The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Planet Xerciam Prime)

(Rexanera Sea)

"All passengers with special class tickets please board first," Captain Ahab roared and gestured at a section of the crowd below.

A small number of passengers wearing expensive clothing and fine jewellery arrogantly formed a line.

Agents accompanied them as they moved towards the new ship that was patiently waiting on the side.

In front of them was a rapidly constructed metalloid bridge connecting the S.S Annamarie to the new ship that had arrived to pick up the passengers.

This was the solution that the Libera Group had decided on as the engine room on the S.S Annamarie had been completely destroyed during the attack.

Sophie held Lily tightly as she scanned the new ship with a thoughtful expression.

This ship had no name painted on its side and was coated in a dark black liquid that seemed to absorb the sunlight.

It was much smaller than the S.S Annamarie but given that only fifty passengers had survived the night attack, there was more than enough space.

The unnamed ship had a sleek design with a heavy plasma cannon mounted at the front of the vessel.

Numerous shield generating devices lined the hull and the crackling sound of plasma could be heard as a barrier was constructed around the engine room of the ship.

It seemed more like a vessel of war than a simple transport ship.

"One… two… three…." Captain Ahab checked the file on his communicator and ticked off a name whenever a passenger arrived on the new ship.

Nothing else could go wrong so a register was created with the names of the surviving passengers to make sure that none were left behind.

A blue-skinned alien with a slender physique and two mesmerizing purple eyes swayed lightly as she jumped down from the bridge.

"Lead me to my room," she raised her head pridefully and stared at a nearby crewman.

"Right this way," the crewman curtly replied and then led the rich alien woman to her new quarters.

The crew onboard the unnamed ship was all from a race that Sophie had never seen before and could not help but stare at their bodies that were quite unique.

They all wore dark red uniforms with a single silver stripe running along the side of the neck region.

Their bodies were made from a gaseous substance, so they did not walk but rather hovered lightly in the air.

The gas inside the uniforms formed vaguely humanoid figures that could gesture and mimic a normal appearance, but something just seemed slightly…. off.

Captain Ahab scanned the bridge before giving out another announcement, "All passengers with first class tickets please join the line now."

"That's us?" Lily whispered softly.

"Yep, we are going to a new ship," Sophie smiled gently and stroked Lily's hair.

"But make sure not to say anything until I give you the okay signal," she quietly warned.

A new environment meant that Sophie would once again have to scan her new cabin for any bugs or cameras.

It was highly unlikely that an average citizen of the Unova Syndicate would recognize the language that Lily was speaking but Sophie was not going to take any chances.

Sophie adjusted Lily's mask to make sure that the little girl's facial features were properly covered and then slipped into the back of the line.

Passengers with first class tickets made up the bulk of the survivors so the line was now a bit longer.

Maybe it was the fact that the new ship was in sight that the passengers in the line did not seem particularly anxious or hurried to board.

In fact, there was almost a relaxed atmosphere as the tension from the night before was slowly fading away.

Where the S.S Annamarie was currently located was about three weeks away from king's island so the journey this time would be a lot shorter.

Sophie could not wait for this horrible trip to end as she was getting sick of seeing nothing but the ocean for days on end.

At least she had gotten to take a bath during the excursion to her cabin rooms a few hours before, so all the dried blood and guts were scrubbed off her body.

"Watch your step on the bridge," Captain Ahab roared as a passenger lost her balance and crashed to the ground.

The passenger gave a flustered grin and grabbed onto the handrails to pull her body upwards.

Sophie made a mental note to do the same as the last thing she needed was to fall and drop Lily from her arms.

After the falling incident, the rest of the passengers were a bit more cautious and after a few minutes, it was Sophie's turn to cross.

The temporary bridge was constructed from a smart fluid metalloid that could transform and change its own density.

Sophie took a small step onto the bridge and gripped the handrail tightly with her left arm.

It was a bit difficult to move as the constant swaying of the bridge in the wind caused her to almost lose balance.

Stab!

Two of Sophie's blade-like appendages pierced the bridge to grant her a steadier posture when moving across.

This worked like a charm and Sophie crossed the bridge with relative ease as her spider appendages would stabilize her body whenever she was about to slip.

Soon she landed on the upper deck of the new ship where a nearby crewman was waiting to guide her to the cabin assigned.

"Hello and welcome to our humble vessel," a crewman floated towards Sophie and extended a gaseous tendril outward.

"Please follow me to your assigned room where I will list out the various rules for staying onboard this vessel."

Sophie nodded coldly and walked behind the crewman. Suddenly a curious thought crossed her mind, so she glanced back at the bridge.

The other passengers were still crossing but having a more difficult time as they only had the handrails available to keep their balance.

Sophie turned around after taking a brief look and followed the floating crewmate down a flight of stairs.

The interior of the ship resembled a labyrinth or maze as Sophie found herself walking through an uncountable number of side passages and hidden rooms.

There were even several entrances guarded by automatic plasma rifles that had to be unlocked by the crewmate injected a piece of his gas into the scanner.

It was hard not to be a bit wary as this entire situation felt wrong.

Sophie continued to follow but the fangs in her mouth had subconsciously begun to lengthen.

Normal physical attacks were unlikely to work but if she used a cultivation technique would it affect their gaseous bodies?

Sophie pondered countermeasures in her mind as she pulled Lily a bit closer to her body.

From the outside a small ship like this could not possibly have so many rooms and corridors hidden inside.

Not unless someone had carved spatial runes on the walls in order to expand the space inside.

But spatial runes were extremely expensive so although the purpose of this ship was a mystery to Sophie, she could tell it was highly valued.

Sophie could feel the tension slowly increasing with every step as the crewman led the way without speaking a word.

Just as she was about to politely ask how far away the room was, the floating man stopped at an unmarked grey door with a single handle.

"This is your assigned room for the duration of the trip," the crewman swayed from side to side as he spoke.

Sophie could not see any scanners or opening devices next to the door, so she moved closer to twist the handle.

"Now I will go over the three rules of the ship please listen carefully for your own safety when travelling with us," the crewman spoke as Sophie's hand was a few centimeters away from the handle.

"The first rule is to never under any circumstance leave your room without the presence of an officer."

"The second rule is to not interfere with the monitoring devices placed in the hallway outside the cabin."

"These devices are for our team to ensure that no danger will befall you while travelling with us."

"Do not worry about personal privacy as there are no devices placed in the cabin itself."

"If you wish to remove these devices then the crew will not take any responsibility for any mishaps or accidents that occur."

"The last and final rule…."