Turning back to my food the guys went back to their conversation. Focusing back on the food I finished eating. Waiting on gunny, err Luka I turned my eyes to the porthole on the side. I figured it would be ok if I took a small peek at where we were. The room disappeared and I could barely hear the voices as the void of space opened up to me. So long as I had a clear view of open space, I could roam anywhere. Pushing out I felt myself detach and I made my way outside of our ship. Looking around I found the direction we were heading in and made my way forward. With a sense of flying on my mind, I couldn’t hear the rest of the people we were sitting with however I wanted to take a peek to see if we could slip past that planet. I was getting ready to come across the planet when my name was called.

”Orion, Orion? Earth to Orion.” I blinked disoriented for a moment before looking at the person who was calling my name. I resisted the urge to glare at the person who had broken my focus. But Victor was looking at me with such concern that I almost couldn’t be mad at him. 

“Yes? What did you need?” I spoke softly trying my very best not to sound annoyed.

”I was worried you didn’t respond to Shane's question." I turned over to the Avenchie and blinked focusing my attention on him. 

"What was your question?" I said plainly trying to seem less intimidating. Shane seemed to have shrunk a little by requesting my attention.

"I-I was w-wondering umm, what you were s-searching for." He said finally getting the sentence out. I turned to look at the port-hole and chose my words very carefully. Discussions held in the captain's presence weren't meant to be shared with the crew. And right now I was happy to be able to have a normal conversation like this without any disturbances. Nobody could know we were practically flying blind. So I concluded a simple answer would suffice. 

"I'm always searching for something. But, most of the time I don't know what I'm looking for. A moment ago I was looking at the nearby planets. Did that answer your question?" I turned my eyes over to Shane, this, unfortunately, shut the poor man down. I was sure he wouldn't have any more questions. However, once the door was open I wouldn't be able to close it. Victor pipped up next and said something I wished I hadn't heard.

"So what's with the whole eye thing you got going on there. If you don't mind me asking." I turned and put my eyes on him knowing that they weren't my normal color but the one that I had when I had finished looking out. Just peeking out the porthole had changed them again. 

“I have no idea honestly.” The second the words slipped past my lips, I could hear my own annoyance in the question. I backtracked and gave a small head tilt.

”Personally I think it reflects whatever I’m looking at, outside of that I don’t know. They change so frequently I can barely keep up.” I concluded my thoughts buzzing. I really didn’t want him to feel that I was upset with him. The questions were common and anyone who got close to me would eventually ask the question. People just didn’t understand that the same question over and over again was a little boring. I caught myself in that thought and scolded my inner voice. 

‘You shouldn’t be worried about what others think about you.’ 

Agreeing with myself I watched as Victor took in my information in stride. He beamed a bright smile at me before speaking up.

”I think it looks epic like you have a really cool story to tell.” Victor's smile was infectious and the group seemed to smile with him. The boys started a conversation after that and talked for a long while. Asking me things about myself, what did I do for fun, and just general twenty questions.

”You don’t do anything outside staring out that window?” Victor piped up in alarm. It was hard to explain that I was the only reason this ship was surviving. 

“Honestly there isn’t really much else I want to do. Looking out there is one of my only ways of exploring.” I replied and mentally cursed myself I’d said way too much.

”Wait have you ever even set foot on a planet?” Noriam exclaimed quite loudly. I gestured to lower the volume before closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose.

”Of course I have, it's just... When you can see everything sometimes just seeing something typical or small doesn’t cut it anymore. I like what I can do I don’t really feel the need to explore or do more. The only thing I could really ask for is not to be disturbed.” I spoke honestly. I looked at the Gally and contemplated if it had gotten more empty in here. It seemed the lunch hour was over and people were returning to work. Noriam spoke up and added to my last statement.

”That seems lonely.” I looked up with a curious expression portrayed. Was my life or what was considered it, lonely? I shrugged honestly not sure before I turned to Luka.

”I hate to leave such a stimulating conversation, however, I need to take a peek at what’s going on." I said, mostly directed at Luka.

"Ah, Orion is correct. Hopefully, we will see you guys at dinner." We both stood grabbing our trays disposing of them and leaving the Gally. As we entered the hallway back to the Observatory a thought occurred to me.

"Why did you have us sit with them?" I was curious but I was almost sure I knew the answer.

"Because eating alone is depressing." His reply was simple but his attitude had changed. Earlier walking to the Gally he seemed tense and unsure of what to say. After sitting with the group he seemed more relaxed and willing to have a conversation. However, I could feel that this was the end of the conversation for us. 

When we got to the observatory I climbed the ladder in and made my way back to my solitude. My thoughts were a buzz playing back to what I had experienced. I think the word would be companionship or another word that started with a ‘C’ it was an experience I hadn’t dealt with yet. I shook my head and sat down in the almost empty room. There was a room attached to this observatory and I was permitted to use it. Considering I was the only one capable of navigating this ship at the moment the captain deemed it fit to allow me to sleep here instead of below deck. This made things easier because I rarely slept. I was almost always watching where we were going and never really had a chance to get more than two maybe three hours of sleep. The amount of time that was required of me was more than a normal person could handle. I was never all that concerned with sleep it was necessary at times but never often. 

I shook my head I needed to focus back on the task at hand. I looked up walking fully into the room and sat down in the center of the Observatory. This is where I was needed for the moment, this is all I knew. 

The room vanished very quickly, it was easier to do this when I had my own space. Having eyes upon someone always causes unease. The world pulsed and I found myself outside of the six-pronged galaxy. Moving forward I relinquished in the feeling of flying again. There was a physical reaction when I did this even though I was practically detached from my body. I felt my stomach drop as I soared into the galaxy. I found the solar system and then the ship shortly. Stopping abruptly, I peered around me relaxing as I did so. The ship should be traveling at light speed however with the damages we sustained we were currently traveling on solar speed which sits somewhere in between light and the speed of sound. It was however around the correct speed for the ship we were traveling in. Our ship was shaped so it could achieve warp drive with a rounded front end and a streamlined back. With two wings angled sharply backward the solar sheets connected between that space and the ship itself. In the end, there was a tail strait and fined out. One might say it looked like a Vorpinx which was an aquatic creature with gills and fins and a long V-shaped tail. It looked like a cargo ship but upon a closer look, one could tell it was modified. With large gun slots mounted so that in a fight This little ship was a dangerous weapon. Thus her name The Mighty Vorpinx, traveling slowly and under the radar, I made sure to watch the ship move as to assess if there was any more damage we were taking. However, it seemed the same. The tail of the Vorpinx had a large cut in it and the left fin had several dents. Each dent manages to puncture part of the warp fuel and we had been leaking it since. It made a very easy trail to follow. This reminded me of the way it looks when a ship is damaged by solar flares. Normally a flare wouldn’t cause any problems however, in large suns the flares were made up of different chemicals that created a hotter fire. It messed with the electronics of each ship.

Finding myself off track I turned and looked forward. The Sun we were to pass was just a small star at the moment. The bright rays were calming to me as I pushed forward. Passing several planets and a comet I found myself in our little predicament. There were two SUS outposts located like a blockade with an asteroid field that was crowded with magnetic fields. Seems the asteroid field itself was part of a larger planet or comet. Then there was the sun; upon further inspection, I noticed its mass. This sun was quite large and active. I watched as a ray of light coming off the star. Solar storms just brimming on the horizon of this sun. With a sigh, I looked to the outposts in search of a small bit of hope. The rotation of each planet was off slightly one moved faster than the other which gave me a bit of doubt that we would make it through. I moved and positioned myself between the two planets sitting calculating. At the speed we were moving it would seem we would make it if the older SUS station moved slightly slower. But because the rotations on each planet were different I couldn't find a way through. We would get caught if we continued on the path between the two plants. This I knew would upset the captain but it had to be done.

I went to go back but something stopped me. I looked forward past our star and watched the stars. Something was hidden there in the distance shimmering slightly. It wasn't something that I recognized and I couldn't tell if It was a star planet or something else. Curiously I moved closer gliding through the cosmos and stopping before the shimmering piece of space. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a fading nebula. The sight was beautiful, different colors of light displayed in an elegant phase. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the center of the nebula seemed intact enough to last several years. I made a mental note to return to this place if I had a chance. Allocating myself a little longer to enjoy the display I turned and slowly returned to the ship. I would hold onto the memory of this space so that I may enjoy it a little longer.