The Iterk Forest was a National landmark on the planet Targ for centuries. That was until one day it mysteriously disappeared and was replaced by a massive crater. No one saw what created the crater, and there was no reports of any meteor strikes or any other events that could have caused the damage.
Meanwhile, Ren had met back up with Leona after dealing with the monster that was chasing him.
"Oh nice to see you made it out in one piece." Ren said as he waved at her. "And it's nice to see that the town is still intact too." He said as he turned his gaze to the abandoned building that was now a pile of rubble. "Well, most of it at least."
"It's fine, nobody got hurt." Leona replied. To which Ren raised a skeptical eyebrow, seemingly referring to the man that she was supposed to be fighting. "Well, you know what I mean nobody important. Anyway what about you? That monster looked tough. It was definitely more than you could handle. What happened to it?"
"Oh, I just led it into the forest and left it out there. I mean that thing was way too strong to fight." He said offhandedly.
"Yeah that's what I figured. Do you think it's safe to just leave it out there though?" She asked.
"I have a feeling that it won't bother anyone anymore." Ren said as he quickly tried to change the subject.
Meanwhile, back at Vercheg. Captain Hanz had to answer to Toro as to what happened to one of his subordinates.
"Why was Deergen sent to Targ without my permission? And now he seems to have been defeated and we have no way of contacting him. How can you explain all of this Hanz?" Toro asked.
"My apologies sir, I was simply trying to deal with a threat without bothering you. I take full responsibility for this failure." Hanz said while in a deep bow.
"Please get up Hanz, you know that bowing stuff isn't really my style. Plus to be honest, I thought that Deergen guy was a real creep. I probably should have just thrown him in prison rather than give him the chance to join the army. Anyway the point is that he's no big loss to us." Toro said. "My real problem is that someone took out one of our men and I have no idea why. That's a real big problem for me." He continued as his tone turned more serious as he spoke.
Hanz had become quite nervous. He was about to respond when someone entered the room. It was a tall man with long hair and a long black beard. He wore the traditional purple and gold armor of Vercheg and carried a large spear.
"He didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to get involved. It's about those people who tried to assassinate you. He knew that it would be best to get rid of them without making a fuss over it. After all, assassins going after the greatest hero in the universe is sure to be intergalactic news." The man said. "Though I do wish he'd have told me sooner. I'd have had it handled already."
"My apologies, Grand Admiral. I just didn't think this problem was worthy of your personal attention." Hanz replied.
"I think any threat on my father's life is worthy of my attention." The man said. The man's name was Aquila Fernandez, he was the second son of Toro Fernandez and the current Grand Admiral of the Vercheg Navy.
"I understand that sir, but surely these unruly upstarts aren't enough of a threat for you to have to get involved personally."
"That's true, but I will send one of my best men. It's better than sending under qualified officers to be defeated one by one. My boy will put this debacle to a swift end."
"Your boy?" Toro asked. "Oh you must mean Tigre. Don't you think it's overkill to send my grandson? He would wipe the floor with them."
"It's exactly because it's overkill that I'm sending him. Like I said, I would like to wrap this whole situation as quickly as possible." Aquila replied.
"Well, you guys can do whatever you want. Like I said, I'm not really interested in dealing with these guys." Toro said dismissively. "That being said, I did feel an interesting aura coming from Targ. One of them might be worth fighting after all. It depends on if they can make it past Tigre though. If not, they won't be worth my time." He thought.
After the meeting Toro, Aquila contacted his son over a video call to brief him on the details of his new mission.
"I understand father, I'll take care of these would be assassins immediately." Tigre said with a salute to his father.
He was a young man with styled short black hair. He wore a crisp white and gold military uniform with a large tiger print fur coat draped over his shoulders. He also had a large greatsword placed against the back of his seat.
"Good, now I know I don't have to explain to you how important this mission is. I'm also certain I don't have to explain that this mission must be kept as an absolute secret. We can't have word that there are assassins after your grandfather, it would cause a panic." Aquila continued.
"Yes, I understand. I'll take care of it."
"Good, I'm putting a lot of trust in you for this. This will be your first assignment as a Vice Admiral with your own ship under your command. I'm expecting great things from you son." Aquila said as he cut the transmission.
"Alright men, set course for Targ. We'll find those assassins and crush them immediately." Tigre ordered his subordinates. " Miri, get ready to head out." He said speaking to a woman standing near him.
The woman was newly promoted Captain Mirielle Vermilion. She was a bubbly woman with wavy pink hair wearing a white and gold military uniform.
"Aye Aye, Captain." She said with an enthusiastic salute.
"I told you, I'm not the Captain anymore you are." Tigre replied.
"Oh I'm the Captain? That means I get to boss you around now! Haha!" She said enthusiastically as she pinched his face.
"No you idiot. I'm a Vice Admiral now so I'm still your boss." Tigre said as he was on the verge of losing his temper. "So get off me already!!!" He said as he scolded her.
Tigre and his ship made way towards Targ hot on the trail of Leona and Ren. Though of course, they had already left the planet by that time. They were now planning where their next destination should be.