" I barked. "Andy, fall back to us now!"
Beneath us, a violent fireball erupted from the cliffside, sending a wave of searing heat upward. The shockwave knocked the ship into an unstable ascent, jostling me toward the edge.
"Woah!!" Nicole screeched, her grip slipping. "Firefly!!"
With a final heave, I yanked Nicole up and over the ramp's edge, both of us crashing onto the floor as bullets ripped past the open door.
"Andromeda!" I gasped into the radio. "Where are you?"
[Here, pilot.]
From the smoke, Andromeda launched forward, shifting mid-air as his form collapsed into itself, condensing into a sleek, metallic card that whipped into the ship's interior.
"Go, Jason!" Nicole shouted, breathless.
With a final pull, I slammed the lever, sealing the side hatch as the ship pitched into the sky.
Jason gunned the thrusters. The ship rocketed into the upper atmosphere, outrunning the last desperate shots fired from the surface. Within seconds, we were free—breaching orbit, slipping into the void, and entering the swirling tunnel of slip-space.
As the tension bled from my limbs, I slumped against the curved door, exhaling sharply.
Beside me, Nicole let out a wheezing laugh. "This is why... I always stay on the ship!"