The crowd was struck with silence for a few moments, then burst out in excitement like Thane had rarely witnessed. They jumped and thrashed just to have an outlet for their energy, and Thane found his name was now the one being chanted.

He waved his hand, then started making his way back to the exit as the announcer breathlessly repeated his words. The crowd parted for him once more, but their attitudes had changed. Where first they avoided him, they now clamored to get his attention, yet he waved them all away. Maintaining a good relationship with all groups and generations aboard the ship was one responsibility. Not becoming too familiar with them was another. Before long he found himself back on the suspended walkway leading to ground level, leaving the crowd behind.

Despair stood at the door he had entered through. The many segments of her carapace armor were in the process of being peeled off, leaving her in the beige bodyglove worn beneath it.

Thane had never been one to underestimate people, yet the short and lean young woman in front of him in no way gave the impression that she was his equal in martial might. 

Well, perhaps she was not quite that good, but she undoubtedly had the potential to catch up to him within her mortal lifespan.

After all, Despair was a mere twenty years old. She was the youngest Tidebreaker to ever reach the rank of Prime, and Thane believed she would grow greater still.

Her mop of short hair –originally a dirty blonde, now dyed deep black with a number of golden accents– stuck messily to her face from sweat and the compression of a helmet. 

Despair had a small, pointy nose, a sharp chin, and a set of cheekbones which were only accentuated when she smiled, which was not often.

Thane was treated to the sight of them now. His eyes met hers and he smiled back at her, his futile expressions still persisting after centuries of having his face be invisible.

“So, finally making the big leagues, old man?” She asked, her eyes twinkling in a rare display of mischief “Think you can handle a fight in the cages?”

“If your fight was anything to go by, I could win it with my eyes closed.” Thane responded, expressing his smile through his voice, to which the girl next to him scoffed.

“It’s because of those old-gen skins. I feel so slow and cumbersome in them.” She said, wiping a strand of hair away from her eyes. “I’ll convince them to let me use my own skin one day.”

Thane smirked at that. If an outsider –even an academic soldier– had witnessed the fight, they would have been awestruck by how fast Despair could move. But she was right, friendly duels like the cage fights were fought using obsolete weaponry. Thane agreed that it made the fighters look sluggish in comparison to their usual capabilities, but to have the fights be a little slower was better than to let his Tidebreakers accidentally kill each other.

“If those old suits are that bad for you I cannot imagine how gruesome having to move with your own muscles must be.” He teased her. “You are not working up Stuck skin, are you?”

The Web’s attendants collected the final parts of the old warskin Despair had used and packed them neatly in half a dozen suitcases before they left, leaving the Captain-emissary and the Duelist prime alone.

“That’s easy for you to say, Cap.” Despair responded, her smile fading slightly. “You haven’t done anything unpowered in over a hundred generations. If there’s anyone suffering from Stuck skin, it’s you.”

“Well, if you crave something more exciting, why not bring your warskin for our match? Perhaps the Shuntblade as well?” Thane asked. He could tell the prospect excited Despair, but she shrugged indifferently nonetheless.

“I just said they won’t allow field weapons. They’re just too dangerous.” She muttered in disappointment 

“I will convince them.” Thane promised. “I will be bringing my best suit. It seems only fair that you do, too.”

“Thanks, Captain. I’m looking forward to it.” She responded, flashing the Equerry a melancholic smile which told him she still wasn’t entirely convinced.

“I just wish we weren’t stuck doing Veil inspections four light-years away from the nearest inhabited system. I long for dirt on my boots and alien blood on my blade.” She said, echoing exactly what Thane had started to taste among the crew at large. Spending half a year without any meaningful action had not seemed that long to him, but apparently it was long enough to brew dissent within the crew.

Thane ran a quick scan of their surroundings, considering the locations of the closest recording equipment and bystanders and cross-referencing them with the acoustic profile of the Web. 

 “You may be getting your wish sooner than you think.” He said once he knew for sure that there was no-one else within earshot.

“Follow me." He continued, pushing the heavy steel doors he had entered through open and leading them into the ship’s more conventional corridors. “We are already running late “

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

One of the Exemplar’s many functions was as a strategic command center. As such it was equipped with a great number of tactical rooms and conference chambers meant to coördinate planet-wide, system-wide, or even sector-wide operations. 

Some of these facilities were built like amphitheaters, meant to facilitate a thousand attendees at once. Thane was sure there would be need for them in the near future, but for now he had opted to hold the meeting in Briefing chamber 11, a smaller room meant to support a dozen people at most.

With Despair and himself included, they only counted six. 

Grand-Commander Miran sat opposite from the door, nose-deep in holographic ship schematics projected by a floating computer core in front of her as she routed a number of commands to recipients Thane couldn’t quite make out. Mella, the Auxilium Prime, was engaged in deep conversation with a middle-aged man with a bald head and a broomhandle mustache Thane recognized as Eli, an expert on the Arcel sector and advisor to Miran. 

The final person in the room was Lachlan, the Annihilator Prime. He lounged casually, taking up two of the chamber’s comfortable leather seats as he munched on a log of breadstick, occasionally dipping it into a small container of gravy he had placed on his lap. A small entertainment feed was displayed on one of his eyes.

Thane motioned for Despair to take a seat, then closed the door behind them and commanded the room’s computer to run confidentiality protocols. 

The wall panel switched from its normal interface to a dull amber as scanners set into the walls probed every item and signal present in the chamber, checking for hidden bugs and verifying whether the objects present had authority to be there. Thane felt a slight tickle on his skin, his skin’s way of telling him he was being analyzed by X-rays, beams of infrared and bundles of electromagnetism.

After about ten seconds, the wall panel flickered three error messages, one for each anomaly it had detected. 

Unsurprisingly, the first entry warned that an unidentifiable suit of advanced armor was present. Thane whitelisted it without a second thought.

The second anomaly was an outgoing high-clearance datastream accessing critical systems within the ship. Thane looked up to Miran and the screens she was working from, then whitelisted that, too.

The third and final error was caused by a persistent incoming feed requested by someone with high clearance. Thane gave the room the command to cut that datastream off.

Immediately, Lachlan threw his hands up in frustration, flinging breadcrumbs in a wide arc around him. The projection on his retina now said “CONNECTION LOST” in big, bold letters.

With the potential risks to confidentiality addressed, the panel went from amber to a soft blue to indicate the room was secure.

“I’ll cut right to the chase.” Thane said, drawing the attention of Eli and the three Primes. “A little over two hours ago, our sensors picked up a dramatic increase in Veil activity; A probable sign that a dangerous prophecy is nearing a critical stage. The prophecy in question, A million eyes, is associated with a foundry system in the Arcel sector; Sindrion.”

At his mention of the name Sindrion, a holoprojector sprung into action, displaying the neutron star and three rocky planets orbiting it in the middle of the room.

“Around the same time as we learned of this, our Lord-Oracle decided to withdraw. He is without doubt aware of this development, yet in his absence I will be assuming command of the Exemplar.”

The others nodded. This did not surprise them. Thane’s seniority spoke for itself: If someone had to take charge of the ship, he was the only true candidate.

“Lord Miran and I have already discussed our best course of action. We might not be the only Kinsworn to pick up on the prophecy, nor are we the closest. The Catalyst of Fate might already be on its way, and the Victory Eternal may have already arrived. We cannot, however, afford to wait for confirmation on this. The Grand-commander and I agree that the situation is volatile enough to warrant the redeployment of the Exemplar of Valor to the Sindrion system.”

He could see the expected glimmer of excitement in his team’s eyes. Despite the dire circumstances, this was the exact news they had been waiting for.

“Currently, the system is in full preparation for a Baknian incursion.” Thane continued, highlighting the three semistable wormholes of alien design, each of them anchored to a planet’s L3-point. 

“Historically speaking, the Baknian have posed little threat even to smaller systems. As the largest producer of warstructs in the sector, Sindrion should have no problem fending off the attack.”

He paused for a moment, looking around the room to consider the other’s faces. They nodded in agreement to his words. The reports of former Baknian attacks -how they all failed, to be exact- had reached everyone’s ears.

“That said, there is a good chance this event will serve as the catalyst for the prophecy.” He said, choosing his next words carefully. “That is why we must take control of the defense of Sindrion on both a political and military level. It is our best chance to recognize the border conditions of A million eyes.”

Thane suppressed a sigh. He knew that was only the first step of the plan. The easier one, at that. He might be able to find this savior the prophecy spoke of, yet without the Lord Oracle’s insight even that accomplishment could be in vain. That was a problem for a later time, though.

“That is why I called you all here today. I want full insight on Sindrion’s inner workings, as well as your interpretations of the prophecy at hand. Every eventuality will have to be planned for. Therefore–”

The Captain-emissary was interrupted by the chime of a high-priority message originating from Miran’s levitating computer. A message appeared on one of her screens, and the Grand-commander quickly read through it.

“The chief engineer reports that all external sensory equipment has been retrieved and that the shiftcore is spooled.” She explained. “The engine room awaits your command for transit.”

“Give it.” Thane said, giving a nod of approval.

“Aye, Lord Equerry.” She responded, then opened a dual feed to the ECR and bridge.

“This is Grand-Commander Miran. I am authorizing a level-twelve breach-and-transit. Target destination: Sindrion system. All haste. I repeat, all haste.”

After the command was acknowledged and confirmed, the feed closed with a click. The crew of the Exemplar worked quickly; not two minutes after the order was given the breach alarm resounded through the ship, reaching even those in the secure conference chambers.

“Attention, Kinsworn of the Exemplar of Valor. This is the bridge speaking” Came the voice of second mate Yahet over the intercom.

“Please prepare for a long-lasting, high-intensity shift transit. Guidelines suggest the use of metabolism boosters and to increase your nutrient intake by 40% for the duration of the transit. Remember that tunnelsickness can happen to anyone. If you experience symptoms like inflammation or sudden headaches, do not hesitate to consult your medical expert. The breaching sequence will commence in five minutes. I repeat, five minutes until breach. Bridge, out.”

Yahet’s voice cut off with a hiss of static, and the breach alarm sounded again. Thane knew the guideline instructions would be spread to personal domes as well. At least this was something the ship and her crew were actually prepared for.

“Well then.” He said, turning back to the other attendees of the meeting as the whine of charging breach capacitors steadily increased, sending the slightest of reverberations through the walls and floor of the ship.

“We have nine days until we reach Sindrion. Let us plan our approach.”