?It took three full days to make that scrap heap of an engine roar again. Lucas’s hands were stained with black oil that was stubborn to remove, and his back felt like it was about to snap. But when the small ship’s engine finally hummed stably without coughing anymore, his fatigue vanished instantly.

  ?That night, they walked home along the alleys of StarCross market, which were beginning to quiet down. Neon lights flickered dimly, signaling that the market’s operating hours were over.

  ?"You owe me dinner," said the young man while wiping dirt off his jacket.

  ?"Don't worry, Uncle Garp surely has some good leftover stock," answered Lucas enthusiastically.

  ?They arrived at Uncle Garp’s food stall. The front door was already locked, but Lucas had a spare key. Inside, the atmosphere was silent. There was only soft snoring from the back room near the customer area—a sign that Uncle Garp was already fast asleep after serving customers all day.

  ?Lucas heated up the leftover fish soup and rice, then served it on the wooden table they usually used. They ate voraciously, starving after wrestling with machines all day.

  ?After the bowls were clean, Lucas stared at the young man in front of him with a demanding look.

  ?"So... you haven't forgotten your promise, right?" Lucas shot straight. "The ship is fixed. You promised to take me to see the outside world."

  ?The young man put down his spoon, then leaned back in his chair. His sharp eyes stared at Lucas. "Are you sure? This isn't just childish nonsense?"

  ?"I'm serious!" Lucas straightened his back. "It’s been my dream since I was little. I want to see the outside world. In Uncle Garp’s old books, it says there are planets made entirely of oceans, some have forests made of crystal. I want to see it all. And..."

  ?Lucas looked down slightly, staring at his hands. "I want to learn 'Lux' energy. I once accidentally released a little bit of it, but it didn't last long and vanished, and after that, I didn't know how to bring it out again. Like the way you cut through iron back then. I want to be strong so I can protect people who are struggling. Looks cool, doesn't it?"

  ?The young man snorted softly, half-mocking. "Listen. The world out there isn't as beautiful as your bedtime stories. In StarCross, you are safe because UCO guards this sector tightly since their headquarters is near here. Out there? It's the law of the jungle. The strong eat the weak. You could die if you don't have power."

  ?Lucas fell silent for a moment. He knew it was true, but his fear was overcome by something else.

  ?"If the world is that bad..." Lucas lifted his face, his eyes sparkling with conviction. "Why don't we just become strong? Like General Reinhard!"

  ?The young man paused for a moment upon hearing that name.

  ?"Everyone knows Reinhard, the current Pillar of Strength," continued Lucas passionately. "He is so strong that criminals tremble just hearing his name. He can bring peace wherever he stands. If I—if we become that strong, no one would dare disturb us, right? We can bring peace too."

  ?The young man went silent for a long time. He stared at Lucas, but his mind seemed to drift to the past. There was naivety in Lucas's words, but also a simple truth. Something that had long been lost from him.

  ?"So naive," muttered the man quietly, but his tone was no longer harsh.

  ?"By the way," Lucas tried to change the topic because the atmosphere had become too serious. "Where are you actually from? Your clothes are weird. The model is very foreign, no tribe or nation on this planet wears a style like that, and it’s not the mixed style of StarCross people either."

  ?The young man seemed reluctant to answer. He pulled his jacket collar a bit. "I'm just a wanderer. A traveler just passing through."

  ?He then stood up suddenly, the chair creaking on the wooden floor. "Never mind. I want to rest. If you have really thought this through, meet me at the hangar tomorrow at the crack of dawn. I don't like waiting."

  ?"I'll definitely be there!" shouted Lucas.

  ?The young man only waved his hand without looking back and walked out of the stall, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  ?After the door closed, Lucas sighed deeply. He was happy, but also nervous to death. Without him realizing it, behind the slightly open bedroom door, Uncle Garp was lying on his mattress with his eyes slightly open. He had heard everything.

  ?The next morning, the sun hadn't fully risen yet. Lucas had already packed some clothes and meager belongings into a worn-out backpack. He stood in front of his bedroom door, pacing back and forth.

  ?"How do I say it?"

  ?With heavy steps, Lucas walked toward the front room. He was surprised to see Uncle Garp already awake. The old man was standing behind the cashier counter, wiping glass cups with a white cloth.

  ?Lucas stopped a few steps from the counter. His tongue felt numb.

  ?Uncle Garp didn't turn his head, but he spoke in his heavy voice. "So, what time are you leaving?"

  ?Lucas's heart dropped. "Uncle... Uncle knows?"

  ?Uncle Garp put down the clean, shiny glass, then looked at Lucas. His eyes looked tired, with bags under them thicker than usual.

  ?"I heard everything last night. These old ears still work, you know," said Garp. He sighed deeply, then walked around the counter approaching Lucas.

  ?"Listen, Lucas. I'm not your biological father. I'm just a fishmonger who happened to find you. Did you think I would forbid you? I have no right to stand in the way of that stupid dream of yours."

  ?Garp's voice sounded tough, very manly, but Lucas could see the corners of the old man's lips trembling slightly. Garp's eyes were glassy, though he tried hard to hold it back so it wouldn't spill.

  ?"Go," said Garp hoarsely. "This world is too narrow for you. You've been here too long, you don't want to end up old as a fishmonger like this old man, right?"

  ?Lucas's chest tightened with emotion. Without thinking, he lunged forward and hugged Uncle Garp's stout body tightly.

  ?"Thank you, Uncle... Thank you for everything," whispered Lucas.

  ?Garp patted Lucas's back awkwardly but firmly. "Alright, alright. Don't be a crybaby. Remember your words last night, become strong." Garp released the hug and looked at Lucas sharply.

  ?"Become strong, so that later when you come home, you can protect me from those market thugs who like to extort us. Got it?"

  ?Lucas laughed while wiping the corners of his eyes. "You got it, Boss."

  ?With one last nod, Lucas turned and ran out. He didn't look back, afraid his courage would fade.

  ?In the old hangar on the edge of the market, the young man was already leaning against the ship's hull, tapping his foot impatiently.

  ?"Taking so long," he grumbled when he saw Lucas arrive panting. "One more minute you didn't show up, I would have flown alone."

  ?"Sorry, had a little family business," answered Lucas while throwing his bag into the cockpit.

  ?They both climbed in. The ship's interior was cramped, with only two pilot seats and a little cargo space in the back. The control panel was full of wires manually spliced by Lucas yesterday.

  ?"Are you sure this won't explode?" asked the young man while starting the engine.

  ?"Hey, the one who fixed this is StarCross's best mechanic. Don't insult my work," replied Lucas while buckling his seatbelt. "By the way... we've come this far, what is your name?"

  ?The young man pulled the throttle lever. The engine roared loudly, the ship began to lift off the ground.

  ?"Blade," he answered briefly. "My name is Blade."

  ?"Okay, Blade. My name is Lucas. Nice to meet you."

  ?The ship shot through the atmosphere. Gravitational pressure pressed their bodies into the seats, then slowly disappeared as they broke through the clouds.

  ?The view outside the window made Lucas catch his breath. Planet Omnira stretched out beneath them—blue, green, and majestic. The curved line of the horizon was so clearly visible. This was the first time he saw his home from above.

  ?"So beautiful..." murmured Lucas.

  ?"Don't daydream too long," scolded Blade while typing coordinates on the navigation screen.

  ?"Where are we going?" asked Lucas.

  ?"Ossivar."

  ?"Ossivar? What kind of place is that? Is there a beach? Or a floating city?"

  ?"Noisy. You'll see later," answered Blade lazily. He pressed the Hyper-Drive button. "Hold on."

  ?ZHUUNG-!

  ?Their ship shot forward at high speed, the lines of stars outside the window stretching into beams of light. However, only a few seconds into light speed, a red alarm on the dashboard flashed frantically.

  ?BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

  ?"What is that?!" shouted Lucas in panic.

  ?"Dammit!" cursed Blade, his hands moving fast over the control panel. "The stabilizer is blown! The engine is overheating!"

  ?"Overheating?! I replaced the coolant yesterday!"

  ?"That means you installed it backwards, Idiot!"

  ?"We're done for," Lucas grumbled in his seat.

  ?"This is all because of the greatness of StarCross's best mechanic," Blade teased him.

  ?The ship began to shake violently. The view outside spun uncontrollably. The destination coordinates on the screen changed randomly.

  ?"We're off course!" shouted Blade. "We have to make an emergency landing on the nearest planet or this ship will shatter into pieces!"

  ?"Where?! There's a planet at the end over there!" pointed Lucas.

  ?"I don't know what planet that is! Hold on!!"

  ?The ship dove sharply, piercing the alien planet's atmosphere with flames engulfing the hull.

  ?A violent impact occurred as they hit the ground, dragging for a few hundred meters, mowing down alien trees before finally stopping after crashing into a mound of rocks.

  ?Smoke billowed from the engine. Silence for a moment.

  ?"You... cough... StarCross mechanic my ass..." Blade coughed while kicking the cockpit door open. "You are the worst mechanic I have ever met."

  ?"At least we're alive," argued Lucas while crawling out, his face covered in soot.

  ?They had landed in a barren valley surrounded by giant piles of scrap metal. This place looked like a graveyard for machines.

  ?While they were busy checking the ship's damage, the sound of footsteps was heard atop the mound of scrap metal near them. Lucas and Blade turned simultaneously.

  ?There stood a teenage boy their age. He was wearing strange goggles on his head and holding a large wrench, staring at them with raised eyebrows.

  ?"Whoa," said the teenager.

  ?"Rare to see scrap falling from the sky that still has contents."

  To be continue...

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