In the expansive shipyard, Tobi and his purple bug friend marveled at the colossal spaceship before them. "It's crazy to think we're actually doing this, huh?" Rito enthused, his excitement palpable.

Tobi couldn't suppress the elation bubbling within him, and a stupid grin spread across his face. "Yeah, we actually own a ship. If our child selves could see us now."

"I think your child self would be more freaked out that you have a beard," Rito quipped with a chuckle. After a brief pause, he pointed to the woman standing beside them. "So, um, who's the chick?"

"Oh, right. Rayla, this is Rito. Rito, Rayla," Tobi introduced, playfully pointing back and forth between the two.

"Nice to meet you. Tobi didn't say anything about a girlfriend?" Rito stated, a bit out of the loop.

"Well, I would hope so. We aren't dating," Rayla replied dryly, evidently unamused by the jest.

"Yeah, I found her at a bar last night, and she's got experience, so I figured why not invite her to our crew?" Tobi explained, realizing how wrong it sounded as the words left his mouth.

"I see," Rito turned to Rayla, a bit confused. "What kind of experience do you have?"

"Navigating, piloting, diplomacy, usual peacekeeper stuff," she replied nonchalantly.

"You're a peacekeeper?" Rito asked, clearly shocked.

She avoided his gaze, her expression bitter. "Well, I was," she replied.

"Was?" Rito repeated, sensing there was more to the story.

She shook her head and held out her hand. "I'd rather not get into it," she replied earnestly.

"I see," Rito acknowledged, turning to Tobi. "Hey, Tobi, want to peek under the hood of this junk heap?" he asked, referring to the ship, though his enthusiasm didn't seem as genuine.

Tobi nodded before turning back to Rayla with an embarrassed smile. "Um, sure, I'll be right back."

"Alright, I'll be putting stuff into my room," she replied, picking up her belongings and heading toward the ship.

Once out of earshot, Rito turned to Tobi with a quizzical look. "So, what's the deal with the babe? Be honest, do I need to soundproof my room?"

"It's not like that. She's going through a hard time at the moment, and I offered to help her," Tobi explained.

"Do you know anything about her? We are the ones going to be stuck in a small spaceship with her for God knows how long."

"Well, she seems nice."

"She's a stranger. Are you sure she's even safe? She was fired from the peacekeepers, Tobi; that seems pretty sus to me."

"You worry too much. I can tell she's good. Besides, if it doesn't work out, we'll drop her off at Planet Athena. It's where she wanted to go."

"Okay, just be careful, and next time, maybe tell me when you're gonna invite another person?"

"Sorry, it was done in the heat of the moment last night. She's got no one left, Rito, and she just wants a new start at life. So, I wanted to help her."

"Alright, I'll trust your judgment."

"So, where are we headed, gentlemen?" Rayla inquired, leaning on a counter, legs daintily crossed, a star map spread out and illuminated over her and the room.

"First stop, planet Bacchus," Tobi replied.

"Why there?" Rayla asked, a hint of confusion and discomfort in her tone.

"Well, I've got to tell my dad I'm leaving," Tobi explained.

"Oh, fun. Glad to be in the middle of another family affair," Rito joked, injecting a light-hearted note into the conversation.

Rayla, sensing a story between the two friends, asked, "So, how do you know each other? He pick you up in the bar too?"

"Haha, no. We were neighbors as kids, been friends ever since," Rito explained.

"I see. I never had a friend like that," Rayla remarked, a tinge of wistfulness in her voice.

“Excuse me for a second,” Rayla suddenly said before retreating to the hallways of the ship, her thoughts making themselves known. The way these guys carried on reminded her of her old crew, the jokes and the laughing, like a close-knit unit. She was a foreigner in their world, and she couldn’t let her guard down.

She didn’t know these people, but their goals seemed suspicious. Even if she wasn’t a peacekeeper anymore, she still had a sense of duty. Why were they going to Planet Bacchus, a planet well-known for crime and vices, where the lowlife filth walked the streets even in broad daylight?

As the spaceship sailed through a sea of stars, distant lights guiding their way, the trio eagerly anticipated their first destination. However, fate had other plans, as a distress signal suddenly appeared on their radar—a distinct beacon, its origin shrouded in mystery.

The large alarms alerted Rayla to the situation as she rushed to the cockpit once again.

"Change of plans. Looks like we're checking out that distress beacon first," Tobi declared.

"I wouldn't if I were you. It's most likely a mugging trap. Raiders, pirates, or whatever, set up a distress beacon to lure people in and then..." Rayla hesitated, unwilling to articulate the grim possibilities that haunted her memories. "Steal more than people's valuables."

"People actually do that? That's sick," Rito remarked, a touch of disgust in his voice.

"What if it's not a trap? What if someone is actually in danger?" Tobi challenged. "People taking advantage of helpful individuals shouldn't ruin it for everyone, especially those genuinely asking for help and haven't done anything."

"Very well. If we have to do this," Rayla pulled out a weapon, "I assume you know how to use a blaster if things get... messy," she added, her expression somber. "I wish I could say stay hopeful, but I lost a team member to a situation like this."

"Alright, I hope you're wrong, though," Tobi acknowledged.

"I do too," Rayla murmured, her gaze focused on the looming uncertainty that lay ahead in the vastness of space.

The small asteroid's surface bore witness to the aftermath of tragedy. Before them stood a tattered and broken ship, a silent testament to the harsh realities of space. In the distance, two graves marked the resting place of those who had met an untimely fate. Rayla kept her guard up, nodding to Tobi as he approached the dilapidated vessel.

"I no longer wish you were wrong," Tobi remarked, his tone heavy with the weight of the somber scene.

Tobi entered the ship, his heart heavy with anticipation. In one of the rooms, he found her—a thin figure with bags under her eyes and eyes unfocused with sorrow. As she heard him enter, she slowly lifted herself up, moving forward with groggy determination.

"Thank God you've come," she began, tears trickling down her face. She hugged him weakly, fists tightly grasping his clothes as she aggressively buried her tear-stained face into him. "Why couldn't you have been here sooner?" she weakly screamed.

"I'm sorry," Tobi said simply, his empathy evident. He picked her up in a bridal style, her skeletal body light in his arms, and carried her out of the ship. "You're safe now."

Rayla couldn't contain her worry as she observed the frail girl who, at some point, had fallen asleep in Tobi's arms. Covered in bandages, likely remnants of the crash, she needed immediate medical attention. "I'll call a peacekeeper out here to take her to a hospital."

"I'll keep looking for survivors," Tobi declared, resolute. The duo watched on as he searched for hours, desperation evident in his quest for the faintest sign of life. Yet, none were found. He began to dig into the asteroid's soil and lowered the bodies into the makeshift graves.

After the solemn task was completed, Rayla was surprised to find Tobi back on the planet, standing over the two graves. "You did all you could," she offered comfortingly.

Tobi didn't meet her gaze. "Do you have a laser cutter?" he asked.

"Sure?" she replied, passing the small device to him. "What for?"

He began cutting into the metal debris that made the makeshift tombstone, his other hand holding a document salvaged from the crashed ship. "I couldn't leave them in unmarked graves. No one might ever see them, but they deserve to be remembered by name. It's the least I could do," Tobi explained, a solemn sense of duty guiding his actions as he paid respects to those who had met their end in the unforgiving vastness of space.

As Rayla walked Tobi back to the ship, a subtle shift occurred within her thoughts. Perhaps, she pondered, she had been too quick to assume that Tobi harbored bad intentions. The solemnity with which he had faced the aftermath of tragedy on the asteroid had left an indelible mark on her perception.

Observing Tobi's quiet resolve, his genuine empathy toward the survivor, and the respectful manner in which he had honored the fallen, Rayla found herself questioning her initial suspicions. The sincerity in his actions spoke volumes, and a seed of doubt began to sprout in her mind.

As they neared the ship, Rayla couldn't help but wonder if, beneath Tobi's seemingly carefree exterior, there existed a person driven by compassion and a profound sense of responsibility. The events on the asteroid had revealed a side of him that contradicted her initial assumptions.

In the quiet moments of reflection, Rayla acknowledged the complexity of human nature and the limitations of snap judgments. As they stepped onto the ship, she carried with her a newfound openness, a willingness to reassess her preconceptions, and a curiosity about the layers that made up Tobi's character.

The peacekeepers had arrived to retrieve the injured alien, their expressions a mix of surprise and recognition as they laid eyes on Rayla. "It really is you, Rayla. I thought you were discharged," one of them remarked, a tone of curiosity coloring their words. The familiarity was unmistakable; these two aliens in front of her were from her crew.

"You going freelance now?" the other peacekeeper inquired, a hint of inquiry in their gaze.

Rayla shifted her focus to the injured alien, her response measured, "No, we are just concerned citizens trying to help." The words carried the weight of her changed circumstances. No longer adorned with the badge and rank that once defined her, Rayla had transitioned into a role that transcended her former identity as a peacekeeper. In the vast expanse of space, she was now nothing more than a citizen, navigating the complexities of life beyond the structured confines of her previous role.

"You going to introduce us?" one of the peacekeepers enquired.

Rayla nodded and gestured towards Tobi and Rito. "This is Tobi and Rito. We found the ship crashed on the asteroid, and Tobi here pulled the survivor out. We were just doing what we could to help." She offered a brief introduction, emphasizing the collaborative effort in aiding the injured alien.

Tobi and Rito acknowledged the peacekeepers with nods, a mutual understanding hanging in the air that transcended formalities. The unexpected reunion on the asteroid had woven their paths together, if only momentarily, in the tapestry of space.

Rayla turned her attention back to the peacekeepers. "And these are my old crewmates," she said, gesturing toward the aliens. "Blaxar and Xylo." There was a hint of nostalgia in her voice as she acknowledged the former comrades, the shared experiences and camaraderie echoing through the years.

Blaxar and Xylo exchanged glances, a mix of surprise and recognition coloring their expressions. The bonds forged in the crucible of space travel held a unique strength, and the unexpected reunion with Rayla stirred memories of missions, challenges, and the shared sense of duty that once defined their collective purpose. The cosmic dance of fate had intertwined their paths once again, if only for a fleeting moment on the desolate asteroid.

Blaxar and Xylo acknowledged the pressing demands of their duties. "Alright, looks like it's time to wrap this up, duty calls and all," Blaxar stated, a sense of responsibility etched in his features. "But it was good seeing you, Rayla. We'll let Yuka know you said hi."

Rayla nodded appreciatively, a blend of gratitude and nostalgia lingering in the air. The brief reunion, amidst the backdrop of a crashed ship and makeshift graves, had been a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness of lives in the vastness of space.

As the peacekeepers prepared to depart, Tobi, Rito, and Rayla exchanged farewells, the echoes of their encounters reverberating through the cosmic expanse. The dance of stars bore witness to the ebb and flow of reunions, partings, and the enduring spirit of those navigating the uncharted territories of the universe.