Odyssey of the Stars {Honkai Star Rail x f!reader}

Chapter 2

—Start of Chapter—

"March, [Name], Dan Heng, you've been through a lot," Himeko says with a smile.

"Whew, Himeko~ What took you so long! That last wave of Antimatter Legion came at us like a swarm of locusts, have you ever tried shooting locusts with a bow?" March asks as she puts her hands on her hips.

"I wouldn't have made a difference. My orbital cannon can deal with a whole bunch of enemies at once, but I couldn't just blow up the space station with it — Herta would NOT like that..." Himeko lets out a breath as she imagines Herta's expression.

"Are you alright, Arlan? Asta's been worried about you."

"I'm fine, a quick patching up will do. Thanks for asking. I'll report the situation to Lead Researcher Asta immediately. Bye," Arlan says awkwardly, quickly turning away to leave.

"Fufu~ How about I take — " Before you could finish your sentence, Arlan was already out of sight. 

"H-hey! Arlan! Aww... I wanted to go with him," you say as you slump your shoulders. Dan Heng just pats your back, trying to comfort you.

"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Himeko, navigator of the Astral Express." 

"In other words, she's in charge of where the Express goes," March explains.

"March hasn't been any trouble for you along the way, has she?" Himeko asks teasingly. 

"Stelle, think carefully about how you wanna reply to that," March says as she puts a hand on her hip.

"I've never met a more lively girl in my life." 

"Well, that's the joy of youth! We should take every step forward full of energy! She's a discerning one, isn't she, you guys," March says as she looks at the two of you.

"I have the right to remain silent." "What he said," you say as you shrug your shoulders.

"Haha, look at you all, you've already gotten really close. Come on, Asta has been worried about all of you."

***

"Projectile radar tracking, normal. Telemetry signal frequency unusually high! Maintain at normal levels! Our measurements predict that the Legion is about to unleash over ten waves of continuous attacks. Everyone, brace yourselves!"

"Asta! We're back!" Asta turns her head as she finally notices your presence.

"Whew, I'm glad you're all back safe. Arlan just told me about the situation at the storage zone — and about his injury... thank you, for all your help." You and Stelle give Asta a nod as if saying "You're welcome."

"In times of disaster, I realize more and more that the space station's researchers are its most valuable assets... Alas, we were ill-prepared for such emergencies... we should have built up our security and combat departments. On the other hand, the entire crew of the Astral Express seems to be extraordinarily skilled," Asta compliments you all, bringing up the mood.

"What is the current situation on the space station?" Dan Heng asks.

"The situation is under control for now. The damage to our security system was minor. The intruder only managed to alter a small amount of data, so it was easy to fix. The real problem lies with the researchers... They trust Madam Herta wholeheartedly and never thought that the space station would be breached by the Legion. A broken spirit is far worse than a broken body," Asta sadly explains.

"That's true. Many of the researchers we passed by looked uneasy and afraid," you say as you recall the distressed expressions on several researcher's faces.