First move

Mark had been searching for the Greydust beetle all over the ship. "Where is it? Where could a small larva even go?" He searched every room on the ship and eventually walked in a full circle back to his lab. The fear of the captain ripping his skin apart scared Mark enough to nearly soil himself. "What should I do? If anyone finds out that I lost a valuable specimen-"

He quickly halted his words as the Greydust beetle itself appeared before him. Mark smiled sadistically. "Hah. I was searching for you everywhere, and here you are, innocently sitting on the table." The scientist slowly crept towards the larva, raising both of his hands to capture it. "Steady. Steady. Stead-"

Like a predator, Mark lunged at the valuable specimen. But the Greydust beetle simply flew away. Mark watched the flying larva in disbelief. "Huh? It's... flying! This is a new discovery! Greydust beetles cannot fly until they are adults! Hahaha! I need to document this rare mutation; I might become the first scientist to successfully accelerate an organism's evolution!"

The mad scientist rushed to his terminal, laughing like a maniac as he recorded his observations. 'What is this dumbass laughing at?' Nolan thought. To attract the mad scientist's attention, he flew just past him. But Mark didn't react at all. Confused, Nolan gently landed on Mark's shoulder and glanced at the terminal. Just as the beetle became stationary, the mad scientist twitched and slapped at his shoulder. But once again, the beetle flew away unharmed.

Nolan's new ability, [Sharp Vision (D-)], had greatly improved his reaction time. To him, Mark's movements were as slow as a snail, but that didn't mean he could fly around carelessly. He still couldn't properly control his flight path, leading to a few close calls. Mark jumped onto the table, continuing to chase the flying larva. "Hah! Hya!"

Even though he kept missing, he was impressed by the larva's sharp movements, which only fueled his desire to capture this rare specimen. A man wearing a mark and old fashion punk clothes was casually walking through the corridor when, suddenly, the lab's door burst open, and Mark ran out like a crazed animal.

"Wait. What-" Before the pirate could say anything, Mark shoved him aside and kept running. "UAHHH! Come here, you little-" He was literally being a nuisance to multiple people just so he could catch the beetle. Nolan was flying at top speed, his small body already using too much energy. Fatigue was beginning to build up. 'Just a bit farther.'

The cat-and-mouse chase continued for some time until Nolan took a sharp turn and entered Luke's office. Luke was reading a report on his tablet when he noticed someone barging in.

"Mark… Do you need something?" He asked, observing Mark's flushed face. "Your face is all red. Did you run a marathon or something?"

"Hah! Did. Hah! You. Hah! See a flying larva?" Mark gasped for air.

Meanwhile, Nolan listened to the conversation from the ventilation duct above. 'Alright, the first move has been made.'

Down below, Luke rubbed his eyes in frustration. "So, Mark, you're saying that you made the world's first man-made evolution here, on this ship?"

Mark narrowed his eyes and glared at Luke. "Yes. How many times are you going to ask me this?"

Luke slammed his hand on the table. "Then what happened to my order? I told you to stop your experiments!" He pointed a finger at Mark. "Do you even understand our situation? We betrayed the Federation. We are now outlaws. The only reason we're still standing on this ship is because I negotiated with the pirates."

Mark gritted his teeth and shouted, "Don't act like you're some kind of messiah! You sold your comrades out. You sold your dignity as a federal citizen. You're just as bad, if not worse, than those pirates. Bloody savages."

Luke's eyes widened in anger, his hand instinctively moving to his gun. He wanted to shoot Mark, but he couldn't. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. "Look, Mark, I want to help you. But your current actions do not please Madam Piresta, and she is the highest authority on this ship. If you don't obey my orders, I have no choice but to shoot you. By her command."

Mark glanced at the gun on Luke's belt. "Okay… Just tell me, where did the larva go? And I promise, no more experiments."

Luke frowned immediately. He had no idea what larva or beetle Mark was talking about—he hadn't seen anything enter this room.

"I-I don't know, Mark."

"What?"

"Like I said, I don't know."

Mark's eyebrow twitched as he glared at Luke. "Lies! I know you're hiding it from me."

"What? No-"

"I knew it from the start! You were always jealous of my research!" Mark grabbed Luke by the neck, attempting to strangle him.

"No! No!" Luke struggled and pushed Mark back. That's when Mark punched Luke in the face.

"LIARS! ALL OF YOU!"

In response, Luke kicked Mark in the gut. The situation quickly escalated into a nasty fistfight. Mark grabbed the tablet from the table and smashed it against Luke's head, but the small plastic device did nothing. Unlike Mark, Luke had served in the Federation and had received basic foot soldier training. He responded with a jab to Mark's chin, followed by a brutal headbutt to the face.

Luke easily overpowered Mark. He grabbed the scientist by the collar and slammed him onto the table. Wiping the blood from his nose, he looked down at Mark. "Everyone was right. You're fucking crazy."

Mark smiled at Luke's words. "And you're fucking dumb."

He suddenly aimed a gun at Luke's head. When Luke had lifted Mark to slam him on the table, Mark had managed to slip his hand to Luke's belt and steal the gun.

Scared, Luke raised both of his hands. "Wait. Wait. I'll tell you! I'll tell you where the beetle is!"

Without hesitation, Mark pulled the trigger and blew Luke's head off.

"It's a larva, you moron."