Chapter 23: Departure

"Hurry up!"

Another officer emerged from the cockpit of the spacecraft, urging Messimah to quicken his pace. The officer's tone conveyed urgency as if they were racing against time and needed to depart immediately.

Messimah picked up his pace, breaking into a jog toward the cockpit.

As he stepped inside, he barely had time to glance around before feeling the ground shift beneath him. The vehicle had already taken off and was in the process of banking.

Turning around, Messimah hesitated, a reluctant feeling pulling at him as about leaving Jejity behind.

This wasn't how he had imagined departing the city of his birth. Emotions he had buried not long ago began to surface, tugging at his heartstrings and threatening to break through walls.

As the cockpit door started to close, Messimah stole a final glance back at the caped officer.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of her helmet retracting into the rest of her suit, revealing a cascade of long, raven-black hair that gleamed as though laced with fine glitter. Because she faced away, this was all Messimah could see at the moment.

Almost as if sensing his gaze, the officer turned her head just before the door sealed shut. For a fleeting moment, their eyes met, and Messimah found himself captivated.

Her emerald-green eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen—intensely mesmerizing yet slightly unnerving.

Her eyes felt unnatural to Messimah.

"Emerald green," Messimah murmured, his mind momentarily lost in the vivid image.

It wasn't that he was enchanted by what he saw; rather, he found the sight unsettling, even though it was undeniably beautiful. The sheer clarity of her eyes from such a distance seemed almost unnatural.

Wait, how could I see her eyes so clearly from that far away?

His contemplation was abruptly interrupted.

"Get strapped! Quickly!"

The sharp command jolted Messimah back to reality, reminding him that the spacecraft was preparing to accelerate.

Glancing around, he noticed three other Federation officers seated inside, not counting the pilot. They were already secured, bracing themselves for the impending rapid ascent.

The thrusters emitted a rising whine, signaling that the ship was about to launch at full speed. Reacting swiftly, Messimah darted toward the nearest empty seat. He collapsed into it and a seatbelt automatically fastened around his torso, securing him in place.

A second later, Messimah felt the crushing pull of G-forces, pressing him deep into the chair. His body strained against the intense pressure, each breath a conscious effort.

His gaze shifted to the only transparent section of the spacecraft, where the view of the world outside seemed to distort. The space ahead appeared to shrink, as though something massive was tugging at the earth, pulling them forward while they remained motionless for a few agonizing seconds.

Then, without warning, a blinding white light flashed in front of the ship.

Whoosh!

That was the only sound Messimah heard as the spacecraft surged forward, accelerating beyond anything he had ever imagined. His eyes snapped shut instinctively, the distortion of space around him too disorienting to endure. The sudden jolt was a sensation that neither his mind nor body was prepared for.

When the oppressive G-forces finally lifted, Messimah cautiously opened his eyes. His gaze darted to the other officers seated nearby, their expressions impassive and unreadable. A thought flickered in his mind: She didn't send them with me just to keep an eye on me, did she?

Doubt gnawed at him, but he knew there was no turning back now. Messimah could only play along with the charade he had initiated. His mind raced with scenarios of what could go wrong, yet his heart remained curiously calm as if fear had no place within him.

Feigning relaxation, he leaned back into his chair, giving off an air of ease while remaining hyper-alert. His eyes occasionally flicked toward the other Federation officers, scrutinizing them with suspicion.

Can never be too careful around strangers.

Jubal's enemies could be among them, or worse, they might have orders to silence him permanently. Messimah wondered.

Despite his suspicions, Messimah vowed not to be caught off guard by these guys.

Thus began the tense journey, a four-hour ordeal that stretched Messimah's nerves.

The ship's speed was astonishing, yet the journey dragged on, making him ponder if their destination was somewhere far beyond Earth, perhaps even in outer space.

By the fifth hour, Messimah felt mentally drained. Though his body remained still, his mind had been on high alert for the past four hours, and the toll it was taking perplexed him.

Why am I feeling sleepy? Did they release some sort of sleeping gas over time? He wondered, puzzled. Messimah was used to spending countless hours engrossed in his experiments, maintaining focus with an intensity that bordered on obsession.

The sudden drowsiness baffled him.

"[No sleeping gas detected in the atmosphere]," The AI of his Nano-tech suit informed him.

Messimah wasn't surprised by the response. He had already theorized that if there was any manipulation, it would have to be more subtle, perhaps through a neural link. The Genesis System had proven capable of sophisticated simulations, even mimicking the original owner's blood perfectly. However, he quickly scratched this idea out as it would require that he had a chip implanted into his brain.

Unsatisfied with the suit's explanation, he turned to Genesis for answers.

Genesis, any idea why?

[Yes, Host has been unconsciously using his Mind's Eye abilities for the past few hours,] Genesis responded promptly.

My Mind's Eye? Messimah's thoughts flashed back to the status display Genesis had shown him, where "Mind's Eye" was listed under his Constitution stat.

The realization hit him; with everything that had transpired since his recovery, including the excruciating pain he endured in the desert, he had nearly forgotten about the new abilities he might possess.

[Your Mind's Eye is the initial manifestation of the gene implanted before your awakening began.]

Does this mean I'm an awakener, like those awakened gene carriers? Despite the obvious, Messimah sought confirmation.

[Yes, Host is essentially a Metahuman now, though still in the early stages.]

What does it mean to be a Metahuman?

[It means you have embarked on a path of biological breakthroughs, awakening genetic codes that hold the secrets to immense power.]

Messimah digested this information, mentally scanning his body for any noticeable changes. Suddenly, he remembered how vividly he had seen the eyes of the caped officer before leaving the city, a sight that now made more sense given what Genesis had just informed him of.

Can I get a look at my status again? I need to properly—

Boom!

Suddenly, the spacecraft lurched violently to the side, struck by an unidentified flying object. Though the ship's defensive force field absorbed the brunt of the impact, the pilot struggled to regain control. Alarms blared throughout the ship, accompanied by flashing red lights.

"What's going on?" Messimah demanded, his mind racing.

His earlier suspicion that the caped officer might want to silence him resurfaced, but he quickly dismissed the thought. If this were an assassination attempt, it would hardly make sense to risk the lives of everyone on board.

"We got hit by something heavy," The pilot replied, his voice tense as he fought to stabilize the spacecraft.

The alarms ceased their deafening noise as the ship leveled out, but the ominous red lights continued to pulse.

"But we were in hyperdrive! Did we hit a stationary object?" One of the officers near Messimah asked.

"If it were stationary, we would have passed through with minimal disruption. Whatever hit us knocked us out of hyperdrive. Something stationary in a distorted space that'll knock this ship out of hyperdrive has to be an illegal weapon or something made with Exotic Matter. I doubt anyone with an atom's size of functioning cells capable of thinking would waste such on a stationary device." The pilot explained, his hands moving rapidly over the controls. "The ship's defenses held, but our durability has taken a hit."

"How far are we from Avalon?" Another officer, positioned close to the pilot, inquired.

"Had we remained in hyperdrive, we'd have arrived in about a minute. Now, with our current fuel, we can't re-enter hyperdrive. At Mach-15, we should reach Avalon's borders in fifty minutes to an hour," the pilot informed, his tone steady but concerned.

"Do you think this was an orchestrated attack?" Another officer asked, his calm voice cutting through the tension. His question was directed at everyone, including Messimah.

"It does seem uncanny that such a thing would happen when we were just a few seconds away from reaching Avalon's borders." A different officer was mentioned. Everyone on the ship could tell that something was wrong, even more so for Messimah. They secretly prepared their minds for the worst.

Meanwhile, Messimah observed the others closely, noting subtle differences in their suits. The officer who had spoken bore an insignia on his suit, positioned on his right lower rib—a symbol resembling an open book. Scanning the others, Messimah spotted variations: some had an insignia of four standing pillars, while others had two perpendicular lines.

Before Messimah could inspect his suit, the alarms blared once more, louder and more urgent. "Incoming homing missile! Brace for impact!" The pilot shouted.

"Shit," Messimah whispered.

Boom!

The ship trembled under the force of the explosion, plunging them into chaos once again.