King of Stars Volume 1 (An interstellar ATEEZ Hongjoong fanfiction)

Part Two: In Which 10-24 Makes a New Friend

Lights. Movement. Pain ringing in my ears and travelling down through every part of me. As I open my eyes the world around me fades in and out of focus. A large warm hand is wrapped around my ankle and drags me across the floor. My body aches as he pulls me along. A screen flickers into my line of sight.

Rebooting...

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Reboot complete.

My eyes snap open. I'm laying on my back staring up at the bright lights on the ceiling as each one slowly passes one after the other. I attempt to sit up but my body protests against it. I hiss as pain flares up in my side once more.

"It's awake." Says a quiet baritone voice. The hand lets go of my foot with a thump to the floor.

"Good maybe it can answer some questions before we throw it out of the airlock." Another of the voices remark. This one is also male but his voice is distinctly deeper. A head of cobalt blue dreads fills my vision and I'm abruptly yanked off the ground and hoisted to my feet. I cry out at the sudden movement and slump against his large frame. His hands grip my arms to keep me from tumbling back to the floor.

Blinking I turn my head to look around the room. It appears I was taken to the cryogenic bay where the Star King was detained. The pod he had occupied now sits with its glass broken and wires crackling. The Star King, now dressed in a black prisoner suit, stands with his back turned to me. I notice he's shivering violently, rivulets of fluid dripping from his hair down his back and pooling in the floor around his feet.

I count five other unfamiliar men standing in the room. One of the men, strikingly beautiful with gray hair, leans against the side of a desk and crosses his arms. The light catches the glint of silver spiked earrings as he turns his head. Eyes narrowed he stares at me coldly.

"Maybe we should disassemble her first for any useful parts?" He says. His velvet voice drips with menace.

"I don't think Yunho would appreciate us disposing of her before he can get a good look at her." The voice from before quips in. The man watches me with dark eyes beneath pale blonde hair. He crosses his arms in front of him looking at me up and down. "What do you think Hongjoong?"

Star King's shoulders tense and he looks at me over his shoulder. Unlike the angry faces of his crew mates his is entirely emotionless. I'm held captive by his indifferent stare and feel something cold and restless stir within me making cast my eyes to the floor. I do not know the name of this emotion.

He sighs and rises to his feet. His voice commandeers the room. "Our focus should be on assessing our damages. One of the thrusters on this ship is completely shot and will need to be repaired." His eyes skim over me briefly before he continues. "The cyborg is no threat to us now with the Master Commander gone." At this comment I blink and look up.

"Did you kill Master Commander Arcturus?" I inquire. The Star King seems startled by my sudden question, of which he seems to debate whether or not to answer. Finally he scratches the back of his head shaking it side to side.

"Arcturus you said? No I didn't kill him. After the initial fight the coward surrendered along with the majority of the crew. I stuck them on an escape pod with coordinates as far away from here as possible. They gave up the ship without any bloodshed." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't make any sense..." He whispered nearly inaudibly.

The Star King's actions were completely unexpected. From the information gathered on him there was a nearly one hundred percent chance he would've eliminated Master Commander and the entire crew, regardless if they had surrendered or not.