Red found the Furious Monkey and informed Captain Dobbs of the turn of events. With the loss of Master Eckelt and Master Gesmaine, they were read to disembark. As Captain Dobbs closed the doors and cycled the airlock for departure, Red explained the battle between Eristia and Eckelt.

"Have you ever heard of a Jhikae Order spell like that?" Red asked, referring to the symbol carved into Master Eckelt's neck.

"Nope. In fact, if I had to guess, it's heretical magic that no upstanding member of the order would ever use. Perhaps he's better off dead. If anyone found out that he had access to such a spell, he'd probably be executed," Dobbs mused.

They arrived at the bridge. Captain Dobbs gave the order to depart to the crew and then got onto the intercom that piped to every room on the ship. "To all of you aboard the Furious Monkey, we've found ourselves caught in the midst of a rather dangerous situation. As you all know, the Valstos has appeared in Central Station space. According to current intelligence, it just began its docking procedure a few moments ago. Such a situation is not supposed to occur here, and the fact that it has hopefully reveals the extent of our unprecedented time.

"Our mission aboard Central Station has been to keep the peace and ensure the safety of the peace talks. To that extent, we have failed. However, the situation is far outside of the scope of what we expected. As such, we must regroup and prepare for the enemy that we are actually facing. Know that we do not go easily: we are outmatched in this engagement. And no matter what, we will return and carve our vengeance into the hearts of our enemies!"

The people on the bridge cheered. Captain Dobbs sat down and closed his intercom connection. "Ensign, inform Jhikae Order command about the deaths of Master Eckelt and Master Gesmaine, as well as the full details regarding the fall of Central Station. To the best of your ability. Helmsman! Let's get out of here."

The Furious Monkey pulled out of the dock after releasing the clamps and moved into empty space. Traffic was insurmountable in the rush to escape the Valstos, and the helmsman was unable to move without destroying civilian craft. They were trapped, if only temporarily, until traffic cleared.

In the viewscreens, Red saw the battle between security personnel and Acrux pilots raging just on the edge of the cloud of civilian vessels. The battle was right there, but in the viewscreen still seemed so far away. Like it was a movie, almost not even happening at all.

Something caused the ship to shake and metal to scream. "Report!" Captain Dobbs barked.

"A freighter has made contact with our starboard side. No catastrophic damage. Just a scratch, sir!"

"Helmsman, get us the hell out of here the moment you see an opening! We're sitting ducks!"

"Would the Valstos really risk hitting civilians?" Red asked.

Dobbs just nodded. "I'm certain of it. The moment they get a line on us, they're going to attack, even if it's through the station itself. We have to get out of here as quickly as possible! Helmsman!"

The helmsman shot a thumbs-up as he pressed a button on the panel. "Course plotted through the traffic, sir!"

Red's stomach lurched as they accelerated unevenly onto their course. They got used to the speed and finally took a deep breath. "We're fine! We made it, right?" Red said, studying Dobbs' expression.

The ship spun suddenly, causing Red to lose their balance and slide across the room. "The Valstos has locked onto us, sir! Engaging evasive maneuvers!"

"Strap in, everyone! That means you, Red!" Captain Dobbs ordered.

Red sat in the first empty chair they found against a wall. They struggled with the six point harness before finally getting the metal buckle to click into place. Red had never been in a space battle before. Their excitement at the unique experience was completely overtaken by their anxiety and fear. Their g-forces training was severely weak, and they got space-sick on a good day if any movement seemed a little out-of-order. This was going to be a mess.

"Their weapons are armed and ready! We're angled so that our executive systems won't get knocked out if they fire!"

"Are we still in range?" Dobbs asked.

"Yessir. Another ten kilometers before we're out of their range."

"Gun it as soon as possible, Helmsman."

"Weapons are cycling! Prepare for impact!"

Red watched on the viewscreen as one of the Valstos' guns charged and fired at them. A red energy beam sliced through the empty space between the two vessels and connected with the Furious Monkey. The entire ship shook from the impact.

"Damage report!"

"Shields holding. Glancing shot through the shield, sir. No immediate damage to systems. Shields at ninety percent."

"Can we fire on them?" Dobbs asked.

"Not at this range. However, sir, I would advise against any combat action at this time. We're severely outmatched here," Lt. Commander Vostrom explained. "The Furious Monkey is not equipped for space combat against dreadnoughts."

"Indeed. How much longer until we're out of their range?" Dobbs checked.

"...Now!" the Helmsman reported.

The people on the bridge cheered. They managed to survive. A final blast from the Valstos' cannon shot past them on the viewscreen. It was allowing them to get away without chase. Red unclenched their jaw. It hadn't been much, but their first space battle had reminded them of just how much they hadn't yet had the opportunity to experience.

The ship prepared for FTL. Everyone held onto their seats as they braced for acceleration. Red looked at Central Station for what they imagined might be the last time. It seemed so small and far away, like it was already a distant memory. They suddenly couldn't understand why it was worth fighting for in the first place. Its position was one thing, but couldn't they just build another one nearby?

Eristia's position made no sense to Red. However, Red wasn't a politician. In reality, they weren't interested in power or fame or success at all. They just wanted a simple life after they retired. Maybe a lover. A family if all went well. Nothing special.

They thought of Carlyle as the ship accelerated.

Captain Dobbs could finally breathe. He let out a deep sigh and stood from his chair, going from station to station in order to gather information about how the ship fared in the engagement. Everything was mostly fine. A few shield circuits had overloaded. Nothing dangerous. No major injuries reported. Everything was going to be okay. Dobbs got on the intercom again and cleared his throat. "Hello again. Apologies for the turbulence during our departure, but we've escaped Central Station space for the time being. I'll inform you when we've heard from command where we're going to regroup."

Dobbs tried to get a call out to the nearest Jhikae Order temple but couldn't finalize a connection. Something was blocking the signal.

"Vostrom, did you block outside comms?" Dobbs asked.

"No sir. Are you not getting a pingback?" Lt Cmdr Vostrom stood from his station and walked over to Dobbs, looking over his shoulder at the terminal.

"Everything seems normal, but it won't connect!" Dobbs grew frustrated.

"Something's up for sure. Let me go look," Lt Cmdr Vostrom offered.

"Okay. Red! Go with him to the comm platform. We may have a stowaway, possibly even an enemy that knows how to undermine our intrusion detection."

Lt Cmdr Vostrom led the way down a cramped hallway after taking an elevator up to the top of level of the ship. Red kept forgetting just how large the ship was until they were forced to walk around it, and each time they were utterly awestruck that such a vehicle could exist in the first place. It seemed like something out of a dream. Though everything had been expertly designed, the hallways seemed to Red to lead nowhere, to change size randomly, and floors had no internal or even external cohesion. Some floors you went one way, others you went another, just to get to the same structure.

After the excitement on the bridge, Red understood that they hadn't really missed anything when they were locked away in quarantine within their quarters. There wasn't much to see on the Furious Monkey or aboard Central Station. They longed for some real gravity.

At the end of the hallway they traveled was the communications center. Two people were supposed to be stationed there at all times in order to ensure that SOS messages were properly transmitted in case of emergencies. Lt Cmdr Vostrom keyed in the code on the little pad in the door-frame and the door slid open.

Nobody. "Check for bodies."

Red looked around the room. Nothing obvious stood out to them. Drawers and cabinets were all empty. Lt Cmdr Vostrom opened up one of the computer racks. Every cell had been disconnected. There was no trace of the comms personnel.

Vostrom reattached the cells and the terminal on the desk powered on. A red warning light flashed on and off. Vostrom clicked the warning.

"INTRUSION DETECTED. DECK C. WARNING. INTRUSION DETECTED." The computer voice blared and sent a shiver down Red's spine.

"Shit," Vostrom said.

He opened a channel to Dobbs and explained the situation. "What do we do, sir?" he asked once he was finished.

"Red, meet me back at the bridge. We'll root out the intruders from there. Vostrom, you stay and guard the comms. Don't let anyone enter, even authorized personnel. Lock the room from the inside."

Red nodded to Vostrom, patted him on the shoulder as a good luck charm, and left for the bridge.