Chapter 23 : Follow

Rum stretches her hand as she walks with her team through the corridor.

"That was fun! Do you think we'll get to use cannon during missions? Like, shooting enemies for real?" Rum asks.

"Maybe," said Ramenman.

"I prefer to go down and personally face my enemy instead," said Axion.

"Ohhh... Daring today aren't we?" said Ramenman.

"Hey, can you help me with my homework?" Rum asks.

"Changing a few words doesn't mean you're not copying someone else's homework," said Lahap.

"I'm not copying. I'm asking for help," said Rum.

"Sorry, Rum. I can't." Axion turns to her friends and slowly walks backwards. "You guys go ahead. I have things to do."

"The Admiral asked for your assistance again?" ask Rum.

"Kind of. We're also not finished discussing about Milt and the others…." said Axion.

"You okay?" Ramenman asked. "If those girls bully you again, I'm going to do something."

"It's fine. The reason why I'm discussing it with The Admiral is so that you don't have to handle it yourselves," said Axion. "I'll see you guys later."

Axion runs away as she waves her hand. Kaizo stares at her until she disappears at a corner. The way Admiral Maskmana being close to her bothers him. And he's still curious about her fight with Scrozux.

Ramenman grins. He wraps his arm around Kaizo's shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll be back. You don't need to make such a lonely look," said Ramenman as he pokes Kaizo's face.

Kaizo pushes him away. Rum looked at Kaizo with a hopeful gaze.

"I'm busy," said Kaizo shortly.

"I knew it!" said Rum, hopeless.

"I'll help you with your homework," said Ramenman.

"Really?" Rum asks in hope.

"If you pay me right," said Ramenman.

"I'll pay you with 2 bowls of ramen,"

"Make it 3 and we have a deal," Ramenman adds.

"Deal!" said Rum.

They do a high five to seal the deal. Kaizo walks away, ignoring them.

"Oi! You miss her already?" ask Ramenman as he watches Kaizo walk away. "Go Kaizo! Don't give her a chance to slip away!" he cheerfully yells.

Kaizo doesn't look back and pretends he doesn't listen. Once he's past a corner, he walks faster, trying to chase Axion. Something is wrong, Kaizo can feel it. When he catches up to Axion, he hurriedly hides and silently follows her.

As always, Axion knows how to maintain her figure. With the rumor circling around, Axion doesn't really need extra effort to make herself look less suspicious. Kaizo keeps following her to the narrow side of the station, until she reaches a wall. She presses a few buttons on her watch and a hidden door appears. Before the door closes, Kaizo sneaks in. He hides behind a stack of crates and begins to look around his surroundings.

The room is a big hangar filled with high tech spaceships. Many spaceships have unfamiliar models. Some of them don't even have manufacturers' logos. Axion walks to a black jet spaceship. Unlike Astra Spaceship, it's smaller and it only has one pilot seat. But it has enough room to take few passengers.

The engine roars. The jet spaceship began to float. Kaizo shoots a tracking device on the spaceship before it flies away. He immediately goes to the main hangar and finds his own spaceship to follow Axion.

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Noche pilots her ship towards Junkberg. She parked in a hidden area slightly far from the entrance to the city. Her spaceship has a series of stealth systems. From invisible camouflage, radar disruptor, to fata morgana imagery.

She walks towards Junkberg. Vendors are busy peddling their goods to anyone passed by. People who are rich or people who don't know scam would probably be their main target. She walked deeper into an alley until she stopped at a nightclub called "Flare". The 5 stories building stands at the corner of an intersection, squeezed in between another tall building.

She entered the night club. The club is filled with dim light. A woman sings a sensual song on stage as her eyes pierced through every customer she crosses with. She walks towards the counter. She sits beside a woman and asks for a drink. The bartender doesn't take long to prepare her regular request.

Mercury sat with her long smoke pipe in her hand. Like any night club girl, she wears a beautiful mini dress and she knows how to be sophisticated.

"So, you visit today?" said Mercury.

"Yeah," Noche nodded.

"Request from station?"

"Yeah."

Mercury sighed. "What can I help you with?"

Noche takes a sip from her drink. "Any missing aliens?"

Mercury slightly chuckled. "A lot."

Noche slid a medallion. The medallion shows a holographic list of missing aliens. "No tracks. No clues. No corpse. Victims range from children to Adolescence,"

Mercury inhales from her smoke pipe. She softly blows the smoke out. "Do you know planet circus?"

"Circus?"

Mercury gently taps her smoke pipe. "There's a spot at Planet circus where you get to buy exotic… living… things…."

Noche silent.

"I know a guy at a circus. I can give him a call if you want."

"That will do. Thanks. I owe you."

"Don't mind it. I'll give you his contact. He'll tell you where to go," said Mercury.

"Another thing," said Noche.

Mercury peeked at Noche.

"Do you think you can find Scrozux's informant?"

"Hard to say. Why the interest? I thought you already sent him to jail," said Mercury.

"I see news travel fast,"

"Scrozux is top class A bounty hunter. Of course people would know if he gets captured. Besides, I trust your capability," said Mercury.

Noche chukled. "Scrozux recognized me when we fought. And I'm not even wearing my hunter suit. It makes me wonder…." Said Noche as she takes a sip of her drink.

"So you think there's an informant that might know your identity?" Mercury asks.

"Maybe. Better be safe than sorry."

"I'll take a look around," said Mercury.