Chapter 15 - Events Unfolding

"L-Lieutenant Amada..." The man stuttered her name, his legs nearly giving in. He watched as the woman approached, a cold smile on her face. She opened her mouth to speak. "The one and only," she said, tilting her head with her gold grin, hands still behind her back while she spoke more despite the crowd's whispers. It was clear she had a fierce reputation. "You said something about listening, right? Well, we are all listening!"

The leader wanted to grind his teeth and clench his fists, but he felt doing so might irritate this woman. He calmly spoke, "I j-just thought it... would be fair... to get a share... after all, we..." Amada laughed. "Oh, how pitiful! Very, very pitiful! Did you hear that, everyone? He wants a share after legally selling his goods; he still wants a share!" She spoke up, turning around as if spinning. The crowd, though, suddenly went silent; no one wanted to speak.

Amada then looked at the man again, who was sweating bullets silently at this point. "Federation law under Relic Hunter Guidelines, subsection 14 Commerce, Page 32 section C Line 25: All Relic hunters revoke the rights to any and all Relics and/or finds from a relic site upon successful sale of the device used to access it. Any attempt at extracting finds and relics by underhanded means will result in termination of a relic hunter license, and penalties as well as imprisonment."

The man, hearing this, his eyes looked down, angry and afraid. "I-it was just a joke..." Amada nodded softly. "What a shitty joke. Why don't you walk away now, funny joker, before I make you into a bigger joke," she whispered into his ear, her breath touching him, causing a chill to run up his spine.

Soon the man and his group fearfully backed away, only giving a reluctant annoyed look at Allspace before turning tail. Amada then looked around. "Don't you all have relic sites to explore? Otherwise, you're clogging up dock positions. Work or scram!" Her voice boomed out, the crowd dispersing quickly.

Fable and the others seemed at ease. Jenabell sighed in relief. Amada approached Jenabell and smiled. "Grandma Jenabell, it's good to see you again," Amada spoke with respect and gentleness. Jenabell smiled. "It's good to see you're as strong-willed as ever, Amada. How is your elder brother?" Amada laughed softly. "The usual, always out doing syndicate work. Mirabell, you're looking lovely as ever." Mirabell waved at her, a gentle chime leaving her body.

Amada then looked at Fable, who tried to sneak off. She reached over, grabbing him by the collar. "And if it isn't Mr. Playboy himself. You know, the number of women you've corrupted and left broken-hearted, I dare say if you claim to be second, no one would dare say they are first. Your sweet-talking the female staff caused an internal investigation into corruption!" Fable, looking guilty, the color draining from his face, forced a smile. "I umm... was just being friendly."

Amada scoffed. "Friendly, my butt." She let go of him and looked at Zenith. "This is?" she spoke curiously. Jenabell spoke a little pridefully, "Our newest member, and currently our golden egg. He cracked the relic site's secret."

Fable then added, "First time too! Now we have a standard to hold him to. Otherwise, we will be disappointed if he fails, right, Zenith?" Fable joked, gently patting Zenith's shoulder, causing him to look a bit dumbfounded. Amada, of course, nodded in approval. "He has an honest look on his face, and he seems capable if he helped you get this score. You guys should still be careful of Scorpius still. You know what they're capable of; they won't dare make a move near federation areas, but that's only if they don't pull some connections."

Amada spoke seriously. Jenabell's face turned cold as she remembered; she nodded appreciatively. "Thank you for your help. You've done so much for us; one day Allspace will pay you back several times." Amada laughed softly. "It's fine. My ancestor was part of Allspace before disappearing; it's half my home too."

Soon Amada left, and Zenith, as well as Fable, began to haul the capsules back into the freighter. Jenabell and Mirabell kept watch as there were still some curious onlookers. It wasn't until everything was hauled into the set-aside storage area that the group returned.

Everyone was looking through the things and opening capsules. Mirabell's curious chime sounded out like a soft bell as she curiously pulled out some things, vases as well as decorations.

Fable opened another, filled with stylish-looking casual clothes. "Whoa, whoever this human was had some style. Oh damn, these are my size too!" he excitedly spoke. Jenabell grumbled, speaking out, "For selling, not wearing! The material for that stuff doesn't exist anymore." She spoke up, causing Fable to pout quietly.

Zenith stood there a bit confused. Jenabell spoke as she noticed this. "Well, what are you standing for? Remember, we're a team. Besides, you found this. Go open what you can." Zenith felt relief and excitement, nodding as he headed around, looking to pick his first capsule. He then noticed the one in the far corner that was the last he brought in. Walking over to it, he gently knelt down. He didn't expect much, considering everything so far was simply human decor, although they had a price; it was for collectibles and some research value for the books.

He opened the capsule, only to be greeted by an odd object. A flat crystal in the center, padded in, an inch wide in every direction and a centimeter thick. It held a faint purple glow and seemed to house images that slowly swirled inside it.

Zenith moved and picked it up while the others were talking. The moment he picked it up, everything seemed to freeze and go blank. He felt his mind transfer as if his soul had switched bodies. He found himself at an empty boundary of space, facing an endless void. A voice filled Zenith's mind.

"I've stayed as long as I can. It's pointless to stay any longer." Hearing this voice of a man that seemed to echo in space, Zenith, looking from this individual's point of view, saw the man raise a hand. This hand was black and seemed to reflect the night sky, the stars and galaxies. As soon as the man raised his hand, he formed an index finger and then stroked it downwards, causing space to rip open, a gap forming with a sheen of pure white exposed in the galactic void that was space.

"Kid, you found my recollection and my things. I don't believe in fate or destiny, but I'll treat it as such and help you with that frequency issue you seem to be having." Meanwhile, while this happened, in the real world, everything seemed to freeze, down to the very atom and even the vacuum of emptiness. All but Zenith, who was bleeding from all orifices.

Despite this bleeding, he felt a gentle current enter his body, and then a soft snapping which felt painful beyond measure. He wanted to cry out but couldn't move. "It was like this back then as well; bear with it," the voice of the figure sounded in Zenith's mind.

This lasted several moments until the pain settled a little and the figure stopped whatever he was doing. "I'm leaving now. What's your name?" Hearing the words, Zenith suddenly thought of his own name, which the being seemed to hear. "Zenith? Good name, meaning the pinnacle of something at its most powerful."

Zenith, of course, didn't know this, so he had another thought. "Who are you? Do you have a name?" The figure soon responded, "I'm a human. As for my name, in my old life, I was James Levington. That was too long ago, before Andromeda and the Milky Way merged. The current me is -(^/,[}%-#(*..." Hearing this, Zenith was confused; the man's voice seemed to twist and distort. He couldn't hear the name.

"My new name, like all others, has laws and power mixed in, so when you need it most, my name will be found by your mind, and I'll help you one time. Consider it a gift from an Ancestor. I don't care what you do with my things; it's all yours now. I'll send you back now."

Around Zenith, he found his mind beginning to grow distant from the figure. He barely caught a glimpse of him, wearing a cloak that covered his entire appearance, but his arms and hands and bare feet also reflected the night sky. The moment Zenith was sent back, the human blinked. "Wait a moment? What is that inside you...?!" looking surprised, and wanting to move. "Impossible!?... we failed, so how could..." It was cut off though as the connection was severed and Zenith was sent back.

Time seemed to move again, Zenith, of course, fainting unconscious. The resuming of time suddenly caused every planetary body and even space itself to shake for several moments, causing sirens to go off in the outpost, everyone shouting and screaming in panic.