Angron was woken up by a hand shaking his shoulder and someone calling his name. He opened his eyes and mumbled that he was already awake. He then saw Serion standing over him, shaking his shoulder.

Solar was lurking nearby, visibly unwilling to approach. She clutched her small energy blaster in her paw.

"What's going on?" Angron asked.

"Everything's a bloody mess out there," Serion replied.

As Angron propped himself up on his arms, he remembered what had happened. He immediately retrieved a cigarette from the box in his pocket. Taking a drag, his nervousness disappeared, replaced by a beautiful, hazy calmness.

"Are you okay?" Serion asked.

Angron nodded, got up, and headed to the pilot's cabin. He recalled that something was amiss with the ship, but everything seemed fine now. He settled into his seat, gripped the controls, and steered their craft through the first shield.

"It'll take a thousand years to get out of here, but thanks to Mirella, we're one step closer to the exit," Angron said.

"Mirella?" Solar asked, her curiosity piqued.

"The goddess of Shouta... though I don't believe in her," Angron replied.

"Then why mention her?" Serion inquired.

Angron shrugged. "Someone's gotta talk ill about her."

"Tell us about her," Solar leaned in.

"I don't really want to."

"Come on! Just say something! I've never heard anything credible about Shouta. I'm curious what it's like!" No matter how much she pleaded, Angron just crossed his arms and stubbornly remained silent.

Solar then looked at Serion with a sad expression and asked him to at least tell her something about his home.

The white-haired man sighed.

"Alright... But first, I'll get us something to eat."

While Serion was outside, Solar fidgeted constantly in her seat, stealing glances at the pilot from the corner of her eye. Angron calmly smoked, paying no attention to the fact that the girl was watching him.

A few minutes later, Serion returned, balancing three plates on his arms and distributing them among his companions. Solar immediately began to eat the strange brownish vegetables and the slimy leguminous plants next to them. Angron, on the other hand, looked at the food with disgust.

Serion sat down and began to speak.

"Xanaria isn't particularly unique, at least not from an outsider's perspective. It's cold and snowy for most of the year. The lakes are hot, so they never freeze, and you can swim in them even during winter without freezing. Wherever you go, you're bound to find some caves, and they're explorable. We used to have more cities, but now we've fortified the remaining one because living outside of it is unsafe due to avalanches and wildlife. Originally, we, the Xannorians, didn't come from there, we just relocated because our own planet was no longer safe."

"I heard you're quite reclusive. Why?" Solar asked.

"Because of the wars. They forced my people into the military for decades, even though we wanted to stay neutral."

"Do you all look like this?" Angron gestured to Serion's silver hair and dark, ebony skin.

"Yes, of course. Many find it strange, but there's nothing special about it to us. It's rare to see us because most of us are still in the military or in Xanaria. You'll hardly encounter us as civilians on other planets. By the way, how's the ship? I heard something might not be right with it."

"Right now, it seems like there's nothing wrong with it."

"I hope there won't be animals getting stuck on the ship!" Solar grumbled.

"What?" Serion asked, bewildered. Angron also stared at her in astonishment.

"Animals," the girl repeated, not taking it personally when the two men exchanged glances. "I've heard of a few that fly in space. They never land. Sometimes they travel in herds and attack unsuspecting ships. They often get stuck in the engines."

"Kid, no such animal exists."

"But they do! I've heard a lot about them.

"In my twenty-nine years, I've never encountered one, and I've done plenty of space travel."

The girl turned to Serion for help.

"You've met them, right?"

"I haven't even heard of them."

"Once, they annihilated an entire imperial fleet," Solar insisted. "They came out of nowhere, and there was nothing left of the ships. It happened near Gadzen."

"Gadzen was in the middle of a war," Angron replied, pushing the food away from him. "The rebels were the ones who wiped out most of our fleet. Not many survived."

"Maybe it was another occasion."

"We haven't been in that area for a long time, Gadzen is still under rebel control. If it had happened earlier, I'd know about it because I had to learn about it. Pilots need to be aware of every such incident, learn from mistakes, and see what successful solutions can be."

Solar stubbornly attempted to provide more examples, but Angron refuted all of them. Serion leaned over his plate, hiding his grin, thoroughly entertained by the situation.

Finally, the pilot lost his patience and snapped.

"Kid, there are no flying space animals, and that's the end of it!"

Solar fell silent sadly. For someone like her, who could never escape from Darella, such a flying creature was a real wonder. Her gangster associates always told her how much they had seen them during their trips. It was a shame that according to this, she was just being fooled, and the animals weren't as legendary as she had thought.

"On Darella, they always said that they exist... It was my second life goal to see them."

"What's the first one?" Angron asked.

Even though he had the least interest in the answer, he was glad they had finally moved past the nonsense.

"Revenge for my father. When I was little, someone killed him. One of my dad's friends smuggled me onto a spaceship that took me to Darella. I had to struggle for years. It took a long time for me to realize that I could only rely on myself. That's why I wanted to leave there; it would finally allow me to find the killer and get my revenge."

"Who is it?"

"I'm not sure exactly. I never managed to find out his name, and I only saw his face for a moment, but I remember it. I'd recognize him anywhere, anytime, and when I find him, he won't survive it. Primarily, this is why I wanted to escape from Darella."

Solar spoke so seriously that this time neither Angron nor Serion doubted her words. However, the idea didn't seem feasible. The Galaxy was vast, and finding someone with no name was almost impossible. It was also possible that the person they were looking for was already dead, making the search almost infinite. Solar could only hope for blind luck.

"That's it in a nutshell. Now, tell me about yourselves."

The two men fell silent. Angron stared at the control panel, and Serion finally tasted his food, only to realize how terrible it was and dropped the plate by complete accident.

"What's wrong? Is your past so bloody that you can't say a word about it?"

Angron got up and left. Serion turned to the girl.

"I didn't mean any harm. I didn't think the question would affect you this badly."

"I don't have much to tell. As I mentioned, my people have been taken away for years, young boys and girls alike. They separated me from my family, and I became a soldier. I've killed a lot for the sake of survival. It's a widespread rumor that our kind can be very cruel, but most of us are forced to kill. I would kill anyone then if it's a battle or if they're in my way. I've learned that you can only achieve something if you're ruthless. I'd confront you and Angron without hesitation if it came to that. I'm not sure if I could kill you, but I'd definitely try."

With that, Serion got up and went into the kitchen.

Solar nervously tapped her claws on the console and contemplated that maybe she should have stayed home after all.