The engines of the dropship steadily whirred down before the aircraft landed on the dreadnought's Hangar bay with a loud thud. Anticipation evident on Jinn and his group of friends' faces as this vessel would be the one—to ferry them towards Juggernot XII, the home world of the Zeraf.
"We have arrived," said Amaron—turning his head towards the door.
The door of the dropships clicked multiple times before making a hiss as it slides downward to open—slowly revealing the scenery outside of the dropship.
Jinn sharpened his eyes, his resoluteness radiating—as he prepared himself for what was to come next.
Finally, with a resounding thud, the massive door of the dropship fully opened as it revealed the hangar bay area of the dreadnought.
The sounds of their footsteps lightly echoed as it hit the metal floor of the hangar bay when they exited the dropship.
Massive armies of soldiers also emerged from multiple dropships to which also just arrived—that must be the ground force to which assaulted the city of Leran, Jinn thought.
Jinn's eyes then shifted as it widened in astonishment by what he saw—his mouth slightly open as he was awed by the sheer complexity of the scenery.
Amaron, able to see Jinn's expression, chuckled. "What do you think little Jinn? First time inside a dreadnought?"
Multiple ships of varying sizes flew and docked at the hangar bay. Ranging from small space fighters to fully fledged colossal destroyers and frigates, manned with large canons and blasters.
Shifting his gaze from one corner to the other, Jinn was astonished by the interior of the hangar bay. Crimson and gold mixed together—a sign of deadly elegance.
For the very first time in his life, Jinn was inside a dreadnought.
Jinn's still intact eye widened in astonishment. "So this…is a dreadnought" he muttered.
Yet he was not the only one who was astonished by this scenery as this was also the first time his friends laid their eyes and stood upon a dreadnought. One particular individual however, could not contain his excitement.
"I-I've read it in books before, but I never thought It would be this amazing." Vox trembled in excitement as he scanned the area thoroughly.
Amaron chuckled.
"Welcome to the Crimera—the crimson lady of House Sorellia!" he said proudly with a synthetic voice while steam hissed out from his mechanical jaw.
Eyes widening in realization. "Shit!" Vox suddenly exclaimed before quickly snapping both of his hands towards his mouth to cover it.
"Mhm?" the sound of Amaron's neck joints twisted and clicked as he turned to look at Vox. "Is there a problem, child?"
Scratching his head, Vox lets out a fake laugh "Ah… haha—sorry!" before scurrying back to his friends, their eyes staring at him oddly.
After a brief moment, a soldier approached Amaron with a brief bow, "Welcome back master Amaron," his tone, formal. "I shall lead you all to the inner interior."
Amaron nodded. "Then lead the way soldier."
As they proceeded towards the inner interior, Verhedyn closed in on Vox which was visibly disturbed. Verhedyn nudged Vox with his elbow.
"Why did you scream so suddenly earlier?" Raising his eyebrow in confusion.
His question also made the other children curious.
Vox looked left and right before he leaned in for a whisper.
"Don't you guys get it!?" Vox exclaimed in a quiet way, before continuing, "We are captives of House Sorellia—that House Sorellia." frustration evident on Vox's voice.
"Care to explain?" Hector replied, a curious yet serious tone in his voice as he knew Vox wouldn't just react that way for no reason.
"Well…basing on his expression—it means we're fucked" Orin spoke as she observed Vox's troubled face.
With a serious and troublesome expression on his face, Vox further explained their situation. "I just realized that we are captives of House Sorellia—a house that uses almost all of their slaves as battle pawns!"
Putting both hands on his head in panic. "And If I'm right… their slave initiation rituals are very brutal!"
Vox's words sent a wave of anxiety on all his friends—well, except for Jinn, who couldn't hear him.
At that very moment all of them wore a serious face as they realized what was to come—except for one individual.
His body trembled at the news to which Vox delivered, "G-Guys i'm scared…" Kain stuttered as he looked towards his friends, tears in his eyes. "Y-You guys know I can't fight!" he exclaimed.
"Quiet down there!" exclaimed one of the soldiers at the front, leading the group.
After a brief moment of silence, Hector broke the stillness as he whispered. "Don't worry Kain, we'll protect you—just stick to us like glue!" his hand on Kain's shoulder.
Orinn lets out a hush as she began to notice the soldiers looking at them. "Let's discuss this at a later time—the soldiers are looking at us!"
For one last time, Vox whispered to the group. "One thing's for sure—we're not gonna mine ores on some distant planet."
As Vox's words lingered in their minds, they could not help to feel a wave of fear settle upon them, making their hearts start to beat a little faster. On this day onwards, the group of children are no longer orphans—but slaves to the empire of Zerafhon.
After a while of walking and riding elevators, the group finally arrived at what seemed to be the inner hallways of the dreadnought.
Jinn could see vast amounts of Zeraf soldiers going through each hallway in an organized manner—as well as normally clothed individuals holding an array of materials such as gadgets, papers, and the such.
"We have arrived, Master Amaron," said a soldier who was guiding the group.
Amaron, with his neck clicking—nodded in reply before gazing at Jinn. "Allright no time to waste, kid!"
He then sprinted towards one of the hallways, his heavy and metal feet landing on the floor with a resounding clunk each step he took.
"Let's get you to the operation room!" a tone of excitement evident in his voice.
Jinn, confused—asked Amaron. "Wait—what about my friends?" his body continuously shook as Amaron's arms buckled while he ran.
"Don't worry!" He replied.
"I'm sure the other soldiers will guide them to their respective cells!" steam and fumes hissed outside of his body and legs as he ran through the hallway.
Amaron—while carrying Jinn, continued to sprint until he arrived at what seemed to be a door towards the medical area of the ship.
Holding Jinn with one arm, Amaron used his other hand to place upon a panel next to the door.
The door hissed as it opened, revealing the scenery from within.
"Here we are!" Amaron spoke as both him and Jinn entered the Medical facility.
The scenery within was grim as multiple soldiers laid on beds as their bloody injuries were treated by the Ankari—their four arms swerved and moved swiftly as they efficiently bandaged soldiers.
"So those are the Ankari… Vox told me about them!" said Jinn as he observed one of the Ankari.
"Interesting individuals indeed! But that's not what we're here for!" Amaron replied before heading deeper into the medical facility until he arrived in a different room.
Jinn scanned the room with his eyes, the equipment was far more advanced than what he saw earlier with the Ankari. There were also a handful of people inside the room—yet they weren't the Ankari, but bona fide Zerafhon—their predatory eyes glistened gold in the dark.
"Prepare the operating room!" Amaron exclaimed, as he laid Jinn down on an Operating table, multiple individuals approached to observe him.
One of the medics looked at Jinn, disgust evident on his face.
"What's a filthy Rinari doing here?" he continued. "Your blue blood does not deserve to be here—you filth"
Amaron turned his gaze towards the individual who spoke.
"That's my patient fool—you have no right to tell me who I decide to work upon." fumes escaping his mechanical jaw—a sign of annoyance.
"I-I Apologize master Amaron" replied the medic as he flinched in fear.
Amaron flicked his wrist before speaking, "Prepare the materials for cyber limb assimilation surgery."
Amaron's order prompted the multiple medics in the area to scatter around and collect the necessary materials for the operation that will be done on Jinn.
"Prepare the neurolink device as well—we will need those for this operation" Amaron added before raising both of his arms to release multiple fingers to which calibrated a machine at the side of the operation table.
Another medic approached Amaron as she held up to what seemed to be a container of some sort.
"Master Amaron, our dose of VitraKlexyn has been diminished. The patient might not survive if we were to perform CLAS."
Amaron continued to calibrate the machine in front of him, and replied. "The child will survive—he won't be needing that." His tone, confident.
"Wait—what in the hell are you about to do to me?" Jinn asked, his tone concerned as he faced Amaron.
Amaron stopped calibrating for a brief moment to tap Jinn's head, patting him, "Don't worry little Jinn—soon your body will be complete again!"
"Ah, so prosthetics?" Jinn replied, raising his severed arm.
"No—this is something much more amazing—just you wait and see!" Amaron laughed loudly, his synthetic voice filling the room before continuing.
"You shall taste the glory of the machines!"