Chapter 233: Chapter 233: The Crazy Starship
The Military and civilian government departments operated under different jurisdictions. Director Quinn had specifically sent Miles Sherman to make the report to get a head start.
If The Military were to take the lead, the entire matter would be delayed by at least half a day.
But with Miles Sherman reporting, they could immediately access surveillance footage and information.
Sure enough, after his call with Director Quinn ended, Miles Sherman immediately contacted the government councilor who had been in charge of the Planet B36 incident.
The councilor immediately granted Miles Sherman and his team authorization.
Previously, they probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable granting authority to Miles Sherman and Zoe Pierce.
But now, Zoe Pierce and the others were privy to the entire Planet B36 incident, had previously secured a victory for The Federation, and on top of that, the matter itself was so highly classified that no one on Harvestfall even had the clearance to know about it.
This all combined to make Miles Sherman and his team the optimal solution.
Nathan Lockwood watched through the surveillance feeds as Arthur White took a local shuttle to a secluded house. Less than half an hour later, traveling light, he was back in a hovercar, heading for the spaceport.
"This is bad. He’s going to run," Aaron Xavier said with a frown as he watched from the side.
He looked exactly the same as when he’d fled the Capital Star.
Only his hair color and clothes were different.
Chase Shaw’s brows furrowed, and he immediately steered the hovercar toward his family’s private spaceport. "What are the next departing flights?"
If possible, grounding all departing flights would be the best course of action. After all, if they let Arthur White escape again, catching him next time would be even more difficult.
Nathan Lockwood ran a quick search and immediately said, "There’s only one Starship taking off in the next thirty minutes."
Considering Arthur White’s cautious nature, he would never enter a public place where he could be exposed too far in advance.
"It’s too late," Nathan Lockwood continued. "That Starship is about to take off."
There were only five minutes left.
There was no way they could stop that Starship in time.
"Ship-to-ship docking," Miles Sherman and Nathan Lockwood said in unison the next second.
It was a relatively common maneuver in space, originally intended for refueling by connecting two Starships.
Later, it evolved to include other applications, such as space rescues and special transfers.
Zoe Pierce watched Miles Sherman relay their idea to Director Quinn and the government officials. A neighboring mid-sized planet with a police force had already dispatched personnel, but it would take time for them to arrive.
So for now, they were the only ones who could act.
Chase Shaw contacted his family. The Starship that had been docked in their spaceport now had a new purpose.
The hovercar was pushed to its maximum speed, and they boarded the Starship without a moment to spare for words or explanations.
"The ground crew confirmed it. Arthur White is on board the Starship. They’ve already notified the captain, who has ordered an emergency closure of the boarding ramp and alerted the Passenger Police," Zoe Pierce said to Nathan Lockwood and the others after hanging up.
Less than two hours had passed since they first spotted Arthur White.
Everything was happening too fast. No one was idle.
"Is the passengers’ safety on the Starship guaranteed?" Nathan Lockwood asked.
Zoe Pierce looked down at the information coming through her Intelligent Brain. "The Starship has 568 passengers, with a full capacity of 600. It’s a small-class Starship, equipped with three Passenger Police. There are currently 268 Alphas and 120 Omegas on board; the rest are Betas. No problems at the moment."
"Remind the Passenger Police on the Starship to check him for a mecha’s Space Button and be on alert for him to deploy a mecha."
On the other end, the Passenger Police officer who received the message frowned. ’This wanted fugitive is registered as a Beta, so why do we need to be on alert for him using a mecha?’
’Can Betas pilot mechas now?’
But despite their confusion, they could only comply.
After reporting to The Military, Director Quinn remained in contact with them. "Miles, don’t take any unnecessary risks. You can tail that Starship, but it’s best if you don’t engage yourselves."
This situation was already sensitive enough, and Director Quinn didn’t want them to be subjected to another interrogation.
The others on board fell silent, their gazes all turning to Zoe Pierce.
The person most fixated on Arthur White, after all, was Zoe.
Hearing this, Zoe Pierce said, "As long as he’s captured, that’s all that matters."
She wasn’t obsessed with having to be the one to personally capture Arthur White.
Just capturing him would be enough.
Their Starship had completely left Harvestfall’s atmosphere and entered space. In the next moment, it turned to pursue the civilian Starship, which had departed nearly twenty minutes ahead of them.
By the civilian captain’s design, that Starship was now traveling at its slowest possible speed.
It took Zoe Pierce and her team about ten minutes to get a lock on the Starship’s position.
They moved in closer, maintaining a carefully calculated distance—not too far, not too close.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the government Starships to arrive.
Meanwhile, in a distant sector of space, a small spacecraft flew slowly. The Beta inside observed the situation and reported respectfully into a comms unit.
"My lord, the targets have reached the designated coordinates."
"Shall we execute the mission?"
The mechanical voice on the other end distorted. "Ensure that the mission is foolproof."
The voice on his end replied, "The four Alphas have an eighty percent survival rate. The Omega’s survival rate is five percent."
"Once confirmed, you may begin."
"Understood."
...
At first, when Zoe Pierce saw several Starships approaching in the distance, she thought the government reinforcements had arrived.
Three or four Starships were closing in on them at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But soon, that familiar, heart-pounding panic washed over her, nearly causing her to collapse to the floor.
Aaron Xavier’s reflexes were sharp; he caught her in an instant. "Zoe, what’s wrong?"
Zoe Pierce gripped Aaron Xavier’s hand tightly. "Aaron, something’s wrong. Something is very wrong."
The color had completely drained from her face, leaving it as white as a sheet of paper.
Aaron Xavier helped her to a seat, his own brow furrowing in concern, but he couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary.
"Just take a breath. Tell me what’s wrong."
Zoe Pierce’s gaze was fixed on the Starships that were still drawing closer. The more clearly she could see them, the more tense she became. "Those Starships... they’re wrong..."
Nathan Lockwood immediately scanned the incoming vessels with their radar. "She’s right. The Starships aren’t showing any signs of decelerating."
The Starships, converging from several directions, were still maintaining a velocity that was considered fast even for normal space travel.
Hearing their reports, an absurd thought suddenly flashed through Director Quinn’s mind.
’Surely these government Starships aren’t planning to just ram them, are they?’
’Wait a minute, they haven’t even tried to establish contact.’
’It’s highly likely... that these aren’t government ships at all.’
’And if they aren’t, if they maintain their current velocity and collide with the Starship carrying Miles and the others...?’
His expression turned grim. Realizing the implications faster than anyone else, his voice cracked with urgency as he shouted, "Everyone, get in your mechas, now! Activate defensive mode!"
