Outer Rim - Another Name for Heroes
Setting the Gray Market as our destination was fine, but with the 's code identified, entering with her would be impossible. So until we found a way, we were hunkered down in an asteroid belt—a graveyard of dead stars where thousands, tens of thousands of rock chunks swam through pitch-black darkness. The engines were cold and silent, powering down everything except life support. A profound silence hung in the air.
Clack! But a sharp, heavy thwack shattered the quiet from the cockpit.
“Ow!” Sparks flew from my forehead. I reflexively clutched it and opened my eyes. There floated Nahibi, the white slime, her tentacle tip hardened into a hammer-like club. Don't let that squishy look fool you. That thing was a real weapon.
Nahibi's voice burrowed into my head, thick with irritation and disdain.
“Uh… sorry.” I mumbled awkwardly and tried to close my eyes again.
We were in the middle of special training right now. The Gray Market didn't have tight security, but while we lay in ambush to hijack a decent disguise ship, this was Nahibi's idea. The reason? Last battle, when Eve reinforced the shield, I hadn't sensed the energy flow at all.
Clack! This time, the crown of my head.
“Ack! Hey! That hurt more than last time!”
Nahibi puffed up her body and yelled.
“No! You tell me to close my eyes, meditate, and feel it, but I can't get a grasp on it at all!” I raised my voice in frustration too. This abstract sensory training was torture for an ex-soldier like me.
Nahibi sighed deeply, full of pity.
“But I'm not frail like Eve.”
Nahibi prodded my chest impatiently.
My lips pursed at Nahibi's mockery. I couldn't understand it.
“A few days ago on the farm planet, I overwhelmingly beat Apex's pursuers. You’re saying that wasn’t drawing out all my power?”
A 3-on-1 fight. I smashed three of Apex's enhanced humans with my bare fists. I recalled the battle on F-33 Farm Planet a few days back. It was power far beyond my military days. Bare-handed, I crumpled reinforced suits, my overwhelming reaction speed crushing them like children.
“Sure, it's new power I haven't fully adapted to, so there might be gaps, but I thought I showed everything I had.”
But my rebuttal didn't bring the expected scolding.
Nahibi's voice dropped low. Gone was the nagging tone. The cockpit air turned icy. A chill ran down my spine. Had I said something wrong? Before I could dwell, Nahibi spoke.
Dozens of red eyes embedded in Nahibi's body fixed on me. All playfulness vanished.
Overwhelmed by her aura, I straightened up unconsciously. Of course. She'd bragged about it endlessly during introductions.
“Nariant.”
100 years ago. The war with xenoforms. Military morale training flashed back: the first war with alien life during Federation expansion, the worst great war.
“The First Xenoform War.”
I murmured quietly, and Nahibi nodded.
Nahibi's eyes slowly closed, as if recalling distant memories. Her wavelength trembled faintly.
That single word brimmed with longing.
A question arose. Nahibi's power on Garcia Prime alone could overwhelm a Federation division with a carrier. 100 years ago, Federation tech was far weaker. How did they hold even?
War of attrition. Xenoforms strong but slow to breed. Federation like cockroaches, endlessly producing weapons. Frontlines stalemated, war a tedious siege.
Nahibi's body bubbled, projecting five silhouettes from black liquid—like shadow puppets.
The first silhouette swung a massive scythe.
The second was a hulking armored giant.
Each was horrific, oppressive from a human view. One was Nahibi.
They were mythic monsters incarnate. Absolute predators ripping fleets bare-handed, shaking planets. No matter how many missiles the Federation fired, they seemed unstoppable.
Yet.
The five silhouettes shattered in an instant, scattering as black dust.
Red liquid streamed from all Nahibi's eyes.
“How…?” I blurted.
Nahibi's emotions surged.
An old broadcast overlapped with Nahibi's voice. “Salvo for the great Federation victory!”
Parade route blanketed in flowers. Federation fleets of all kinds filled the skies in march.
Soldiers in ornate uniforms saluted perfectly along the glorious path.
Figures strode the center. What turned the 100-year war wasn't tens of thousands of ships.
Constellation. Familiar term from Federation news, training, history.
Red tears from Nahibi's eyes soaked the cockpit floor.
Nahibi floated closer, her wet eyes reflecting my face directly.
Nahibi stared long. Then her tentacle pointed to my chest, where my heart beat.
Me? A constellation? Becoming one of those hailed Federation heroes?
Nahibi explained no more. She just dropped that weighty name on me and fell silent.
A moment later, the heavy silence broke with a radar ping.
Our ticket into the Gray Market had appeared. I shook off my daze.
“……Let's go.”
I ramped up the engines. The slipped from the asteroid's shadow, stealthily toward the prey.