Kaito woke to a soft, rhythmic beeping. The ceiling above him was smooth and white. The air smelled clean, almost sterile in a way.
"…Huh…?" He rasped, his throat dry as sand.
Green silhouettes moved at the edge of his vision. Ari'Va's large eyes snapped toward him.
"He's awake!" She chirped, relief flooding her voice.
Kaito blinked a few times, the drowsiness slowly lifting. His body felt heavy and sore. Like he'd run a marathon, gotten hit by a truck, and then decided to do both again for fun.
He pushed himself upright and pain exploded in his chest right after.
"Ghk—!"
His hand shot to his heart, fingers pressing hard against the scar Velzari etched into his skin. The memory of the moments before he collapsed in front of Sylas hit him all at once. His heart pounding violently, sweat rolled down his temple.
"Easy." Astra's voice echoed calmly.
Kaito sucked in a sharp breath and looked up. Astra stood near the foot of the medical bed, her porcelain form framed by softly glowing medical panels. Her four crimson eyes watched him closely.
"…Heart…" He swallowed.
"I—my chest—"
"You entered heart failure." Astra stated flatly.
Kaito froze, his face paling slightly.
"…Heart… failure?" He repeated, disbelief creeping into his voice.
"Yes." She replied without hesitation.
The phrase echoed in his skull.
"Heart… failure…"
Astra tilted her head slightly, studying him as if he were a specimen in her studies.
"You exceeded the safe biological threshold of your species. Your cardiovascular system collapsed."
Kaito stared at her grimly.
"…So I died?" He asked quietly, almost scared.
"No!" Ari'Va interjected quickly, flailing her hands.
"N–Not died! Just—very close! Extremely close…"
Kaito let out a shaky breath.
"…Then… you saved me, right?" He looked between them.
The green workers exchanged looks. Ari'Va hesitated, breaking eye contact, looking to the floor. Astra answered for them.
"No."
Kaito's head snapped up.
"…No?"
"You were not saved by our intervention. Your vitals stabilized on their own."
Kaito frowned deeply.
"…On… their own?"
She pointed at him with one of her longer sharp fingers.
"You were saved by something inside of you."
"…Something… inside of me?" Kaito repeated slowly.
Astra held his gaze for a long moment. Then she straightened.
"I will explain after the ceremony." She said before turning towards the door.
"Everyone is waiting for you."
Minutes later, a single row of examinees stood shoulder to shoulder in the center of the massive hangar, some bandaged, some bruised, but all exhausted. Kaito walked in looking around at the large room with starships of all designs hanging above. Before he could even process the scene, something slammed into him—
"Kaito dear!!" Elysia squealed, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight against her chest.
His face disappeared, swallowed whole by her breast.
"I missed you sooo much! I knew you'd pass! I knew it! I'm so proud of you!" She proclaimed proudly.
"A–Air—! I can't—!" Kaito muffled as his arms flailed uselessly.
In line across the bay, Valentina froze. Her eyes widened. Then widened more.
"…That's… That's the Elysia he mentioned!?" She whispered, a thin line of blood slid from her nose.
"She's… she's stacked! That round ear bastard was holding out on those two massive details? When I get my hands on that fucker!"
Zeek adjusted his sunglasses and leaned in, grinning.
"You wish that was you, huh?"
Valentina snapped her head toward him, face burning red.
"Shut up!!"
The two youngest thalorians stood nearby, Livia quickly covering Lorian's eyes with both hands.
"Don't look." She muttered embarrassedly.
Luis, meanwhile, stood completely motionless. Eyes wide, jaw to the floor and soul leaking out.
Rikona however didn't intend to watch on any longer as she darted over to his rescue. Her backpack morphed mid-run into a mechanical arm. It wedged itself between Kaito and Elysia and pried him loose from her death grip as he fell to the floor to his knees.
"H–Haah—! Haah—!" He gasped, palms on the floor.
"I thought… that was it…"
Rikona knelt beside him instantly.
"Captain! Are you okay!?"
Elara watched from a distance, arms folded. Her pointed ears twitched subtly as her unreadable gaze lingered on him.
Elysia tilted her head, blinking.
"…Captain?"
Her eyes lit up.
"Wait—Kaito dear! You already added someone to our future crew!?" She beamed.
Kaito pushed himself up, rubbing his neck.
"Y–Yeah…" He said, then pointed.
"Rikona's with me. And Valentina and Zeek too."
Zeek gave a casual salute with two lazy fingers to his temple.
"Zeek the pilot at your service." He said smoothly, then elbowed Valentina in her side.
She stiffened.
"I—I'm—Valentina…" She stuttered, eyes darting between Elysia's face and breast.
"…G–Gunner. I'll be the gunner."
Elysia clapped her hands together delightedly.
"Oh my stars! This is wonderful!"
Off to the side, Kaeline watched quietly.
Her gaze passed over Kaito's growing crew, her attention uninterested for now. She was looking for someone else. Her eyes drifted further down the line passing Nara and the small orange fuzzy alien until it reached him.
Finn.
He was bandaged and bruised watching the commotion ensue silently. After a short moment, his eyes lifted and met hers.
He stiffened for a moment as the two stared at each other silently for a short moment. Until Kaeline smirked.
His anxiety eased seeing that and a lick of pride grew in his body as his chest puffed out slightly. His ears twitched as a relieved smile broke across his face.
A moment later, Astra's voice echoed across the bay.
"Kaito. Rikona. Take your places. The ceremony will now begin."
Small sleek black boxes were passed down the line. Kaito held his and turned it over once before opening it. The lid parted with a soft hiss.
Inside rested a thin blank metallic card. As he grabbed it, the card came to life. A picture of his face appeared in the top left corner in sharp detail, along with his race and physical data right below. And a single bold letter stamped at its center.
Astra's voice rang calmly through the hangar.
"This is your Star Traveler License."
She paced slowly in front of them, her smooth porcelain heels clicking against the metal floor.
"It serves as identification, mission access, communication relay, and an adaptive encyclopedia containing all known registered star travelers outside or within the Accord's records."
Kaito's thumb brushed the edge.
"Tap it twice." Astra instructed as she watched him.
He did so and a soft projection, forming a translucent board suspended in the air. Star systems, worlds, scrolling data, mission postings, bounties, escort contracts, exploration requests, names… there was so much.
Astra continued, unhurried.
"This is the Universal Star Traveler Board. It will only display missions, perks, and information appropriate to your current rank. Higher-tier content will remain locked. However, higher-ranked travelers may accompany lower-ranked individuals on missions below their status. At their own risk."
Murmurs rippled through the line as everyone analyzed their card.
Valentina, B-ranked.
Zeek C-ranked.
Rikona D-ranked.
Luis C-ranked.
Livia D-ranked.
Lorian F-ranked.
Furbal D-ranked.
Kaito lowered his projection and finally focused on the letter at the center of his card.
B-ranked.
His breath caught.
"…No way."
His heart thumped hard—not painfully this time, but with the warmth of happiness. He snapped his head to the side with a cocky grin on his face.
"Yo—Finn." He nudged him with his elbow.
"What'd you get, pretty boy?"
Finn glanced down at his own license, then slowly turned it toward him.
B-ranked. **
But right beside the letter sat a small, unfamiliar symbol.
Before either one could speak any further, Astra spoke.
"That symbol denotes promotable status."
Finn stiffened and his eyes widened slightly.
"…Promotable?" Kaito aired out.
"To ascend from one rank to another, a Star Traveler must first earn promotable status through trials conducted at the nearest qualifying station. Similar in nature to the examinations you have already endured." Astra began to explain.
She folded both sets of her hands behind her back.
"Once obtained, the individual must then engage in a sanctioned one-on-one battle against another star traveler of equal rank and promotable status. The locations and conditions vary by rank. Full details are accessible through your license."
She paused.
"However, there is one limitation. Upon receiving promotable status, you are allotted one average stellar cycle to accept a challenge. Failure to do so will result in its revocation."
Finn swallowed.
"Additionally, if you challenge another and lose, your promotable status is also revoked."
Finn stared at his license as if it might change. But it wasn't. It was real.
"…You're serious."
"Yes." Astra stated calmly.
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"Based on your actions during the examinations, you have demonstrated combat aptitude and potential consistent with rank B and displayed flashes of rank A. Because of this, you've received your promotable status here."
For a heartbeat, Finn didn't move. He couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. Then Kaito laughed and slung an arm around his shoulders, nearly knocking him off balance.
"Are you kidding me!?" He shouted.
"That's insane! You hear that!? You could be A-ranked soon!"
Finn let out a breathless chuckle, still staring at the card in disbelief. Elysia watched them with a hand over her mouth, giggling softly. Beside her, Kaeline looked away quickly, jaw tight as she failed to stop the prideful smile that crept across her face.
Not everyone shared the moment.
Nara stood rigid, her license trembled slightly in her grip.
At its center was a C.
Her teeth clenched and her gaze dropped to the floor. Without a word, she stepped out of line and walked past all in line.
She passed Astra, then Elysia, then Kaeline. When she reached Elara, a hand caught her wrist.
"Nara…" Elara's voice was calm but firm.
Nara didn't look up nor respond.
Finn's smile faded as something crossed his mind. He pulled slightly away from Kaito, scanning the hangar.
"…Hey. Where's Sylas?"
Kaito blinked, then looked around.
"…Huh. You're right."
Astra turned her head slightly.
"Sylas is still under medical supervision. His condition is stable."
She shifted her gaze to Elara.
"As a matter of fact, he has requested to speak with you and Nara."
Kaito frowned.
"…He asked for her?"
Astra returned her attention to the group.
"This concludes the Star Traveler Examinations." She announced, her voice echoing through the hangar.
"May your journeys through the cosmos lead you toward ascension."
Everyone began to disperse and talk, yet Kaito stayed where he was.
He watched as a short green worker gestured for Elara and Nara to follow. They moved toward a sealed door on the far side of the hangar.
Something in his chest tightened.
He wasn't sure why, but something about it all didn't feel right.
Just before the door hissed shut, Elara glanced back.
For the first time since the exams began, their eyes met for a fleeting moment.
Then the door hissed closed.