Time froze as I stared at the Furenoo aiming at us. It was obvious they were a Furenoo, yet I had to be truly confident they were a bad person. Regardless, there was no time to think.

Even though every movement I made was processed by my brain in an instant, my body moved at the speed of a snail. Everything around me had slowed down.

Finally, my arm had been lifted high enough so that my stun gun aimed at the Furenoo. I just needed to pull the trigger, but before being able to do so, a distant shot made my eyes shut.

After an eternity of silence, a loud thud made my eyes open again. The Furenoo that was aiming at us was now convulsing on the floor. They had been shot by another security guard that had appeared from the other corridor.

The security guard next to me was startled too, yet she quickly recovered and shot the Furenoo she was going to shoot before.

I lowered the stun gun. My chest tightened, and my whole body wouldn't stop shaking despite the three Furenoos having been neutralized.

Both security guards surveyed the area from their spots. Once they were sure it was clear, the security guard next to me signaled the other one to come to us. He sprinted through the junction of the four corridors because it was the most exposed spot on the floor, then he stood beside us.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

They both looked at me. I was barely able to nod.

"We are," the security guard woman answered. "How about you?"

"I am."

"That's a relief. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I asked this civilian for help. He was incredibly brave for accepting."

The male security guard nodded at me.

"Thank you. We'll make sure your actions are properly acknowledged once we return home."

The female security guard placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Your job is done."

My brain started working again when she extended her other hand in front of me. I carefully placed the stun gun I was carrying in the palm of her hand. She pulled the safety lock up before putting it back in her belt.

"Let's take you back to your room."

I nodded and followed her down the same corridor. She pulled the door open to let me step inside, then she closed it again.

The light coming through the window was bright enough already, so I turned off the night vision of my glasses.

Aki was sitting on the edge of the bed in front of the window. She stared down at the floor while covering both her ears with her hands.

I approached her and placed my hand on her back. She snapped her head toward me and jumped up to squeeze me.

We didn't say anything until Aki stepped back to sweep the tears away from her eyes with her hands.

"What happened?" she asked.

I told her everything that had happened. In retrospect, the whole situation hadn't lasted too long.

We then tried contacting the rest of the team, but communications had been shut off. We had no other choice but to wait.

Aki and I had barely talked when the lights in the room turned back on. I ran to the door to try and open it, but it was still locked.

A few seconds later, someone spoke through the speakers on the ship.

"Dear passengers, we're relieved to tell you that all threats have been dealt with and that no passengers were hurt."

A breath of relief came out of my mouth, while Aki fell back onto the bed.

The announcement continued.

"You might've noticed that the doors are still locked and that communications haven't been restored. This is for safety reasons. Communications will be restored within a few minutes, and doors will be gradually unlocked floor by floor in order to avoid panic stampedes. We kindly ask you to refrain from pressing the emergency button in your room unless there truly is an emergency. Thank you."

Aki and I could finally be at ease.

As soon as communications were restored, the entire team on the ship sent messages to the work chat group. The team back on Earth didn't know what was going on, so we told them what had happened.

I asked the team on the ship to tell their families that they were alright, and I did the same. My parents obviously didn't know what had happened, but I preferred to tell them the details in person.

The doors on our floor were unlocked after a couple of hours, so we met with the rest of the team in one of the ship's cafés to talk about what had happened.

Fortunately, the rest of the trip was uneventful, if a little scary, since we were all on edge about the same thing happening again.

The ship landed in the same spaceport it had taken off from five days ago. It wasn't a surprise when we were asked to stay in our rooms while the police took the Furenoos away and searched the entire ship. However, seeing a helicopter circling the ship out the window made me realize the severity of the situation.

Due to the ship's size, we had to wait three hours. A policeman and a policewoman searched Aki's and my room. I was glad to see that they didn't need to physically search through our personal belongings since they had special equipment that allowed them to scan them.

We were allowed to leave after that, and it was even more shocking to see the dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles stationed around the ship, including ambulances. Even though no passengers had been hurt, I wouldn't blame them if they had a breakdown.

It took another hour for the entire team to gather inside the spaceport. We then headed back to HQ where a short meeting took place to summarize everything that had happened during the trip.

The workday ended before the usual time and everyone returned home.

Getting some sleep was impossible for me. I kept waking up during the night, breathing heavily and sweating profusely despite having no nightmares, or nightmares I didn't remember. Fortunately, I had Aki by my side, and her embrace was enough to help me relax enough to get a few hours of sleep.

The morning was off to a weird start as the QNet was flooded with the news of the first-ever targeted attack between species from different planets. Comments and forum posts were split with opinions, yet there seemed to be more hateful views than logical ones.

The only statement the police made was that thirteen Furenoos had been imprisoned until a proper arrangement could be made with the authorities on Furenoora. They also announced that a more formal conference would take place the following day.

Aki and I chatted about it as we ate breakfast.

"I can't believe that thirteen Furenoos were able to do something like this," said Aki.

I replied, "They could've been helped by humans, as far as we know."

"That wouldn't surprise me. Well, we might find out tomorrow."

In the middle of the meal, I received a call.

"The NBFA is calling me."

Aki lowered the spoon and frowned.

"Isn't that the international police?"

"The National Bureau of Foreign Affairs."

"Same thing. Answer, then."

I answered the call and turned the speaker on.

"Good morning, Mr. Miyahara," a woman greeted. "I hope we're not bothering you."

"No, it's alright."

"Wonderful. We're calling you regarding the incident that happened yesterday. Despite there being no passengers with physical injuries, your mental health is a priority for us, and we'd like to offer to you the services of a therapist for free. Would you like us to schedule a session?"

I took a moment to think.

"My company has already scheduled therapy sessions," I replied. "It'll be better for the people who don't have easy access to a therapist to use the free services instead."

"That's great to hear, Mr. Miyahara. We're also aware of your brave actions during such a frightening situation, so we'd like to invite you to tomorrow's conference as an honorary guest."

My mind suddenly went blank.

"Ah…, sure. I'll be there."

"Wonderful. A written invitation with the details of the event will be sent to you shortly. Thank you for lending us your time, have a good day."

"Likewise."

The call ended.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" asked Aki.

"What do you mean?"

"What if the police announce something controversial?"

"Then we'll have another popularity boost," I joked.

Aki merely stared at me.

I sighed, "Yeah, I didn't think that through. Let's hope they don't."