"We're hit! We're hit!" Dmitri started repeating with his raised voice as he positioned himself by the controls of the Starlight Streamer. He started turning knobs, adjusting the speeds of the Starlight Streamer, and prepping it in order to outmaneuver the Excelsior Knifehead that was right on their tail.
Even though Dmitri seemed to inflict panic on his teammates onboard, there was nothing to worry about since he's got everything taken care of. Dmitri hailed from the Smirnoff family, one of the notable family names when it comes to flying space cruisers. For decades, their family name had dominated the skies, and there was no one who could best a Smirnoff, especially in a cat and mouse chase involving space cruisers. Dmitri may have started a space cruiser and parts company, but his talent in piloting a space cruiser had never left him. Back when they were training as expeditioners, he was top of the class, the best pilot amongst all the students. No one could beat him.
And there's no way in the vast universe that the Ashen Assembly would be able to go head to head with his maneuvering skills.
A stiff smile appeared on Dmitri's face as he turned the Starlight Streamer around and headed to one of the Star Systems nearby. As mentioned before, the Starlight Streamer was very durable, and its shield system was even more so. That's why Dmitri didn't have to worry whether the star system they were flying through is frigid cold or melting hot. The Starlight Streamer can tank it all.
Because of their sudden sharp turn, the Excelsior Knifehead following them stopped short for a moment before resuming their desperate chase. For one, they didn't know what the Star System holds for them, that's why they had to be extra cautious with their approach. The Excelsior Knifehead may be durable, but it's not as tough as the Starlight Streamer.
Dmitri already knew what Lo'us and the others were already thinking when he made that turn and that gave him enough time to turn off their engine and land on a safe planet where they won't be detected by the Excelsior Knifeheads's instruments.
"Why are we stopping?" Lev asked, even though he somewhat knew the answer. All his knowledge about sci-fi novels and movies he saw was more than enough to give him the explanation but he wanted to ask anyway. Aside from a stopover, the Starlight Streamer's engine being turned off has another reason as well. This was to hide their presence from their pursuers.
"Let's wait for them to go around, and then we can just head to the next wormhole once they're gone. They'll be tired looking for us anyway since we didn't leave any footprints for them to follow." Once again, Dmitri joined the circle of everyone on board while they waited.
"Once we've run away, where are we heading to next?" This time, it was Helena who asked the question.
"We're going to meet someone, the fourth member of our crew."
"Yeah, you'll like him, Lev." There's something sinister behind Hellspawn's words of approval but Lev didn't seem to notice.
Half an hour passed and that's when the Ashen Assembly gave up on locating the Starlight Streamer. Dmitri finally turned on the engine and rode straight to the wormhole that was supposed to take them to their next destination— the Gaia Star System.
The Gaia Star System is made up of planets rich in flora and fauna which are exclusive to that Star System. Most of these florae and faunas are edible, thus making the Gaia Star System a famous spot for hunters and herb gatherers alike. A lot of expeditions revolve around the Gaia Star System due to its bountiful nature. The people that live here are mostly of the Elemental Class— humans who could control an element (there are four basic elements, water, earth, fire, and wind) and the Gargantuan Class— humans who are more than six to seven feet tall, most of them burly, and they possess incredible strength; they are gently in nature, however, so fights amongst the Gargantuan Class humans rarely happens. Whenever it does, both parties of the Gargantuan Class must've held a grudge for a few years or so that it was inevitable for their anger to come out. This is the reason why someone from the Gargantuan Class and someone from the Carnage Class rarely got along. Their natures are total opposites after all.
As mentioned before, Lev is said to be of the Carnage Class despite having the size of a Gargantuan Class.
"So, who are we meeting here? Is he one of the Elemental Class or of the Gargantuan Class?" Helena, once again, was the first one to ask a question that both Lev and Titania wanted to ask as well. They were just a beat slower than her.
"Yes and... now," Dmitri smiled, adding a flair of mystery to the identity of the person they were about to meet. "He goes by the name Lavulis Krimshur. His name may sound scary but he's one of the gentlest Elemental Class humans I know. You know him too, Lev, he's one of us."
"I see, should I know anything else beforehand before meeting him? Your smile kind of rubs me the wrong way, you know." Lev asked, staring at Dmitri who kept a smug expression on his face.
"Nothing much, it's just that the two of you have a pretty interesting history together. Well, you will know once you meet him."
Lev didn't know whether to trust Dmitri by his words or not. There was more than meets the eye about this guy in question, however, and Lev was dying to know about him.
"Now that I think about it, how were you able to find him? I couldn't trace him for years, you know." Hellspawn asked Dmitri.
"Well... let's just say that I have my connections. And also, technology has never betrayed me, so there's that." Dmitri answered, twirling his finger around the air as if to prove his point further. "Waahhhh~~~ I can't believe that the band is back in action again. Do you know how much I've dreamed of this moment happening? Lev might not remember this but the four of us? Together, we were unstoppable. That's how powerful and balanced our team was as expeditioners in training in the past."