"This is sector F420, everything seems to be in order."

  "This is sector U169, same old same old."

  "This is sector K214, nothing un… at least we're getting paid."

  "I know right, did you know it was Matt's son's birthday last——"

  "Do not use the comm lines for personal matters!"

  A short, but frustrated sigh echoed through a small, tight room as a woman rested her head on the back of her narrow seat. There were all sorts of small lights surrounding her, similar to that of a car; the difference is that there wasn't enough space for anyone else but her, the driver… or perhaps it was better to call her a pilot, as another difference was that the view from the windows was filled with nothing but darkness.

  There were, however, the occasional letters on the window that seemed to be labeling every single debris or rock it happens upon.

  "I know you guys are tired, but we still have a few more hours until rotation."

  "Aye, aye, Cap."

  "Affirmative."

  "But did you go to Matt's son's birthday, Captain Ameera?"

  "No using the comm lines for personal matters!" The woman called Ameera once again raised her voice as tapped something on one of the buttons surrounding her, causing a light static to whistle around her—— followed by a serene silence that made her take a deep breath.

  "Finally… peace."

  Ameera once again rested her head on the back of her seat as she removed what seemed to be a microphone from her neck. She, along with her team, had been roaming around the expanse of space for a whole week now; sleeping and eating in their vehicle.

  Of course, she would lie to herself if she said that she wasn't as bored as her men; but as Captain, she needed to show a certain strictness befitting of the title.

  And yes, she did go to Matt's son's birthday party.

  Ameera then took in another long and deep breath before turning his head towards the endless darkness that waited for her outside the window. She then slightly turned something on her console, causing the vehicle to slowly turn around; there were lots of labels and letters popping out on her window, identifying each and every debris that floated in front of her; and even far away planets.

  However, after a few more seconds of turning, the view of the window went completely pitch black. If endless darkness was just an expression before, then it truly meant in a literal sense now.

  The Barrier.

  That is what the people of Ameera's world were calling this invisible ocean-like wall in front of her. That's what her grandfather called it, and that's what his grandfather before him called it, and so on and so forth.

  They have learned to travel lightyears across stars, but not once have they been able to pass through the Barrier; if there really was something beyond it, that is.

  There were some scientists who believed that this truly was just it—— the edge of their galaxy. It has always been taught to them that the universe is ever-expanding, so why does it end here?

  There were also some religious factions that believed that Anubis waited for them on the other side.

  Well, whatever the case may be, both the devout and the agnostic seemed to agree that the Barrier needed to be guarded for some reason. And considering the size of the Barrier, their world had allotted more than a million ships to sectors around the galaxy, scattered with hundreds of thousands of miles between them.

  And whatever the case may be, she was still stuck here staring at a hand.

  "……A Hand?"

  [Warning: Abnormal Energy Reading.]

  Ameera almost forgot to breathe as soon as a combination of red and yellow letters started appearing on her window. She did not let herself panic, however, as she quickly pressed something on her console that magnified the view from her window.

  And true enough, 4 fingers and a thumb—— a human hand emerged from the Barrier.

  "Fuck… oh fuck," Ameera then scrambled to pick up the microphone she threw on the seat, quickly attaching it on her neck once again,

  "Code Zero. I repeat Code Zero!"

  "My coke zero ran out a week ago, ask Ma——"

  "Motherfu—— I said Code Zero!"

  "What!?"

  And as soon as her words finally registered to her men, dozens of bright flashes of blue light streaked towards her vehicle's position; and as soon as the flashes dissipated, they were replaced by ships, similar to hers but smaller in size.

  "What's… happening?"

  Several whispers then echoed through Ameera's ship as all of her men started talking to each other. She, however, couldn't care less as the hand that she previously saw was no longer anywhere to be found; even the readings from her window were gone……

  Was it possible that she actually just imagined the hand? Did the long hours finally catch up to her and she was starting to hallucinate?

  [Warning: Abnormal Energy Reading.]

  However, as soon as she thought of that, her window once again became filled with red and yellow letters; and this time much more intense as it almost filled her entire view. The whispers that her men were exchanging also completely stopped as some of their ships even moved back ever so slightly.

  Ameera's breaths once again became erratic as her eyes could only move randomly between the words convulsing in front of her. But after a few seconds, she tapped something on her console that removed all of the warning signs.

  And now, with her vision once again cleared, she saw something incredible.

  For once throughout their history, the Barrier started to move. A ripple that reached probably millions of miles—— it was a frightening sight, like a wave that threatened to swallow her whole; she even almost felt like she was drowning.

  That shock, however, was completely overwhelmed as soon as a foot emerged from the Barrier; and soon, it was followed by a whole silhouette.

  "What… what is that!?" One of her men breathed out.

  Ameera could only take in a gulp as a silhouette of what seemed to be a man stepped out of the barrier. She could not clearly tell, however, as the individual's unusually long hair was waving and floating like tentacles in space.

  Extraterrestrial life. Ameera doesn't know whether the thing in front of her was human or not, but it could be nothing else but extraterrestrial. Of course, they have already met different races from different planets—— 3 were even under her command.

  But the one floating in front of them right now? A race from beyond the Barrier that seemed to be capable of surviving the harsh climates of space without wearing any sort of protective suit?

  This was a discovery that would probably put her on the map since she was the first to see it. A Super Extraterrestrial—— is what she would probably call it.

  "Identify yourself, visitor. Can you understand our language?"

  "Wait! Do not engage, do not engage!" Ameera quickly ordered her men to stand down as soon as she heard them trying to make contact with them. She then immediately scrambled to get something from beneath her seat—— some sort of portable screen.

  She quickly tapped and swiped through it, until finally, she reached a section that read 'How to Open a Dialogue with an Alien'.

  And the first part of it was for the owner of the world to introduce themselves.

  "G… greetings, visitor," Ameera then breathed out as she leaned closer to her window, trying to make sure that the alien sees her, "Have… have you come in peace?"

  Although Ameera was not sure that the alien could understand her, the book still said that it didn't matter as long as she held a warm tone in her voice.

  "I am called Ameera, and these are my——"

  And before she could finish her words, red and yellow warning signs once again filled her entire window—— something that should not have been possible since she turned them off.

  However, there was one way that her command could be overwritten—— The source of the Energy Reading…
……was pointed towards them.

  Ameera's breaths once again became ragged as she stared at the alien in front of her—— whose eyes were starting to release some sort of golden light. Ameera then noticed that the alien's supposed mouth was moving, as if trying to tell them something.

  "……"

  "T—— Turn on your VMVs!"

  Ameera could hear her men scrambling from the speakers, probably doing the same thing she was; turning on their sound modulator that analyzes Van's speech by detecting the vibrations in his body—— it was also the reason why their ships could produce sound that could actually be heard in the expanse of the ever silence space.

  "……Eaters? Are you the World Eaters?"

  "It… it's speaking our language!" Numerous whispers rang in Ameera's ears as her men started to show their excitement. However, Ameera knew there was nothing to be excited about, as the alien in front of them could be hostile.

  Ameera then ordered her men to shut up, before gathering her breath and calming her nerves down.

  "We are not this World Eaters you speak of, visitor," Ameera then said; trying her best to not allow her breaths to stutter, "I am Ameera, captain of the Space Force in planet B421, Kemet. We are pleased to m… m… meet you."

  However, she failed to hold her stutter as the alien slowly floated towards her ship; the only reason why she was not firing all of her arsenals towards it was that the trickles of lightning that were coming out of the alien's eyes were slowly dissipating.

  And now, with the alien right in front of her ship, Ameera could not help but slightly take in a short but deep breath. The alien looked truly otherworldly from afar, but now that it was right in front of her, the only thing she could think of was that it closely resembled her race, humans.

  "Captain Ameera."

  "Y… yes!?"

  "Take me to your planet."