The ship finally reached Alex, and he saw a hatch opening.
A robotic arm extended toward him, pulling him inside an airlock.
As the hatch sealed shut, breathable air started to fill the room and Alex felt the force of artificial gravity nail him down to what seemed to be the floor of the airlock.
Alex took deep breaths, the first in what felt like days.
He was relieved, and his brain began to recuperate, courtesy of being an awakened, combined with his Phoenix flames, which aided in regenerating his dead brain cells alongside the rest of his damaged body.
His energy reserves slowly started to fill back up as well, as the ship seemed to be filled with an abundance of energy that mysteriously didn't leak out of the confines of its walls.
Noticing that nobody had come to greet him yet, Alex looked around the airlock, looking for something like a camera where he could indicate his gratitude to the captain of the ship and express his intentions to speak to the.
However, when he took the first real look around the airlock since he had been picked up, it was unlike any ship he had seen before.
The room was larger than necessary for an average person to pass through, and the door separating him from the rest of the ship further exaggerated this fact, being 4 metres in length and width.
And with his brain back to normal, he noticed how abnormal this was immediately.
'Just who picked me up?'
He tried to think back to his memories, wondering if he had seen a ship like this before, whether on the galactic net or in person.
But nothing came to mind.
At that moment though, the door separating Alex from the interior of the ship suddenly made a hissing sound as air from the inside started filtering in, fully compressing the airlock Alex was situated in.
Only enough air to breath with was released by the filtration systems when Alex first entered, but now the air pressure matched that of the rest of the ship.
Because the door had been opened.
Alex looked at the door with some vigilance, but still maintained a smile on his face.
No matter how mysterious this ship was, whoever its owner was had graciously picked him up, essentially saving him from suffocating in the depths of space.
However, when the door fully opened and the figure on the other side of it was revealed, Alex's smile dropped in an instant.
They weren't human!
'FUCKING ALIEN!'
'Are all alien races able to do this?' he wondered.
His thoughts referred to the fact that they seemed to have the ability to understand and speak fluently in the human language after just one exchange.
Zorath had done the same thing, so Alex noticed a pattern developing.
But his curiosity was overshadowed by his confusion and then outrage.
Because of the words that left the alien's mouth.
"Hand over all your valuables, or die."
These beings had just saved him from imminent death, only to rob him?
"What was the whole point of saving me if you were just going to kill me anyway?"
Alex asked, his frustration evident in his tone.
It was clear that the alien didn't intend on keeping up with its promise of 'not killing' him if he complied.
Why would they do such a mercy to an enemy they had just made?
It was simple, because they weren't stupid.
The alien laughed, a cold, unsettling sound.
"Saving you? Who said anything about that?"
It drew a strange, menacing blade from its back, the weapon glinting ominously under the artificial lights of the airlock.
'It's an awakened!'
Alex thought, shocked by his own revelation.
His shock was jolted by the fact that he could clearly feel the aura of the Primordial Expanse from the blade, as well as the alien itself.
The alien had released its aura, so Alex was able to tell immediately how strong it was.
'C tier!'
He wasn't able to tell its exact rank, or its class, but this was what he was able to glean from its aura.
However it left him with more hope though, as it meant he might actually have a fighting chance against these guys!