NTR Rogue in the Apocalypse-Chapter 202: Hiding the Ship

"Will you rescue the old man?" John asked as he sipped his alien blend of coffee.

"Yes. He’s important to the mission," Robert replied.

"You need me to come with you."

Robert smiled, "I don’t have the authority to ask you, John, but I can certainly relay your offer to our superiors."

"I would definitely help," he replied.

Robert nodded, his eyes twinkling, "I’ll see what I can do."

John leaned back on his chair and noticed Dalia’s furrowed brow, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she muttered, "I was just thinking about something."

Robert cleared his throat, "If you guys will excuse me, I have some things to attend to. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Dalia."

"Same here," Dalia replied.

"Here, call me with your System Comms," Robert gave John his comm details and left, and John stared at his empty mug.

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"What’s wrong, Dalia?"

"Nothing..." she lied, but her voice was weak and strained.

John raised his eyebrows, "If something is bothering you, you should tell me. Don’t try to hide it."

Dalia sighed, her eyes downcast, "Fine, I’ll tell you."

"It’s just I realised I know so little about you now and it’s all my fault," she muttered.

John patted her back gently, "Hey, don’t beat yourself up."

"I just can’t believe I abandoned you like that, even though you were my childhood friend."

"It’s fine," John replied, "I’m over it."

"I still want to make things right," Dalia insisted.

"Ok, ok," John relented, his lips curling into a slight smile.

John and Dalia sat in silence, their thoughts racing, their hearts heavy.

"I’m sorry for not telling you before, John."

"It’s alright, we have a mission to focus on and we need to beat the Luminars," he said.

"John... can we have another date?"

He smiled, "Sure, as long as we’re not on a mission."

"Sounds good," she smiled.

He kissed her forehead and she melted in his arms.

They finished their drinks and walked hand in hand, their eyes fixed on the digital stars above.

"Let’s go," John said as he squeezed her hand.

They walked around for a little longer until Maria approached them, "John, the ship’s ready."

"Awesome," John smiled.

They left the spaceport and took the ship back to their base, but there was a problem.

"Where are we going to hide this thing?" John asked.

"I’ve got an idea," he said as he input coordinates on the monitor. Thankfully, the ship’s AI could safely fly it towards any destination.

They arrived at the spot and he led them to an old abandoned dig site.

"This should do," he said as he landed the ship.

"It’s a little far from the base, but we can’t risk it being found out."

"Yeah, that’s true," Zara remarked, her voice low and strained.

Maria and Stephanie joined them and they gathered around the ship’s console.

"Alright, let’s discuss the next phase of the plan," he said.

"We have the ship ready, so we can start looking for Nova," Mikal said, his face pale and drawn.

"Any ideas?" John asked as he turned to Mikal.

"The mining operations should be somewhere in dry climates, but they could be anywhere."

"Any clue or hint can be useful," John remarked.

"Unfortunately, no. It could be underground, hidden, or camouflaged."

"So, we have no leads?"

"Not at the moment."

"Damn," John muttered, his frustration rising.

"Anyway," he sighed, "let’s focus on what we can control. Let’s survey the area around the base. Even if we don’t find anything, it will still be useful to know what’s around us."

Everyone nodded and they started the mission. They divided the area into four quadrants and started exploring, their eyes peeled for any signs of danger.

"This is boring," Zara muttered as she scanned the horizon, her eyes narrowed over the ship’s monitor.

"Boring is better than dying," Mikal remarked, his face serious, his voice low and strained.

Zara’s cheeks flushed and she rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

John smirked, his lips curling into a slight smile, "Don’t worry, Zara, we’ll find something interesting to do."

Zara didn’t respond, and John took her silence as a good sign.

"John," Mikal called out, "This ship is equipped with good quality sensors. We can have it scan the entire planet for monsters."

John was taken aback by Mikal’s suggestion and he leaned back against the seat, his eyes glazed, his expression neutral.

"That’s a good idea," John replied.

"There’s a catch, though," Mikal sighed, "The ship will emit a small radiation signature."

John’s eyebrows creased, "Meaning..."

"Meaning it will give us away," Mikal finished, his voice trailing off.

"How long do you think it will take the Luminars to notice the ship’s signature once we start the scan?"

"I’m not sure," Mikal said, his voice low and strained, "But I have a feeling it will take a while."

"Can we defend ourselves?"

"Yes, we can," Mikal replied, his tone confident, "The ship is equipped with high-quality weaponry and defensive systems."

"That’s good news, but we can’t rely on the ship alone," John muttered. His hatred for the Luminars was rising and he thought they should take any chances to decrease their numbers.

"Okay, let’s do it," John steeled himself and nodded at Mikal. The atmosphere around the ship grew tense and everyone held their breath as the scan started.

Zara kept an eye on the screen and spotted small clusters of monsters appearing on the radar one by one.

"The scan will also divide areas by threat levels and we can use that data to highlight potential locations for mines or hidden bases," Mikal explained with hope in his eyes.

As the minutes passed, the numbers on the screen started increasing and John could feel his chest tightening.

"It’s done," Mikal announced. His demeanour had changed and determination shone in his eyes.

"So," he continued, his voice low and strained, "we have a map of the planet and we can identify the hotspots."

"That’s a big deal," Maria remarked, her eyes wide.

"Yes, it is," Mikal agreed, "We can use the map to plan our next moves and find where the Luminar’s mining operations are."

"But we still have no leads," Zara remarked and the atmosphere had turned darker.