Jupiter was led into the sterile setting and placed harshly onto a cold stool. The room was wide and clean - a huge window spanned the wall, giving a view of the dark clouds outside, while inside, control panels and desks were spread throughout the room, buttons and lights flashing from nearly every surface.
The tall woman ordered the two aliens and Quentin away; they left immediately, leaving the intergalactic tyrant and the lilac hero alone. Jupiter was silent - she just glared at Sigma, who was pacing her way around Jupiter's stool, eyeing the girl like a foreign specimen. After what seemed like forever, the chief finally spoke.
"Well isn't this nice of you to visit." Her honey-like voice filled the room like toxic gas. "Do you want to know why I didn't restrain you, Jupiter?"
The girl kept quiet and shuffled in her seat. She was not in cuffs or chains or detained in any way, surprisingly. But then again, she came to talk. Sigma waltzed over to the other side of her main desk.
"...Because my father used to tell me something. He said that the best way to defeat your enemy.."
"...Is to make them your friend." Jupiter muttered. "Our Master used to tell us that too. What's your point?"
"Ah, so you're familiar with the saying? The point is that after our last little meeting back in the sub-realm, I realised that I barely got to know you - and of course, that should've been the first step into making friends." She divulged.
Jupiter scoffed and retorted;
"In no way are we 'friends'."
"Then I guess you don't want to hear the full story...?" Sigma said, scrutinising the young ninja.
"About my powers? Or something else? Because my mother told me her side of the story." Jupiter raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what this woman had to say.
"Your sweet mother was as ignorant as you are. Even she doesn't know what really happened."
"Then tell me." She demanded.
Sigma reached over her desk to press a glowing button. Almost instantly, a bright crisp hologram appeared in front of them, displaying an image of what looked like a delicate geode, very similar to the stone her mother gave her.
"This is astralstone, a complex material that we Kosmikiles attempted to study. Our species yearn to be as adaptive as possible; if we discover something new, we find a way to make it as useful as possible." The Chief started slowly.
"Before me, my father was Chief of our planet. He was...ambitious. He wanted to push astralstone to limits we couldn't identify.."
"What do you mean?" Jupiter disrupted.
"He wanted to fabricate astralstone in a way that made intergalactic transmission possible. Teleportation and communication. So it would be easier for us to explore new places. It was a challenging process, but a prototype system was complete and our family were the first ever to test it. With the planet's stardust as the power source, we tried it, but instead of transmitting what we wanted it to..."
"It transmitted the stardust instead?" The ninja finished her sentence.
"Yes. And your mother happened to have received it through physical contact, which she then passed on to you."
Jupiter thought for a moment, taking it all in. She then spoke again;
"So...this was all the result of an 'ambitious experiment'? What about the Sky Jewel?"
"Ah yes. The jewel was a side experiment. You see, astralstone is still beyond any of our understanding, which is why we don't tamper with it. The Sky Jewel was the first and last item manufactured with astralstone essence, and since our planet runs on cosmic dust, as chief, I was expected to use what I had to find more. The Sky Jewel can hold stardust...that is, until you unwisely destroyed it."
Sigma's explanation was thorough and a lot to take in - but Jupiter then remembered the reason she was here.
"Well, I'm here to make a deal. I will provide your ship with enough stardust as long as you leave Ninjago at peace." The ninja announced firmly.
Sigma squinted her eyes at her suspiciously and tilted her head.
"An interesting compromise. But I have other plans." She said slowly, walking over to a wall of shelves, filled with empty glass jars and canisters. She took one and held it in her hands. "The stardust Ninjago City can offer is more than enough for my collection."
"Wait- your collection? I thought your planet runs on it? That you came all this way to help your world?"
The woman let out a low sinister chuckle. She looked back at the girl in the stool and from one of her four hands, pulled out a small remote which activated a restraint system on her. In an instant, tight metal cuffs held Jupiter's arms and legs.
"As Chief, I had forced the other Kosmikiles to aid me on this mission; I had to tell them I was doing something for the better of our home, or else they'd all refuse to work for me. Before my foolish father went ahead with his ambition, I discovered the other benefits stardust had- life-sustaining properties that enhance physical well-being. Kosmikiles do not live the most fulfilling lives; mining for cosmic matter on other planets, trying to find new sources. That's why I aim to collect stardust for my own research...research that benefits me!"
Jupiter could not believe what she was hearing. Everything about this situation just took a dark turn. Not only is Ninjago still in danger, but so are the other creatures aboard her ship - they were forced into doing the Chief's cruel labour only for her to get all the benefit.
"So the stardust wasn't even yours in the first place! You're going around, stealing the natural cosmic matter of different places for yourself, you narcissistic--"
"THAT is enough from you!" Sigma fumed. She stomped over to Jupiter who was still in the stool's trap and grabbed her by the mask around her neck. "Now that you know the full story, I suppose we can tweak that deal of yours a bit. I just found a new way to power my stardust-extractor."
She opened the small pouch around her waist and took a fistful of what was inside.
"You're not getting away with this! My friends and I will--"
Sigma projected her modified particulates of stardust onto the girl, sending her to her mastermind machine in a huge puff of dark smoke. In a few moments, the stool was empty again. The chief walked back over to her desk and malevolently spoke into the ship's intercom.
"Prepare the extractor and the ship's teleportation field - We are going to Ninjago City."
YOU ARE READING
NINJAGO: Starmarked
Adventure[𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙!] Shortly after the events in 𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘑𝘈𝘎𝘖: 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥, the seven ninja head to Kryptarium Prison to question one man who can tell them about a potential threat to Ninjago. As more secrets are uncovered and friendships...
