"Hello, I''m Zoldur, captain of the Endearing. Wee aboard, mercenaries." A man as pale as ash weed the team on his ship.


    He looked suspiciously human-like and a few momentster, it was clear that the captain of the ship was indeed a human. At the same time, he wasn''t aplete human. It would appear Zoldur had evolved from a human being to a species known as Meta-humans.


    These people were quicker and on average had higher strength thanpared to regr humans on earth. After spending more than a thousand years in space, it seemed the human race had divided into a variety of other races. Most prominent among the crowd were the Meta-humans, Sumeric Sapiens and Harvesters.


    Unlike what the name suggested, the Harvesters weren''t traditional farmers because instead of growing crops and selling them, they harvested aliens. In fact, they were the leaders when it came to the organ farming syndicate.


    Obviously, Ashton did not know, nor did he care about them. But Zoldur recognised him and immediately asked which type of human he was. While Ashton had nothing to hide, he knew Zoldur might not react positively if he told him that he was the living reminder of the species that pushed the humans out of their home.


    That''s why Astaroth quickly gathered whatever information he could and suggested Ashton go with Sumeric Sapiens as the meta-humans often respected them.


    "Ah, I never thought those god-preachers would ever join the mercenary association." Zoldur was quite surprised, "Either way, it''s good to see a fellow human working their ass off. So, where is the cargo I was informed about?"


    "Right here," Ashton replied while pointing at E who even with her disguise looked weirdly beautiful.


    "Oh, I see..." Zoldur replied non-enthusiastically, "Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here and don''t forget, your weapons are only to be used in self-defence. If you dare try to pull something sinister on my ship, human or not, I will throw you off. Is that clear?"


    [Oh I would love to see you try. The bastard got the poorest evolution path one could possibly get and look at him bark! Makes me wonder what this fool would have done if he got hold of a half-decent evolutionary tree.]


    Ashton did not convey any of Astaroth''sments to Zoldur and remained quiet. His job was done, now it was up to the rest of the team to show their usefulness.


    Without wasting any time, the mermen brothers followed Zoldur to the cockpit of the ship. As strategists with little to no experience in fighting, it was the best ce for them to protect themselves and continue working from there.


    In the meantime, the tank and brawlers immediately decided to get drunk on board the ship. At the same time, thedies along with E and her bodyguards left for the spa and some even went to get some food.


    Ashton, on the other hand, decided to roam around and get himself familiar with the structure of the ship. To be honest, the ship was more like a 7-star hotel than a transportation facility. It had everything, from movie theatres to spas to dining halls and a couple of bars. They even had an armoury.


    Sadly, only holograms of the weapons could be purchased there. After obtaining the hologram, once the ship docked at a scheduled stoppage, the travellers could visit the weaponry store affiliated with the ship and then get the weapon from there.


    However, once they''d enter the ship, they would have to surrender the weapon and would be able to collect it while leaving the spaceship.


    ''It isn''t like I could have afforded anything even if they gave us legit weapons inside the ce.'' Ashton saw the price tag on the items and excused himself. He didn''t even possess the least amount needed to buy the most basic tier weapon.


    [Hey, it''s not like you need any weapons either. You got Balmond for your weapon and Hydra''s armour to protect your butt. What else do you even need?]


    ''That''s true.''


    Ashton thought and kept walking around until he heard amotion from the bar located around the corner. In an instant, a person was sent flying in his direction, Ashton immediately realised who it was.


    "Laihud? What''s going on here?" Ashton asked the shy healer of the team.


    "T-Thank you for s-saving me, Master Reaper." Laihud breathed heavily before pointing at a well-built green-skinned alien, "There seems to be a misunderstanding. A woman, you know, a female of the other species, came onto me and when I didn''t reciprocate her feelings since I don''t swing that way, she called her brother to beat me up!"


    Ashton couldn''t believe what he was hearing. He had heard and seen a plethora of absurd things, but this was the first time he had heard something as pointless as Laihud was telling.


    After that he looked at the female ogre standing in front, ''If she came onto me, even I would turn gay... just look at her. The precursors must have run out of ugliness potion after creating her. Even her brother looks better than her, to be honest.''


    [So Ashton, tell me something, why are you gay?]


    ''Who says I''m gay?''


    [You are gay.]


    ''...Joe is gay.''


    [Joe who?]


    ''Joe Mama. Now shut the fuck up.''


    [...]


    Tearing his eyes away from the ogres, Ashton decided to ask for a rification from Laihud himself. He wanted to get his facts correct before causing some unnecessary drama when they really shouldn''t be trying to get attention on themselves.


    "So you''re telling me, you''re gay and thatdy decided to beat you up for it?"


    "Yeah..."


    Before Ashton could evenugh over the absurdity of the situation, the hulking giant walked up to them. It took a moment for the idiot to form a sentence but when he did, he spat more than he spoke.


    "You... hurt sister''s... feelings. Hulky will smash... you!"


    "No need to smash anyone, green guy." Ashton decided to take a peaceful approach to the matter, "Let''s talk it out like adults-"


    Before Ashton could evenplete his grand speech about peace and harmony, Hulky, the ogre, decided to punch him. Long story short, it did not end well for him. All of his fingers were broken instantly.


    "That''s why you should opt for peace when someone offers it," Ashton shook his head but didn''t retaliate otherwise.


    Momentster, bouncers approached them and dragged the uglies away and apologised for the inconvenience caused. Ashton just waved his hands to let them know it was fine.


    "T-Thank you so much!" Laihud eximed and rushed in for a hug, but Ashton stopped him in his tracks.


    "Sorry, but no homo. By the way, what are you even doing alone in the bar? Vimur was supposed to be with you, wasn''t he?"


    "He left to do something... or I should say... someone." Laihud replied, "He''s in the washroom with the bartender. That Hulky moron was trying to get close to the bartender as well, but Vimurpletely made a fool out of him. It was hrious to see two idiots quarrel to prove who was the bigger idiot, but the girl ultimately chose Vimur."


    "You assholes do realise we are not on a vacation here, don''t you?" Ashton finally lost his cool.


    "Yeah, but-"


    "No buts! Get that idiot out and go protect the cargo, now!"