Chapter 2 part 5

Zero Shrimp, One Titan, and a Very Annoyed Space Captain

The station’s recycled air was cool and dry, a welcome contrast to the stale, metallic tang of my spacesuit. I unsealed my helmet, taking a deep breath, and followed Aioi through the processing station’s sterile corridors.

Today’s void harvest: ten stellar crustaceans and a Void Titan’s sensor core. Not bad, except Aioi caught all the shrimp. Hard to pull rank when you’re outperformed. Guess it’s time to brush up on low gravity harvesting techniques before next time.  

“A Void Titan wandering out here? Wild stuff. No bounties posted for it, right?”  

“None. It was hanging in near side of the moon, just outside the main field.”  

“That’s troubling. We’ll need someone to check it out.”  

At the processing station, I handed over the Titan components. The techs scanned them, encoding a bounty credit chip for the Guild.

Since the encounter wasn’t planned—and involved a Void Titan—I made sure they flagged the incident for xenobiology review.  

“Narwhal, did you scan its digestive system?”  

“Ah… forgot.”  

“I see. Next time, don’t skip that. If it’s consumed colonists or livestock, protocol changes.”  

Honestly, I’d rather not inspect the guts of xeno beast. 

But if it’s protocol, I’ll try to remember.  

“When our crew took down a Space Ogre, we analyzed its entire digestive tract.”  

“Gross.”  

“Exactly. Handling that kind of xeno beast is… different.”  

The bounty chip encoded, we headed back to the outpost.  

For now, I left the void shrimp floating in the stasis pod in my quarters. They’d need a full cycle to purge in the containment field. 

Annoying, but necessary. Then came the real hassle: reporting the Titan encounter.  

If I were alone, I might’ve skipped it, but with Aioi involved, I had to set an example. The burden of being “exemplary.”  

“A Void Titan in near side of the moon? That’s bad news. With all these rookies harvesting mineral willy-nilly, someone probably provoked it.”  

After presenting the chip at the terminal, we were directed to the Guild vice commander’s office.  

The vice commander—a perpetually overworked spacer—dealt with all the tedious tasks the absent Guild commander dodged. 

His neural interface likely displayed a detailed map of the Asteroid Belt as we entered. Guild officers tended to know the local void lanes like the backs of their hands.  

“So, the two of you took down this Titan?”  

“Yep. Aioi softened it up with her plasma bow, and I finished it off up close.”  

“No, my shots barely did anything,” Aioi muttered.  

“I see. We didn’t have any contracts in that sector. Memory’s a bit fuzzy, though.”  

“We were void fishing. The area swarms with crustaceans this time of cycle.”  

“Ah, makes sense.”  

The vice commander frowned, clearly displeased.  

“We’ll need to investigate. I’ll send a Silver-class crew to sweep the sector and scout for hostiles. We’ll call it off after a couple of blank runs.”  

“Guild members? Not Station Security?”  

“Bad timing. Security’s swamped with patrols and onboard disputes. Exterior threats fall to us for now.”  

A population boom was causing Havoc aboard the station. Not my problem, but I sympathized.  

“Oh, Narwhal and Aioi are both still Bronze-class, right?”  

"I'm whatever"

"Says the guy who clearly doesn't wanna rank up."

"I don't wanna."

“Aioi, you’re close to ranking up. Any plans?”  

“Not really. I only just hit Bronze 3. Feels too soon.”  

Her identification chip hovered near her neck, projecting three holographic stars. Bronze 3—one step from Silver. Same as me. 

And promotions where your chip class changes are when evaluation gets far stricter. Though in my case I'm being pressured to rank up quick. 

“Well, steady improvement is good. Skilled marksmen are rare.”  

“Y-yes, sir,”  

“And Narwhal, you’re piling up contributions, but…”  

“Heh, yes, sir. Exemplary as always.”  

“Just remember: refusing promotion is fine, but don’t let it look like the Guild discriminates. We can’t afford rumors of xenophobia.”  

Well, cut me some slack. There's tons of rookies to train up. That'll do fine.

“Understood. I’ll keep things above board.”  

After leaving the vice commander’s office, the tension eased.  

“Talking to command is exhausting,” I muttered.  

Stepping out of the vice commander's office, the pressure normalizes. Jeez.

“Right? Corporate Nobles are even worse,” Aioi added.  

“Oh? You deal with them often?”  

“Can’t say much, but yeah. I stay in the back so rim worlders like me don’t stand out.”  

“Smart.”  

The Corporate Nobility in this sector were notoriously dangerous. Staying unnoticed was the best survival strategy, especially for mixed race like me.  

  

The next cycle, during our lunch break, we hit the *Gift of the Nebula Cantina* to enjoy the shrimp. Prep was too much trouble, so we let the cantina handle it. I just wanted to relax with some synth ale.  

“These are the void shrimp we caught?” Aioi asked.  

“Yup. The carapace crisps up nicely in a plasma fryer.”  

“Whoa, so iridescent… smells amazing.”  

“Dig in!”  

Aioi’s face lit up as she took a bite. 

“Mmm! Delicious!”  

Her reaction was cute enough to make me chuckle. Then I dug in too.  

“Thanks for catching these,” I said.  

“You’re paying, so eat up.”  

“Fair enough!”  

The shrimp’s crispy shell was perfect. Even the larger ones were tender enough to eat whole.  

Let's see...ahh, nice and crispy.

Shell too...yeah, worried since they're on the bigger side, but should be fine to eat normally.

“the shrimp goes down smooth,” 

"Excuse me, another portion please!"

Aioi really puts away the synthetic alcohol huh. Knew she was sturdy but I don't think I've seen her straight up intoxicated.

Aioi remarked, ordering another. Her metabolism burned through synthetic alcohol like nothing.  

“Oh, try it with some fermented sauce,” I suggested.  

“This stuff? Looks sour…”  

“Trust me. It’s essential.”  

"Your worldview is built on void shrimp and fermented sauce but...fine, let's see...mmm! Amazing!"

“See? Told you.”  

Void fishing and good food—

simple pleasures in a chaotic universe.  

"Ahhh...void fishing is nice..."

"Yeah?"

Day drinking and tasty snacks. What a culturally enriching cycle.

"Well it's not THE meaning of life or anything..."

“Wanna go fishing again sometime?” she asked.  

“Sure. Next time, I’ll catch my share.”  

“You’d better.”  

Next time, I’d avenge my pride. After all, it's always taste better when you catch them yourself.  

---------

“Narwhal, I heard you took Aioi into the moon.” the voice was low, cutting through the chatter of the station bar.

One day, as I was working hard to reconstitute some vacuum-sealed nutrient bar with synthetic milk at a station table, a striking woman sat down across from me. Despite plenty of empty seats still around us.

“Nice work on that last contract,” I said, trying to defuse the tension.  

“I heard you fought a xeno beast.”  

“It was… unexpected. I took every precaution.”  

“Did you?”  

The voice belonged to Lunar, commander of the *Diana*. She slid into the seat across from me, her tri-braided hair cascading like black cables.  

Lunar’s reputation preceded her. A prodigy gunner with a callsign like “Final Shot,” she was the finest plasma marksman in the Baldr System. Her crew, an all-woman outfit, ran like a well-oiled machine.  

There are whispers of secrets buried in her  past, but I’ve never dug into the details. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s the scion of a collapsed megacorp dynasty. She carries that kind of polished, unyielding grace—like someone who’s learned to wield both privilege and ruin.  

Her talent for command is undeniable. For years, she’s captained an all-woman crew with flawless precision, their reputation a model of efficiency and discipline in the sector.  

It’s no surprise she’s giving me grief over the xeno beast incident. From her perspective, it must have looked like reckless bravado—especially coming from a solo operator like me.  

And if I’m being honest, I did let something rude to one of her crew once. Starting to think *that’s* the real issue here.

“Engaging a void titan solo is madness,” she said, her tone sharp. “Their bio-armor and energy fields are no joke.”  

"If I’d been alone out there, I’m not sure how it would’ve played out. But Aioi nailed the thing’s sensory cluster—made all the difference."  

"I heard. But that shot only scored surface damage, right?"  

She knows more than I’d like. Figures—Aioi must’ve told her. Not like I asked her to keep it off the comms.  

"The thing had already breached the defense perimeter, slipped through the asteroid belt space outposts."  

"I question your judgment, Narwhal. Did you win by skill, or just sheer luck?"  

"...So what are you really getting at?"  

"Join us on a joint contract. I need to see if you can keep Aioi safe."  

"Why me?"  

"If you can’t, don’t take her into deep space again. She’s vital to my crew."  

I get it. 

She’s not wrong. If I’m taking Aioi into the void, I’ve got to prove I’m up to the job—or stay out of it. That’s just good command sense.  

"I already promised her another run. Void fishing."  

"...You’ll go?"  

"Yeah. She hauled in ten void shrimps last time. I got zero. Can’t let it stand."  

"...Oh, she mentioned that. Said she outfished you and everything."  

"I’ll prove that was some kind of quantum fluctuation."  

"...Let me be clear—I don’t care about your fishing stats. Just show me you can handle a mission with us. Prove you’re capable, and we’re good."  

"Got it. I’ll show you clean work."  

The tricky part is, I can’t exactly use my special power in public. 

I’ll have to make it work the old-fashioned way. 

Should be fine...probably.  

"Lunar, you sure you don’t want any of this nutrient bar? Reconstitutes quick with synth-milk or fermented juice. Handy stuff. I’ll sell you a dozen packs at cost."  

"Not interested."  

"I see..."