Chapter 403: Space

Later that night,

The house was blanketed in the quiet stillness of the late night. Jacob and Harleen were fast asleep, completely exhausted from the long day. But in Jayden’s room, the lights were still on.

Jessica and Tasha sat on the edge of his mattress, their faces pale as Jayden finished laying out his plans to leave the planet.

"Off-world?!"Jessica exclaimed softly, her eyes wide with shock. "Jayden, you’ve never even left the continent, let alone the planet. Planet Zeta is lightyears away."

"I know," Jayden said, leaning against his desk, his arms crossed. "But it’s the best move I can think of right now. The heat here on Alpha has gotten more intense than I thought. Everyone is looking for the Hunter. If I stay here and keep operating, it’s only a matter of time before I’m discovered."

"Okay," Tasha bit her lower lip, hugging her knees to her chest. "But what if another Pioneer shows up?"

"They won’t," Jayden assured them gently, walking over and kneeling in front of the bed. "Black Cobra is on edge right now. The Pioneers won’t make a bold move against me like they did before. So now, they’ll focus on trying to find out who it is under the mask. And with me gone, they won’t get any leads. The city will go quiet, and the heat will die down."

"Okay. But what about the time zones?" Jessica said, her voice dropping to a cautious whisper. "Is a day here the same as a day over there?"

"It’s not," Jayden replied. "One day on Zeta is roughly three days on Earth. But don’t worry, I plan to leave and return the same day as the event. Three days isn’t that long. As far as anyone here is concerned, I’ll barely be gone."

"Okay, but what about your alibi?"Tasha asked. "What if the EVA shows up here while you’re off-world and realizes you aren’t home? If the Hunter goes AWOL at the exact same time Jayden Starrk vanishes from the continent, they’re going to name you as a suspect."

Jayden offered a reassuring smile, sitting down on the of the bed. "Don’t worry about that. I already spoke with Penelope, and she’s got it sorted out. If the agency ever investigates my whereabouts during my absence, the reports will show that Penelope and I took an off-world trip to Beta together. And even when I return, I won’t continue hunting down the Pioneers immediately. I’ll lay low for a while."

The girls exchanged skeptical, uneasy glances, but eventually nodded. "Alright," Tasha whispered. "If you say so."

"Yeah. But we also need to talk about the Winter Wolf," Jessica added, her brow furrowing as she glanced up toward the ceiling. "What if she wakes up while you’re in space? What if she goes berserk and start rampaging through the house?"

"Let’s pray that doesn’t happen while I’m gone," Jayden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

The girls nodded.

A heavy, emotional silence settled over the room.

Tasha reached out and pulled Jayden into a tight hug. Jessica immediately joined in, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Promise you’ll come back in one piece," Tasha mumbled against his jacket.

"I promise," Jayden murmured, hugging them back. "I’ll be back before you know it."

After a few more hugs and kisses, the girls finally left Jayden’s room.

Jayden laid on his bed, thinking about the journey he was about to embark on. A while later, he picked up his holotab and typed a short message to Big T:

[I’m in. When do we leave?]

......

Two days later,

Jayden arrived at a massive industrial warehouse tucked away on the desolate outskirts of the city. It was the place Big T described as the departure point.

Jayden stepped out from behind the building, but as he approached the loading bay doors, his eyes landed on the striking aircraft parked on the cracked tarmac just beyond the entrance.

It was a sleek, obsidian vehicle, easily twice the size of an helicopter but shaped like an aerodynamic arrowhead. And despite its compact, low-profile frame, it possessed an undeniable aura of terrifying velocity

This was a spaceship.

Jayden’s eyes widened in awe. He had never seen a spacecraft up close before. He’d only seen them online and in movies.

Just then, the metal doors of the warehouse slid open, and Big T stepped out into the morning air, chewing lazily on a fresh cigar. He spotted Jayden staring at the ship, and a wide, amused smirk spread across his scarred face.

"What do you think?" Big T chuckled as he walked forward. "Not bad for a gang leader’s ride, eh?"

Jayden turned to look at the man, his lips curling upward. "Do you expect me to know how to fly this thing?"

Big T burst out laughing. "Hahaha! No way in hell, Youngblood! Even if you did know how to fly it, I wouldn’t trust a teenager with a multi-million credit space vessel."

Jayden chuckled. "Fair point."

Big T took a drag of his cigar, his demeanor turning slightly more transactional. "So here’s the plan: once you get to Zeta, you head straight to where the auction is happening. And once you win the artifact, you head straight back to the ship and come straight home. No sightseeing, no detours, no dilly-dallying. Got it?"

Jayden gave a single nod. Then he raised a brow. "Wait. You’re not coming with me?"

"Unfortunately, no. I’ve got business to handle here on Alpha," Big T explained. Then, a sly grin crossed his face. "But don’t worry, I’ve arranged for an escort."

Just then, a huge man with a buzz cut stepped out of the warehouse, walking up to them. He was easily seven feet tall and had a tattoo running down his large biceps.

"Youngblood, meet Kyle," Big T said, gesturing to the man. "He’s going to accompany you to the grand exchange, make sure you get registered for the battle-bids, and help you navigate the streets of Zeta."

Jayden scoffed, a dry, humorless smile touching his lips. "Right. And let me guess... that’s not all he’s going to be doing, is it?"

Big T laughed heartily. "I love how sharp you are, Youngblood," he chuckled. "See, Kyle is also there to make sure you don’t try anything funny, like running off with the merc."

"Why would I do that?" Jayden said, before pointing a thumb at the ship. "That’s my only way off the planet, and I really need the info on the rest of the Pioneers."

"Well, we can’t be too careful in our line of work," Big T said, before turning to give Kyle a series of instructions regarding protocols.

Jayden watched them for a second before cutting in with one final question. "Hey. What happens if I don’t win a bid?"

Big T stopped talking, turning his gaze back to Jayden. "Then our deal is off, kid. Because you’ll be dead," he chuckled. "When anyone steps into the ring at the Grand Exchange, there are only two outcomes: you win the prize, or you die."

Jayden snickered, a dark, dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. "Good to know."

Just then, the hydraulic hiss of the ship’s rear hatch broke the tension.

A woman with dark skin, a cloud of voluminous Afro hair, and a silver septum ring stepped out onto the ramp. She was holding a holopad, scrolling through the screen with an indifferent expression.

"The ship’s diagnostics are cleared. She’s good to go," she announced flatly, not even looking up at them

Big T smiled. "Ah, perfect."

Then he turned to Jayden.

"Kid, meet my little sister. Theresa. She’s going to be your pilot."

Theresa finally glanced up, her dark eyes sweeping over Jayden with total apathy.

"Hey," she said simply.

"Hi, I’m Jayden," He replied.

Theresa offered a single nod, turned on her heel, and walked back inside the ship without uttering another word.

"She’s not much of a talker," Big T chuckled, clapping a massive hand onto Jayden’s shoulder with enough force to rattle his teeth. "Anyway, don’t die out there, kid. I’ll be waiting right here with the data drive when you get back. See you soon, Youngblood."

"Yeah. See you soon," Jayden muttered.

He and Kyle walked up the ramp and entered the cabin. Theresa was already strapped into the pilot’s seat at the front. Behind her were two comfortable passenger seats, followed by a final jump seat near the rear hatch.

Kyle took one of the middle seats and motioned for Jayden to take the other. Jayden sat down and pulled the magnetic harness across his chest, locking it into place.

Up front, Theresa flipped a sequence of overhead toggle switches. The cabin hummed to life, bathing the interior in a cool, blue instrumental glow.

"Y’all strapped in?" Theresa called back without turning her head.

"Yeah," Kyle replied.

"Cool. Hold on," Theresa said flatly.

Then, she shoved the primary throttle forward.

Whrum!

The ship lifted off the tarmac, levitating for a fraction of a second on the anti-grav thrusters before rocketing straight up into the morning sky at a blinding acceleration.

Jayden gasped as the sheer G-force slammed him back into his seat, his organs pressing heavily against his spine. Outside the reinforced cockpit glass, the clouds smeared into a white-hot blur.

Boom.

The sonic shockwave rattled the hull as Theresa punched through the upper troposphere. A minute later, the atmospheric resistance vanished, and the screaming roar of wind was replaced by absolute, haunting silence.

Jayden’s eyes widened slightly.

Before them, framed perfectly by the panoramic cockpit glass, was space.

It was infinitely vast, a sprawling velvet canvas dusted with billions of diamond-like stars that burned with steady, unyielding intensity. To their left, the curved, vibrant blue-and-green horizon of Earth hung suspended in the dark abyss, cradled by a thin, fragile halo of atmospheric light. Ahead, the sun blazed like a solitary molten core.

Jayden sat completely paralyzed, a profound sense of awe washing over him. The weight of his entire life suddenly felt microscopic against the sheer scale of the cosmos.

"So..." Jayden breathed out, his voice barely a whisper. "This is space."

"Save the sightseeing for the return trip," Theresa’s dry voice cut through his reverie. She flicked a cluster of heavy switches on her console, her fingers dancing across the digital interface. "Brace yourselves. We’re going into warp."

Her hand hovered over a prominent red button on the console.

"Initiating Warp Speed. Level 7."

Then, she pushed the button.

TWOOOOM! BOOM!!

The universe outside the glass violently folded inward. The distant stars instantly stretched into luminous streaks of neon blue and violet, and the ship vanished from the spot, shooting faster than light across the interstellar void and leaving Earth far, far behind.