The Z-P-N-E-S slowly approached an old orbital station
drifting around planet GJ-251 C like a forgotten tin can abandoned by the gods.
The station “Horizon’s Promise” was at least eight hundreds years old.
One of the first alien observation platforms—
abandoned over five centuries ago.
The moment civilization left it,
every piece of galactic trash rushed in,
like someone had put up a sign:
"Junk available for criminal use. Cheap."According to the latest data,
this wreck had been taken over by the Lime Mashers gang
and turned into their headquarters.
That was exactly where they needed to go.
Lure out the Lime Feather.
Grab him.
And return to the parasite.
Blindy rubbed his face like he was trying to wipe the fear off.
“Sayin’ it’s easy… doin’ it ain’t…
How—how the hell we supposed to do this?”
Zeros gave the mini-bot a brief glance.
It jittered mid-air like a malfunctioning iron.
Zeros nodded, straightening his shoulders.
“Same as always.
We go in, kill everything that moves,
screams, or shoots.
Find the Lime Dumbass—
and get out.
Worked so far.
What, you wanna change the plan?”
Then he added, in the tone of someone about to suggest something brilliantly stupid:
“I have an idea…
how to make sure no one follows us.”
Blindy smirked at first—
for a split second, he thought he was about to hear something intelligent.
That moment died faster than a cheap plasma pulse.
The smile vanished.
“You psycho piece-of-shit droid…
Every time I end up either in deep shit,
next to shit,
or in a situation where shit becomes a philosophical concept—called DEATH!”
He threw his hands up.
“You’re supposed to be an advanced android!
And all your plans are—
massacre, slaughter, genocide… shortlists!
I mean… I ain’t against it!” he added quickly, raising his hands like he was pleading before a god of war.
“But I’m tired of ending up one step from dying every single time.What if—what if this time… that’s it?”
Something in the comm module beeped sharply.
The sound was, as always, unpleasant—
like someone had stepped on a mushgara’s antenna.
A creature infamous for having absurdly long feelers it loved to sneak under people’s clothes—pants, skirts, shirts—just for the prank.
[Jackie's voice slipped into the broadcast, soft and lazily amused]“Mushgara developed a sense of humor before developing a brain.
Hehe… some species still haven’t developed one at all.”
[Dick snapped back in like he'd been kicked]“Hey! Was that directed at ME or the gremlins?!
…Alright, fair. Let’s move on.”
The signal beeped again—this time more insistently.
A hologram flickered above the panel.
Clean.
Digital.
And unexpectedly—gently—beautiful.
A woman’s face appeared.
Not a sterile corporate model.
Not an artificial avatar.
Not a simulation.
Her face was alive.
So alive the ship itself seemed to pause.
Soft features.
Warm eyes.
A subtle, sincere smile—
the kind the galaxy had long since stopped producing.
Even through the holo-interference, it was clear:
this was a real human.
And a rare kind—
one not yet crushed by taxes and war.
“Osu, colleagues. This is Shiori.
I assume you’re here for the Fezā?
That iyana mushi handed this job out to everyone.”
She added:
“Buraindi-sama,
I’ve heard you are a man of honor.”
Blindy and Zeros exchanged a look at the exact same time.
They both wore the exact same expression of pure disbelief.
Blindy whispered:
“What the hell kinda man of honor?!
She gotta be mistaken…”
Zeros nodded slowly, as if confirming a universal diagnosis.
“Definitely mistaken.”
But Shiori continued—calm, composed—
as if she were speaking to two noble samurai
instead of a low-grade human and a combat psychopath.
“So I’ll be direct.
The target is mine.
I’ve been hunting it for three days.I would prefer not to fight you—
especially your tomodachi, Zerosu-sama.“
Zeros tilted his head slightly—
not out of appreciation for the respect,
but out of mild disgust.
“I propose this,” Shiori continued.
“This time, I take the job.
Next time—
I step aside and let you claim the target.
What do you think?”
Her holographic head bowed slightly—light, polite.
“I promise…
I won’t leave the debt unpaid.”
With the same unpleasant chirp, the hologram vanished.
The cockpit fell into that kind of silence—
the one that happens when two idiots try to process politeness at the same time.
Blindy spoke first:
“So… uh… what does that mean?
…Blindy-sama?
That like… an insult or what?”
Zeros answered instantly, without pause, in a cold tone:
“I’m fairly certain it translates to ‘Blindy the dumbass.'”
Blindy squinted at first, thought for a few seconds, then nodded in approval.
“Ahh… yeah… that tracks.
She called you one too, then.
So she didn’t get it wrong.”
Blindy nodded again in satisfaction, like he had just unlocked ancient wisdom.
“So… she was talking about thief’s honor!
Yeah, that’s it!
How does that code go again?..”
He paused for half a second, then continued with full confidence:
“Like… whoever steals it first, owns it?
Nah?..
Ah, whatever—sounds right.”
He straightened up, flashing a winner’s grin.
“What’s a soft, sweet talking head gonna do to us?..
ZEROS… heh… SAMA, let’s go!”
Zeros turned his head by a microscopic degree—
just enough for Blindy to feel the cold, lethal silence of the universe.
His voice came out like it was traveling through a metal pipe straight into the soul:
“This is why I hate humans.
Especially dishonorable pieces of shit like you.”