The Spider Queen

(Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

(Nephilim Church Starship Model MK11 Delta)

Sophie stared out of the window and watched quietly as the stars passed by in an endless stream of twinkling lights.

A faint snoring noise could be heard inside her private cabin. Lily was fast asleep and had insisted on staying with her big sister for the rest of the journey back home.

Sophie didn't mind so the pair were assigned to the same room.

Unlike the little girl, Sophie just couldn't fall asleep even when she tried her best to close her eyes and take a brief rest.

So now the only thing she could do was sit up on the bed and try to distract herself from thinking about what was to come.

There was just too much on her mind. Sophie let out a gentle sigh as she continued to observe the magnificent scenery that flashed by.

For safety purposes Katarina had ordered all personnel onboard the vessel not to connect to the virtual net using their devices just yet.

The current location of their starship was still in military regulated space so the risk of hackers infiltrating their devices was a realistic possibility.

Sophie absentmindedly tilted her wrist communicator upwards but did not bother to turn on the screen.

Truthfully she wasn't sure what to feel now that it was finally over.

After spending months going from one life threatening situation to the next in the middle of hostile enemy territory, it was hard for Sophie to finally relax.

Even now as she sat on a soft memory foam mattress on a starship that was being piloted by her father's loyal death guards, Sophie unconsciously extended her senses outwards to detect any possible threats.

Old habits died hard.

Sophie cautiously stretched out her bladed appendages and winced as a sharp jolt of pain cut through her lower back.

She had taken off the biomechanical exoskeleton a few hours earlier but her appendages were still feeling a bit sore.

Fortunately, thanks to her enhanced healing factor, Sophie fully expected the pain to disappear eventually once her body recovered.

But what would happen next?

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Now that Sophie was finally in a safe location there were numerous questions that she now had to consider.

How would her friends react to her return? Would her father ever let her leave the Peterlor mansion after this scare?

Would she have to repeat first year since she missed an entire semester? Would her father's enemies leave her alone once they found out that she returned?

These were all issues that Sophie had thrown to the back of her mind during her time in the Unovan Syndicate since there were usually bigger problems at hand.

But now she would have to face all of these questions.

Sophie contemplated quietly for a few minutes before a warm smile flashed across her lips as a sudden realisation entered her mind.

What did it matter?

She was alive. She was going back home. She was going to see her loved ones again.

Truthfully she was one of the lucky ones.

Sophie remembered the full list of missing noble heirs that she had seen and the majority had turned up as corpses while the search for others had been indefinitely postponed by their own clans.

Even Lily had been presumed as dead by her own family. Although Sophie planned on letting her father know that she would not support House Blackait if Lily was replaced as heir.

A bit of political exertion but a duke's daughter could afford to be willful.

Sophie had spent too much time with the little girl to have her suffer a hostile and dangerous atmosphere when she returned to her family.

Sophie was grateful that her father did not sire any other children since the struggle between heirs often ended in violence.

A sudden bout of homesickness struck Sophie and she was struck by the urge to see her dad as soon as possible.

She turned on her wrist communicator and made sure that it was in offline mode before opening up her private gallery.

Sophie scrolled through the pictures on the screen and her face made a variety of expressions as she continued to browse.

There was a picture of her and Cleo smiling happily in the middle of their apartment on campus while the following picture was of Astrid flexing her muscles while Qiana shook her head in the background with an indulgent look in her eyes.

An entire folder was dedicated to Moon's baby pictures when the frostwing bat had just hatched.

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Sophie laughed when she saw the stupid grin on her furry pet's face as he flapped his wings happily at the camera.

"Wait… when did I take this?" Sophie whispered in shock as another picture flashed across her screen.

It was an image of Cleo at the zoo staring at the so-called 'tigers' that scientists had genetically created based on the now extinct animal from the ancient earth era.

This was from their first date.

The hybrid girl didn't notice at the time but as she stared at the picture of Cleo, her golden eyes briefly flashed pink.

This moment only lasted for a few seconds so Sophie was left unaware that her powers had involuntarily activated.

There were many pictures of the various scenic spots on campus.

Zrudread University may be known for its brutal training and emphasis on combat but there were places for the students to relax during the day.

From a shot of the busy cafeteria where numerous alien races all packed together trying desperately to cram down their food before the next class started to the park where the combat beasts were kept.

Sophie had never bothered to check all the pictures saved in her gallery before but as she continued to scroll down, the sheer volume of moments captured in time left her feeling nostalgic.

She even missed the mundane things about campus life such as the homework assignments that she would hastily complete before the lecture begun.

Sophie lost track of time as she browsed album after album.

It was like she was trapped in a trance.

Only when the final image appeared on the screen did Sophie finally close her gallery and turn off her communicator.

There was one picture in particular that really stood out to her.

Sophie's smile gradually faded as she remembered the picture of her dad standing proudly on the day that she graduated from high school.

The handsome image of her dad enthusiastically cheering her on during the ceremony without a care towards his appearance or reputation was a precious memory.

Everything was much simpler back then. It was less than a year ago but that time still felt like a lifetime away.

For better or worse she had changed during the last few months.

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Sophie's hands trembled slightly as she fought down the urge to cry.

She had tried so desperately to keep a brave face on so that Lily wouldn't panic or be afraid during the last few months but truthfully at certain times…

Sophie genuinely did not know if they were going to survive.

There were so many moments where if she had made the wrong decision or had not reacted quick enough, they would have been dead.

"No… no… it's all over now…" Sophie whispered as she took a few deep breaths and exhaled softly.

It wasn't healthy to dwell on what could have happened but Sophie couldn't stop those unpleasant possibilities from flooding her mind.

Knock! Knock!

A soft knocking noise came from the outside of the room which interrupted Sophie's mental struggles.

The hybrid girl got up from the bed and quietly made her way across the room in order not to wake up Lily.

She pressed her finger against the scanner in the middle of the door. It took a moment before the door swung open to reveal Rachel whose her holy aura was now completely gone.

"Hey… do you want to go for a walk?" Rachel asked lazily.

"Yeah. I definitely need to clear my head right now. Just give me a few minutes to slip into something more comfortable," Sophie replied with a gentle smile.

She closed the door and headed to the bathroom where there were several clean outfits laid neatly on a rack.

Thankfully Katarina had brought extra clothes and supplies since Sophie was sick of wearing the same standard battlesuit all the time.

Now what outfit should I wear?

Sophie glanced back and forth but eventually decided on a pair of loose track pants and a comfortable red shirt.

She walked over to the door but not before stopping by the bed and planting a soft kiss on Lily's forehead.

"Ready to go? I'll show you around the starship," Rachel cheerfully spoke. Sophie grinned and closed the door behind her as she stepped outside.

Whatever the future may hold…

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There was reason to hope.