Chapter 116: Bewildering Fear
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Boom— Another loud explosion came through the comms.
The comm audio was affected, breaking into static noise. Seconds later, a shockwave traveled across space and reached the S297. The entire starship shook violently again, metal frameworks clanging loudly. Lin Xu and Heinrich rolled a few times as the ship tilted and swayed, slamming into the walls.
“S297, shut down the warp drive. Stabilize the ship’s force fields!”
“Yes.”
Decelerating from extreme speeds back to normal after leaving warp put immense pressure on the crew’s hearts.
Once the ship stabilized, Heinrich helped Lin Xu sit up. Lin Xu leaned against Heinrich’s shoulder, gasping heavily. His experience with interstellar travel was limited, and his body needed time to adjust to the speed changes. As things settled, the comms were restored.
Guy’s voice came through. “Sorry, we were using high-energy weapons, which interfered with the comms. We’ll need another hour and a half, plus one more hour to clear the battlefield and clean up… Marshal Chu, am I interrupting you?”
Guy caught the sound of another person breathing heavily over the line and instantly switched the audio from speaker to headphones to save Heinrich from social embarrassment.
Heinrich’s brainwaves clearly didn’t sync with Guy’s. “No, I’m not on a mission.”
Guy paused. “Oh… okay then.” He gave up. “Marshal Chu, I’ll contact you after the battle.”
The comms ended. Heinrich carried Lin Xu back to his room. But this time, the sudden braking was too intense—Lin Xu’s body reacted strongly to the stress. As soon as they entered, he rushed to the bathroom and bent over the sink, dry heaving.
Heinrich patted Lin Xu’s back and told the AI to bring the prepared motion sickness medicine. He fed the pills to Lin Xu.
After taking the medicine, Lin Xu still felt unwell. He returned to bed and rested his head on a pillow. Blackie and Snowy, who had been play-fighting on the bed, obediently gave him space.
Even they felt uneasy after the high-speed flight, lazily pawing at Lin Xu’s hand and flicking their ears.
Heinrich sat in a chair by the bed, and Lin Xu asked him to open the panoramic window view. Outside, space stretched infinitely.
Interstellar routes were usually laid through star regions sparse with massive celestial bodies to avoid destructive gravitational forces. Around IN16 was endless darkness, yet it looked like the starry sky you’d see looking up from a planet’s surface—distant stars glittered like scattered diamonds on the horizon.
Nearby, Guy’s team fought several advanced Zerg. Energy weapons, particle beams, and electromagnetic guns exploded brightly in the dark. Countless mechas darted through the blasts, cutting off the Zerg’s retreat. Pieces of mechas and giant Zerg limbs floated in the vacuum. This kind of battle-watching was rare for Heinrich.
An hour later, the light show ceased, and only stiff Zerg corpses remained in space as the battlefield cleanup began. Half an hour later, Guy sent a comm.
“Marshal Chu, the battle is over. The cleanup will finish in thirty minutes. You can prepare to depart.”
“Received.”
“Marshal Chu, please wait.” Heinrich was about to close the comm when Guy called out again.
“Chief Guy has a question?”
“Yes, a few. Marshal Chu, which point along the IN16 route will S297 dock at?”
“Junction 78.”
“Marshal Chu, would it be possible to take me with you? I’ll disembark at Junction 75. My starship’s engine has some issues and needs downtime to recover, but I’m pressed for time.”
Heinrich glanced at Lin Xu, who whispered, “Don’t mind me.”
“Alright. But S297 is a fast cruiser and can’t carry many passengers.”
“It’s just me and the child, plus my two deputies. Thank you, Marshal Chu.” Guy said. “We’ll bring our own supplies. Is there space on the ship to store a mecha?”
“One slot left.”
“Good. I’ll pilot the mecha myself, and my deputies will take the shuttle.”
After the comm ended, Lin Xu hugged Blackie tightly, muttering, “He actually brought his child on a mission.”
“Guy’s child must be only a few months old.”
Heinrich was battle-hardened but had no experience with situations like this. Combat fleets almost never included children—if soldiers needed childcare, they took leave. Heinrich’s childhood had been an exception.
“Hmm…”
Heinrich noticed Lin Xu zoning out and asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“A few-month-old child,” Lin Xu exhaled. “I’m worried it might cry.”
At that moment, Snowy softly meowed by Lin Xu’s hand, stretching out a paw to nudge him, wanting to be petted. The rabbit-cat’s voice was quieter than human conversation and not disruptive.
Heinrich recalled a blurry scene from Lin Xu’s memories—Commander Lin had visited the base and stopped by the nursery. A photographer captured a photo of Lin Xu holding a baby.
In the photo, Lin Xu smiled gently at the infant. But watching from a distance, Heinrich sensed a bewildering fear rising inside Lin Xu as he faced the baby’s loud crying.
“The starship’s soundproofing is very good. No need to worry,” Heinrich said, picking up Snowy from Lin Xu’s hand and stroking his fur on his lap.
– –
Forty-five minutes later, Guy’s mecha, Uriel, cut across the void of space. It was a power-type mecha, massive and rugged in build.
AI297 guided them inside the ship. After parking the mecha and the shuttle, Marshal Chu waited on the bridge for their meeting. When Guy stepped onto the starship’s bridge, one of the two silhouettes seated at the command console surprised him for a moment.
But the next instant, Heinrich stood and looked his way. Guy and his two deputies quickly approached, and both sides exchanged salutes and greetings. Guy introduced the two officers behind him — one beta, one alpha.
“These are my deputies, Colonel Yan Shuang and Lieutenant Colonel Kaelus.”
Heinrich nodded slightly and raised a hand to introduce the man sitting nearby. “This is—”
“Mr. Lin Xu,” Guy interrupted with a smile, “I know Mr. Lin Xu.”
He caught Heinrich’s sharp brow furrow for a moment and added, “Back when we were in the border region.”
“Mm,” Lin Xu answered lightly, stopping Guy’s step forward. Forget it, Guy thought, recalling how anyone who came within a meter of Lin Xu back then would get coldly told off to back off. His temper still looked as rough as ever.
Heinrich stood to Lin Xu’s left-front, stepping slightly forward to shield him and continued, “Chief Guy, I’ll take you to the quarters.”
The next half day passed without incident, though the S297 soon navigated a sector shaken by recent Zerg battles. The force fields warped and trembled repeatedly.
Lin Xu had been reading in the lounge but got dizzy and nauseous from the erratic jolts and stop-and-go accelerations. He bent over the sink and dry-heaved again. Last time, his ongoing queasiness had been caused by carrying a dead fetus. Now, thinking back, he suspected seasickness had also played a part. Suddenly, a deep tan hand handed him a tissue. Lin Xu closed his eyes and took it, wiping the water off his face.
“Guy.”
“Hey, it’s me. Didn’t even have to look, huh?”
No need. Only a few people were aboard the starship, and the only ones close enough to hand him a tissue were two. Heinrich’s skin tone wasn’t this dark, but Guy had spent years under the blazing suns of dry border planets, radiating the fierce heat of a summer day.
Lin Xu glanced up and saw Guy cradling an infant in his arms. The baby was nestled deep in a swaddle, sleeping soundly. So small. Guy was so strong he could hold him easily with one arm.
Lin Xu unconsciously lowered his voice. “Is this your child?”
“Yeah.” Guy gently rocked the swaddle like a cradle. “His name’s Adrian. He’s a boy. The doctors say he might develop as an alpha or a beta when he grows up. Want to hold him?”
“No, no.” Lin Xu immediately refused, even stepping back. “Don’t want to wake him.”
Guy just laughed at him, then went around Lin Xu to sit on the lounge sofa. Lin Xu stood across the room, looking ready to bolt at any moment. After a moment of silence, Lin Xu asked, “Why did you tell Heinrich?”
“You mean about us knowing each other?” Guy raised an eyebrow. “I figured you’d tell him anyway — probably tear me apart completely. So why bother hiding it?”
Seeing Lin Xu’s skeptical, suspicious expression, Guy explained, “Before leaving Capital Star, I saw your wedding announcement with Heinrich.”
The Lin Xu Guy knew was cold, harsh, isolated, ruthless, and deeply mistrustful. If Guy weren’t laid-back and hadn’t owed his life to Lin Xu, their fragile friendship would have collapsed long ago. Someone accepted by Lin Xu as a mate for marriage must have earned a rare measure of his trust. Guy felt his past couldn’t stay secret from Heinrich.
“Have you been doing alright these last few years?” Guy asked. “Before, you were like a walking corpse. No, scratch that — more like a skeleton with no flesh. Now you look better, less scary, even good-looking. As for Heinrich… well, if you like him, that’s what matters.”
Lin Xu decided to sit and talk. He still had many questions that needed answers.
“What exactly are you? Star Pirate or soldier?”
“Which do I look like?” Guy shrugged.
Lin Xu squinted, recalling some of the things Guy had talked about back in the border region. Back then, Lin Xu had little interest in human chatter, but Guy was talkative and didn’t mind if Lin Xu listened or not.
On cold border nights under the cloudless sky of a dry planet, the stars shone brightly. Guy leaned against the strange beast they’d just killed, smoking liquid tobacco from Slime Star, smelling of the sea, while he talked.
“I miss my wife so much… Lin Xu, let me tell you, my wife’s beautiful. Slim waist, long legs, skin so white and smooth. He looks amazing in moon-white — like a god.”
Lin Xu glanced at Guy’s ragged gray clothes, sunburned skin, and stubble, giving a perfunctory hum. Guy suddenly brightened, waving his arms as he boasted, “And he’s so gentle, speaks softly, always smiles at me.”
It was the only time Lin Xu wondered if his bad temper had driven Guy insane. Wasn’t a smile just normal human social behavior? How has it become something to brag about?
“He also scolds me, but even that sounds nice.”
He was truly crazy, Lin Xu thought.
Author’s note:
Professor Lin, it turns out the last time his nausea wasn’t just seasickness—this time, it really was pregnancy-related.
