A few minutes later, the hatch to the bridge slid open and a dwarf slowly strode forward.
A handful of dwarves had already gathered here. The most prominent among them was Gion Greybeard, who still clutched the Banner of Vulcan as if it was the most precious treasure of the dwarf race!
"Great Vulcan!"
Each of the dwarves bowed and conveyed their deepest respect towards their god! None of them believed their rebellion could have ever made it this far if not for Vulcan's many blessings!
Their eyes glowed with worship as they beheld Rion's body.
It was clear that Vulcan was in control. The god adopted a much more confident posture than a typical dwarf, and his glow was unmistakably divine.
"All of the dwarves we intend to bring out have entered the cargo hold." Gion stated. "Are we ready to leave? I am rather concerned the tall folk will cut off our escape."
Ves didn't reply immediately. He directed his possessed body to step onto a smal crate and sit in the captain's chair.
He used his new command permissions to access the captain's interface and slowly bring the ship online.
In fact, the previous captain had already gone through most of the startup sequence. It was a pity that he and many of the tall folk at the spaceport underestimated the ferocity of the dwarves!
It only took ten more minutes for the TR-3851 to finish her startup sequence. As Ves activated the vessel's dummy mode, he didn't even need to take direct control over her helm.
Like a bot, the vessel turned into an obedient artificial pet, especially after Ves flipped a few emergency switches that allowed for such widespread control.
While Ves commanded the ship to ascend and overcome the planet's heavy gravity, he accessed her sensor and communication systems.
He let out a sigh of relief. "Our way shouldn't be blocked. According to the logs and previous observational data, House Kantis didn't bother to station any guard forces or defensive platforms in orbit. The tall folk are also too late in dispatching reinforcements. While a couple of ships are already on their way to our outpost, as long as we ascend into the air first, the tall folk won't be able to catch up as they're carrying at least a squad of mechs!"
House Kantis did not station a single dedicated carrier vessel on this planet. Instead, a couple of transport ships made the rounds.
Not every outpost of base housed a ship. The transport vessels were constantly needed to transport ore, water and other goods between Desala X and Desala V.
This was why it took a lot of time for the tall folk to dispatch one of their transports to an outpost with a larger guard presence and load up all of their mechs and troops!
Even though the tall folk attempted to dispatch their forces to Outpost 35 as fast as possible, the delays still bought enough time for the TR-3851 to blaze upwards and escape the humongous gravity well that had kept the dwarves trapped for their entire lives!
In order to make the dwarves understand where they were heading to, Ves helpfully projected a view of the outside as well as a map of the local star system in front of the other dwarves.
"This.. this is incredible! Have we entered heaven?"
"No! This isn't heaven! This is emptiness! There is no rock in the sky! We are falling into an endless pit!"
"I'm scared! There is only darkness up ahead! Where are we going?!"
Though the ignorant dwarves weren't coping too well, Gion Greybeard and the other leaders among the rebels did their best to reassure the hysterical dwarves and assuage some of their worries.
Even if they didn't know what they were talking about, they at least managed to calm everyone down.
Right now, every dwarf believed Vulcan and Gion Greybeard. The two had worked together to achieve the impossible and give the dwarves an entirely new lease on life!
That said, even Gion didn't really understand the complete picture.
After the TR-3851 entered deep space, Ves programmed her trajectory to head straight to the edge of the star system. Because of Desala X's distance from the sun, it shouldn't take long until the ship was ready to engage her FTL drive!
While worn and neglected, the transport ship was still capable of FTL travel! Ves dutifully studied Smiling Samuel's star map and identified the nearest star system which the dwarves could apply for asylum in person.
Along the way, Ves also wanted to make another stop.
Once he programmed the route into the navigation systems, he slid off the captain's chair and approached Gion Greybeard with a spry step.
Once the ship left Desala X, every dwarf became subject to the ship's artificial gravity.
Unfortunately, the maximum setting did not go higher 1.5 g! Ves couldn't crank up the gravity any further!
This caused many of the dwarves to grow busy or walk around like they were drunk and on the verge of floating in the air.
Only Ves managed to retain his dignity as he moved his possessed body forward.
"We need to talk." He softly told Gion.
The old dwarf nodded. "Please lead the way, my lord."
The two dwarves exited the bridge and entered a nearby office compartment.
Ves didn't bother taking a seat. He wanted to get right to the point!
"Where is the ore? Where is my Timpala Steel?"
"It is with my men in the cargo hold." Gion steadily replied. "Is there any way we can keep this
rock?"
"No. We made a deal. Your freedom for this rock. I have upheld my end of the deal. It is time for you and your people to pay the price for my assistance."
The bearded dwarf looked troubled at this response.