I have a better idea

Aiken fell into a deep thought before he began to murmur. "Dark Forest... That's not the name of a place. Instead, that's a concept. There are way too many recognized races in the Universe. However, it is known that many others are still waiting to be discovered."

"Within those races, there are definitely a few who are technologically advanced enough to appear in the grand stage of the Universe but choose to remain hidden," Aiken continued. "There are many reasons for that, with the main one being that they are in a dangerous position within their own galaxy or cluster."

Liam nodded, satisfied. "So you know that, uh? That's correct; to make ourselves known is the same as letting up a fire in the middle of the Dark Forest. You don't know what is lurking nearby, just that everyone will be able to see you. That's the kind of region our Lakure Race lives in."

Aiken then thought it to be strange. "Wait... but you are here, and you mentioned your enemies might know about your actions. That means some must know about your existence."

"That's for sure," Felina commented ahead, enjoying her drink. "We needed technology, resources, things like that, after all."

How could Aiken not understand those words? "So you stole them from other races while keeping yourselves hidden."

"Hahaha!" Liam laughed in response. "Don't worry. Yes, we did steal a lot of things, but we make it our priority to not let anyone die in the proccess. Otherwise, the other races would increase their efforts to find us exponentially. We have quite a lot of enemies, but no one knows who we are or where we came from. We are still invisible in the Dark Forest."

Aiken wondered how this race could achieve that in this age. After all, as long as a single one of them was captured, there were methods to extract the necessary information of said Lakure. Still, the fact they succeeded until now shows how meticulous they are... if they are telling the truth, that is.

"Simply put, there are eyes in every corner of the Universe looking for us, as there are for a few other races who also prefer to not light up a fire in the Dark Forest," Liam added. "Fortunately for us, all the races who made themselves known are a lot busier protecting themselves from the others in the same situation than caring about our little Lakures. That's why almost no one even knows about our race's name. You definitely won't find it in the Stellar Network."

"Why are you telling me this?" Aiken couldn't help but ask.

Liam put his hands on his waist and said with a confident expression. "Why else? You are now part of our group. That's something you need to know so that you can be careful."

Aiken massaged the space between his eyes, finding it ridiculous. "Why the hell would I ever join you?! First of all, didn't you read it? My Star Affinity is zero, ZERO!!! I have absolutely no Stellar Manipulation Power whatsoever! I am, BY FAR, the weakest existence in this Universe!"

*Crack!*

Suddenly, the sound of a cup cracking was heard at the front of the Stellar Ship. Felina seemed to grow angry after hearing Aiken's words. "The weakest? The WEAKEST? Do you even know-"

"Enough!" Liam, for the first time, shouted at Felina. So far, he seemed to be an easy going guy. Yet, it seemed like Felina was about to talk something she shouldn't. As the leader of this operation, he couldn't allow that. "It is not time to talk about it. We haven't confirmed it yet."

"Confirmed what?" Aiken insisted, feeling that it had something to do with him.

*Tch...* Felina didn't get angry as she always did when Liam talked. She just got up and went to fetch another drink for herself.

Liam looked at Aiken in a different way, seeming to be thinking about something important. "Weakest... right? Yes, the way the Universe is today, you might very well be considered the weakest of them all. But..." He didn't continue. Instead, he sighed and shook his head, returning to his seat.

'Eh? Is that it?!' Aiken felt like crying already. They were obviously hiding something from him... But then Aiken understood he was a prisoner. Hiding things from him was obvious.

After that initial conversation, the group didn't talk anymore. Liam would bring Aiken food and drinks now and then, but that was about it. Just like that, two weeks went by. Their Stellar Ship hasn't left the Interstellar Speeds even once during it. Aiken was sure they had traveled at least a few thousand galactical clusters by now. Earth was nothing but a distant memory... literally.

"Where are we at the moment?" Liam asked Felina on his side.

Felina checked the equipment and quickly answered. "We are passing through the Kelfei Cluster. We are still another two weeks away from home, at the very least. We might have to avoid the Roolu Cluster if things there are still tense."

"It's fine," Liam didn't seem to mind. "Another extra day or two of travel won't make much of a difference. I would rather make sure we arrive home safely."

*Rumble...*

Suddenly, the Stellar Ship began to tremble, much to everyone's shock. On the screen that showed the outside world, another Stellar Ship began to emerge from the front, traveling at the same speed as them.

"Impossible!" Liam shouted, disbelief written in his eyes.

"How did they know we would be passing through this place?!" Felina was just as shocked.

Aiken, the Stellar Nerd, immediately recognized the Stellar Ship in the front. "Tantas Scout Type U34, a Unit well known for its maneuverability while having quite a good set of weapoms. It is one of the most sold Scout Type Stellar Ships out there, although it is also one of the most expensive."

"Who cares?!" Liam immediately assumed their ship's control, exiting the Interstellar Speeds. 

*Zush, zush!*

Two Stellar Ships then appeared in the middle of nowhere, with one of them chasing the other.

Aiken wondered if they had come to save him... but then he discarded that idea almost instantly. Just how far from Earth are they? Simply put, it wasn't worth the resources necessary to come all the way here just to get one Aiken, especially considering he had absolutely zero Stellar Energy talent.

*Boom, boom, boom...*

The weapons from the Scout Ship began to hit Aiken's Ship's Energy shields nonstop, unfortunately confirming Aiken's thought. "They aren't just aiming to stop us. They are trying to completely take us down!"

"Oh?! Do you think?" Felina, who was operating literally the only cannon of that cargo and cheap vessel of theirs, shouted back at Aiken. She wasn't using it to shoot the Scout Ship, though. There was no way their Stellar Ship had the power to take it down. Instead, she was using the weapons to prevent the enemy's weapons from hitting them as much as possible.

*Bang!*

The ship got hit again, causing Aiken's body to hit his chamber's invisible wall everywhere. 

"Liam, we need to return to Interstellar Speeds!" Felina shouted.

Liam immediately refused. "Are you crazy?! If we are hit while traveling at Interstellar Speeds, the burden on this piece of shit ship will be too great. We will simply get dismantled right there and then!"

"But if we continue like this, we will be taken down anyway. At least there is a small chance that they won't calculate the launch speed correctly, giving us some time to escape somewhere." Feline replied.

Suddenly, Aiken spoke from the back. "I have a much better idea."