NINJAGO: Starmarked

6 - Aboard the Bounty

Dusk fell across the land as the magnificent Destiny's Bounty rose into the clouds. Nya reduced the thruster's power, adjusting them in a way that the giant ship hovered in the atmosphere. 

"Now, let's see what we can do about that radar," She told Zane. They got to work, quickly tapping away at the Bounty's computer system. Meanwhile, the others were in the galley below the deck, looking at the two artefacts placed carefully on a table. 

"So you're telling me you felt the same sensation from both of these things?" Jay asked Jupiter. She was in deep thought, leaning against the wall away from the table. She nodded in response. Agitation was loitering around inside her - she was annoyed with the situation she unwillingly seemed a part of, as well as being in the midst of an identity crisis. 

Kai took the Sky Jewel in one hand and held it into the soft light of the galley. The inside of the gem shimmered delicately like a tiny galaxy was within its smooth exterior. 

"What if the jewel's made up of that rock? I mean, they're both pretty shiny," He contemplated. The others shrugged at his comment - what Cole said before was right; they were going into this adventure blindfolded. The only way to move forward with this was to find and get onto the Kosmikiles' mothership...wherever that was. 

" 'Shiny' doesn't tell us anything, Kai. Once we get onto that mothership, then we'll know what we're dealing with. Master Wu always recommended learning about who you're fighting before you fight them, remember?" Lloyd replied frankly. 

Cole turned his head back to the lilac ninja, who appeared quite distant. 

"You never mentioned where you got that rock from, Jupiter." He prompted. The three other boys turned their heads to her too, expecting an answer to the earth ninja's interesting question. She hesitated to give an answer - in actuality, her mind was elsewhere, plotting and scheming her own ideas together.

At that moment, Zane poked his head through the door;

"We've managed to expand the radar's range - we're one step closer in our mission now," he said with a bright spirit. The ninja all followed the nindroid up to the deck and to the computer, where Nya was completing the finishing touches. 

"Now the Bounty can pinpoint any major interferences in most of Ninjago's skies, but it uses a lot of the computer's power. We'll have to be quick, so we don't blow any circuits." She said. 

"As soon as we pick up something, we'll note the coordinates and turn it off," Zane elaborated. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Turn that thing on!" Cole urged excitedly. With that being said, the nindroid powered on the mega-radar, allowing them to view anything suspicious in Ninjago's skies. The screen displayed a map of Ninjago, with a spinning radar scanning the entire landmass. All seven of them glared at the screen anticipatingly. 

But what if Marcus was lying? And there was no mothership? It was a possibility, but the ninja had no other choices at this point. Just as their hope was diminishing, an abrupt sequence of beeping came from the computer. Sighs of relief flood amongst them; the radar worked! And it picked up something huge, far from Ninjago City and their current location. 

"Do you think that's it?" Jupiter asked. 

"It seems to be some sort of aircraft of great magnitude - that's our best shot - copy the coordinates, Zane!" The water ninja commanded - Zane took control of the computer and noted down the coordinates of the foreign ship - he then inputted them into the Bounty's GPS and quickly shut down the mega-radar, in order to conserve the ship's power. 

"Nice work, guys!" Lloyd praised. "Now let's find out what we're dealing with!" 

"It would be wise to travel at a higher altitude, just in case they have a radar on us too," Zane mentioned. The others nodded - he was the intelligent one, after all. Nya increased the vertical thrust of the Bounty's engine; soon, they were steadily sailing above the clouds, high in the night sky. 

"How long til we get there?" Jay questioned his Yang. 

"At this rate and altitude, we might get close enough in a few hours or so - the coordinates are pretty far, but we have enough fuel," Nya informed him. She set the Bounty to autopilot and joined Jay on the deck. 

"Have you and the others thought up a game plan yet?" She asked him.

Jay paused and chuckled lightly. "I don't think so. We're working on it - still trying to figure out the link between the jewel and the stone." 

As the night wind blew through the deck, they soon went down to the Bounty's cabin, where the rest of their teammates were lounging around. A brainstorming session was underway; what did they already know, and what could they do to prevent the worst? 

"Once we get to Sigma's ship, we should alert Master Wu and Pixal, so that they can be the first warn the city," Cole started. "Just in case anything goes down."

"Do we hide the jewel and the stone?" Jupiter joined in. "Or should we take it with us?" 

"If it's something she's truly after, we better keep both of them on us," The green ninja returned. As the team discussion continued, something in Jupiter's head clicked. Something Lloyd said had solved the messed-up jigsaw puzzle in her head, the one she'd been trying to solve all day. Was it the right thing to do though? 

She had no idea.