Kelsa and Felice did their best to set a course that would avoid Imperium patrols. Felice had spent years collecting data on patrols, but they could never be certain they would perfectly avoid them. While the crew typically avoided patrols because of their status as pirates, now they were also wanted because of the tip. The crew could only assume that the Imperium was now on the lookout for their specific ship. They felt lucky to have gotten out of the Cerberus system. The fact that they had a dragon on board would definitely give the Imperium reason to actually enter the Cerberus system for once.

  As the ship traveled through space, Franz gripped his pistol tightly. The stress of the situation was starting to get to him. Nubleas was firmly in Imperium territory. Nubleas had provided the Imperium with military recruits for several years, and with it, the Imperium provided the planet with resources. Despite that, the Imperium did avoid the Great Trial. So, if they could somehow make it past the patrols, they would be safe for at least a little while.

  “Maybe you should get some rest,” Felice called back to Franz.

  “Huh? What?” Franz said as he broke out of his trance.

  “Go get some rest, I can literally feel how tense you are,” Felice reiterated.

  “Oh, sorry. I was distracted,” Franz replied. “I don’t really think I can rest. At least I won’t be able to until we land. We could get caught in an Imperium patrol at any moment.”

  “Even if they did find us, I could outrun them,” Kelsa said confidently. “Especially since we are completely fueled up and repaired. Imperium patrol ships have nothing on ours.”

  Franz released his grip on his pistol and cracked a smile. “I’ll just have to trust you.”

  “Exactly, I’m the pilot!” Kelsa smiled broadly. “I can handle a few Imperium ships. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be worthy of my title.”

  “Alright, I’ll put trust in you,” Franz nodded as he stood up. Lutz jumped from his lap and landed gracefully as Franz stood. “I don’t think I can sleep, but I’ll go play with Lutz for now.”

  “Much better than you sitting there and brooding,” Kelsa teased.

  “You’re probably right,” Franz smiled and then grew quiet. “Thanks for helping me get my head on straight.”

  Franz and Lutz walked out of the deck. As they did, Franz could hear Kelsa talking to Felice. “I swear, sometimes he stresses himself out for no reason.”

  “It’s only because he cares about us,” Felice responded. “That’s what makes him a good captain.”

  Franz walked through the halls of the ship towards the training room. Lutz walked right next to him with a pep in his step. The dragon was very obviously excited to play. It was sort of a strange feeling for Franz. He felt as if their new member was some sort of combination of a pet and a child. Initially, Franz thought of Lutz as just like a pet, but he obviously had more understanding than one. Franz could not help but wonder and feel excitement at how Lutz would grow. Which was why Franz needed to ensure the dragon’s safety.

  As the pair neared the training room, Elio poked his head out of his room with a large smile. “Are you two going to play?”

  “Yeah, why?” Franz asked.

  “Mind if I join you? While you were gone, I played with Lutz, and we had a good time,” Elio said as he walked out of his room towards Franz.

  “That should be fine,” Franz shrugged before he turned to enter the training room.

  Elio pumped his fist in excitement. “Yes! He’s the only one of you that will wrestle me.”

  Franz rolled his eyes as Elio quickly followed behind him. Once the entire group was in the room, Lutz immediately jumped towards Elio’s chest. Elio grabbed Lutz in midair and spun around with his arms extended. Then he abruptly let go and threw the dragon. Lutz flew through the air for a moment before he gracefully landed.

  “You two sure seem to get along,” Franz observed.

  “Of course! We both come from two powerful races!” Elio said with a hearty laugh. “Lutz has the blood of a warrior just like me! He will fit in greatly with the tribes on The Great Trial.”

  Franz sat with his back against the wall of the training room and stretched his legs out. He then rested his head against the wall and let out a sigh. “If you can help him get all his energy out, then I’m all for it.”

  “You constantly act like a tired old man,” Elio chuckled.

  “Some of us need to conserve our energy. We can’t all have the energy of a Core Dog,” Franz groaned. One of the biggest core manufacturers used a robotic dog that never ran out of energy as their mascot.

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  “Sounds like an excuse to me,” Elio replied.

  Franz did not feel like arguing the point and closed his eyes. He still was too stressed to sleep, but he could at least close his eyes to help calm his mind. It did not really matter if he tried to sleep, anyway. The training room echoed with the sounds of Elio and Lutz wrestling and tossing each other around.

  ***

  A chime came over the entire ship, and then the sound of a microphone clearing. Felice’s voice came over the entire ship. “Thanks to our wonderful pilot, we have avoided Imperium patrols. Landing should be soon.”

  Elio and Lutz had nodded off from their extensive wrestling. Franz was sure they had wrestled for hours. He was really not sure where all their energy came from. Elio’s head immediately shot up as he heard Felice’s announcement.

  “It’s been so long!” Elio smiled as he jumped to his feet. He immediately raced for the deck and left Franz and Lutz behind.

  Lutz’s head slightly raised upward as the call finished. After he watched Elio run out of the room, he fully awoke. Then he stood up and stretched his legs forward. Franz could not help but be reminded of a cat with how Lutz stretched.

  “We should probably get going, too,” Franz said as he stood up.

  Franz and Lutz arrived at the deck. Everyone in the crew was there except for Tal. Franz assumed that he was sleeping. Elio stood at the front with his body leaning forward to look out the front window of the ship. Kelsa looked like she was annoyed with him, and she tried to push the large man to the side.

  “This is so exciting! I haven’t been here since I became a man!” Elio yelled out in excitement.

  Kelsa placed her hand over one of her ears to block out Elio’s loud voice. “Cool, could you be quiet though? We still need to land.”

  Franz took his seat to look out the window. As the ship grew closer, he could see the moon in full view. The reason for its naming was the fact that all Nubleans had to travel there and survive to reach adulthood. Some Nubleans stayed there even after their trial, but it was very rare. It was an incredibly dangerous moon filled with a variety of dangerous environments and monsters. Even looking at the moon was strange. It was as if it were separated into four dangerous zones. There was a dense green jungle, a desolate desert, a frigid tundra, and a volcano surrounded by deep black rock. All of which could be seen even from space.

  As the ship entered the moon’s atmosphere, Kelsa turned towards Elio. “Now is the time when you are useful. Where should we land? And don’t pick some obviously dangerous place because you want to fight.”

  Elio looked like he was going to respond to the question before Kelsa reminded him not to pick a dangerous place. Then he paused for a moment before he answered. “There should be a place at the edge of the desert and jungle. A tribe usually stays there.”

  “How do we know the tribe won’t turn us in?” Kelsa asked.

  “Well, some people enjoy the thrill of The Great Trial, but there is another reason people stay on the moon. Most Nubleans who stay there don’t agree with the Imperium and would never help them out,” Elio explained. “It sort of became a refuge for people who disagreed with the alliance.”

  Kelsa turned towards Franz. “What do you think?”

  “I have heard rumors of that,” Franz confirmed. “So, go ahead and land where Elio suggested.”

  Kelsa nodded in recognition and steered the ship towards the direction that Elio suggested. As the ship grew closer, huts could be seen. Kelsa moved the ship around a mile from the huts. She figured it was best not to land right next to the tribe. Once she brought the ship down, she moved her hands to some buttons and engaged the landing gear. The ship was able to smoothly land without any noise.

  “Well, we made it,” Kelsa said as she leaned back in her chair. “Now what?”

  “I guess we are going to be staying here for a while. We should probably introduce ourselves to that nearby tribe,” Franz suggested.

  “Some of us should probably stay on the ship,” Kelsa said. “I volunteer. I’m tired from the trip, and don’t feel like meeting anyone right now.”

  “That’s fine. I’m sure Tal will want to stay on the ship,” Franz said before he turned to Felice. “Do you want to join us?”

  “Sure, just let me get my gear ready,” Felice nodded.

  The group returned to their quarters to grab their gear. Even if the tribe was friendly, they could not be sure what they would face. So, they each prepared as if they needed to fight. Once they were ready, they walked out of the ship to the surface.

  Franz was immediately hit by the intense heat as he exited the ship. He knew that the spot was between a jungle and a desert, but he did not anticipate how hot it really could be. Immediately, he walked back into the ship as he took off his duster. He threw it on a hook near the exit of the ship and came back down to the surface. Without his duster, he wore a tank top and cargo pants.

  “Much better,” Franz sighed. “Let’s get going.”

  “Heat a little too much for you?” Elio teased. He still wore his full armor.

  “Shut up,” Franz growled in response.

  Lutz ran in circles as the group exited the ship. The dragon seemed unaffected by the heat and was just happy to be out of the ship. He circled the group multiple times before he moved to the front of the group. Lutz looked back at the group as if he were waiting for them to start walking. Franz could not help but smile at his excitement.

  Even though Lutz moved to the front of the group, he was quickly replaced by Elio. Elio understood the environment better and thus took the lead. As he led the group towards the tribe, Elio told them stories about his trial. He went on and on about all the monsters that he fought on the trial. If it were not for the fact that Franz had seen Elio fight, he would have thought that he was exaggerating.

  Luckily, it did not take long for the group to reach the village. Felice seemed to let out a sigh of relief at the fact that Elio’s stories came to an end. It was still midday, and the tribe was doing all kinds of various tasks. Like Elio, the people of the tribe were much larger than a human with white hair. There were some of them with golden skin, but just as many with orange and red skin.

  A red-skinned Nublean was the first to notice the group. He was an older bald man with a slight hunch and a long white beard. He wore flowing black robes adorned with a golden trim. As he saw the group, his eyes seemed to light up with joy. “Well, if it isn’t Elio! It has been far too long!”