Genius engineer Kairen Veras has been enslaved by the space pirate organization 'Void Crusader' for three years, his exceptional technical skills exploited only to maintain their flagship's reactor system. But even as a captive, Kairen carefully watches for his chance to rebel.
That chance arrives in the medical bay. When a pirate commander falls critically ill, the arrival of Elina, a cold and pragmatic physician, shifts everything. Simultaneously, Orius, a young, idealistic vice-commander wou
The Galactic Fugitive: An Engineer's Rebellion - Silent Contact, Shifting Loyalty
Ankarus flagship. Lower engine room.
Cyan light pulsed. A spherical space sixty meters in diameter. At its center, a phase-reaction furnace stood upright. Kairen Velas stood before the panel. Black hair, cropped short. Deep gray eyes. His left hand—from palm to wrist, complex geometric scars glowed pale blue. Three years imprisoned. That memory was carved into this wound.
He touched the panel wiring. Precise movements. No hesitation. Intentional. He induced a minor anomaly in the cooling system. First step to escape.
"Cooling pipe malfunction detected,"
Kairen reported matter-of-factly. Before the monitor. Voice stripped of emotion.
"Scheduled maintenance required."
Not a lie. Just not untrue.
"...Permission granted,"
The monitor nodded. Not trusting Kairen. Just couldn't risk the commander's valuable prisoner.
Kairen took the toolbox. Left the reactor chamber.
The corridor was gray. Walls. Floor. Ceiling. Dim lighting cast monotone illumination. Footsteps of passing pirates. Machine noise. Low hum echoing from the ship's depths.
(Three years.)
Walking this passage. For this purpose.
Kairen mapped camera positions in his mind. Blind spots. Routes. All burned into memory from three years in that dark room.
Destination: Prisoner Block E-7. Near medical bay.
Orius was there. Vice commander. Young pirate, still recovering.
Kairen chose camera blind spots. Walked with precision. Like following predetermined steps.
Turned the corner. Empty corridor. A figure pressed against the wall.
Blonde hair. Green eyes. Plasma burn scars on left shoulder and upper arm. Treatment marks.
Orius.
The young vice commander was lost in thought. Conflict etched his face. Loyalty to the organization. Internal contradiction. That tug-of-war carved deep lines into his features.
"Vice commander,"
Kairen spoke softly.
Orius spun around. Alert flashed. But it didn't last.
"You're...the reactor technician. Kairen Velas?"
Kairen didn't answer. Instead.
"I need to talk."
Concise. No waste. Minimal words.
Orius remained guarded. But something in Kairen's sincere gaze reached him. His eyes held calculation and equal seriousness.
"About what?"
"This ship has a fatal flaw. Do you want to know?"
Orius held his breath.
"A flaw...?"
"The defense system has vulnerabilities."
Kairen's words were flat. But their weight pressed against the corridor's air.
"Using it, we can escape this ship."
Orius's expression shifted. Surprise. Confusion. Then.
"Why tell me this?"
"You doubt the organization. I heard you in the medical bay."
Kairen stated it.
Orius's face went pale.
"You were eavesdropping...!"
"It was necessary. I need your cooperation."
Kairen's voice held no emotion. But that very emotionlessness became pressure. This man was serious. Everything calculated.
"I'm vice commander. If I betray..."
"Exile. I know."
Kairen continued.
"But you have a choice. Don't forget that choice."
He said nothing more. Left Orius behind.
Orius stood alone in the corridor.
His heart wavered.
---
Same time. Medical bay.
Elina reviewed treatment records. Orius's wound progression. Cell regeneration rate. Infection risk. All recorded in numbers. No room for emotion. Only medical data.
But.
His words wouldn't leave her mind.
(This organization is wrong.)
Orius's whispered words. His tone. The hesitation behind them.
Elina closed the record terminal.
(Should I really be here?)
That question smoldered beneath ice. Past trauma. Lost patients. Those memories surfaced now.
The door opened.
Orius entered. Cradling his treatment scars.
"Doctor. Can we talk?"
Elina looked at him.
"I said the wound would reopen. Rest,"
Flat voice. Clinical response. Words to maintain distance.
But.
Orius smiled.
"I'm fine. I just...wanted to thank you."
That smile held purity. Gratitude. Honest joy.
Elina saw it.
Watched it long.
"Thanks aren't necessary. It's my job."
"But...I think you're a kind person, doctor."
Elina's left ring finger moved slightly. Unconscious. Sign of tension.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm just..."
Elina's words caught. What should she say? How explain? She had no answer.
Orius watched her with sincere eyes.
"You don't really want to be in a place like this either, do you?"
Not a question. An observation.
Elina moved. Turned away. Created distance.
"That kind of talk..."
"But for me, having you in the medical bay..."
Orius continued.
"Is my only light."
Elina stopped. At those words.
Inside the medical bay. White walls. Machine sounds. Disinfectant smell.
Two people stood in silence.
Something in Elina's heart cracked slightly. The ice's outer shell.
---
Kairen observed from distance. Through the surveillance camera network. Medical bay footage played in his mind.
Orius and Elina's distance was shrinking. Not physically. Psychologically.
(Usable.)
Kairen calculated. Emotional threads. Trust structures. Human relationship vulnerabilities. All incorporated into his plan.
Orius held vice commander rank. Access to ship information. Combat skills. Command ability.
Elina possessed medical expertise. After escape, if wounded, that skill was essential.
And.
Both harbored dissatisfaction with this organization.
Kairen returned to the reactor chamber.
Stood before the control panel.
Hacking. Erasing surveillance traces. No evidence left. Askandas wouldn't notice.
Next phase.
Kairen's plan was moving pieces.
His left hand's scars flickered again.
Pale blue light.
It reflected Kairen's resolve.
Three years imprisoned.
Time to end it.
But the road to escape was still long. How to make Orius and Elina trust him. How to convince them. Everything depended on meticulous planning ahead.
Kairen continued constructing that plan's details in his mind.
Without losing emotion.
Transcending emotion.
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