The Spider Queen

(Unknown Starship- Upper Decks)

(First Commander's Private Cabin)

The largest room on the floor that contained the cabins for the upper-level officers had to be the room where the first commander resided.

It contained three beds, two bathrooms, a private kitchen, living room, and a mediation chamber with a wide array of Class X psychedelics along with a connecting holosuite.

Two figures were currently occupying the room but the atmosphere between them was noticeably tense.

"I'm sorry," Sophie hugged Lily tightly and felt the warm, soft body tremble as she spoke.

"I promise that I will be back in just a few days at most."

The hybrid girl wiped away the tears that were forming at the corners of Lily's eyes.

Eliminating Captain Dawn was now the highest priority before they could leave the planet.

This task had only increased in difficulty since there was also a time limit. She needed to leave the planet before any rescue teams sent by the Sun's Glory arrived to aid the surviving crew.

It was impossible to know how much time was left so Sophie planned to kill the captain with a guaranteed fatal blow.

Travelling to the camp from the starship would take around a day so the entire trip if everything went according to plan would be a three-day affair.

"Why are you leaving again?" Lily scowled and punched her fist softly against her big sister's chest.

"Can't we just fly on the ship?"

Sophie hesitated as she saw the frustration hidden beneath Lily's usual soft gaze. Hiding secrets and keeping the little girl in the dark wasn't what she wanted to do but…

No… I…. need to….

Maybe she could tell Lily a partial truth?

Sophie leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Lily's forehead. She stretched out her arms and tenderly caressed the little girl's back.

Humming a sweet lullaby from a well-known singer proved to be useful since Lily no longer frowned when looking at her.

Sophie opened up the conversation with a casual question, "Do you remember the knights that we stayed with?"

"Well… this is their starship so they might chase us down and try to kill us once we leave the atmosphere."

"So.. I'm going to…" Sophie coughed awkwardly as she tried to find the right words to say.

She was startled to feel a small hand suddenly grab her arm tightly.

"I understand," Lily whispered and then tilted her face upwards to stare at Sophie with a serious expression.

"Big sister… I may be a child but I'm not stupid…. I know that whenever you fought the bad guys that they died…"

"I'm upset because you lie to me!"

Ahh… how could I forget…

Sophie eyes narrowed as a realisation flashed across her mind. It was a thought so simple that it was amazing that she had never considered it.

Perhaps unconsciously due to Lily's age, she was viewing the little girl with the same image of young children in Sui Meng's memories.

On ancient Earth in the country that Sui Meng lived, it would be considered shocking to expose a child to violence and death, but this was the age of Interstellar warfare.

As the heir to a great noble house, it was likely that in order to win against her siblings Lily had already seen death.

Sophie bowed her head and admitted, "Sorry… I just wanted to protect you."

[And hide the terrible monster I become]

[That is why I am still not telling you the whole truth even now…]

Those last two lines remained in Sophie's mind as she could not speak those shameful words and confess to eating and torturing countless aliens.

Her dark mood was driven away by the feeling of a fierce pinch on her waist followed by a kind voice.

"Big sister you are so silly sometimes!" Lily yelled and squeezed her body closer into Sophie's lap.

"I still love you."

Sophie smiled as she felt a warm bubbly feeling in her chest.

The caring and innocent look in Lily's eyes contrasted her own troubled appearance.

The only good event that had occurred since being teleported to the Unova Syndicate was meeting up with Lily.

Some may consider travelling with a child on a dangerous journey as an unnecessary burden, but Sophie knew that without her…

She would have already gone fully insane.

Even with the knowledge that there were loved ones waiting for her to get back home.

Sometimes all you needed was warm hug.

"We'll get through this," Sophie smiled and pressed her lips gently against Lily's cheek.

"I promise we'll get through this."

(One day later)

The harsh light from the red sun shone down on Sophie's body as she sped through the desert on the stolen hoverbike.

Dust clouds were kicked up into the air wherever the hoverbike passed but the hybrid girl just continued to press the accelerator.

Every moment was precious.

The camp of the Hyperion knights was around one hour away from her current location which was more than enough time to run over the final details of her plan.

Sophie fully expected to be outnumbered but she did hold one crucial advantage that was the fact that the knights would have thought that she died in the explosion.

Taking them by surprise would be a simple matter.

There were other details that increased the odds in her favour such as the majority of the camp's forces dying in the explosion.

Of course, with any luck, Captain Dawn would still be trapped inside the trial area, but Sophie had a gut feeling telling her that he was already out.

Information would be the difference between life or death.

She needed to scan the surrounding area to get the patrol routes of the knights on duty for the night.

The best time to attack was always sunrise. The light of a new day would cause guards to relax since the night ended.

It was the time they were most vulnerable.

Deal with the small-fry first and then move on to the target. Sophie licked her lips as she could feel her bloodlust surging beneath her calm exterior.

The thrill of being a hunter preparing for an ambush was an intoxicating feeling that caused Sophie's heart to skip a beat.

Fresh…. meat… hunger….

Hunger….

Sophie took out two nutrient vials from her storage bag and poured the contents into her mouth with practised ease.

This was part of the new strategy Sophie was trying out to control her berserk state.

If she fought the captain as a mad beast then she would be easily put down just like a beast.

Staying sober and maintaining a clear head while fighting would be the key to victory.