~20:07~

Jimin rushes back to the bridge, watching as Y/N inspects Jungkook, who nods to her questions. Jimin glances at Seulgi and Baekhyun, who eagerly await his news. "We're being boarded. We have approximately three minutes until they arrive." All four of them share a look of shock. Jungkook, on the other hand, appears sick. But there's no time for Jimin to ask about his condition for Hoseok and Namjoon come back into the room as well.

"We don't know who they are or what they want, but we need to stand up for ourselves. I'll go to the armory and get us weapons," Namjoon says, but Jimin stands tall.

"Sir, may I suggest an alternative?" Namjoon almost jumps, actually, everyone does, but he nods regardless. "Get weapons as a worst case scenario, but if they're boarding us this fast, I'm guessing they outnumber and outgun us anyway. I suggest we hide."

"Hide?" Namjoon asks.

Jimin nods, glancing around before setting his plan in stone. "Shut down our systems, lock them out of our ship. Hoseok, how many escape pods does this ship have?"

"Fifteen," the Agent replies, his tongue rolling over each letter slowly.

"And how many people can one hold?"

"Four."

Jimin hums, dipping his head and motioning to Hoseok. "I suggest we jettison two of them, keep our ship locked down, erase security camera footage, and hide."

Everyone goes quiet to absorb the plan, Jimin resting his hands behind his back so he can fiddle with them. He gnaws on his lower lip, peeking around and praying he doesn't get screamed at for speaking up. For talking back to authority yet again, something he really needs to stop doi-

"I agree," a male voice says. To Jimin's surprise - it's Jungkook's. "If we're hiding, they'll search for us in squads. If they even find us, it will be easier to take them out," Jungkook adds, which Jimin is grateful for. Despite how ill he looks, Jungkook still knows what he's doing.

Namjoon seems hesitant, then agrees. "Okay, I'll get weapons. Hoseok and Seulgi, wipe the footage and shut us down. Jungkook, jettison the escape pods. Y/N and Jimin, lock the bay doors to buy us some time. Find us hiding spots as well." The crew disperses, doing their assigned tasks. Jimin and Y/N go down into the bay, approaching the controls as the feeling of a ship above them hits. The Moonchild rattles.

"Shit, we don't have much time," Jimin mutters, locking down the doors. The lights switch to the red emergency lights, the visibility greatly reduced.

"Do you know where we can hide?" Y/N asks.

Jimin nods. "There's a few places. Under the floorboards are crawlspaces. There's some security closets that can lock and are extremely difficult to force open. Those are our best bets."

Y/N stares at him in admiration, him almost tripping from the sight. "You're truly something, you know that?"

Jimin gives her a shy glance. "I-I don't know..."

"Okay, here," Namjoon interrupts, coming from behind them.

He hands them a pistol and an assault rifle. Jimin isn't sure which generation the rifle is, but he doesn't bother studying it, he simply straps it around his body and holsters his pistol and Y/N mimics his actions. Namjoon goes up to give the others their weapons right as sparks start to come out from the door. "They're here," Jimin whispers. Y/N nods, backing away from the door.

The two go back up to the bridge to check on everyone's status. "We have no time, we need to hide," Namjoon says, urging Jungkook to get away from the panel.

"What's wrong?" Jimin asks, his voice trembling for a beat.

Namjoon sighs, pointing to the panel Jungkook was tapping on. "The escape pods need to be manually jettisoned. The systems are malfunctioning, some of them are still offline from the broadcast. I guess this is one of them." Jimin trembles for a moment, but quickly makes his decision.

"I'll go activate them," he says.

Namjoon steps in within the blink of an eye. "No, it's too dangerous. I will."

Jimin disagrees, brushing Namjoon off. "Guide them to safety through the floorboards. It was my plan: I'll see it through."

Before Namjoon can reply, Y/N steps between them. "We don't have time to argue. Take the others through the floorboards, Jimin and I will go eject the pods."

Jimin's eyes widen. "Y/N no-"

"You need backup, you can't do it alone. Plus, there's two escape pods and those things take time to manually eject." Jimin is about to protest when Y/N walks past him and goes down to the bay.

Namjoon points at Jimin as if threatening him. "I better see you on the other side of the ship."

Jimin gives his Captain a nod. "You will." Namjoon claps his hand on the Engineer's shoulder before turning back to the others. As soon as that happens, Jimin races after Y/N right when the door makes another spark. They only have another minute before they're through. Jimin goes down the hallway and approaches Y/N's side. "You shouldn't be doing this, you're still injured."

Y/N shakes her head. "You really think I'd let you do this alone?" He's caught off guard by her comment. She's doing this... for him? "I couldn't let you go. I'd be too worried," she adds as they approach the escape pods.

There's a loud bang, and in that moment, he knows that whoever is boarding has arrived. "Shit, hurry," Y/N mutters, which Jimin agrees to, running up to the nearest pod as Y/N goes to the next one down. Jimin doesn't recognize many of the controls. He gulps as he taps them, trying to find the eject. The doors close to Y/N's, and she taps away with a sense of familiarity. Jimin feels moisture cover his face. He presses the lock button, which brings his door down. He's not entirely sure where to go from there. He plays with the buttons for a few more seconds before Y/N's launches off. She turns to him, and he gives her wide eyes.

She walks over and taps three buttons, bringing him to a launch button. He presses it, and it jettisons off into space. "Wow," he whispers.

"I set them to fly towards Neptune until they run out of fuel. Good thing I came along, huh?" she says, but her smile quickly falters at the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching. She pants and sweats, and Jimin grabs her arm and brings her to the side. There are storage closets near escape pods due to protocol. He finds the closest one and brings her inside, closing and locking the door.

The closet is a lot smaller than expected, but enough that they can get some space. Footsteps are heard outside, but they slow down, presumably so they can investigate the room. A few curses are heard, and soon enough, a man's voice rings out. "They must have been in those escape pods. Track the trajectory and follow them. Search the ship for their security camera footage and search their belongings." Y/N's eyes fill with dread, and even in the very dim lighting, Jimin can see her staring at him.

His back is against the wall, but that doesn't stop Y/N from closing the gap between them. She leans up against him, her hands trailing to his back. He lets out a gasp at her warmth. She slightly tilts her head up, her breath hitting his chin. The sensation sends goosebumps down his body. He wraps his arms around her form and brings her closer, letting his eyes softly shut as he rests his head on top of hers.

They stay together, the only audible noise being their gentle breathing as footsteps go in random patterns outside. He squeezes her tighter, the feeling of her body up against his giving him a strange sense of safety. He can't help himself - he presses his lips on the top of her head. To his surprise, she doesn't stiffen or freeze, she only breathes out in satisfaction. "Jimin," she whispers in approval, clutching the back of his shirt. He continues to hold her close, resting his cheek against the top of her head once again.

After a few more minutes, the footsteps echo away, and Jimin knows that they're alone again. "They're gone." However, neither of them move. "Can I be honest?" Jimin asks, which Y/N nods to, her head moving up and down his chest. "I don't want to move."

He can feel her smile. "Neither do I." He hums, letting her touch seep through his body. "Jimin?" He's brought out of his trance at the sound of her sweet voice.

"Yeah?"

She nuzzles her head against his chest. "Let's do this more often."

~20:34~

After an eternity of waiting, the ship rattled once more, and you've never felt more relieved. You and Jimin ended up sitting, you on his lap with your arms around him, his hands massaging your back. Honestly, you don't want to leave. You want to stay in his embrace forever. Your hands snake up to his hair, stroking his locks. Obviously, you love his black hair; it's so soft and fluffy that you want to brush it until you die.

Despite his warmth, you still feel terror. That man's voice... you know it. You never wanted to hear that voice again. You thought you got away from home, but it looks like he followed you here. "Jimin, I have something to tell you," you whisper, petting his hair one last time before leaning back and meeting his concerned eyes. The brown shade of his pearls pour into your orbs, his brows softly furrowed. Him looking at you like this drives you crazy, you almost want to kiss him and forget about what you have to tell him, but you know you can't.

"The voice we heard," you start, trying not to choke, "that was my father."

His eyes almost burst out of his head. "Your father?" he asks in a whisper.

"I'd recognize that voice anywhere. He's hunting us." Jimin stares at you for a few seconds before leaning forward and placing his lips on your forehead. You bite back a gasp, but find yourself leaning into his lips. After a few seconds, he pulls back, his eyelids blinking themselves open.

"We'll take care of him. I'm not losing you."

Your body drains of all tension upon hearing his words, you placing your hand on his cheek. "I'm not going anywhere. How could I when I have an attractive engineer right in front of me?"

It's his turn to be flustered. "I-I'm attractive?"

You chuckle and let your thumb gently caress his cheek. "You're downright gorgeous Min, don't doubt yourself."

He gives you a shy smile. "You are too."

It's kind of hard not to give into your temptation, but right now, after being boarded - you need to stay focused. It's taking all your strength not to close the gap between you, but you know that your mind will be somewhere else the rest of the week. You want him so badly, and your position can attest to that, but you need to be focused too. Despite your thoughts, you let your thumb trace over his bottom lip. He freezes under your touch, and you don't blame him. You have no idea what you're doing... but of course you don't let that stop you. His soft lips feel like heaven under your thumb. "We should probably get back to the others so they don't worry," you whisper, which he reluctantly nods to.

"And to tell them the news," he mutters back.

You start to draw your hand back, but to your surprise, he whips one of his hands out and captures yours, bringing it back to his face. "But I think they can wait one more minute," he says so softly you're not sure you heard him. You let out a breath but nod nonetheless, letting your thumb explore his face. You study every feature of him. His puffy cheeks, his wide nose, even his little crooked tooth that peeks out when he opens his mouth.

You adore every single expression this man gives you as well. When you let your thumb glide over his lips, his eyes softly close as if to embrace the feeling. When your thumb traces his cheek, he leans into it and stares into your eyes, almost like he's giving you puppy eyes. When you boop his nose, he eye-smiles and gives you a glance of amusement. Every intimate moment you share with him, you can't help but want to make it even closer. You know he feels it too.

After an entire minute of you pretending to sculpt his face, you slowly pull away. "Maybe we should go now," you whisper even though you don't want to. He gulps, then nods. Uh oh, you're feeling it again. The awkwardness, like when you almost kissed him. You don't really want to go back to that, but at the same time, he did take you on a kind-of date when this last happened. Huh, maybe this isn't so bad after all.

You return his nervousness as you pull completely away, clearing your throat and standing, wincing due to your injury, but choosing to mentally push it away. "You okay?" Jimin asks, standing next to you.

"Nothing that won't heal soon. Hopefully." He smiles at the amusement in your tone, but soon enough, it goes back to being awkward. So you make the first move and open the door. "Ladies first," you say. He snickers before taking the offer, going first and checking the room before motioning you forward.

"Whoever was here is either completely gone or not in this area right now. Stay alert. The others should be out of the floorboards by now." You sort of nod at his words. Sort of. You don't really know how to reply, so you merely follow him. He navigates back to the bay, where the door has a forcefield over it, part of the door gone due to the cutting material the enemy used to get in.

"Shiiiit let me guess: I have to fix this," Jimin says, which makes you laugh albeit quietly.

"Well, you should still have time seeing as we're in space. Don't worry Jiminie, it'll all turn out okay."

He goes still at the nickname, his face draining of color for a beat. "Ji... minie?"

You hum. "Yeah, it's cute, isn't it?"

He stays still, then breaks out into a smile, although you still see some sadness in his eyes. "Yeah... yeah, it is."

You brush off whatever his reaction was and decide to go up to the bridge, Jimin on your tail. "Jungkook? Namjoon?" you call out, but it's too dark to see much.

"Where can they be?" Jimin asks, however you get your answer pretty quickly. You hear a gasp, then rushed footsteps, then arms are around you. You grunt, your chest aching at the impact, but you decide to hug the figure back. When you pull away, you're not surprised to see Seulgi there.

"Y/N! Thank God!" Jungkook says, walking up behind Seulgi. He embraces you as well. You notice Seulgi go over and hug Jimin, which makes your shoulders relax and lean into Jungkook's touch.

"I'm glad you're alright. I think they're gone," you whisper.

He pulls back and gives you a small smile. "I think so too. I got so worried. You guys took a long time."

You peek back at Jimin, who's engaged in a quiet conversation with Seulgi. "Yeah, we didn't want to risk them being there. We thought they might stay by the escape pods just in case." Lying comes pretty easily to you. After years of doing it to your father, it kind of stuck. Coming up with excuses on the spot is your specialty. If you were to have a class other than pilot, it would be an intelligence officer. "How are you feeling?"

He's quick to reassure you, brushing the air. "I'll live. Just fatigue from the enhancements, nothing that won't heal in time."

Namjoon comes into the room and rushes over to Jimin, hugging the Engineer tightly. "Thank God you're alright," the Captain says, closing his eyes for a moment before letting the younger man go.

"Everyone's alright... good," you whisper as the lights come back on. Hoseok strides back into the room with Baekhyun behind him, everyone smiling.

"We did it," Namjoon says, gazing around at his crew.

Everyone stands in the center of the room, unsure of what to say until Namjoon clears his throat and locks eyes with Jimin. "Y-Yes sir?" the Engineer asks.

Namjoon's eyes light up. "Before we discuss our new plan, I want everyone to hear this." Jimin swallows his fear, and you can't help but feel bad. Being put on the spot was never something Jimin was fond of, but now that's exactly what's happening. Oh boy...

~20:43~

Jimin sweats as his Captain addresses him, staring him down from only a few feet away. What can he possibly have to say? Did he mess up? Did the escape pod plan not work? It had to, right? The enemy is gone. Jimin gulps down his nerves and forces his thoughts to settle down. No. Jimin did a good thing and he knows it. Part of being with this crew is handling responsibilities, and Jimin is handling his as well as he can. He made a good plan and he knows it. He needs to start sticking to his guns.

"Silver Engineer Park Jimin, over the course of our journey, you've shown such great bravery. In times where I could not lead, you took over and gave us a reason to hope. You made Y/N feel safe and stood up to those I was too scared to stand up to. You showed maturity and growth in such a short period of time. I know that in the future you'll make a strong leader. You've truly impressed everyone here on more than one occasion. For that, it is with great honor that I present to everyone Park Jimin... Platinum Engineer."

Jimin nearly faints at the Captain's words. Everyone's eyes are wide, planted on Jimin to see his reaction. "P-Plat... I'm sorry sir, did you say Platinum?" Jimin asks with his jaw dropped. It's supposed to go bronze, silver, gold, then platinum. Did his Captain just skip over gold?

The Captain nods. "You have shown so much strength these past few weeks. Pointing out what was wrong, voicing your own opinion, standing up for your crew, standing up for the outsider... must I go on?" Jimin goes still at his superior's words. He's not sure what to think. He's at a loss for words and even thoughts. All he knows is that his heart is racing at the gigantic promotion. "I don't know why it took me so long but Jimin, you are now a Platinum Engineer."

There's silence in the room. Jimin's brain is about to explode. He stutters and tries to speak for several seconds, but a loud cheer interrupts him. He looks over to see Y/N laughing and clapping, cheering him on. Her cheers are followed by Jungkook's, which amazes Jimin, but the boy gives him a knowing look and Jimin gives him a nod back. "I can tell it suits you..." is what the boy said about his attire. Maybe he was right.

The rest of the crew claps and cheers, some whistles come from Hoseok. Jimin glances around at his crewmates, and they all give him a look of respect. For the first time in years, Jimin feels a sense of pride. He feels fully accepted, as if he's in a position of power. He feels alive.

"Wow," he says, letting out a breath. "I can't thank you enough."

Namjoon seems as though he wants to rush over to Jimin, but he holds himself back to instead dip his head at the Engineer. "You deserve it, truly, you do. I should have done this days ago if I'm being honest," he says.

Jimin smiles brightly, dipping his head in response. "I won't let you down sir."

"I know you won't."

Jimin peers over at Y/N, who gives him a proud smile and a nod of encouragement. The Engineer gazes back at Namjoon, who stands tall, proud of his crew. "Where to now?" Jimin asks.

The Captain sighs, motioning to Y/N before speaking. "Y/N, where was the Blackwell from?"

She hesitates, then goes stiff upon remembering. "Ganymede."

He casts his eyes down. "Do you know where it was developed?"

"Either on Ganymede or Sturgeon Station."

Jimin raises a brow, almost chuckling, but not from amusement. "Sturgeon? That's a name I haven't heard in a while."

Y/N hums. "Ganymede gets all their technology from either themselves or Sturgeon. We like to be independent to most of the solar system." Jimin falls into deep thought. Sturgeon Station is a medium-sized... well, station. It holds a lot of hard-working citizens, most of which are from either the Belt or Ganymede. Known for their flight technology. From what Jimin remembers, Ganymede would trade their food and water for the advanced technology Sturgeon developed.

"We should take a vote," Jungkook says, directing his words towards the Captain.

Namjoon takes a deep breath. "Wherever we go, people will be following us. They'll want to keep contact. Protecting the most important crew in the solar system would give whoever keeps us great respect and favor in the coming war." The Captain pauses, locking eyes with Jimin. "We have to make a choice."

"How many do we have?" Seulgi asks.

"Three. I want everyone to think carefully about each one. This'll determine not only our immediate course but our future as a whole. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been thinking about what happens after all this craziness is over, and I still don't have an answer, but these choices might give me one."

Jimin stays still as his Captain sighs, looking down for a moment, then back up again. "First choice is we stay on course. We don't know how long until whoever was boarding us comes back."

"Wait," Y/N says, which causes everyone to glance at her. "The people who boarded us had to either be from Ganymede or Mars." She breaks off, taking a shaky breath. "My father was apart of the group." The crew's eyes widen, all except for Jimin's.

"Well, that complicates things," Namjoon says.

"I set the escape pods to keep going towards Neptune until they run out of fuel," she adds.

"Alright, well, first option is a little bit more difficult, but it's still an option. Option two is we find someone willing to give us sanctuary. I'm sure a lot of places will be trying to contact us soon, so we should be on our toes. Last option is we go to Sturgeon Station." Everyone is taken aback by the Captain's words. "If we go there, we can do some research and find out everything about the Blackwell. We would be on the front lines, almost like soldiers. I know not everyone wants to fight, but it is an opti-"

"I'm in," Jimin interrupts, stepping forward. Namjoon's eyes jump, taking in the room. Jimin didn't need to look around at the others to know they agree. He may not have been with the crew too long, but he knows that this is the option they want.

"I agree," Y/N mutters, nodding. The rest of the crew nods at this, even Jungkook.

Namjoon's lips slowly curve up into a smile. "Thank God, that was the option I was leaning towards." The crew laughs, the tension in the room dialing down. Jimin is still in shock at his promotion, but grateful that they now have a start. "Baekhyun?" Namjoon asks, which the Pilot hums to.

"Set our course for Sturgeon Station."