Factory Reset: Divine Corruption

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three: A Black Sky

The bliss of the last few hours had been swiftly disappearing from Ja'Kles mind as he held his stomach, feeling his heart pulse rapidly as he reappeared from a near two minute long Fold-Stream, nearly barfing his pre-nap time snacks.

Don't get him wrong, he greatly enjoyed the last few hours of dreams and murmurings, and waking up in Mason's arms, finally boyfriend-and-boyfriend was something that he wouldn't trade for anything. However, the disconnect happened in what they were planning on doing.

Juda O-Starsa. A ninth level Buy-Seller, apparently. Mason and his team had no idea where she lived, nor what planet she currently was on, so they decided to find out. And, in all of their wisdom and guidance by the top scientist on board, they thought that it was a good time to introduce Ja'Kle to combat, as there surely would be combat there.

It wasn't like the idea had no merit. Ja'Kle did need some real combat experience where he didn't faint, even if he didn't have a ring anymore. And, what's more, Mason would protect him. Even more so than before, now that they were officially a 'thing'.

Speaking of that, Ja'Kle thought that he was handling the fact that he now had a boyfriend better than Mason, but apparently, he just hadn't ruminated on the idea hard or long enough, because as soon as he awoke, he was having an existential crisis on how amazing the idea of having a boyfriend really was.

Ja'Kle groaned as Mason helped him out of the seat, the bunny hugging him deeply while sighing. Marissa sat up, outwardly outraged by her hair growth, but inwardly smiling at the coupling of the space-moth and the rabbit.

The news that Mason and Ja'Kle had become an item had spread quickly throughout the ship, but it wasn't new news. Many had suspected they had already 'done it' that time they were in Mason's room for an hour or two, so they had suspected this would happen sooner or later.

Marissa was fine with it. She had already accepted the fact that Ja'Kle had his merits from the defense he gave against the Pattern-Screamer hoard on Gold-Standard-1, and she saw how truly he loved her friend. She quite liked Ja'Kle in fact.

Hannah was more happy that her brother was happy than understanding what the whole 'boyfriends' thing meant, despite being nine. She saw that her brother's eyes lit up upon seeing Ja'Kle, and she saw the two embrace like her parents used to. That's all she had to see to be on board with Ja'Kle.

The planet the Divine Intervention had appeared on was one near the border of the now defunct Federation, just a few light-years away from the light barrier. It was a smaller planet, a dwarf-planet to be precise, but it was a lush jungle of the harshest, humid conditions.

It was home to the Aurawa, a race of plantoids that resembled anthropoid flytraps. This planet, as harsh and well defended as it was, was a massive database for the Federation, and the Protogen Empire before it. This was the literal one place that they could go to get the information they needed.

"The Aurawa are... fickle beings." Mason explained to Ja'Kle as he helped him towards the armory, hoping to find a weapon that Ja'Kle would like. He would need to get very familiar with it if he wanted to continue on existing. Not that the mission was overtly dangerous, it wasn't, but it would sting. A lot.

"In what way?" Ja'Kle asked as he grimaced, his wings fluttering in pain as the hollow stabbing feeling in his gut slowly increased with every step, before slowly dissipating away. Mason thought for a moment before they reached the door to the armory, and Viscera's domain.

Mason pressed open the door into the dark room, "They are almost zealotus about the guardianship of the data. I mean, that is the reason why they were chosen to guard it, but they will protect it from anyone besides the Council, or a Buy-Seller. I don't even have jurisdiction over them." Mason explained.