The color nearly drained from Fat Con’s face as he watched Captain Ennessa appear before them in an instant, her murderous gaze fixed upon Arlo.
Arlo met her stare without the slightest hint of hesitation.
His expression remained calm, but as Ennessa looked into those crimson eyes, she saw something she hadn’t expected:
Pride.
Not the loud, arrogant kind, but the quiet confidence of a king looking at a commoner.
The unsettling part was that it didn’t seem forced at all, coming as naturally as breathing.
Only one thought crossed Ennessa’s mind.
Either this brat had lost his memory, or...no, he really must have lost his memory.
"First of all, kid," Captain Ennessa began, "everything aboard this ship belongs to me. My ship. My crew. My rules."
"If that timer says you’re an hour early, but I say you’re two hours late. My word is the only one that matters."
For a brief moment, silence filled the hall, then a quiet scoff followed by the words:
"And they entrusted someone like you with the command of an entire crew?"
Arlo asked, continuing,
"Where your unreasonable judgment outweighs an objective measure of time."
The grin disappeared from her face.
"Are you telling me that I am unfit to command this crew?"
"I am telling you that I’m not late."
He replied calmly.
Ennessa frowned, fury burning in her eyes as she fixed them on Arlo. The atmosphere inside the hall seemed to freeze.
"I should..."
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
A loud chime suddenly rang from the strange device on her wrist, causing her to stop mid-sentence.
She glanced down at the flashing object, her brow furrowing before she tapped its side, silencing the alarm.
"You’re an arrogant one, that’s for sure. What I’d love to see is how that arrogance helps you when you stand before them."
Captain Ennessa said coldly before turning back and walking towards the dais.
Arlo quietly took his gaze off of her, glancing toward Fat Con, who was still kneeling in stunned silence.
"You can get up now."
Fat Con slowly rose to his feet, his expression still frozen with disbelief.
Captain Ennessa possessed enough authority to cripple anyone aboard the ship without consequence, and she also possessed the strength to do so effortlessly.
The gap between them was so vast that no ordinary soldier would ever dream of opposing her.
Everyone aboard survived by following two simple rules: avoid the Captain whenever possible, and if she ever speaks to you, answer with nothing more than
"Yes, Captain," or "No, Captain."
Arlo had shattered both rules within minutes of arriving, and somehow...
"Ahem... Ahem..."
Ennessa cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to the front of the hall.
The annoyed expression she had worn moments ago vanished, replaced by the composed demeanor of a commanding officer.
"Listen Up. I will now brief you on the objective of our operation."
The hall fell completely silent.
"Our unit has been assigned a Cleansing Operation, and our destination is a Vorath settlement recently discovered beneath Sector X."
"Current estimates place their population at..."
Her gaze swept across the room.
"...roughly three hundred Vorath."
"WHAT!?"