Aboard the ship, Godright which was now under Ubel's command, some of the crew went back to their quarters to take some rest after a heavy ordeal that they thought was their end. Leon, Daearko, and Jin sat in silence on top of their bunk beds, their minds racing with thoughts and questions.

"I still can't believe this is happening," Daearko muttered, his voice filled with disbelief. "One minute we're slaves, the next we're pirates, and now we're under the command of someone else entirely."

Jin nodded in agreement, his expression troubled.

"It all happened so fast," he said. "I never imagined our lives would take such a sudden turn."

“And add more insult, our new commander looks much younger than all of us.” Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"We have to be careful," Daearko warned. "We don't know anything about this Ubel character. For all we know, he could turn on us at any moment. Like sell us to slavery or harvest our organs."

Daearko frowned, his brow furrowed in thought.

"He could have done that already when he captured all of us when he hijacked our droids." he pointed out. "I think he is up to something that we still couldn’t understand for now."

Leon shook his head, his expression grim.

"We can't afford to make assumptions," he said while gripping his arms that still bore the mark of his former slave life. "We need to be cautious."

“Not to mention when the new commander seems to be interested in the conflicts between Terrans and the Colonials, something… the former commander Munda would never get himself involved with,” Jin added after hearing about the rumors from the survivors of the boarding team in the mining ship that Ubel and Munda discussed something about UGTR.
Leon agreed with this statement. Seeing how Ubel had inquired about the events between UGTR and the Alliance made them suspect more about his goals.

Ubel interrogated all of them after he somehow forced them to join his crew. He used his droids to gather information about their knowledge and details about the current status of the Sol System. Which was very strange for them as Ubel could just ask the system report for such a thing.

“Wait, shouldn’t it be the other way around? Like him replacing our commander instead of asking us to join him?” Leon noticed something strange.

“What’s the difference? We’re under new management now.” Daerko shrugged off the peculiar declaration of their new commander. “We would probably be involved with the upcoming war between the UGTR and the Alliance.”

“Shit. Just when I was hoping for our group to get rich off their war.”

As Leon listened to his fellow crew discuss the current state of affairs in the Sol System, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss when he spotted the strange wordings of Ubel.

Then a voice interrupted their talks.

“UGTR and the Alliance aren’t the only assholes in this corner of the galaxy.” They turned towards the door of their room and saw one of the pirates, Kugal, a grizzled veteran with a scar running down his cheek. “I’ve heard about you louts talking politics so I might as well join in to inform you.”

“While the Union of Great Terran Republics and the Colonial Alliance were busy preparing for potential conflict, another player was lurking in the shadows—a third party that neither faction had noticed,” he added as he leaned in closer, his voice lowered to a whisper.

"What do you mean, a third party?" Leon asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"There are whispers among the traders and smugglers we had passed," he explained. "Talk of a mysterious organization operating in the outer rims of the galaxy. They've been making deals with various factions, quietly amassing power and influence while the UGTR and the Alliance are distracted by their ambitions."

“What are they called?” Leon asked.

“No one knows yet, for now, they just exist, flying around with the rumors,” Kugal answered.
"And you think this organization poses a threat to both the UGTR and the Alliance?" Leon asked, his mind racing with possibilities.

The veteran pirate nodded with a grin.
"It's possible," he replied. "They've probably been operating in the shadows for years, biding their time and waiting for the right moment to make their move. And… one of the rumors and conspiracy that we have among those who knew about them… is that our new commander is related to them."

“What?!”

Three of them were shocked at the sudden revelation even if it was still not confirmed yet.

“There’s no other possibility. And it's too much of a coincidence to see a strange miner alone in the asteroid that is known to be a pirate’s hunting ground, with a fucking supercapital ship. So our commander, Ubel must have connections or was given help by this unknown third faction to cause chaos or rile up the UGTR and the Alliance.”

Kugal shrugged.

“Where do you think he got such supercapital ship and the capability to control our droids in massive numbers that were never done before by the Alliance or UGTR? Think about it.”

As the gravity of the situation sank in, Leon realized that they were facing an even greater threat than he had imagined. While the UGTR and the Alliance were focused on each other, this mysterious organization was quietly maneuvering behind the scenes, poised to tip the balance of power in their favor. And they may find themselves in the middle of it.

“T-then are we-”

“Yes, more or less. Anyways if this Ubel is what we think he is, then I’ll rather die fucking a prostitute as the poison that he injected on us took effect, instead of dying like a bitch who refused to die a dog’s death.” Kugal laughed and then tapped their metallic door.

“Aren’t we just overthinking things?”

“Haha! You may be right!” Kugal laughed loudly again. “Okay, that’s enough lessons for today, you louts! Get back to sleep, you have 4 hours till your next shift so get into it!”

Their senior disappeared behind the closing door of their room and three of them went back to their beds to start sleeping. But Leon could tell that he wasn't the only one who was disturbed by what they heard. But for now, Leon knew that they had more immediate concerns to worry about. As a pirate, his priorities lay with his crew and their survival in the cutthroat world of the Sol System.

The room fell into silence once more, as the three companions who contemplated their uncertain future became tired from overthinking and unknowingly went to dreamland. They had escaped the bonds of slavery only to find themselves thrust into a world of uncertainty and danger. But as they slept in the dimly lit quarters, they knew that they would need to rely on each other if they were to survive the trials that lay ahead.