Galactic Gambit

Chapter 12

Alcyoneus was adventurous as always, if not proven by the last time they flew in and out of it. There had already been a comet cross their path not long after the jump. They narrowly avoided it but received a few dents in return from its tail. That wasn't the most exciting of the drama though.

Reiyna had to split up a fight between Pax and Asa the first night in, over space knew what. Neo hadn't witnessed it, but Reiyna said they were both ridiculous. Something about one of them making too much noise through the wall, and the argument spilled out into the hall until Reiyna sprang out like a little black ball of fury and shoved them both back into their rooms.

She got a kick out of the way Reiyna told the story and how she imitated their voices, making them both sound whiney. At least someone could put them both in their place, even if they were at least three times her size. Fynn had gone out for groceries before leaving Ran'am and had picked up a few different kinds of produce and things for him to work with in the kitchen and had been quite excited about it. He made a stew with meat from the local bovine species, spicing it up with different vegetables and seasonings. His cooking was getting better, but he seemed to consistently undercook the vegetables. Reiyna was always quick to critique, and when Pax called her out for being a know it all about cooking, she set out to shut him up about it stating that she was doing the shopping next and he would see.

Neo was no cook, but still thought it was humorous, and at least the rest of the crew was getting along. Asa had no problem fitting right in either. Aside from Pax, he was just as quick to throw back a sly comment to Reiyna, and seemed to be patient with Fynn. Neo had witnessed Fynn attempting to explain an issue he was having with the stove. Asa listened and helped him figure it out. It turned out to be a stuck switch, but he showed him what to do if it happened again and gave him a friendly pat on the back. She thought it was endearing.

There was still an entire day before they were set to land on Pydania. Neo found herself growing anxious in the anticipation of it and what exactly this cavity would entail. When she spoke with Rhea about it, she had told her that she had never heard anything about it or even much about Pydania. However, she did find something interesting when she was researching Phantasma eggs. Rhea discovered that aside from being a biomechanical creature with evolutionary capabilities, the eggs were basically infinite batteries. A power source that could be easily harnessed. It was half the reason the species was going extinct and the buying or selling of them was banned.

It made a little more sense why someone would go to such lengths to get their hands on them, but the uses for them could be potentially terrifying. She couldn't let Teag down though. Not after he gave her a ship, and she stole from him, and now his life could possibly depend on her, indicated by his level of agitation and fear.

It seemed that the universe planned for her to be perpetually stressed. They had come to an arrangement on kitchen duty after dinner, rotating out daily, and today was Neo's turn. She loaded all of the dishes in the dish-defier and cleaned the counters and the table. There were a few new bottles of liquor in the cabinet that Neo had noticed when she was putting things away. One in particular that she had never heard of piqued her interest. It was called Oblivion, and the liquor inside the clear bottle was an opaque white that swirled and shimmered in pearlescent tones.

When she had finished compressing the trash and sweeping, she retrieved a glass and the bottle from the cabinet and sat at the table. Fynn was off watching a movie with Pax while Reiyna was shut away in her room with her egg. And as far as she knew, Asa had already gone to bed for the night, so it was just her in a quiet and empty kitchen with Oblivion.

It smelled faintly sweet and floral as she poured a glass, the milky colors shifting around the ice. The first sip was not as sweet as she expected, and was fairly strong for her taste, but by halfway through, she found the taste pleasant. The floral notes were subtle, and there was some kind of fruit in the mix, but she couldn't place the flavor.