"That sounds like a good idea, amigo" He had hopes that they weren't being led on a wild goose chase But he was confident that the group that he was with would be able to survive anything that was thrown at them.
"So, any of you ever been to Beta before" He hoped that they had or this would be a very interesting trip. He hadn't been here much, only to Ruiz and back, not any further than that.
Almost confused by the last question made by Rosario, as many Outcasts have flown through Beta for infinite of reasons; he finally decided to respond unironically:
“I’ve passed through this system many times, recently. Mostly doing several runs from Galicia to Alba Station. We needed specialized equipment, so I came with one transport to deliver the stuff.”
Cruz almost felt proud of himself, noting his own accomplishments and how vital his work was during that time. Before being overwhelmed by pleasant satisfaction, he continued:
“As everyone seems eager to check Ruiz before the main event, who am I to deny that? He he.”
He almost chuckled at the useless effort of being accurately charming.
…
“Acknowledged, we will not intervene in your current task. Feel free to proceed as you wish.”
After denying the necessity of a docking clearance, Alberto Cruz tried to explain his motives in space; but he was not sure what to reveal exactly and this brought him doubts:
“We are on the mo-move right now, in an im-important operation.”
“RIGHT...So, what can Ruiz control do for you then? Besides wasting our time…”
Soft laughter was heard from the background, as the completely unconvinced interlocutor tried to answer in the most sardonic way possible.
“This is serious, compañeros. Some of our Asesinos are…”
“Asesinos? Who? Excuse me, but are you in charge of this operation of yours or…? You sound quite insecure, maybe we should send a couple of pilots to escort you inside; in this way we can recheck your...hold on a moment.”
Abrupt silence on comms. Cruz realized how a mistake it was to try to speak as mediator in this simple exchange of words; but his sudden frustration ceased as the mood on the other side changed so suddenly. Then, the expected grave voice changed to a feminine one; a slightly worried tone could be perceived:
“This is Ruiz control. Yes, I think we have something for you. There was an incident recently that our brethren tried to break through, in the bar. I was in one of the tables, taking a break, when one of the Maltese went completely mad about something…we don’t know what it was, but he started a fight; an uneasy euphoria, not the common one…it was disturbing. What was his name? Marcelo something…Marcelo Riquelme, si. That was the name…he made quite the impression around here. Of course, most of the crowd were laughing at the situation until blood and brutality started to appear. He was followed by several wingmen and he yelled that he was not going to return. In addition to that, we do not know much else. Ten minutes after he left the base, more pilots arrived…probably from your group, as they were expecting this guy and they left as quickly as they noticed he was not there. All of them went directly to the western side of the system and that’s all we know. Our apologies if my compañeros here didn’t take you seriously; they were not present during this situation and we didn’t honestly take it too much importance. One Maltese returned to Omicron Alpha to drop the message, I guess...as he left just after the second group launched themselves into space.”
Absorbed by the developments made by the lost ones, Cruz tried to elaborate questions regarding it; he even waited to check if the other members had questions. Being interrupted by the unease woman’s voice, making haste of the talk, she awkwardly changed her tone to a more decisive one:
"Saludos, Ruiz communication officer. This is Senor Juan Harabero of the dreadnought Vibora. I would like to know the last known location of these men, and where we can find them."
Juan knew he had to find them. They were his hope on getting to the bottom of this. He just hoped he could find them. And in time...
Santiago hoped this as well they were in a lot of danger and he hoped they can pull them out of it
Why would Ruiz be laughing at us? he thought. They were on the same team, no? Hermanos, even? He shook it off as they waited for the answer to Juan's question
A sigh could be heard from the audio, as the woman tried to indicate one more time about what it was already being told, in the most neutral way possible:
“As I have said before, they went to the western side of the system. We lost contact of them after they arrived to sector grid C4, both parties completely vanished from our long-range sensors and patrols.”
Before trying to end the conversation abruptly, she remembered something else:
“Ah, before I forgot…During the outburst in the bar, I remember that this Riquelme guy was having something that it was…glowing. At least from his pocket, a faint purple light. I guess nobody else noticed that in the chaotic confrontation. Do you think that he would be…?”
The officer held her claim, as she was not eager to deep down into such matters. After she gave a couple of seconds of silence, she politely tried to close the topic:
“That’s all for now. Now, por favor, could you leave this area? There are important shipments that should arrive soon and we need to have a clear space for docking procedures. Vuelen seguros.”
"Very well then, buen dia Ruiz." Juan turned his ship away from Ruiz, and set course for the last known location of the men.
Now, Juan just had to find them. He just hoped they were not completely insane yet. Although, now was not the time to make such assumptions. Juan braced himself for the worst, and powered up his cruise engines.
Santiago went with Juan to the galactic west of the system. He hoped that they would not go insane in the nebula. He heard that some people had gone insane by being in nebulas for too long.
This will be fun, wouldn't you agree, Senor Juan? He was just trying to make conversation. He wasn't very familiar with Juan, so he was trying to get to know him better.
Alberto Cruz felt relieved. In his apparent negligence, Cruz thought that he was not made for any sort of discreet talk and because of it he was going to fail in this simple circumstance. Sweating less than usual, he lost several seconds reflecting about what has been told and the probabilities to find the Asesinos. Wondering why would Riquelme tried to fly further away, he tried to remember the rumors regarding the area of interest. Clouds are very dense and it could hide something much more than a couple of squads and a loose end. Before getting a viable conclusion to his views, Cruz noticed that the couple of Hyperspace members have already started their engines and flew to the relevant sector grid.
Without losing their track, he initiated the thrust and yelled:
“Wait for me, amigos!”
As Ruiz base was left behind, the trio started their journey into a hardly traveled place beyond the alien jump gate.
Juan looked back at the two other members cruising behind him. So full of life, not yet taught the harsh realities of what could happen. What would happen. Juan knew better. This wasn't just some patrol, this was something... bigger. And for some reason, he almost felt drawn to where they were going, like something was there, calling him home.
"This... will be a noteworthy trip. That is all I can say, do you feel it, that feeling-"
he cut himself off. It wasn't worth sharing.
"Nevermind, forget about it. Stay sharp, we are getting closer, and you never know what could happen out here...."
Si, wouldn't want anything bad to happen Santiago said as they got closer to their destination. He was in high spirits because his fellow fleet members were with him. He lived a very lonely life and tried to make friends where possible.
And yes, i do feel that feeling, something....ominous, yet familiar. Wonder what that could mean. He hoped nothing bad but he was prepared for the worst.
![[Image: 0WfuF9g.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0WfuF9g.png)