Fish Belly

The solemn, massive warship, adorned everywhere with theological ornamentation, bathed in starlight, its red energy currents flickering and surging between its armor belts and shield arrays.

Eileen sprang up from the copilot's seat on the spot. (As an aside, she had somehow already managed to buckle her seat belt by then. As it turned out, that thing really couldn't hold her.) She stared wide-eyed at the black-and-red warship emerging from its stealth field, practically pressed against the shuttle's nose. "Holy crap! Are these zealots really planning to rob us?!"

Yu Sheng was startled by the sudden appearance of the ship as well, but he was clearly calmer than the jumpy little doll. He merely frowned. "But come to think of it, isn't this a bit excessive for killing a delivery boy? Our shuttle isn't even as big as one of its missile launchers."

"Good point. Let's observe for now." Luo's voice came through the communicator as well. "They don't show any signs of opening fire, and they activated the identification signal as agreed... Let's follow the script for now."

Just then, the shuttle's system notification suddenly rang out, interrupting Luo and Yu Sheng's exchange. "External communication detected."

"They're calling. Mute yourself for now." Yu Sheng spoke rapidly, then switched his communication with Luo to another channel and connected to the call from the large warship.

After a few brief bursts of static, a projection appeared on the shuttle's control console, indicating that the external signal had connected. A middle-aged man's voice followed. "...Were you sent by 'Old Qiao' to deliver the goods?"

"Uh, yes." Yu Sheng paused, quickly got into character, and glanced at the little doll beside him from the corner of his eye. "But not 'you.' I'm alone."

Eileen had already climbed back into her seat while Yu