Fatty wasn’t sure if his fervent prayers had worked, but the spaceship quickly passed through the Jump Point. As the engines restarted, Fatty glanced around and noticed that although the crew members in the bar acted nonchalant, they all sighed with relief. It seemed no one had much faith in this ship. The only one who seemed calm was Old Ghost Ivan in front of him.
Fatty asked curiously, "Logically, smuggling makes a lot of money for you guys, so why not switch to a better ship?" Ivan lifted his eyelids and gave Fatty a glance, saying, "Don’t underestimate this ship. We’ve been running safely for so many years thanks to it!" Fatty looked around, seeing nothing special about the ship, and asked in confusion, "What’s so special about this ship?" Ivan chuckled, "You think it’s a luxury liner? For our line of work, we can only travel through Public Star Systems and are bound to encounter pirates. If we had a new ship, we’d probably lose our lives. Although this ship looks old, its structure has been fortified, and we overhaul it every year." He leaned in mysteriously and lowered his voice, "Our ship’s radar and engines are the best. We spent a lot of money on them! In this line of work, everyone knows that this [Apollo] is famously fast." He sighed, "If it weren’t for the lack of mechanics these days to run smuggling operations, and my old age, this ship could be even faster."
Fatty smiled, "I didn’t realize there was so much to it. I wondered why you didn’t replace it with a new one." Old Ivan sighed, "This [Apollo] has been on this route for many years. When the old captain was around, he had everything well-settled. Smugglers and pirates alike would give him some respect. But now..." He took a sip of his drink, chuckling without further words. Fatty quickly refilled his glass and, feeling curious, asked, "What’s it like now?" Old Ivan squinted his eyes and said flatly, "Now, it’s one run at a time. No one knows what will happen. The crew’s spirit is scattered."
While they were chatting, suddenly, the alarm lights in the cabin flashed intensely, accompanied by a piercing screech. The crew froze, and then came the voice of Captain Audrey over the intercom: "Three unidentified vessels detected sixteen thousand kilometers away, closing in on us at high speed. All crew to their stations!" As soon as the announcement ended, Fatty could clearly feel the [Apollo] accelerating wildly. Old Ghost Ivan threw down his bottle, cursing as he got up and ran out. Seeing Fatty still in a daze, he shouted at the door, "Hey, Fatty, if you want to live, come and help!" Fatty snapped out of it and quickly followed the old man, sprinting towards the Power Cabin. Whether faced with authorities or pirates, it was never a good idea to leave one’s fate in someone else’s hands. What’s needed now is solidarity. When lives are threatened, Fatty becomes quite aware of the situation! ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
The ship was already in chaos. Crew members poured out of the dining hall, bar, and dormitories, rushing to their posts. Fatty followed the old man through the crowd. Maybe because the Power Cabin was a critical area, no one complained about Old Ghost Ivan pushing and kicking his way through; instead, they helped clear the path. After descending the second level, turning past the luggage compartment, and squeezing through a few narrow corridors, they arrived at the [Apollo]’s Power Cabin. As he entered, Fatty gasped; he initially thought the old man was just bragging. But seeing it now, this was no civilian transport ship’s power equipment—it was a complete transplanted set from a Leray Federation [Admiral Kalof]-class light destroyer. Fatty exclaimed, "Where did you guys get this setup?" Old Ghost Ivan paused, staring at Fatty suspiciously, "You recognize this power system?" Fatty nodded earnestly, "Hehe, I might not know much else, but I recognize this equipment. A friend once took me to visit a [Admiral Kalof]-class light destroyer!" He glanced at the old man and said, "Weren’t these destroyers decommissioned? The power systems were supposed to be scrapped. How did you get your hands on this?" Seeing that Fatty seemed sincere, Old Ghost Ivan turned away, only saying, "Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t," and ignored him after that.
Just then, the communications screen in the Power Cabin flickered to life, showing Audrey’s image. She cast a surprised look at Fatty standing behind Ivan, then turned to nod at Old Ghost Ivan, "Uncle Ivan, is the power system running at full capacity? We can’t shake them off!" Though her expression seemed calm, her voice betrayed urgency. Ivan sat at the control panel, flipping several red switches and replied over the intercom, "I was only using eighty percent power just now. Let’s try full power." Audrey’s image disappeared from the screen. After a while, her voice came back through the intercom, barely hiding her excitement, "They’re falling behind!" Old Ghost Ivan chuckled and said to the mechanics in the Power Cabin, "Don’t just stand there, check the power system for any potential problems. We can’t afford any mistakes now."
Upon hearing the order, the mechanics buzzed into action like a disturbed beehive. Amidst the rush, some guarded the control terminals, meticulously checking all power system data, while others entered the Power Cabin to perform detailed maintenance checks on various equipment according to regulations.