Page 42 of Galactic Sentinels: Vol. 1
“Always when I’m on MyFaS. On board the SIL, we have to make do with nutrition bars. But here, thanks to a few gadgets I picked up on the black market, I can manage some basic meals.”
“Okay then!”
I sit down across from him and take a bite of the vegetable mix. It’s warm, tender, and surprisingly flavorful. It melts in my mouth.
“Hey, what’s the deal with these veggies?” I ask, curious.
“On MyFaS, there’s a wide variety of vegetables and plants,” Pherebos explains. “Not much fruit yet—the trees haven’t reached maturity. But we do have a few shrubs that produce some really tasty berries. Right now, it’s mostly insects, which Wingo isveryhappy about. No fish, birds, or other animals for now. They’ll be introduced once all the domes are connected.”
“I get it,” I say. “It’s like Jaga-18, actually.”
“You’re right,” he nods. “On Jaga-18, the settlers didn’t arrive until much later—after the small animals had found their place in the ecosystem. Terraforming a dead star takes time. MyFaS’s already come a long way, even if there’s still work to do. For now, we make do with what’s naturally available and what I bring back from the bases I pass through.”
He gives me a reassuring look. “I’ll show you which berries are safe to eat and which ones to avoid. As soon as you’re ready, let’s go!”
Outside, the scent of damp earth and blooming flowers is rich and intoxicating. The air is thick with humidity—it must’ve rained while we were having breakfast. Pherebos has swapped into shoes, but he’s still shirtless. Honestly, I almost envy him, given how warm it is out here.
I follow him along a loosely marked path that leads toward the edge of the dome.
“What happens if I cross that border?” I ask, a little uneasy.
“It’ll be freezing cold, and there’s no air out there. You’d have a really bad time. The force field won’t protect you. You could stick a finger through just to feel it, but I really wouldn’t recommend it.”
I laugh nervously. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”
As we walk along the perimeter, Pherebos points out which fruits and berries are safe to eat or cook with. I can tell how much this place means to him—it’s his private sanctuary.
Every now and then, a blur of fur zips past us. Wingo seems to love it here too.
I hope I’ll find my own space here—somewhere I can finally breathe, rest, and feel at peace.
The terrain is fairly flat, but I still spot the small lake Pherebos mentioned earlier. Just looking at it calms me.
“Is it deep?”I ask, turning to my guide.
“No idea, and I don’t plan on finding out. It’s about three hundred feet across.”
“I can’t wait to dive in!”I say, excited.
“Absolutely not,”Pherebos snaps, his tone sharp.
“What? Of course I will—unless you tell me it’s dangerous. But you said there were no fish, no animals of any kind.”
“There aren’t. But it’s still dangerous. You’ll stay away from it,”he insists.
This is ridiculous. What exactly is he afraid of?
“Pherebos, I appreciate that you care about my safety, but in this case, your fear isn’t justified. On BN-35, I’d never seen that much water in one place. But when we arrived on Jaga-18, we had access to a huge lake. We went there often—it helped Prianka feel better, and we never worried about her getting hurt while swimming. That’s where we both learned. It’s actually really nice, you know.”
“MY base, MY rules!”he snaps, clearly unmoved by my explanation.
His eyes flash—not just with anger, but something else. Fear?
He might actually be good at swimming, but now I’m wondering… does he even know how? And if he doesn’t, would it be okay for me to offer to teach him?
“What if I just stay near the edge?” I try to bargain.
“You’ll stay away from that water. Is that clear?”
