Captain: Well, you all heard the doctor. Before we reintroduce ourselves, tell me, Dan, what can and can't you remember?
Dan: Well, first of all, I know you're Alex the captain of the ship and I was your friend, but other than that, nothing. (Points at the Captain — an 8.7-foot hunk of a man with a bald head and a cybernetic red eye) Then I know this sissy-ass motherf***er is my best friend Reed. (Points at a 7.9-foot slender, toned man with a gentleman-like mustache) And I remember he has a workaholic brother Lagdon, which should be you? (Points at a 7.8-foot thin but muscular man with glasses and a well-groomed beard) ...Then...
Suddenly, as Dan wants to speak again, Reed bursts out laughing.
Reed: First of all, f*** you, Dan. Second, I must say, you nailed the workaholic part—but you got the wrong guy. The one you pointed at is Rando, our ship's navigator. My workaholic brother is that one. (Points to an 8.2-foot muscular man with blonde hair)
Dan: That's your brother? The f***? Why don't you two have the same hair color?
Reed: Well, of course. I don't want to be a blonde bitch. I prefer my red hair like now.
Dan: Huh, that makes absolutely no sense—from a bitch to a sissy. Well, your loss.
Reed: (¬益¬)凸... Fuck you!
Captain: Shut the fuck up, Reed... Dan, continue, what else do you remember?
Dan: Well, I remember you. (Points at an 8.1-foot man with broad shoulders, a bald head, and an uncle-like face) The one with many friends...
Jansson: (￣□￣」)!! Really? You remember me as someone who has many friends?
Dan: Yup...
While this happens, Reed is laughing his ass off in the background. Even Lag chuckles a bit, then proceeds to introduce others—at least to the extent that Dan knows their names and faces.
Captain: Okay... okay, other than that, is there anything else you remember? Your past? Maybe your childhood?
Dan: Uhm... hmmm... nope. Blank. I only remember I'm part of a mercenary group called The Corpse Guild, and I'm part of your team, Captain—the Iron Corpse Team. We're on a mission from our HQ to find something. That's all I remember.
Captain: Well, it could be worse... For starters, I'll tell you the past as you told us. Well, you're an orphan from planet G-499 in Sector 6 of the Earthen Star Cluster, Multiway Galaxy.
Dan: Wait, doesn't a star cluster have many planets?
Captain: Yes... and thankfully, you seem to remember some basic astronomy. If not, I think we'd need to give you a knowledge chip.
Dan: Wait, that's not my question. What I mean is, what is planet G-499?
Captain: Well... Uhhh, we don't know.
Dan: Huh? What do you mean, don't know?
Lag: What the Captain means, Dan, is that you never told us much in detail before losing your memory. You just said a little about your home planet... We only know it's called G-499 in the Earthen Star Cluster. Even we don't know exactly where it is because your past self never told us.
Dan: Huh...
Dan was very confused. According to the memories he devoured from the original Dan, there's never been a place called planet G-499. Even the background of the original Dan is missing, which makes this vampire even more confused. Why does Dan—the ship idiot—have such a big secret that it could erase his owner's memory automatically after death?
The medical bay suddenly feels awkward as the entire crew goes silent, unable to answer Dan's question since he never told them anything. Seeing the tense and cold silence, Reed steps up to divert the attention.
Reed: Don't worry, bro. Let me expose a bit of our past secret.
Lag: You have a secret?
Reed: Of course... I'm a good secret keeper.
Lag: (눈_눈) Uh-huh...
Reed: What, don't believe me? Here's a secret about Dan I've kept for six years without telling anyone… well, except now.
Lag: Yeah, yeah, come on, tell us.
Reed: Alright... Uhhh... What I want to say is, Dan, bro, don't be so sad you forgot your home planet—they'll come to you.
Dan: Wait, what?
Reed: Well, Dan, to refresh your memory—I mean, the Captain always gives us a month off after we finish a mission. Every time we get a break, we get dropped off on planet GA-99, also known as "Marauder" the heaven of our mercenary.
Dan: Uhhh... yeah, I remember some of that. Then what?
Reed: Every time we're there, we scatter. I know the Captain heads to the casino to gamble, Lag melts into the crowd to call our family and give news, and both Jansson and Rando go shopping in the electronics and gun districts. And you, Dan? Every time we're on Marauder, you quietly disappear.
Dan: Disappear?
Reed: Yeah, gone. No one can find you. Then you come back a week before we head out on a new mission. That always happens. One day, I invited you to a… let's say, special district, but you refused and disappeared again. But I was tailing you that day, and you know what I found?
Dan: Can you just get to the point?
Reed: I'm getting to it, bitch. Have some patience... What I found out is that once you're on Marauder, you get on a private ship that immediately jumps to lightspeed. The next time we had time off, I confronted the past you about it, and he told me that ship takes him home—his home planet. So basically, you could use that ship the next time we go to Marauder.
Dan: Huh... I don't remember that, but you know what? You only live once. Sure, I'll try.
Reed beams happily while the others laugh a bit. Yeah, Dan is back, even if his memory is messy. Well, he is Dan after all.
Captain: That's more like it. We'll help you find that ship on Marauder later. For now, rest up, Dan. We'll enter light speed in a few minutes, so rest well. And the rest of you, get back to your posts!
Everyone: Aye, Captain!
Everyone scrambles to their stations, leaving Dan alone in the medical bay. But he can't rest. He's deep in thought about what will happen next. Marauder—the land of mercenaries—meaning nearly every place has eyes and ears, a place full of arrogant, bloodthirsty madmen.
The future is uncertain, but one thing is clear: with Dan's identity, he can live a somewhat safe life for now. Maybe he'll join the mercenary jobs to get more blood. Maybe he'll even start a kingdom or a race. But that's for the distant future. For now, he just needs to play his part as Dan—the wounded mercenary.
=================================================
Word = 1123 words
thankyou for reading chapter 7 and to be honest maybe i will have some hiatus or maybe not as i think i need to try to create many chapter first before releasing it but well i just need to see the result if the result of this first 7 chapter is a bit good then i will try to improve my writing schedule but if not maybe i will stop first and stock up on chapter before continue this saga
well whatever the reason is i still thank you all for reading my book thanks