Grisha

On the evening of the fifth day, they all settled on the third floor underneath the sky dome. 

The gravitation storm with the comet river is supposed to pass by today. The clear night sky which was pitch black lit up all of a sudden with a river of lights. Then, the meteors started hitting planet 144. 

Each tremor could be felt keenly in their home. Fortunately, Swetlana has made the plans for building this house. She made it sturdy enough to withstand a level 12 earthquake. 

Strangest thing is that the sky right above them stayed the same with the same cluster of lights, while all around them, it was like a fireworks show. Children watched the show till late in night, when they fell asleep hugging one another, along with Sera. 

The very air felt different in the morning. 

It's full of smoke and dust.

The first thing Sera did upon waking is to run a scan using force, extending it as far as it could go. 

That is how she noticed the gigantic ship parked right outside the perimeter of the farmland. 

Worst part of the information is that Swetlana and Kefir are heading towards the spaceship along with their children. They did not look like they are about to go into a confrontation. 

' I am screwed…' The thought came to her mind automatically. 

She directed the Redwood man to climb the tallest peak to assess the situation. Yes, she could connect her senses to Redwood man. Initially, she did not even realize she has knowledge of places she had not been to. Once she did, she wondered - " is it real…" 

Then, she closed her eyes and tried to focus her all on the Redwood man. It was like her perception exploded. 

She could feel not just the scenery in front of the Redwood man, but also the scenery seen from the eyes of worker bees in the mecha's head. When she collected the beehive, Redwood man incorporated the genes of bees. On top of his head, there is a hexagonal beehive built, each bee connected to his brain using bio resonance. The pictures are of greater quality than Sera expected. 

From then on, she used bees to spy on Kefir and Swetlana. However, knowing how 'A' is made from knowledge is one thing, but to apply that knowledge and draw conclusions is entirely another. Till today, she has not seen any deviant behavior from those two. 

Now, Redwood reached the summit and focused on the ship, Sera identified the ship. 

It was " GRISHA , the ghost ship ", a raid boss ship at level eighty, usually for combat forces. The drop was the spaceship, which made any guild's life easier. It is the most famous drop in all of Interstellar Odyssey. 

However, this was not the problem. The more important problem was that Grisha is full of protean Warriors who are transformed from an unknown virus that was inhibiting the spaceship. I.e. it's a zombie ship that should have been near the entrance to Junkyard, the next season's combat grounds. 

What is it doing here ? 

Is the crew alive ? 

In case they are alive, what is Sera going to do ? 

Killing them all is out of the question. Killing animals is not the same as killing people. If she initiates the conflict in a wrong manner, she stands to lose her life. 

Sure, she has put out the G-net stations into space, but the gravitational storm has to pass before the data speed could reach the necessary standards for a voice or video call. 

She called back Redwood, set him on daily maintenance he usually does. After all, the other side is too powerful to pick a fight with. So, she had no choice but to play the ignorant heiress that everyone assumes her to be. 

Swetlana is returning to the house with an unrecognized mecha. That must be the captain of the ship, Sera thought. 

" Hello, Swetlana. Care for some breakfast ? " Sera asked lightly. 

" Sure. Let me introduce my friend to you first. " Swetlana answered. 

" This is Captain Nalan Jain, captain of Grisha. " Swetlana introduced easily. 

' They are not even hiding from me the name of the most infamous warship that the Dark Knight owned. Are they going to silence me or something ? ' Sera thought. 

" He is also your uncle in-law. His wife is Eliza Dustwood. " 

' What ? … ' 

Sera is far more shocked by the latest revelation than the rest of them. She had always thought her mother and Orion were the only children of the Dustwoods in this generation. 

Eliza Dustwood is a character that did not exist in the original story line. After a moment, it struck Sera. ' Woods witch of the ghost ship ' .. the last boss that could be said to ' meet god, slay god , meet buddha, slay buddha ' kind of obstacle. 

' Does that mean Dustwoods could get that powerful ? Can I also have that sort of power ? ' Sera wondered. 

" You do look a lot like your mother. " Nalan commented, in a friendly elder tone. 

' Oh ! The information about Grisha and Dark Knights was confidential. She knows because her kombat system had this information. So, from their perspective, they might be thinking that I have no idea about their political affiliation or their legal status. ' … ' this could work to my advantage. It's even more helpful to my ignorant heiress act. ' Sera thought. 

" Hello, Uncle Nalan. " Sera greeted him politely, like an obedient child. 

' System, what is the punishment for not reporting in the Death Knight army ? ' she was wondering inside. 

' immediate court marshal, or exile to class B system and confiscation of property and assets. ' 

' I am screwed , then ! ' Sera opined. 

' It is the duty of every citizen to protect the peace of the galaxy. ' her goody two shoes system advised her. 

' You are forbidden from even leaking hints without my permission. ' Sera ordered her system. Her system is good in all things, but it has an annoying habit of trying to be the ultimate captain galactica. 

" Uncle, are you going to stay on this planet for a while ? " Sera asked. 

" Yes, dear. We will be staying here till we can complete repairs of Grisha.

" But the planet does not have any resources. " Sera mused. 

" The planet does not have resources, but the gravitational storm just passed by along with a comet river. There will be plenty of stuff as long as we venture a little. We specialize in this. " Nalan reassured her. 

He sounded extremely sure. As Sera thought about it, the information came to her mind automatically. 

[ Knight corporation specialized in space mining ] 

[ Their towing technology is the best in the world. ] 

[ Calvin Darknight was the heir apparent. ] 

[ much of the cutting edge technology was lost with him. ] 

Hey ! doesn't this mean that Grisha has all these cutting edge technologies with itself ? 

' Should I cut a deal ? ' Sera thought seriously. 

However, she does not have anything to offer to them. At least, nothing that they can not strong arm out of her. 

Over the next course of the week, life was surprisingly peaceful. Sera was finally able to connect to the G-net. The first person she called was her uncle. He was in a bathing robe, his skin was flushed red. His gray eyes flashed like embers in ash, while his lips were red and swollen. For a moment there, Sera wondered if her uncle did not care about it at all to be having the time of his life like this - but …he is the only life line she has now. She better believe in her uncle's hatred of her father rather than his love for herself. 

With her abacus adjusted, Sera started speaking. 

She explained how and why she was left here like this. She had him inquire into expenses and budget of Oakriver college. 

Once she finished the call, she opened the door of the room to find Nalan right in front of her. 

His face is icy cold. 

" May I ask, with whom did my dear niece talk ? " he inquired. 

Sera could sense the room. One wrong sentence, Nalan will blast her heart himself. 

It came up to her lips to say ' I did not reveal your presence. ' but she held back. 

" Ah ! I talked to Uncle Orion. I need to go back to college. I asked him to charter a rescue for me. " Sera answered truthfully. 

" Only a rescue ? " the woman beside Nalan asked curiously. 

Sera did not even notice her. Even with Sera's force perception turned on, the woman barely registered on Sera's radar. 

Sera had heard about these people before. The Reader, they were called. All intergalactic humans are born with force. There are people who are born with negative force value. This was considered a genetic disease till a talented person invented a way to use their perception to become human lie detectors. 

" Yes, I asked for a rescue crew to come to this planet. " Sera answered. 

" No one is accompanying them ? " The woman asked, just to be sure. 

" Do they need to be accompanied by someone ? Don't rescue crews fly alone? Oh ! What should I do ? I told my uncle to send only a rescue ship to the place with a beacon signal. Whom should they come with ? I can ask my uncle to send any one else who needs to come. Oh ! While at it, should I ask for some mercenary guards ? " Sera mused. 

"There's no need. We can protect you till the rescue squad arrives. " Nalan interjected before Sera could make any more drastic imaginations.