This chapter marks 100k words for Spaceship Reincarnator!

Anton finished welding together part of the shell of a new model of repair drone, “...you know what I mean?”

Ryan was about to answer when Étién’s comm turned on. She looked worried, “Ryan? Are you able to hear me?”

Étién was in a large, well lit room. He couldn’t see much other than several plants that lined the polished wood wall behind her and a window in which sunlight poured through. 

Ryan would have to wait to answer Anton’s question, “Sorry, Étién’s calling.”

Anton shrugged and picked up a strut, “‘K. Just give your answer later.”

Ryan focused on Étién, “Yes, I can hear you. You talked to your mother?”

There was a pause, “Yes. She is…”

Ryan heard a stern female voice and Étién turned towards it, “Come, daughter. It is time to open the Gateway.”

Étién responded, “I am on my way.” She turned back to the comm, “My mother is coming to Luna at this very moment. Please let your friends know.”

The comm turned off.

It had been half a day since Étién’s visit, so Ryan hadn’t expected her mother to react so soon.

Ryan opened ship wide comms, “Hey guys! Étién’s mom is coming to visit. They’re using the Gateway so they could get here any time.”

Anton paused his welding, “Great…”

Becky, Sashae, Mayu, and the fairies were all in the mess hall where they were holding an English class.

Becky stood up and turned towards the door, “Looks like class is over.”

Sashae stood up too, “What doing?”

Mayu was the third to stand up, “Étién. Mother. Come.”

Sashae nodded in understanding, “Okay. We go see?”

Becky waved for the others to follow, “Yeah. We go see.”

Aoi and Saki didn’t seem to know what was going on or didn’t care.

Aoi followed Mayu as she began walking towards the door, “We go outside play?”

Saki stayed seated next to Mikan and watched the others.

Mikan stood up and stretched, “Let’s go Saki. Someone coming. We go see.”

Saki crossed her arms, scowled, and looked to the side, “Mikan and Saki stay. No see new people.”

Ryan thought it might be for the best to leave Saki here, but he couldn’t leave Mikan here either, “Mikan needs to go see black hair girl’s mama.”

Saki still looked angry, “No hug black hair girl.”

Ryan had expected this much, and, as much as he liked Étién’s hugs, he had expected something like this after seeing the way Saki behaved earlier, “Yes, I won’t let her hug me.”

Saki floated into the air, “Promise?”

Mikan sighed, “I promise.”

He doubted Étién would hug Mikan in front of her mother so…

The Usual Breach was the fastest way out, so Ryan went that way while the others went via the airlock.

Saki and Aoi followed Mikan.

It was a good thing he sent Mikan that way, because before the others arrived at the airlock, a wormhole opened near the beach.

Ryan watched for the telltale shimmer of an invisible meatball leaving the portal, but saw none.

Instead, four armor clad figures exited.

The armor these figures wore was exquisite black plate metal, which covered their entire bodies. Gold engravings depicting vines and flowers covered the armor.

Each had a sword sheathed at their waist and held a halberd as decorated as the armor.

Two of them stepped to either side of the wormhole, standing at attention. 

The other two walked five paces ahead and stopped, looking towards Luna.

A short, petite woman stepped through next, followed by Étién.

The woman, probably Étién’s mother, wore a green open front robe that had a symbol of some sort barely visible from his position. She wore a breastplate with an image of Ui Breasail etched in gold. Her face had a half mask covering her left side of her face around her eye and ear, but her short, chin length black hair partially covered it. The mask nearly made Ryan miss her beautiful blue eye which seemed to glow as she studied her surroundings. Her face looked stern and showed no emotions as she studied the fairies. 

Étién’s mother had much the same physique as Étién, except more mature and lithe. 

Étién’s mother carried a rapier on her hip that made Étién’s seem like trash in comparison, as it had several dozens of magic jewels encrusted along its hilt and even the blade.

Ryan noticed her left arm last. It was metal. At first he’d thought it was part of her armor, but once he got closer to her, he could tell that wasn’t the case and she had what looked like a robotic arm.

Between the mask covering part of her face and the robotic arm, he wondered if she’d gotten severely injured some time in the past.

Étién smiled weakly at Mikan and didn’t make eye contact for more than a moment before looking at her feet.

Ryan looked Étién over and saw she was no longer wearing her armor and now wore a green vest with gold embroidery over a long, purple, sleeveless dress. On her arms she wore detached sleeves made of sheer purple fabric that went from below her shoulders to her wrists. Her shoulder length black hair was no longer covered by the helmet she wore with her armor and now had it styled with two small braids that went from front to back where a gold clasp held them together.

Étién’s mother stopped a few steps away from Mikan and surveyed the surroundings.

She turned to Mikan, her uncovered eye studying the fairy, and spoke in English, “I see the others have not arrived?”

Mikan shook her head. Étién’s mother somehow made Ryan nervous, “I… Uh… we just found out you were coming, but they are almost at the exit.”

Étién’s mother glanced at the ship, before focusing back on Mikan, “My daughter was correct. You are an interesting fairy.”

Ryan opened the airlock doors, “I… uh… thanks. Oh, my name is…”

Étién’s mother raised her hand, “Ryan. My daughter told me in great detail about your meeting this morning and the time she spent teaching you our language.”

Ryan got the sinking feeling giving Étién such a detailed tour hadn’t been such a great idea, “Oh.”

Anton appeared first, followed by the group from the mess hall. Chie had been in the science lab, so it would be a little longer before she came.

Étién’s mother’s attention turned to the crew, “Ryan, I will wait until your crew arrives before we do introductions.”

Mikan nodded, “That’s fine.” Ryan wondered something, “How do you know English?”

Étién’s mother continued to watch the crew approach, “The individuals that come from Earth revive in a Temple of Rebirth after their deaths. As such, my position as a diplomat from Ui Brasil requires me to know the languages of all the major languages spoken in the region. Your kind may not be large in number, but have a large impact thanks to your ability to return even after death.”

That made sense, “How many people from Earth are in Ildathach?”

Étién’s mother answered immediately, “Thirty seven excluding your group.”

Ryan felt that wasn’t too large a number, “That’s not too many.”

Étién’s mother didn’t react, “Tell me, how long have you journeyed on that ship?”

Ryan couldn’t say the number was entirely accurate since they’d had to guess on the length of a second, “A little more than two months for me, but only about a month and a half for the others.”

The others were close enough that Étién’s mother turned her attention to them.

Anton jogged ahead, “This brat is Étién’s mom?”

Mikan winced, “Umm…”

Étién’s mother smiled slightly, “Ah, my daughter said there was one that might lack manners.”

Anton’s eyes went wide in horror, “She speaks English!?”

Mikan shook her head in embarrassment.

Becky stopped next to Anton and smacked him in the back of the head, “You idiot!”

Mayu came up soon after and bowed deeply, “We apologize for our friend’s rudeness.”

Aoi stopped and pointed at Anton and cackled, “Anton’s in trouble!”

Anton’s face had turned a bright red, “I’m… I’m sorry! How was I supposed ta know you spoke English.”

Saki flitted behind Mika and looked at Étién’s mother wearily.

Chie appeared at the airlock.

Étién’s mother’s eyes glanced at Chie, then turned back to the others, “Apology accepted.” She turned to Anton, “Perhaps we can start introductions while your remaining crewmate arrives.”

Anton gulped, “Me first? Ah… Name’s Anton Richards.”

Becky was next, “Rebecca Lindhurst.”

Mayu bowed, “Mayu Iwata.”

Sashae looked uncomfortable, “Eop Sashae.”

Ryan felt uncomfortable as the attention turned to him, and Mikan fidgeted, “Ryan Campbell, but this body Mikan.” He gestured to Saki, “This is Saki,” then to Aoi, “and Aoi.”

Étién’s mother flourished her arm and bowed, “Niamh of Ui Breasail. Ambassador to Ildathach.”

Becky bowed, “Pleased to meet you.”

Mayu and Mikan followed suit.

Anton looked unsure but bowed too, “Sorry about earlier, Étién’s mom!”

Niamh smiled politely, “It is always a pleasure.”

Chie was now close enough that everyone turned to her.

Niamh noticed Chie’s limp from her injury, “This one was injured?”

Mikan turned back to Niamh, “Yes. We tried saving some fairies, and she fell from pretty high up.”

Niamh looked at the fairies, “A pity about the injury. Were you successful at rescuing the fairies?”

Ryan wondered why she would ask that when three were right in front of her, “...no. These two and Mikan are… do you know what a clone is?”

Niamh considered the word for a moment, “I do not believe I do.”

Mikan nodded, “Well, a clone is when you make a copy of a person. We didn’t save the fairies, but copied them.”

Mayu looked uncomfortable as Ryan brought up cloning.

Niamh looked surprised, “Interesting. That would explain their presence here. Fairy kind do not take well to captivity and are untrusting of those outside their family groups.” She focused on Mikan, “How are you able to control this one?”

Ryan wondered how much he should reveal, “Uh, we added some things to the brain while this body grew.”

Étién turned to Mayu, “Would you be willing to teach my physician this technique?”

Mayu shook her head, “Cloning was mistake. I am thinking it is better not to do it anymore.”

Niamh nodded once, “Understandable.”

Chie arrived, “I apologize for my tardiness.”

Niamh raised her hand, “You are injured, that is quite alright.”

Chie stopped walking, “What have I missed?”

Becky spoke first, “Just introductions.”

Chie nodded, “Very well.” She turned to Niamh, “My birth name is Evan Quinn, but I have taken the name Chie.”

Niamh bowed slightly, “Niam of Ui Breasail, Ambassador to Ildathach.” She looked over the crew, “Now, before I get to business, I would ask each of you a question to get a sense of your character.” She paused, “I find asking about one’s upbringing and your relationships with them to be very telling of a person’s qualities. Would you mind telling me about yours?”

There was a noticeable silence as the crew shifted uncomfortably and looked at each other.

Becky sighed, “I’ll go first. I have two sisters and three brothers. Pretty even split there…,” She paused and fidgeted, “Uh… My dad is an officer in the Army so we moved around a lot. My mother was a stay home mom, but now works daycare in whatever base my dad gets stationed to.” She paused again, “I’m the only daughter that went into science, but my youngest brother is going into engineering.” A warm smile appeared on her face, “Says he wants to design an observatory for me.” 

The smile lessened but stayed, “The rest of my brothers and sisters are pretty normal and went into service or business.” 

Becky stopped and considered what to say next, “Let’s see, not close to my dad because he was gone a lot, but I respect him a lot because he made sure we had everything we needed growing up. Of my siblings I’m closest to my little bro because I helped raise him so my mom could get a little break. Wouldn’t say I’m close to the others but we keep in touch. Love my mom and talk to her at least once a week to make sure she’s doing okay.”

Becky nodded to herself, “I guess that’s it.”

Niamh nodded, “That was very informative.”

Chie tapped her chin, then stepped forward, “Second eldest of eight children. Two boys and six girls. My parents were strict, but fair. I was never close to my siblings.”

Niamh only regarded Chie for a moment, “Thank you.”

Mayu spoke to herself in Japanese, “Have courage,” then turned to Niamh, “I am a single child. My parents raised me to being diligent and were very strict. I was trying to become closer, but have much to do.”

Niamh gave Mayu a polite nod, “A shame you did not have more time.”

It was between Ryan, Anton, and Sashae.

Ryan didn’t want to go after Anton so he needed to speak up fast, “I’m the middle child with an older sister and younger brother. Always got along with my parents just fine and they helped me out a lot before… well…” Mikan shifted in discomfort, “Never close to my sister, but we got along fine. I was close to my little brother when we were younger, but he’s been too busy finishing school so we haven’t spent much time together recently.”

Mikan’s face grew sad.

Niamh nodded, then turned and watched Anton expectantly, almost eagerly.

Anton immediately became uncomfortable under Niamh’s gaze, “Me? Do I have to?”

Becky almost put her hand on Anton’s shoulder, but stopped when he recoiled, “Come on. It’s not so bad.”

Mikan flitted to Anton, “Just do it like Chie and Mayu. No need to give your family history like Becky.”

Becky playfully smacked the back of Mikan’s head, “Hey! She said she wanted to know about our relationship with our family, so I told her.” She crossed her arms and became smug, “You’re lucky I didn’t go into my brothers’ and sisters’ careers. I can if you want. Maybe I will if no one else speaks up soon.”

Anton nearly gagged, “Alright! Anything but more of that!” He turned towards Niamh and took a deep breath, “Got two parents like normal and two older sisters. Never been close to any of ‘em.”

Niamh almost looked disappointed, “Thank you.”

Mikan flitted back to Niamh, “Sashae still isn’t good at English. We just rescued her about a month ago, but she’s pretty quiet and we’ve been busy fixing up the ship.”

Niamh nodded in understanding, “I see, but perhaps we should get her opinion on it, shall we not?”

Ryan felt that was fair, “Okay, I’ll go ask.” Mikan flitted to Sashae, who was using the crew to conceal herself from Niamh, and spoke in her language, “Try speaking English about…” he didn’t know enough words and switch back to English, “Sashae’s mom and others?”

Sashae shook her head, and spoke in her language, “I won’t talk! I don’t like that woman.”

Ryan wasn’t going to push, “Okay, Sashae no talk. Tell me, and I say?”

Sashae peeked at Niamh, who was watching her and Mikan, “Okay. Maybe a little.”

Ryan spent the next minute trying to figure out what Sashae was trying to say, before returning to Niamh, “Uh. If I understood correctly… Sashae liked her family. She had three brothers.”

Niamh looked at Sashae again, “I am interested in hearing more of that one’s life experiences. She is different from the rest of you, and probably in ways you haven’t realized yet.”

Mikan turned to Sashae and wondered what she meant, “Really?”

Niamh turned her gaze back to the crew, “Thank you for answering. Your crew appears less… what was the word… ah, yes. Colorful. Less colorful than many of those that come from Earth. I also appreciate your honesty about your families.” She turned partway to the portal and pointed to it with her arm, “With that done, I would invite you to my home. Your crew was kind enough to take care of  my daughter, so I would like to invite you to dinner as thanks.”

Niamh’s gaze lingered on Mikan, before stepping back and making room for the others to move past her to the Gateway.

Étién moved back as well.

Becky was about to speak when Anton cut her off, “Dinner sounds amazin’ thanks in advance!”

Anton nearly ran, but after a quick glance to Niamh kept it to a brisk walk.

Becky shook her head in dismay, but smiled nonetheless, “I’ll never get you Anton...” She turned to Niamh, “Thank you for the invitation.”

Chie’s expression showed suspicion, but she followed Becky.

Mayu bowed to Niamh, “Thank you for your kindness.” 

Aoi followed Mayu, but gave Niamh a wide berth.

Sashae jogged ahead until she was in the middle of the group.

Saki disappeared when she noticed Mikan staying next to Niamh and reappeared next to Mayu, giving Mikan a concerned look.

Ryan wasn’t sure why everyone was so uncomfortable around Niamh. Sure, her gaze was a bit unnerving, but she seemed nice enough, “You didn’t need to invite us for dinner. All we did was show Étién around.”

Niamh regarded Mikan for a moment, “Perhaps, but this is not the best place to discuss future plans, and if my daughter is correct, your ship is not equipped with luxuries suited for such an occasion.”

Mikan glanced at the portal. All he could see was a room made from marble with several lights to either side of a metal door on the other side, “Where are we going?”

Niamh smiled, “Yes, a question one should ask before accepting an invitation to an unfamiliar place, yes?”

Ryan nearly groaned, “Yeah, well, we just assumed it would be the city.”

Niamh started walking to the Gateway, “Yes and no. We can get to the city from here, but… it is easier if I show you.”

Étién fell in step behind her mother and Mikan.

Mikan turned to Étién, “Good evening. Why are you so quiet?”

Étién lifted her head up and smiled weakly, “It is best to not interrupt mother.”

Ryan wondered just how strict Niamh was to make the normally happy Étién so docile, “Yeah? Maybe we can talk later?”

Étién’s smile warmed a little, “I would like that.”

The crew waited in front of the metal door.

Anton studied the hinges, “What’s this, a prison door?”

Niamh waved to a guard, who opened the door, “This room is designed to keep unwanted creatures out.” She glanced at the crystal emitters at Luna’s fore, “On the occasion a Gateway may not function properly creatures may come from the opening. I think you are familiar with them?”

The image of a Meatball appeared in Ryan’s mind, “You found a way to stop them?”

Niamh nodded, “Yes. It limits the portal in some minor ways, but as long as one does not try to enter the portal from the wrong side, it is of no concern.”

Anton jogged to the portal as the last guard entered and tried to look behind it, “What happens if you enter the wrong way.”

Niamh nodded to a guard, walked to a panel near the portal, “No one knows, other than nothing comes out at the destination or comes back at the origin.”

Anton’s face went white for a second until he noticed the wormhole device just behind the still open portal, “Whoa.”

The wormhole device, which was barely visible behind the wormhole, looked much more compact than Luna’s, barely bigger than Anton. It too had four emitter crystals, and a central crystal, but there were several smaller ones spaced between the emitter crystals and the central one. There were also four pitch black orbs positioned around the central crystal that were larger versions of some they’d found inside the fairies and shrews.

Niamh watched Anton in mild interest, then waved to the guard near the panel, who pushed a switch on it, “Perhaps we should proce…”

Ryan lost contact with Mikan the second the portal closed.

Ryan didn’t know what to do. Why had he lost his connection to Mikan? Where had Niamh taken the crew that would make him lose connection when a wormhole closed?

The wormhole reopened after only about thirty seconds, and he got his connection to Mikan back.

Niamh’s voice was the first thing Ryan heard when he reconnected to Mikan, “...cannot leave the Gateway open for long. It will be best for you to head back.”

Mayu knelt next to Mikan and was touching her wrist.

Saki was sitting above her head and patted her hair, “Mikan okay!”

Becky looked concerned, but relief appeared after seeing Mikan’s eyes open, “What happened?”

Mikan sat up, “Don’t know. Lost my connection to Mikan when the wormhole closed.”

Niamh turned to the open metal door leaving the Gateway room, “I believe I know what happened.” She started walking towards the door and waved for the others to follow, “Come quickly, the Gateway will close before long.”

Mayu stood up, but continued to watch Mikan closely.

Anton followed right behind Niamh, “I wonder what could block Luna’s comm tech.”

Chie followed right behind Anton, “Indeed.”

Mikan fluttered into the air, “Mikan feels fine so we might as well go look.”

Mayu nodded and followed Mikan as she left the room.

The rest followed.

They soon found themselves in a hallway. It looked about forty to fifty meters from end to end, with several rooms along the way with the Gateway room at the far end of the hallway on the right.

Niamh had stopped next to a metal hatch and had her hand near a button next to it.

Once everyone was out, she pushed the button.

The hatch opened, revealing a bright orb floating in blackness. 

Niamh remained expressionless as she watched the crew, “This place is a place ‘outside.’ Aside from this building and the artificial sun outside, there is nothing but emptiness. When the Gateway closed our connection to… my daughter said you called it a universe?”

Anton moved as close to the window as he could, “Is this some sort of pocket universe?”

Chie looked over Anton’s shoulder, “Or perhaps a universe where matter or stars failed to form?”

A guard left the Gateway room, and spoke in Étién’s language, “*** ***, the Gateway is about to close.”

Niamh closed the hatch, “You better hurry.” She motioned to Mikan to stay, “A quick word?”

Becky, Mayu, Aoi, Sashae, and Chie went back to the Gateway.

Saki and Anton lingered just on the other side of the door, watching them.

Mikan flitted next to Niamh, “Yes?”

Niamh glanced at Anton, then turned to Étién and spoke in their language, “I would like you to continue to keep an eye on my daughter. I am aware she leaves in the mornings to practice in the forest.”

Étién grew nervous and gripped her dress.

Niamh noticed, “You are not in trouble, daughter. If it worried me, I would have put a stop to it.” She lifted Étién’s chin, “If you promise to have Ryan watch you, I will continue to let you do so with my blessing.”

Étién’s eyes opened in shock, “Mother? But… Thank you!”

Niamh turned to Mikan, “If your friend approves…”

Mikan nodded enthusiastically, “I’d love to! Étién’s helped me a lot so I’m happy to help her too.”

Niamh nodded, “Then the matter is settled.” 

Étién bowed to Niamh, “Thank you so much, mother!”

Niamh looked at the Gateway, “One more thing. I believe my physician has a way to… remedy your issue. I will discuss it with her and have it ready in the morning.”

Mikan bowed to Niamh, “Thank you! If you need anything…”

Niamh shook her head, “Consider it payment for watching my daughter.” She pointed to the now collapsing wormhole, and switched to English, “You better hurry or you will be spending the night.”

Mikan bowed again, then turned to Étién, “See you again tomorrow?”

Étién smiled, “Yes.”

Anton made it to the Gateway first, “Thanks for bringin’ us, lady!”

Mikan winced at Anton’s comment as she grabbed Saki’s hand, “Come on!”

Saki gave Étién a raspberry as she passed through the wormhole.

Niamh stopped at the door and watched Mikan turn around on the other side of the wormhole, “One last thing. There are rumors about a metal sphere watching the farmers. I would stop as there is a discussion of a bounty being placed on it.”

Mikan scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously, “Yeah. I’ll stop doing that.”

Niamh took one last look at Luna, just as the wormhole collapsed.

Anton fell to his knees, “Our dinner!”

Becky crossed her arms and sighed in disappointment, “Yeah, but it wouldn’t be fair eating without Mikan.”

Ryan sympathized with the others, but they could always eat in the city or, if they could keep his connection to Mikan, at Étién’s place.

Mikan turned to the others, “We just got shown a space station floating in who knows where, and you’re worried about food?”

Chie nodded, “I agree with Ryan. This structure and ‘Gateway’ are fascinating and food can wait.”

Sashae rubbed her belly, “Go get fish.”

Aoi pumped her fist, “Yay! Fish go BOOM!”

Mayu laughed lightly, then turned to Mikan, “I am wanting to know how they can help Ryan and Mikan.”

Becky rubbed her chin, “Yeah, that was interesting too.”

Anton stood up, “Ya think they have a way to communicate across universes?”

Chie tapped her chin, then shrugged, “Perhaps.”

Mikan turned to the ocean, “Well, I’m fine waiting. Got lots of other things to worry about until then.”

Becky sighed, “Yeah, better get back to repairing that dorsal sensor.”

Anton gave Becky a condescending look, “You’re still working on that?”

Becky’s shoulders slumped, “Yep. This sensor makes the other one we repaired look like child’s play. I’ve had to replace almost everything, including the supports, and I still haven’t even gotten to replacing the parts on the outer hull.”

Anton thought for a moment, then his expression became more sympathetic, “Yeah, it was pretty beat up, huh. Once I finish building my new repair drone, I’ll send it up to help ya. I’ll even let ya name it.”

Becky straightened and smiled, “Thanks, that’ll help a lot.”

Ryan remembered Niamh’s warning about the Mk. II, “Niamh said I should stop spying on the city, so I was thinking I could get a better look at this half world and maybe check out the other ‘museums’ our friend has. If they’re not here, they might be on one of the others.”

Chie nodded, “That is an excellent plan. I would suggest visiting this museum about Earth’s end as it is still under construction. In retrospect, that should have been the first place we visited.”

Becky nodded in agreement, “I was wondering, could this ‘Builder’ Étién mentioned be the same one that brought us here?”

Ryan had wondered the same thing, “I think so too.”

Chie nodded again, “I was considering that as the most likely option as well.”

Anton waved dismissively, “Who cares. Let’s repair Luna. Steal some of that anti-meatball tech and head back to our universe. Luna shouldn’t be hidin’ on an island and instead be explorin’ the stars.”

Becky looked at the ground, “Yeah.” She looked back up, “I want to get back to finding our way back to Earth. After that, we can always come back here if we want.”

Mayu turned to Luna, “Yes, I would like that.”

Anton started walking to Luna, “Then we better get back to work.”

Becky nodded to herself, then followed Anton, “Can I help build the drone?”

Chie followed.

Mikan turned towards the ocean, “They forgot to take some grenades with them, didn’t they.”

Mayu looked at Sashae, then turned to Luna, “I will get some.”

Mikan turned to Saki, who was glued to her right arm, “Ocean or Mayu?”

Saki gripped Mikan’s arm tighter, “Mikan.”

Mikan laughed, “Alright. Mikan will give Saki lots of attention.”

Saki smiled, “Draw?”

Mikan shrugged, “Sure.”

Ryan focused his attention to the Mk. II and decided he should start exploring the half world and jumped the Mk. II to the top of the dome. 

He already had a good idea what the landmass looked like, but he hadn’t focused on anything other than where they were now. There weren’t many cities like Ildathach, and maybe a handful more of towns, villages, and hamlets and, when he zoomed in on several of the cities, he noticed each had architecture similar to what he’d seen from ancient cultures on Earth. Ildathach was noticeably European. One looked Greek/Roman, another ancient Chinese, one Mesoamerican, one Egyptian, and others he wasn’t sure of. Many of the smaller towns even had their own architecture, like one to the far southeast, at the bottom of the continent, near the Chinese-looking city that looked Japanese. 

He’d have to show Mayu the Japanese one.

Most of the continent itself, apart from the cities, was sparsely populated. Forests covered the coastal areas, especially in the east, the center of the continent appeared to be mostly grasslands, and the half world’s sole mountain range ran west to east in the central latitude of the continent, starting about a third of the way from the west coast and ending just southwest of the center.

There were hilly areas, one to the southwest of the mountain range, and several others on the eastern side of the continent. Several dozen rivers lined the coast, with the exception being the largest, which ran through the eastern hills, and ending at the largest lake on the continent. 

Ryan noted the dragon they’d seen probably lived in the western foothills of the large mountain range, which meant other dragons might call those mountains their home, too.

Ryan only thought this because a familiar dragon, along with two friends, were currently flying towards the Mk. II.

Mikan groaned, earning looks from Saki and Mayu.

Ryan wondered if he should refuel the Mk. II and explore the other ‘museums,’ but felt he could do that later when everyone wasn’t busy and could watch. Maybe he should have done it earlier before everyone had split up again... It was too late now, so he returned the Mk. II to Luna and spent the rest of the night focusing his attention on Aoi and Saki.

Almost ended this chapter on a cliffhanger when Ryan lost his connection, but felt the first part of chapter 24 worked better in this chapter.

I'm probably worried about nothing again, but I hope the whole question about the family didn't seem like forced backstory for the sake of backstory. Still, I feel like it is a legitimate way to get to know someone better as family is such a huge part of one's life.

I'm thinking of speeding this arc up to get back to space travel again, so will just focus only on Etien's plot and fixing/upgrading Luna, plus some side stuff involving the last major character(s?) I'm introducing next chapter. I could come back to this world in a standalone story and explore it in more detail. As is, I doubt the crew will explore much of it other than where they are now and the Japanese place.