"Star Energy for Hotpot?"
A voice echoed through the lounge. The friends immediately perked up. They looked towards the left end of the room where a man in the uniform of a crewmember had appeared.
"Let's go."
Silva stood up, waving at her friends. They approached the crewmember together. The latter greeted them warmly before leading them through a corridor. An escalator brought them towards ground level where two cars were already waiting for them. It couldn't be any more comfortable.
It was only a drive of two minutes until the friends arrived at the starting ramp reserved for them. They got out of the car and stared ahead with sparkling eyes.
"Is this our ship?"
"Awesome!"
"They did not hold back!"
About half of the group saw a spaceship up close for the first time in their lives. The sleek, triangle-shaped design looked incredibly modern. A ramp extended at the back of the ship between the two massive turbines, each the size of an average person. The silver finishing sparkled under the starlight. 'Star Energy' was written on its sides.
Even Silva was impressed. She knew the ships of her family. The one sent by Star Energy was not much worse. It was quite a sign of respect. She never expected Star Energy to value their little team so highly.
"I'll be first!"
Serena suddenly let out a happy shout and ran ahead. The movement woke up the others. They chuckled and followed, their steps perhaps a tiny bit faster than usual. Reaching the top of the ramp they were immediately welcomed by another crewmember offering drinks and snacks. After they took some, the crewmember began showing them around.
The ship had everything one might need for the journey. Comfortable beds, TVs, games, books, and music – all saved digitally of course. There was even a small gym, although it couldn't quite satisfy the friends' needs.
"Is it safe to use the gym during a flight?"
"Of course, dear guests. The space inside the ship is perfectly stable."
"Wow!"
Serena voiced everyone's thoughts. This was the luxury of a private spaceship. The journey was made to be as comfortable as possible. Granted, Liam and his friends would only travel for two days until they would reach Orus. It was difficult to imagine how others dealt with travelling for months. At least Fate of Crunaboul existed now which was a great way to waste time.
At this moment a door opened. An older man in silver uniform came in, his posture straight and his eyes dignified. It was easy to tell that this man used to be in the military. He introduced himself as Captain Borhart and announced that the ship would be departing in five minutes.
The crew member quickly led the friends towards the ship's large common area and asked them to sit down and tighten their belts. The starting process could be somewhat rough.
"It's starting! It's starting!"
Serena swayed in her chair, tightly holding Liam's hand. At this moment she couldn't help but be nervous. Yet her eyes were glued to the window, not wanting to miss anything.
A slight vibration ran through the ship as a sound akin to a pouring cat could be heard. The engines were powering up. Suddenly there was a jolt as the ship left the ground. For a moment everyone held their breaths. The ship tilted and accelerated abruptly.
"Ahh!"
A few startled shouts could be heard as the friends were pressed into their chairs. The train was a joke in comparison. The spaceship shot towards the sky, leaving the planet's surface. After the initial surprise everyone looked out of the window, observing the receding view. Falva Star was quickly becoming smaller. Most of it remained in the dark but the cities stood out as big light clusters.
"Over there should be Five Lakes City. I'm wondering how the others are doing at college…"
"And this is Mountain Gate. It looks so small in comparison."
"Where is Red Oak?"
"We can't see it from here."
"Oh…"
As if the captain heard Serena's disappointed sigh, the ship drew a curve at that moment. Serena's eyes lit up. She craned her neck and excitedly tapped Liam's hand.
"Look! Look! Liam, there is Red Oak! You can even see the big oak. It looks so dreamy, all illuminated like that!"
Liam also stared at the light cluster on the planet's surface. He couldn't help but feel moved. It has been more than four months since he arrived in this city. He found a group of great friends and together they dominated Fate of Crunaboul. Now it was the first time for him to leave this planet. Albeit only for a short time.
As Liam felt somewhat sentimental, his eyes staring into the air, he suddenly felt a warmth enveloping his other hand. Startled, he abruptly turned his head and looked at his own hand. It wasn't his imagination. Another hand had indeed grabbed his! He looked up at Silva and the two exchanged a smile.
The chairs were arranged in rows of three, showing their backs to those behind them. Thus, no one else noticed the scene.
At the very front Cynthia's intuition rang alarm for a moment but her attention was quickly diverted by the scene outside. The view changed again. Slowly the planet was left behind and the vast space occupied everything. Dazzling stars were only little dots on the black canvas. The traffic above Falva Star was not busy. Thus, they couldn't even see other ships. Suddenly the friends were all alone in the vast space.
"What a special feeling…", sighed Mel, prompting Cynthia to nod slowly.
Suddenly another jolt ran through the ship. Strange patters began to run along the walls. One of the crew members came in again, declaring with a polite smile:
"Dear guests, we have left the planetary atmosphere. Artificial gravity has been activated. You may now roam around the ship. We will prepare launch for 12 o'clock. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. I wish you a comfortable journey on board the E.S. Silver Star."
Immediately after the woman stopped talking, Cynthia raised her hand eagerly. The crew member was taken aback. But she remained professional, nodding with a 'yes?'.
"How long will we fly exactly?"
"Well, it will take us close to twenty-two hours until we arrive at the star system's space station. There, we will have a planned stay of ten hours. After crossing the dimensional tunnel, we will travel for another twenty-eight hours until we reach planet Orus."
"Thank you!"
Everyone nodded in understanding. Only Liam was confused. He didn't feel embarrassed turning to Silva and quietly asking a question:
"Why do we need to stay at the space station for so long?"
"Because the dimensional tunnel needs to be opened. They only do so in intervals."
"Can't they just keep it open?"
"No. The energy wastage would be enormous!"
"Hmm. Thanks."
"Want to do something?"
"Sure. Movie, game, book? What would you like?"
"Let's see what games they have."
Silva and Liam untied their belts and stood up. Serena looked at them but then turned back towards the window. She was bound by the fascinating sight, feeling like she could never get enough.
The others also left their seats. They walked through the ship, pondering how to waste their time. Granted, Fate of Crunaboul would be online two hours from now. According to current knowledge, it was possible to enter the game even from the spaceship. However, there might be passages where the close proximity to certain stars could interfere with the signal.
Fortunately, the console was highly secure and so far no one took any damage from a broken signal, but a tiny risk remained. Therefore, there was a collective effort to map areas with disturbances so they could be avoided or at least known beforehand. The captain would warn the passengers should they enter a dangerous area.
For now, Liam and his friends spent their time otherwise. They checked out the gaming area, where a few consoles were provided. Some were even connected to the TV, an almost outdated sight. Even before Fate of Crunaboul VR was dominating the gaming market.
However, this didn't mean that one couldn't have fun with old consoles. The friends all played a racing game together and laughter echoed through the ship. Serena joined in and during one round made it her goal to prevent Liam from getting a place better than tenth, causing her brother to almost damage the controller. Clearly, it wasn't made for users with superhuman strength.
"Never thought such old games could be so much fun!"
"Hehe, look at Liam!"
"That was fun!"
After two hours the friends put down their controllers, still with laughter on their lips. Unfortunately, the time for fun had passed and work was calling. Out of caution everyone sat back in their seats and put on their belts. Their consoles came to life. Their vision grew dark, and they entered the familiar world of Crunaboul.