Chapter 6：After a Narrow Escape
Author: 菁鸟
1
"...Wake up..."
"Phoenix..."
She heard something.
The sound was muffled, as if someone had covered her ears with paper.
"...Phoenix..."
It sounded like someone was calling her.
She tried to respond, but found herself unable to speak. Her vision was also blurred, and she could only make out a vague figure moving in front of her. She guessed it was Disar.
The young woman mustered all her strength to twitch her fingers.
"She moved..."
"Phoenix! She's awake!"
The voices became clearer.
What happened? She wondered.
As her hearing recovered, she blinked her eyes hard, and her vision gradually returned to normal.
She realized she was lying on a bed, in a very unfamiliar environment. Disar was standing anxiously by the bedside, and above her hung a massive mechanical arm.
"Heart rate stable, blood pressure normal."
The mechanical arm spoke through a speaker. The cylindrical camera lens reflected the light, making it look like a single eye.
"What is this..."
Phoenix tried to speak, but as soon as she uttered the first "this", she realized something was off. Her lips were dry and stuck together, and she could only manage to mumble out two indistinct syllables.
"This is the medical equipment on this ship, don't worry!"
Disar seemed to understand Phoenix's words and answered urgently.
Hearing her companion's words, Phoenix became more alert. Medical equipment? She blinked and stared at the mechanical arm in front of her.
The mechanical arm somehow grabbed a damp cloth and placed it on Phoenix's lips.
"I am the standard-issue AI medical equipment, model MEDIC09, on the Alliance 210-A patrol ship."
The medical arm seemed quite proud, waving its mechanical limb towards the ceiling.
"I am currently evaluating your physical condition. Please cooperate with the examination. I will now assess your hearing impairment. Please shake your head."
Phoenix obediently shook her head vigorously, and the mechanical arm made a "ding-dong" sound.
"Next, I will conduct a simple dialogue test. Please state your name."
The arm removed the damp cloth from Phoenix's mouth, and she found she could open her mouth slightly.
"Phoenix."
She answered in a hoarse voice.
"Please state your hometown."
"Ceres Major."
"Please state the name of your friend."
"Disar. D-I-S-A-R."
"Brain scan complete, no physical damage detected. Proceeding to visual impairment assessment. Please state the color you see on the screen."
A small screen suddenly popped out from the bottom of the mechanical arm, and Phoenix found it quite novel.
"Please state the color displayed on the screen."
The screen suddenly lit up in red.
2
The moment the red glow spread before her eyes, everything came back to Phoenix.
The lasers, the bullets, the debris floating in the starry sky - from the enemy and from herself.
The silent bursts of fireworks, the flashing muzzle flashes, the crimson warning lights overhead.
The sirens, the explosions, the thundering sound of gunfire - all flooded the maiden's mind at once. Her expression froze, her eyes reflecting the utmost terror.
The red light.
The floor seemed to sway, and a stinging pain shot through Phoenix's eyes as boundless fear began to spread from the depths of her heart.
Thud, thud, thud - sounds that didn't exist echoed in the cabin. The cabin...
Phoenix suddenly realized she was not lying on the bed, but rather inside the cramped control room, with the meteors streaking past the window being the wreckage of enemy craft.
Phoenix felt a sense of suffocation. She shook her head frantically, but the thing constricting her throat was still there - what was it? A strap?
It was the seatbelt, the seatbelts on the operator's chair, one, two, three, binding her to the seat. She tried to struggle, but couldn't move an inch; she tried to scream, but couldn't make a sound.
The red light.
In an instant, she saw the tiny red glow outside growing larger and larger. The air seemed to be on fire, burning her airway, her lungs, her entire body.
Doomsday Laser. Suddenly, a line of white text appeared before her eyes. No, not just one line, but the same five words repeatedly, almost filling her entire vision except for the red glow: Doomsday Laser, Doomsday Laser, Doomsday Laser...
The red light consumed everything: the wreckage, the ammunition, the stars. The white words were tinted in blood red, gradually twisting and deforming into crimson "DEATH".
Then it approached right in front of Phoenix.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Phoenix cried out in despair, her limbs flailing wildly.
"I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!!!"
"Phoenix! Calm down! Phoenix!!"
Seeing Phoenix's sudden change in demeanor and her frantic struggling on the bed, Disar panicked, not knowing what to do, only repeatedly calling out her friend's name.
3
"Emergency situation, checkup suspended. Preparing sedative," the medical AI immediately turned off the display and the robotic arm quickly moved, then swiftly applied a patch-like object to Phoenix's arm.
"Phoenix, wake up! Help her... help her!"
Seeing Phoenix still in great distress, Disar urgently called out to the medical machine.
The medical machine was silent for two seconds.
"Protocol approved, permission granted."
Accompanied by a brief operating sound, the medical device suddenly extended an antenna.
Then Disar heard a mosquito-like sound, extremely grating, causing her to instinctively cover her ears, but she found she couldn't block out the sound at all.
"Miss Disar, please cooperate with the instructions I give," the medical machine spoke, "Please pinch the patient's neck."
Gritting her teeth and enduring the sound drilling into her brain, Disar raised her clenched hand, brushed aside Phoenix's blue hair, and then firmly squeezed the back of her neck.
Seconds seemed to stretch into dozens of minutes.
One, two, three...
...eight, nine, ten.
"You can release your hand now."
With the reminder from the medical arm, Disar realized Phoenix had almost instantly stopped struggling.
Somewhat skeptical, she released the fingers gripping the other's neck, then asked, "Phoenix?"
"Disar!"
Phoenix suddenly sat up, startling Disar with an exclamation.
"Disar, just now was..."
"The Galactic Alliance military emergency sedation signal. This treatment method can immediately regulate the brain of someone in a state of panic or emergency."
"Some kind of sedative-like thing...?" Disar asked.
The medical arm did not answer the question, but rather mysteriously said, "The specific content is a military secret, and I would ask you two young ladies to keep it confidential."
Phoenix raised her hand, carefully examining her fingertips, then her gaze followed up her arm all the way to her shoulder.
"Nothing happened?" She looked puzzled at Disar, "The Doomsday Laser...? The Roc...?"
"Look!" Disar spread her arms, "We've been successfully rescued!"
"How... how did they do it?"
Phoenix grabbed Disar's arms excitedly and asked loudly.
"It was the shield, Phoenix! Just before I passed out, I saw a faint purple shield enveloping us. When we woke up, we were already on this ship."
"This ship... just now you mentioned it's a patrol ship, right?"
The two of them turned their heads to look at the medical arm.
"Correct, this is one of the Galactic Alliance's ships, currently returning to base," the medical arm replied in an electronic voice.
As soon as the words were spoken, another sound came from the cabin door.
"Scan complete. Identification code G.A.A.S.Hime. Captain authority confirmed, door unlocked."
"May I come in?"
A gentle female voice came from outside the door. Three unhurried knocks, conveying a gracious and gentle manner.
The captain? Phoenix felt this voice was somehow familiar, and she couldn't help but think of the lilies growing in the flower garden back home.
"Uh... please come in!" Disar responded.
The sound of the cabin door gradually opening.
4
The lady with silver-grey hair stepped into the room, appearing to be in her early twenties. Her entire being radiated a sunny aura. A pair of ruby-red eyes flowed with tenderness, accented by golden and yellow dots on her dress. Most eye-catching was the small crown perched atop her head.
In addition, Phoenix noticed the accessory at her waist. Phoenix recognized that pattern—Chrono Field. This proved that the captain before them was a Shipsian.
She smiled faintly and approached the two with graceful steps.
"How is your recovery? Is there anywhere that still feels unwell?" she asked in a gentle voice.
Disar shook her head, then glanced at Phoenix beside her.
"Well..." Phoenix didn't know how to describe her momentary uncontrollable frenzy.
"Miss Phoenix experienced a brief stress reaction, but it was not serious. Additionally, Miss Phoenix has some strain on her arm which has been treated. A few days of rest should allow full recovery," the medical robotic arm answered the Shipsian's question first. Phoenix suddenly realized this AI could also read the atmosphere.
"It's nice that there was no serious issue," the Shipsian smiled. She suddenly took something out from behind her back and handed it to Disar and Phoenix. "Random flavor candies from the Alliance Army, they're a favorite among children. I have got a few of them right now. Come on, just try some."
Random flavor candies? Phoenix took one and exchanged a glance with Disar.
The first thing Phoenix thought was that you can't just eat candies from a stranger.
"Um, Captain...Madam, are you a Shipsian?" Disar asked first.
"Of course," the Shipsian replied with a smile. "I'm not as strong as other warriors, and due to my status, I usually only do support and patrol missions."
Phoenix pondered for a moment, then also asked a question. "Madam, may I ask your name..."
"My name is Hime."
Upon hearing this name, the two froze for a moment, then exclaimed in unison:
"The Princess of Zhey Auna?!"
Hime seemed startled by their voices, shyly continuing, "Well, just a princess of a small country... But you're right. Though I'd much rather be a warrior, it's far more interesting than staying in the palace all day—don't you agree?"
Most people would dream of staying in a palace all their lives though! Disar snarked inwardly.
"Aren't you going to try the candies?" Hime pointed at the candies in their hands.
Since the other party had revealed her identity, there was nothing to worry about. Phoenix took the lead in popping the random flavor candy into her mouth.
"Yuck...so bitter..." Disar grimaced, sticking out her tongue in disgust.
"It's Dovacoon bitter gourd flavor," Hime giggled. "They say the locals who stayed behind to work in tech really love pickled Dovacoon bitter gourd. But obviously, people from other planets can't accept this unique taste."
Phoenix carefully savored the lingering sweetness on her tongue—sweet but not cloying, a gentle drawn-out sweetness that seemed tinged with a floral fragrance.
"A faint sweetness," Phoenix described the taste in her mouth.
"I see," Hime looked at Phoenix intently. "It's Blight Chrysanthemum flavor. That flower originally grew on the planet Blight, but went extinct during the war. Many warriors liked this flavor."
Blight Chrysanthemum. Phoenix recalled it now, a flower she had only seen in books. Its petals were a mottled gray-yellow, with a pale blue center—
—the only life in the vast galaxy to be completely wiped out owing to the war.
5
Hime grabbed the two's hands, looking at Disar, and said, "You helped the Alliance to a victory. Your courage that you showed was amazing."
Then, she looked back to Phoenix. "You took the initiative to attack the Roc. Many human soldier in the Alliance don't have the courage to do that. Thanks to the medal that Aries gave to you, otherwise there would have been a tragedy."
"The medal?" Phoenix got confused.
She immediately realized something, looking at the empty breast pocket, hurriedly felt all over her body, and confirmed that the medal had long since disappeared.
A gentle, tinkling laugh escaped Hime's lips. She rummaged in the pocket of her dress for a moment and then pulled out a medal. It was exactly the one that Aries gave to Phoenix.
"It is not a normal medal. Actually, it had been transformed by Aries. There’s a tiny Personal Shield trigger in it."
Personal Shield!
Phoenix's eyes widened in stark incredulity.
Isn’t it the Shipsians' Zen?
"It was only meant to be big enough for one Shipsian soldier, but you two were in close proximity at the time, so it protected both of you. However, this is a single-use trigger, and such a small medal does not store much energy." Hime handed the medal to Phoenix, who clutched it in his palm.
"It needed to trigger the pressure sensor to work, and I think Disar turned it on when she held Miss Phoenix close. I think Miss Phoenix has a lot to thank her friend for."
Phoenix looks at Disar, but before she can open his mouth, her shy best friend covers her mouth.
"Ahem, I just did it subconsciously. Nothing serious. No need to say thank you."
Phoenix recalled the reply from Aries.
"If you insist on returning it to me, please do so at the Galactic Alliance Army base."
That was how Aries answered her.
"Miss Hime." Phoenix gently pushed away Disar's hand and said, "Can you give this badge back to Mr. Aries for me? After all, it belongs to Mr. Aries and should be returned to him."
"I think you can return it in person, because we are almost there." Hime said, "Open the window and let these kids see the scenery outside."
The room seemed to understand the order of Hime. With the mechanical noise, the wall of the room started to fall slowly and then the window behind it showed up.
Behind that glass was an exceptionally bright starry sky, with the stars constantly moving—no, those weren't stars. Those were the searchlights of spacecraft. The lights flickered on hundreds of moving ships, like countless shooting stars streaking across the sky.
The seemingly endless spaceport enveloped the planet, dyeing the land into a golden ocean. Phoenix saw a massive gangway slowly adjusting its angle, gradually extending towards this spacecraft.
"0046-210-A, identification confirmed. Verified A-level and B-level protected personnel aboard. Orbital landing request approved. Please make preparations for docking procedures."
"This doesn't seem like Zhey Auna." Disar said, puzzled. "We still have that blood test appointment in Zhey Auna..."
"Don't worry. The relevant personnel here will also provide testing for you." Hime replied with a smile. "I need to confirm the docking. Excuse me. Please remember to fasten your seatbelts, and also—"
“Welcome to the Galactic Alliance Army base. The Prometheus Array.”