The last few days passed uneventfully, with little change - the only differences being the weather, and the ways Ace killed time. While the others played video games, Ace mostly spent his time either running or reading - both of which were some of the only activities he was allowed to do while in the custody of the Ascendancy. Still, reading novels that were not hand-selected by the organization was a breath of fresh air, and when not doing either of these things, he interacted with his fellow soldiers. As Ace expected, none of them shared his opinion on the announcement that had occurred a few days ago, and he made sure not to let slip his own opinions on the matter. Eventually, however, the fun and games were over.

Green woke up the rest of the group, but Ace had just returned from his morning run, a habit that he had developed ever since he escaped the Ascendancy's clutches. Luckily, Ace made it back in time in order to hear Green announce that they were headed out - finally. The journey to the freighter itself, as expected, was completely uneventful, with the group staying among the cargo of the ship rather than staying with the other passengers. 

Still, at least the place was roomy - Ace had managed to find a small armchair, and upon sitting and placing his cauldron on his lap, he was prepared for a long voyage - he took out an older book, entitled "Flowers for Algernon." The novel was about a middle-aged man who, upon receiving treatment from an organization, received enhanced intellect. The writing was excellent, and Ace couldn't help but draw several parallels between his companions and himself to Charlie and the titular Algernon. Only a quarter of the way into the book, Ace was taken away from his reading by the sudden declaration coming from somewhere nearby.

"This is captain Kulora of the Simone, the pirate group in the region! We demand you, surrender your ship and offer all your cargo on your ship to us!"

The group steadied themselves among the various pieces of furniture and other forms of cargo as the freighter tried to evade the newcomer, and Green alerted the group to the danger that presented itself. Ace swore under his breath, realizing that he had no explosives with him - and even if he did, there was no way he would detonate them so close to other people's possessions and in a space ship. Unfortunately, he had to rely on ramming into these pirates with his incredible speed - something he didn't enjoy doing very often, considering the risk it prevented. Less than a minute later, massive tremors and crashing occurred all around him, and Ace began to breath heavily - he hated loud noises. Soon, the sound was replaced - the cold, metallic wurr of a ship beginning to dock. A hiss escaped from the docking area, and hundreds of men in exosuits began to pile inwards - upon seeing the various weapons they had slung across their backs and wielded in their hands that Ace finally grew truly terrified. 

With their Anti-material rifles, the chances of them shooting through the hull of the freighter was massive - especially since the hull was already damaged. As soon as these pirates suffered a few losses, they could simply puncture holes in the ship, either causing explosive decompression, or simply depriving everyone in the bay of oxygen. Ace had never before been in a situation where his durability would not simply protect him from any harm - he was used to fighting on planets, not in space. Still, there was no choice but to fight - if he hid out of fear, the pirates would simply take him prisoner...

There would be no difference between that and being the Ascendency's soldier. 

Maneuvering himself into position, Ace prepared to start running at a moments notice - should any of his companions be in a sticky situation, he would rush and ram into the attacker, like a human-sized bullet. Even with his immense speed, Ace felt he could reliably tank the damage from running like that - the only thing he wasn't sure about were the Anti-material rifles... Those may be able to put a dent in him.