Chapter 121: Numbered Planets

Chapter 121: Numbered Planets "Hmm. When can you get me there?"

Lucian asked, urgency could be sensed within his voice.

"Well, the next voyage is in three days. A few more clients are yet to send in their luggage. I can get a place for you to stay till then"

The man said, glancing at the busy workshop through the window of the room.

"No need. I’ll check the city first and I’ll be back in three days time."

Lucian politely rejected the man’s offer and stood up, ready to leave.

"Alright. A guest of the old man is always welcome."

"Thank you!"

Lucian said, leaving the workshop.

"I wonder what he’s looking for in a place like C6. What’s his relationship with the old man that he asked us to treat him that way?"

The man muttered watching Lucian’s back fade into the distance. He behaved so friendly because the old man had specifically stated to treat him well and make sure they were on good terms.

Lucian walked into the streets of the sparsely populated city. Everyone who moved on the streets moved with purpose, each of them having a specific reason or goal for coming to Harbour City.

’I should go find somewhere.’

Lucian thought, randomly walking down the streets in search of an apartment.

He had been here before and knew a few spots, but each of them was too high profile and would increase the risk of him getting caught if his chasers had figured that he was going off world.

’I’d be surprised if they do!’

Lucian suppressed a chuckle, finally spotting a place.

Harbour City was deserted when compared to other cities because it only dealt with cargo and shipping goods off the planet.

If one wanted to go off the planet through official means, they’d have to go to another city which was located a little further away from Crane City than Harbour.

Without much hesitation, Lucian walked into the reception, booked a small apartment for the next 3 days, took the key, and vanished.

.....

Three days later, Lucian appeared back in front of the Capsized Ships workshop. Walking in, he used his eyes to search for the same man who had approached him before, but one of the staff came to him, as if expecting him beforehand and said to him respectfully.

"Welcome, the boss has been waiting for your arrival. I will be taking you to him. Please, follow me!"

The staff said, leading Lucian to the back door of the workshop where the boss who turned out to be them he had thought to be a staff stood, facing a bunch of airships arranged on order, with staff moving in and out, filling them with cargo.

"You came just on time!"

"Is it ready?"

The man said with a nice smile, while Lucian just asked. He had long since grown tired of waiting.

Time was something he didn’t have much of when it came to this mission, but some things couldn’t be forced.

"Of course! Your ship is pretty much ready to fly, just awaiting your presence."

"You would have to stay in the cargo space for the entirety of the time though. To avoid detection from the authorities when you take flight. None of the crew members were informed that you are the extra cargo they are waiting for too."

The man explained, leaving Lucian satisfied. He had paid attention to the details had given him three days ago.

"Alright, let’s go!"

Lucian said and the boss led him to one of the ships at the far back.

It was a rather small, but sleek space craft. Standing as wide as three small houses, with a black metallic sheen. The body of the ship bore several scratches along with some dents showing that the ship had seen its fair share when it came to the world of space travel.

"Don’t worry. We already fixed those dents and scratches. We just tend not to care about appearances. That’s why we didn’t paint them over."

The man explained to Lucian, trying to disperse any doubts that had surfaced in his mind after seeing the appearance of the ship.

"Sure...."

Lucian replied, using his eyes to signal the man to lead the way.

The man coughed a little and brought Lucian into the currently empty ship, taking him past the cockpit and down to the bottom where all the cargo were stored.

In the storage room were a bunch of boxes, meticulously arranged and tied down to prevent scattering during turbulent moments.

Leading him deeper, he pointed at a wall and said,

"This is the space you’ll be staying till you reach C3. There’s everything you need for the journey along with a mapping system that allows you to see the current route and destination, so you know when to get off.

"Alright!"

Lucian walked up to the wall and put some strength on it, pushing it back to reveal a room that was in fact larger than what he expected.

"....?"

He turned to look at the boss who was smiling at him, questioningly.

"Take it as a benefit of the old man."

He said simply before leaving the ship.

"You should get in, the crew is going to arrive in 3 minutes at most. You’ll take off then"

Lucian walked into the room, closing the wall behind him.

The room was bigger than he expected, but it was still small. He had imagined having to be sandwiched with little room for moment throughout the entire flight.

Instead he had gotten a space of about 2 square meters, a very thick sleeping bag and another bag which contained some rations and edibles he could munch on till the end of the flight.

That was all the room contained along with a small holopad which Lucian assumed was the navigator that showed the location of the ship in real time.

"This is going to take a while."

Lucian muttered, laying on the sleeping bag.

Minutes later, the spacecraft vibrated and stabilized a few moments later.

The craft gad finally taken off, going through the central checkpoint without any difficulty and entering into the space route for their deliveries.

Lucian stared at the still world of black with white dots outside through the window, the thoughts racing through his mind completely unknown.

......

Days passed quickly on the ship for the crew members and Lucian, as they jumped through warp gate after warp gate, delivering cargo to their destinations.

As their job, it was something they were already used to. Lucian, although experiencing this for the first time, was a detective, and as a detective, he possessed patience quite in abundance. So he wasn’t too bothered by the waiting time.

BEEP!

About 5 days later, Lucian heard a beep come from his side, the first sound outside that of snacking in the room.

Looking to his side, he could see the navigator blinking rapidly while another message appeared on the display.

<<C3–2 hours away>>

’I guess it’s time!’

Lucian thought, getting up from his lying position.

Through the window, he could see a planet which looked like it wasn’t too far away. That was planet C-3.

Even from afar, the planet looked much like a junkyard, bearing much resemblance to the slums of Crane city.

The whole surface of the planet looked dark and shady. Straining his eye further, he could make the faint cluster of buildings which snaked across most of the planet’s surface visible to him.

"Tch! I hate having to come to numbered planets!"

He kissed his teeth after getting a good look at the planet and the idea that he still had to cross over at least five or more of these type of planets to get to D-6 only made things worse.

In the vast empire that the humans had created for themselves across solar systems, not everywhere was as beautiful and vibrant as each other.

The structure of the whole domain of the humans was like that of Crane city, with an internal zone where all the good stuff was hoarded. It was where the headquarters of the world government was located along with the headquarters of the other top noble families and organizations.

The heart of the human race.

After that was also the middle section, based on how Crane City was structured, one could easily guess how this section was too. It was a mixture of a bunch of people from different backgrounds. It was the main hub of humanity, where the citizens resided, grew and died.

Beyond that as the slum of the human territory. In other words, sectors which contained numbered planets like this one.

Places like these were the most dangerous. A place where only outcasts lived, forgotten and thrown away by the very society that made them.

It was a hub for criminals, drug addicts, wanted organizations, you name it. If it was bad, It was there!

And almost too conveniently, it was also a place where some organizations from the inner and mid sections took to doing their dirty deeds.

"Let’s see what we can get from here!"

Lucian said, placing a small chip on his forehead and he turned invisible to the naked eye.

It was time for him to get off his ride for 2 hours had passed and they were now on planet C-3.