WHAT WAS LOST

"Danger sense?"

Lucianna laid a hand across her chest.

"Think of it like a radar. It lets you know there's someone who has murderous intent around you. It can also work with other dangers, but it takes years to get it to that level. You must hone it."

"And that is why she does not use it."

Lucianna shot a look at Faith, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"True, but you didn't have to be so blunt about it."

"Why don't you use it? Seems pretty useful."

"Um, hello? Before I lost my arms, I was the strongest person in the universe. Even if something dangerous came my way, I'd be able to handle them."

"Then how did you lose your gems in the first place?"

He bit down on his lips.

(Shit, I may have gone too far.)

Her face darkened, her eyes dropping to the floor. She bowed her head and her hair fell like a curtain in front of her face.

Faith crossed her arms. "Understand, Milo, the man responsible for everything we have lost was once a trusted and valued member of this crew."

"My father? He was a part of this crew?"

"You never thought to ask?"

"I, uh…so much has been happening. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around everything."

"That may be so, but you will need to be more forward if you hope to survive on this ship. Especially since you will be on the front lines with the Captain most of the time."

"Front lines? We're going to war?"

Lucianna pushed herself up from her spot and strode toward Milo. She left a few feet between them as she stopped and looked down at him. Her eyes shone with a wet glimmer. Her normal perfume of cinnamon and apples mingled with a musky, sour stench, as if she hadn't showered.

"There's a bounty on my head, remember? That spider robot we fought on Earth is just one of many. We've tried in the past to be sneaky, and use ship supplies sparingly, doing odd jobs to help us make money without exposing our true identities. But it's difficult with our reputation."

She held up her hands in front of him, rolling her black and gold metallic fingers.

"And I've been made useless. Faith's arms get better and better each time I break them, but they'll never be able to contain my power. Even low doses of my magic put enormous strain on this technology."

"Can't Faith just study the gem in my arm and…I don't know, copy it?"

Faith shook her head. "The gems are technology from a time long forgotten. Any attempts to study them have led to dead end after dead end."

"Wait, hold on. Then how am I supposed to help find my father? I can't do much besides combine with Lucianna, but we can't always be together! What if…"

Des's face, her greedy, fang-filled smile, flashed through his mind. Her slimy tongue smothering his face.

"What if something like that happens again?"

Lucianna grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"I won't let anything happen to my crew again!" She sank her hands into him, but not so deep that it hurt. "Especially you. I won't let anyone take you away from me."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. Carefully, he reached up toward Lucianna's face, but she reared back, releasing him and turning away from him.

"The most important thing we can do is keep training. If we can improve our bond, then we can unravel some mysteries behind the gems. At the very least, we might run into more of them."

"Okay? Why?"

"The gems attract each other," Faith said. "No one really knows why, but over time, gems will usually find their way to the other ones. Throughout history, many civilizations have possessed the gems, either only a single one or over half of them. But something always happens that separates them again."

"That…sounds like some weird shit."

"Just one of many unsolved mysteries involving the gems." Faith shrugged. "Of course, each society has its own concepts of what the gems are and how they work. But one thing is true: the gems usually end up in the hands of powerful individuals. Take Rivra and Lucianna, for example. They are the strongest of not just their people, but in the entire universe. With the gems to focus and amplify their potential, they are nearly invincible."

"Yeah, and that power comes at a price."

Lucianna headed toward the door, not once looking back toward Milo or Faith.

"The more people realize we lost the gems, the more people will hunt for us, if only to become someone worthy of wielding the gems. That's ignoring the bounties and the vast amounts of power sealed within us."

She turned her head slightly, so that Milo could only glimpse her left eye.

"That's why, Milo, you're so important. You've…given me hope. And that's something in short supply right now."

Milo started after her, but she disappeared through the door, the steel slab closing shut behind her. His hands fell to his sides.

Faith shifted in her seat, her eyes focusing on another screen.

"The Captain is as emotional as ever. But she is correct on one thing: your presence gives us an edge we have sorely lacked. Our task now, besides locating your father and the rest of the gems, is navigating the mystery of your skill. And its side effects."

He plopped into a chair across from her, heaving a sigh. "Side effects? I won't grow a third nipple or something, am I?"

Faith blinked at him.

"It was a joke."

"Hm. Your humor could also use training." She gestured toward the screens with footage of his fights. "I believe the side effect of bonding with the captain is your newly found danger sense."

"I…I guess that makes sense." He touched the diamond on his wrist. "So if I continue to combine with Lucianna, I'll gain more abilities like danger sense?"

"It is possible, but I lack sufficient data. Therefore, I must continue observing you. I will make adjustments based on your progress. But one thing is for certain…you need to cease this reckless rushing into situations."

Milo straightened in his seat. "Eh?! What do you mean?"

"Sacrificing yourself for a stranger? Absolutely reckless and ill-conceived. You are lucky Albany and Tereine contacted us. In the future, use better judgment, and avoid mimicking the Captain's foolhardiness."

Chuckling, he hung his head. "O-okay. I'll do that."

"Excellent. I will send your new suit with Tereine in the morning."

He nodded and stood, heading out the door to the dinner hall. But, stopping halfway down the hall, he swung and slammed a fist into the metal wall, a sound like thunder crashing all around him.

"I…I really am so useless right now. Goddamnit!"

***

Milo didn't speak or listen much at dinner. Albany had, of course, prepared an excellent meal, though it leaned heavily into the proteins, like a roasted pig and a hearty stew with large chunks of meat and vegetables. She served this feast in honor of the Herald's newest crewmate, Krol.

He slurped up the au jus on his plate and loudly smacked his lips. Albany's eyes gleamed with pride as she watched their newest guest devour everything she set before him. Krol sang his praises every chance he got, and Milo thought Albany might faint from an overdose of satisfaction.

Lucianna wasn't present, nor was Faith, but Milo had expected Faith to be absent, laboring away in her lab. Rivra sat next to her brother, chatting with him quietly and doting on him like a big sister would. Tereine discussed the prospect of being Krol's first non-Scrapster Scrapette card, and the pose she might strike to best display her personality.

As they all ate and chatted, Milo picked at his plate. The heavenly aroma from roasted meats and rich gravies couldn't entice him to eat his fill. His eyes kept lingering to his left, where Lucianna had sat for the previous meals.

Finally, he pushed his plate away and stood from the table. Rivra tilted her head toward him.

"Milo? Is everything all right?"

"Uh-huh. Just tired. Going to hit the sack early."

Albany glanced at his plate, her bottom lip quivering. "Oh, did you…did I make something you didn't like?"

He held his hands up in front of him. "No, no! The food is delicious. I'm just…not hungry. I'll see you all in the morning."

He waved and headed out the door. After the door whooshed shut behind him, he exhaled through his nose.

As he approached his room, the door to Lucianna's room opened, and Lucianna stepped into the hall. Their eyes met, and she crossed her arms, a small grin on her lips.

"Hello, darling. What're you doing here? Didn't Albany just serve dinner?"

"I wasn't hungry." He dropped his gaze, scratching the back of his leg with his foot. "And I'm exhausted. I just want to go to bed."

"Oh? That so? Well, don't let me stop you. Sleep tight!"

She gave him a little wave and headed toward the dining hall. As Milo was about to head into his room, he noticed Lucianna's door was still open.

He turned to call out for her, but she had already disappeared. He huffed and walked over to her door. Pulling his keycard from his pocket, he tried to scan it, hoping to close the door that way. But the scanner didn't even respond, instead remaining frozen on "OPEN" as he frantically waved the card around.

"Huh. I should tell Faith about this."

He stepped in front of the doorway and froze.

(I shouldn't. It's her room…)

His mind flashed back to when he awoke in the middle of the night to find a nude Lucianna cuddled next to him. His cheeks burned.

"I'll just dip in for a moment. Maybe I can get the keycard to work from the inside?"

Lucianna's room was about the same size as his, the arrangement of furniture an exact match. The major difference in their rooms was the delicate aroma of caramel and vanilla hanging in the air. He inhaled and sighed.

(Even her room smells so nice!)

Other than that, everything else was the same, down to the positioning of the bed and the screen that hung on the opposite wall. Milo tapped his foot.

(Not sure what I expected to find…but…)

His eyes widened. He tip-toed toward the bed, as if making any loud noises would alert everyone on the ship to his presence.

On the bed, he found a black rectangular disk, with sides that were glossy and blank. He turned it over in his hands several times, trying to figure out what it could be.

(Hold it up to the light?)

But the disk remained the same. He held it close to his face and squinted his eyes.

"Hmmm. Weird. What is this? Ugh, I wish I knew!"

A throbbing pain made his right hand clench, and he tightened his grip around the rectangle. Faintly, a purple aura leaked from his wrist, snaking down in tendrils and slithering into the rectangle. His mouth froze in an o, and he flung his hand around, trying to let go of the rectangle, but his grip wouldn't loosen, as if he had no control.

"What is this?!" he hissed.

The card lit up with bold white letters, and an electronic voice read those letters aloud: "IDENTITY CONFIRMED. WELCOME BACK, LUCIANNA. ACTIVATING MEMO-DISK PLAYBACK."

There was a beep, and the screen on the wall hummed to life.

"Waylon, stop! I don't want to take a picture~"

"C'mon, Sally! I want to admire your beauty for years and years!"

"You don't need a picture for that. We'll be together forever, remember?"

"Then we can look back on this moment together and laugh!"

Milo stepped closer and closer to the screen. His mind registered the words and faces, but somehow his brain couldn't process and put together exactly what he was seeing: a woman with long, dark blue hair stood next to a man with dark brown hair. The smile on the man's face triggered a twinge of pain in Milo's chest as he remembered.

(That's right…my very last memory of Father…he smiled at me. Just like he is with this woman.)

"Yo, what're you two doing?"

"Oh, Luci! Take the camera from Waylon, quick!"

"Eh? You taking photos? I want in on it!"

"Heh, betrayed by your own sister. How about we take a photo all together?"

"Yeah, let's do this!"

"Ugh, I guess, since you're so persistent, darling~"

The three of them huddled together, putting on their best smiles. They held the pose for a long while, before the long-haired woman blinked and eyed the man.

"Hey, take the picture—"

He turned and closed the distance between their lips. The woman's eyes widened, but quickly shut, her hands sneaking their way up the back of the man's neck. The woman's sister, shorter, with medium-length, messy blue hair, groaned.

"Quit sucking each other's faces!"

The pair separated with a large smack, the woman's eyes swimming with a dreamy pleasure as the man grinned at the girl.

"One day, you'll meet someone, and you'll want to suck their face, too!"

The girl giggled. "Shut up! That'll never happen!"

The woman patted the girl's head. "Who knows, Luci? Now, darling, can you shut off that stupid thing?"

"Eh? But we haven't taken the picture yet."

The video cut to black, and after a few moments, a still image of the three appeared, each smiling at Milo as if they were seeing a long-lost friend. Milo reached out toward the girl. His eyes dropped to her wrists, and he spotted them.

A diamond on each wrist, just like his own.