“I’m quite certain you know the purpose of being called here,” Erse stated the obvious.

“You want me to transfer to your ship, correct?” Cassandra replied.

“Your guess is correct. I am unsure as to the reason you have been kept on the MV2904 but I have been pulling strings to find out. However, it might be unsafe if you remain outside my sphere of influence as I go deeper into matter. The main reason I have come is to recruit you.”

“I am honoured, but what do you mean pulling strings? And why should you care about me?”

“You see, there have been a few rather peculiar occurences regarding certain people who stand out because of their outstanding skills. Often, they find themselves in circumstances not unlike the ones you have been in. Contrary to popular belief, my supposedly random recruitment is not random at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have been picking up whoever I can without raising too much suspicion in the process. They know what I have been doing, and they know that I am on to them. While a matter like this might seem trivial to a person like me, the issue spreads far deeper than you know. I cannot go over the details and I cannot give you any information for reasons you already know.”

“Understood.”

“So, will you accept my offer and be the leader of one of the fighter squadrons of the Aegis? I have been waiting a long time for an opening to offer to you.”

“I have been stuck on that junk ship for a long time. I’ll take the job.”

“Good.”

A member of the Aegis staff suddenly walks in. He has news.

“I asked you to stop.”

The voice was Pandora’s. She had somehow gotten a hold of him. Kanya suddenly blanked out for a short while.

“You’re not supposed to be on this ship. Moreover, you were heading for places even most crew of the Aegis aren’t supposed to go near.”

Kanya was speechless.

“Don’t you have any excuse for entering when you were unauthorised?”

He had no words to say. He was still in shock of being discovered.

“Your abilities are recovering far quicker than I expected. It looks like I need to bring forward the schedule a little bit. Either way, I can’t have you remembering anything within this region of time.”

She takes out a syringe and suddenly jabs him with it.

“You don’t remember who I am to you yet. You will remember in time. Hopefully, the next time we meet, you will remember who I really am, what I am doing, for what reason I’m doing it. And for your sake, don’t go using your abilities unchecked by reason. If you ran into someone other than me, chances are you would have been terminated on the spot. After all, no one on this ship knows you. Not yet at least.”

She removes the syringe, and stabs him with what appears to be a needle.

“Unfortunately, I cannot have you recover too quickly. That would ruin my plan and put you in unnecessary danger. You have much to learn before I can allow you to roam freely without supervision.”

She removes the needle. Not long after, Kanya falls to the ground. She takes out her PDD.

“I need a medical team at the position I’m calling from. A crew member from the MV2904 somehow wandered in and collapsed here.”

“What is this person doing on the Aegis?”

“Who knows? I think he somehow got cleared through the doors. Must have been a glitch or something.”

“Why would he come here?”

“Probably got lost. Just hurry up and send a team here. I have things to attend to.”

Kanya had already returned to his room on the MV2904. His day of shopping was over. At 1. He didn’t have the stamina to do it all day. He decided a little change would be good for him, so he went to the orbital station’s cafeteria instead. He would try the food on Nakamura tomorrow. They were going to be there for a week anyway.

As he was leaving the cafeteria, he saw Cassandra return from the surface. She immediately left in the opposite direction, not noticing Kanya. He followed her to another door. She cleared the security and entered. Kanya was curious. He immediately tried to follow her, but to no avail.

The door rejected his clearance. He thought he should go back. If it was something above his clearance, he probably shouldn’t know. He swung his hand past the scanner for the heck of it. It suddenly cleared him. He didn’t know what happened, but he continued onward. At each locked door, a mere swing of his hand at the reader was adequate for opening the doors.

An unexplainable phenomena, but Kanya believed someone was leading him to something. He had lost sight of Cassandra. He realised where he was: the Aegis. He continues walking one of the corridors. He could not explain it, but he knew where he had to go. The layout of the ship wasn’t foreign to him.

A voice from behind him beckoned. “It’s about time you stop.” The voice was familiar. He began to run, he knew he shouldn’t get caught. He sped forward as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Harrison and Kanya are walking through the shopping district. Advancements in transport technology and efficiency meant that most modern colonised planets only had one main city. Politics are minimal since corporations fund operations and although they do not exercise their influence upon the planet, any major expenditure has to be filed with the corporation.

“Where did Cassandra go anyway?” Kanya asked.

“Where else could she go? Deep into the darkest depths of the Nakamura shopping district, to never return until ordered to,” Harrison joked.

“Hmph.”

“Oh yeah, you haven’t gotten a paycheck yet. I’ll lend you some money if you need it. I’ll just take it out of your paycheck later. I do still have jurisdiction over your money. Heh.”

“I’ll just borrow some and go off.”

“Go ahead. Just remember to keep track of time and come back when your PDD tells you to. We have an important visitor coming onboard the ship later.”

With that, Kanya dashes off into one of the stores. He doesn’t have much of a wardrobe besides his several sets of uniform. He has plenty of things to buy.

Meanwhile, Cassandra is sitting in a small cafe. Her PDD shows a shopping list, with half of it ticked and coloured green. She then notices that she has a new message.

2:00pm

The message was short, but she had been told of the meaning before this. She had about an hour and a half before it came. It meant that she would have to leave after her short meal at the cafe.