Star Hedonist-Chapter 12: Meet the Crew

"So, he and Clara took down one of those worms alone?"

Nyx asks as she steps out of the elevator with Matteo, her expression impressed and curious.

"Yeah, Jex said it's all recorded in the Safira's logs." Matteo comments, equally impressed.

"I want to see that."

The duo walks down the main corridor until they pass by a large white door, which opens just as they reach it.

Nyx instinctively glances to the side and sees a young man in a white coat stepping out.

He's just one of the infirmary nurses aboard the Safira, but right behind him, Nyx spots Javier sitting on the main medical bed while the doctor examines him.

She immediately changes course, pushing past the nurse, who quickly steps out of her way, causing a small commotion.

"Nyx?"

The doctor looks at her with a curious expression, which quickly shifts to fear when he sees her calmly unsheathing her black steel katana from her back.

"Nyx???" Matteo realizes what's happening and follows her into the infirmary.

But she doesn't stop.

Resolute, Nyx presses the sharp edge of her katana against Javier's neck while pushing him against the medical bed.

"Bastard. Didn't I tell you what would happen if you laid a hand on Clara?"

Her voice sounds like a calm thunder, a tone even more threatening and dangerous.

Javier is still dizzy and disoriented, unable to do anything but groan in pain and grit his teeth at her.

The doctor, on the other hand, starts stammering. "Doctor Nyx... what are you... planning to do..."

Nyx shoots him a hostile glare.

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"Maxwell, you'd better leave before I cut off the useless thing between your legs too."

"Ehh—" The doctor doesn't think twice and bolts out of the room, screaming for the captain.

"And now, where were we?" Nyx looks back at Javier with pure contempt and fury.

"..." He's too afraid to say anything, with her blade pressed against his throat.

"Nyx..."

Matteo steps beside her, speaking in his usual calm and friendly tone.

"This situation is already a mess. Maybe this isn't the best time for this."

Nyx narrows her eyes. "I can't let this trash hurt my friends again."

"I understand—"

"NYX!!!"

Diego's voice booms down the corridor, followed by the sound of heavy boots, his steel soles striking the floor.

He bursts into the infirmary, rushing in.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!!!"

"This is your fault, Diego," Nyx says calmly, still holding the blade to Javier's neck.

"He has nothing to do with my decision to leave you behind!" Diego snaps back quickly.

"You know the rule. I made a hard choice for the safety of the entire crew!"

She shakes her head. "This has nothing to do with me."

"Oh?" Diego looks confused, then something suddenly clicks in his mind. "This is about Clara, isn't it?"

"..." Nyx says nothing, just keeps staring at Javier.

"Calm down! Calm down!!" Diego urges, agitated.

"He's already been punished for that, but I understand—he messed up, and it won't happen again, I promise."

"How can you promise that?" Nyx scoffs. "You let this sack of shit do whatever he wants."

"Dammit, Nyx! You can't attack your own crew, even after coming out of a tough situation!"

"Tough situation?" Nyx raises an eyebrow, her tone sharp and questioning.

"Speaking of that, how did the Crimson Nebula know I was infiltrating the Thek'Shar?"

"And how did they ambush Clara when you were supposedly handling the situation?"

Before Diego can answer, Nyx's expression turns even colder.

"There's a traitor among us. That much is obvious." She finishes her thought and turns her attention back to Javier.

"And I can think of someone just as obvious."

"No!" Diego shouts immediately.

"How could he have betrayed us when he was with me and the others, fighting off the Crimson Nebula pirates?"

"I agree something is wrong, but there's no way it's Javier."

Diego thinks quickly and speaks again.

"I believe it was someone who stayed on the Safira while we were out..."

"Jex?" Nyx shakes her head. "That girl is more loyal to this crew than anyone here."

"Not Jex," Diego mutters, stepping forward and closing the infirmary door behind him.

"But one of the assistants, naturally. Either way, we need to handle this carefully until we know exactly what happened."

"Of course," Nyx says, her expression still hostile.

As the tension in the room thickens, the infirmary door suddenly opens from the outside, revealing Clara with a concerned expression—and the mysterious man behind her, calm and composed as always.

"What's—" Clara starts, only to pause in surprise at the scene before her.

She almost laughs at Javier's pathetic state, with Nyx's blade still at his throat.

"Nyx? What are you doing?"

"Hunting down our rat," she replies, her tone cold.

"Oh, that one..." Clara steps beside Nyx, her expression turning to one of pure disdain as she glares down at Javier.

"I doubt this idiot would have the guts to betray us."

"Not to mention, he's way too dumb for such a complex plan."

"Hmm." Nyx keeps staring at Javier, who clenches his teeth in silence.

"What the fuck??" Diego exclaims, annoyed. "If you don't stop threatening him, I'll take drastic measures!"

"Like what?" Nyx asks coldly.

"Yeah," Clara adds with mocking amusement. "You don't have any balls."

A dark glint flashes in Diego's eyes, and his hand instinctively moves toward his holster.

But before he can even touch his revolver, he sees a tall, pale figure step beside him—silent and cold as a starless night.

The mysterious white-haired man.

He gives Diego a calm yet hostile stare, sending an icy chill down the captain's spine.

"This guy!" Diego points at the mysterious man. "Why is no one assuming he's the one who brought us trouble? Everything started going wrong when he showed up!"

"Him?" Clara rolls her eyes at Diego before glancing affectionately at the mysterious man.

"How could he have anything to do with the information leak when he was locked up in a prison inside the pyramid?"

"Also, don't blame him." Nyx adds. "Everything went wrong when someone sold us out—he saved us."

Diego runs out of arguments. "Alright, I won't blame him. But this isn't my fault or Javier's either!"

"If someone betrayed us, it could've been the Umbrakarians!"

"The Umbrakarians?" Clara shakes her head.

"Why would they offer us so many credits to recover the relic and then sell us out to the Crimson Nebula?"

"That makes no sense." Matteo nods in agreement.

Diego shrugs. "I don't know! Maybe they didn't think we'd actually pull it off... whatever, we won't get to the bottom of this if you keep pointing weapons at my brother."

As the captain grows more agitated, Clara notices the white-haired man stepping closer to him.

Wanting to prevent a massacre, she gently places her hand on Nyx's arm.

"Alright, we'll get to the bottom of this anyway and punish the rat severely."

"Hmm..."

Nyx's eyes still burn with the fire of vengeance, but she finally releases Javier, who gasps in relief.

"Good." Diego also exhales. "Now, can we focus on what's most important?"

The group stares at him with questioning expressions, prompting him to elaborate.

"The relic, of course."

"We got it, it was tough, but we secured the relic, and I got us out of that worm-infested hellhole at the last minute."

Clara and Nyx roll their eyes in perfect sync.

"Great piloting, captain."

"Yeah, you almost killed us for real..."

"Ahem!" Diego tries to maintain a positive expression.

"Everyone's going to be much happier once we get our hands on that fortune. Now, I need everyone in the conference room to discuss our next steps."

"Uh?" Clara gives him a questioning look.

Nyx, on the other hand, slumps her shoulders, exhausted. "I was hoping to take a bath..."

"No time for that, we need to deal with something urgent first."

Diego insists as he steps closer to Javier, positioning himself between him and the girls.

"You can go ahead and call the others. I'll help Javier get up."

"Alright, captain." Matteo says in a neutral tone, signaling for the girls and the mysterious man to leave the infirmary.

"The sooner we deal with this, the sooner you all can rest."

"Hmm..." Clara still has a suspicious look on her face but leaves the infirmary with the others.

They walk through the Safira's main corridor, reaching the large conference hall in just a few seconds—the same room with the wrecked bar.

"My bar..." Matteo sighs at the sight of so many shattered bottles.

"At least your secret stash is intact." Clara comments.

Then she glances at the mysterious man with a mischievous smile, her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Oh, that thing?" Matteo smirks as he searches for an intact bottle.

Clara quickly diverts her gaze from the white-haired man before her thoughts turn inappropriate.

Then she looks out through the large window of the room and sees the vast space outside the ship—the cold, dark void beyond Zhaaros.

The Dravaal Expanse system.

"We already left Zhaaros' orbit?" Clara thinks out loud as she steps closer to the window.

"Yeah."

Jex appears from the corridor, smiling at the group.

"Good thing the captain gave me back control before he completely wrecked what was left of the Safira."

"Great job, Jex!" Clara gives the girl a thumbs-up, making her smile proudly.

Meanwhile, the white-haired man stands beside Clara, staring out at the endless black void speckled with floating rocks and thousands of glowing stars.

Clara notices his contemplative look and gently taps his shoulder.

"Feels good to be out, doesn't it?" She whispers, winking at him.

"..."

He blinks back at her, making her smile shine even brighter.

More crew members enter the hall and head toward another corridor—a medic who had treated Javier, a young man with green-dyed hair and a punk aesthetic, and a woman.

The woman appears to be in her thirties, with long black hair and the air of a seasoned medieval warrior. She nods at Clara's group.

"The captain wants everyone in the conference room." Her tone is neutral, slightly annoyed.

"We're on our way, Jimena." Clara nods, responding in the same neutral tone.

As the woman and her colleagues continue down the corridor, Clara glances at Nyx, Jex, and Matteo.

"Diego's terrible leadership is dividing the crew."

"We need to stick together."

"We still have general support, but we have to be reasonable."

"'Reasonable' is a punch in the face for those idiots!" Clara clenches her fist, grinning confidently.

Jex grabs Clara's fist and lowers her hand. "Let's take it easy, okay?"

"We need to see what he wants now." Matteo remarks, heading toward the others.

The girls and the white-haired man follow, but Clara's expression remains skeptical.

"I have a feeling I know what Diego wants... and it's not going to end nicely."

She glances at the mysterious man beside her, and he smiles while reaching out to gently caress her face.

She still remembers his voice, even though he hasn't spoken a word since.