Wild Space - Introduction
"Kal, that vibration just now was insanely strong—what happened?"
The bridge door slid open, and Lydia stepped in, clutching Eve's hand tightly. She must've come to comfort Eve, spooked by the shaking, but when it didn't stop, she'd decided to check it out herself.
Eve was playing innocent, but the look in her eyes said she knew exactly what was up.
I stood from the pilot's seat and faced her. I hesitated. How much should I tell Lydia?
The truths I've held back are snowballing into this massive burden—I don't even know where to start explaining.
Back when we first met her in the Outer Rim, I'd fudged the details about who we were and what we were doing. But things were different now.
It'd been a short trip, but Lydia's behavior had been consistent, and even Bani, the other passenger, knew the truth.
On this ship, Lydia was the only one in the dark about Eve's real identity.
If I didn't tell her now, it'd be way worse when it came out later—worse than the initial deception. Trust could shatter in an instant.
I glanced out the viewport.
Drifting through the void like ghosts were the wreckage of the Hound fleet that Nahibi had just cleaned up. Among them, I was picking up signals from escape pods with life support still running.
Yeah. Now's the time.
The least I could do was give her a choice.
[Eve, I think we should tell Lydia the truth too—what do you say?]
At my words, Eve looked back and forth between Lydia's face and mine. After a moment's thought, the little queen nodded. She let go of Lydia's hand and scampered over to me.
"Huh? Eve?"
Lydia blinked in confusion at Eve suddenly pulling away. Then she caught my serious expression and narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, I! I know this pattern! The vibe you're setting... don't tell me you've been hiding something again?"
Sharp as ever.
"Sorry, Lydia. But there's a reason we've kept this story under wraps. It's too dangerous... too heavy a truth."
"Hmmm..."
"But before I get into it, I'm giving you a choice."
"A choice? What's that mean?"
Lydia crossed her arms and tilted her head.
"What we're about to tell you could turn your world upside down, Lydia. It might upend your entire life."
As I spoke, I slowly turned the ship. The main viewscreen revealed the opposite side of space we'd been ignoring.
"...!!!"
Lydia clapped a hand over her mouth. There floated the mangled remains of the Hound fleet, smashed to pieces.
Destroyers were twisted like taffy, escorts riddled with holes and reduced to scrap. Just minutes ago, this elite fleet had been a fearsome sight.
"What... what the hell is this...?"
"Choice one, Lydia: Don't listen to our story. Board one of those escape pods right now. They've got emergency rations and comms gear. And when Apex's pursuit force catches up—including their mercenaries—hire them. They're humans who follow the money in the end."
I said it coldly.
"You could go back to your normal life, none the wiser. Apex might interrogate you, but they'll lose interest fast once they see you know nothing and come after us instead."
That was option one. The safest, most rational path. But Lydia snorted before I even finished.
"Lydia, don't listen to our story and hop in an escape pod. Then you can live in blissful ignorance and hitch a ride out with the mercenaries from the incoming Apex fleet."
"Pfft. Sounds boring as hell, no thrill at all. Rejected—I'm not shivering in some pod. What's option two?"
I'd figured she'd say that. Gladly, I laid it out.
"Option two: Learn the full truth and come with us."
Lydia glanced at Eve.
"I told you before—I have no plans to leave Eve. You said we were going to treat her, but was that a lie too?"
"That's true. It's just... the place we're going for treatment, and the method, aren't exactly conventional."
"The destination was Wild Space from the start, so I figured we were grasping at straws. There's an actual goal?"
"I don't know it either."
"What? Then how's that option two? Spill it already—stop hiding and tell me everything! It's driving me nuts."
Lydia thumped her chest in frustration. Her resolve was rock-solid.
"Got it. No regrets."
I sighed and placed a hand on Eve's shoulder.
"Oh, and I really don't know the destination—it's complicated to explain, so I'll just show you."
I patted Eve's head.
"This is the start—and the source—of all our secrets."
I nodded to Eve.
"Eve, ahh~."
"Ahh~."
Eve mimicked me and opened the mouth she'd kept hidden all this time. A straight line sliced from her chest to her belly, splitting wide...
"..."
Silence fell. Then—
"KyaAAAAAHHH!!!"
Lydia's scream shook the bridge, a piercing shriek that nearly burst my eardrums.
"Lydia, calm down—this is—!"
I rushed to soothe her, but she cut me off.
"Apex!! You bastards!! What horrific thing did you do to our Eve!!!"
"...Huh?"
Instead of backing away in terror, Lydia charged toward Eve.
"Oh my god, oh my god! To such a pretty little girl's body...! How brutal was the vivisection for it to end up like this?! Ruining Eve's cuteness like that—I won't forgive you! I'll kill you all!!"
Tears welled in her eyes as she reached to stroke Eve's split-open body.
"Eve, did it hurt a lot? Waaah... Big sis is so sorry... This is so gross... So horrifying..."
Wait. Huh... This wasn't the reaction I'd expected. She wasn't seeing Eve as a monster—she thought she was a 'poor victim mangled by a evil corporation's experiments.'
Apex had experimented on her, sure, but that form wasn't the result—it was Eve's true self...
Did Lydia realize how her over-the-top worry and pity were hitting Eve?
She missed Eve's lips pursing into a pout...
'This is so gross... So horrifying...'
Lydia's words, born of concern, felt like outright rejection to Eve.
"Lydia, you should stop talking now."
"Huh? What?"
Smack. Eve slapped Lydia's hand away and snapped her body shut in an instant.
Too late...
"Sis."
"Yeah? Eve? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"Hate you."
Oh no. She was properly pissed now.
"Uh...?"
"Hate sis! You said gross! You said horrifying! Go away, sis!"
Eve whipped around and hid behind my leg.
"???!!"
Lydia's pupils dilated like an earthquake had hit. She looked more shocked than when Eve had split open—pure devastation, like her world had crumbled.
"E-Eve? That's not what I meant..."
Lydia collapsed to the floor. Things had gone sideways in the weirdest way.
After the chaos died down, Lydia sat on the sofa in a daze. Eve still had her face buried in my chest, refusing to look her way.
"So... Eve's a xenoform queen... and you rescuing her from being an Apex lab rat is where it all started?"
Lydia asked in a hollow voice.
"Yes. Eve isn't human—she's a xenoform. The top of the hierarchy: a queen. That form you saw? That's her true nature."
"And... I called her true form gross, so she got super mad at me?"
"Spot on."
"Haaa..."
Lydia clutched her head.
"I... I was just so worried... I thought Apex had modded her with surgery..."
"Hiiing."
A sniffle came from my chest.
"Hiiing."
Eve must've been hit hard by Lydia—who'd been so doting—reacting like that.
Poor Lydia, her soul fleeing after one "I hate you" from Eve...
She's accepted that Eve's a xenoform queen awfully quick and casually. Is this really okay?
Not the usual reaction at all. Then again, from the start, the reason she'd tagged along with Eve... yeah, this woman's not exactly normal.
"Reconcile with Eve later, slowly. One more thing—the last introduction."
I said.
"Kal... my mental health can't take another bombshell right now..."
Lydia waved her hands, face crumpling.
"Enough whining. She's here now. Lydia, say hi."
I signaled into empty air.
[Nahibi. Come on out.]
This spilled all the secrets to Lydia. No more hiding Nahibi—and for the voyage ahead, a proper intro was overdue.
"Kal. Who am I saying hi to? There's no one here but us..."
Lydia looked around.
Huh?
I could feel Nahibi nearby, but she wasn't showing like usual. Something felt off.
Then—BOOM! White slime oozed up from the bridge floor like rising mist.
Soon the entire bridge was coated in Nahibi's white body. Ceiling, walls, floor—all writhing organic mass. Then, hundreds of red eyes snapped open at once.
Nahibi was gearing up for a grand, intimidating intro—when
"KyaAAAAK!"
Lydia screamed for real and passed out cold, flopping onto the sofa. Her hand twitched faintly.
"...Hey."
I stared blankly at the fainted Lydia, then down at the rising slime.
"Nahibi!"
I slammed my constellation power into the floor slime.
Smack!
[Why'd you hit me!]
Nahibi yelped like she was wronged.
"Agh... what am I gonna do with you monsters."
Nahibi and Lydia's first meeting was a total disaster.
Sighing deeply at the fainted Lydia, I felt despair. Eve sulking, Lydia out cold, clueless Nahibi—looked like cleanup fell to me alone.