《Last Departure [Sci-Fi]》 PROLOGUE 2045¡­ the year the last rockets launched, transporting the last of us into orbit. We had known the Earth was changing for the last fifty odd years, however, it was only in the last ten that an expiration date was put on our sick and dying planet. Many thought it was nothing to worry about and that we¡¯d find a solution - so they kept on living - business as usual. It wasn¡¯t until 2040 that it was hard to ignore. Dramatic shifts in weather patterns, food supply, and resources started the waves of panic that it was real. Nations around the world were bleeding dry every last ounce of resource the Earth had to offer - it was dying so why not? The goal was to venture into the cosmos on a one-way ticket and hope, eventually, to build new civilisations across the universe. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. With a ten-year window and nations working together, they were able to make strides in rocket and propulsion technology, cutting travel distances significantly. Collectively building mammoth spacefaring craft, we call Transporters, these ships were equipped with everything required to start new civilisations. While the transporters were a United mission between nations, getting to them was an every man for themselves type deal. As a nation you would build a ship, register it, assign a crew, and be given a departure number. There was no official oversight body other than self-appointed, if that. It was a race to secure seats on the transporters by any means necessary and it was common knowledge that some nations just didn¡¯t have the resources or ¡®pull¡¯ to build capable spacecraft. All passengers, except for the crew and essential-type workers, were randomly picked - a survivor lottery of sorts, but a complete disaster. Seats were killed for, bought, or never filled. Some didn¡¯t even bother as they had the money and connections to rapidly build their own craft and gain a head start. Chapter 1 | The last ticket ¡°T-minus 50 minutes to launch¡±¡­ Okay¡ªDeep breath¡­ you got this. There''s no guarantee that the person who¡¯s spot I took would''ve even made it this far, right? It was only the end to the start of my journey and a flicker of guilt had me stuck, only made worse by the fiery debate between anxiety and logic exchanged across my mind. As the announcement made its way through the now-deserted launch base, it drew my attention upward and across the access arm - stood there with arms crossed and no doubt waiting for the remaining stragglers, were three of the boarding crew, backdropped by the last ticket out of here. It had been hard to miss the constant launches over the last decade but seeing one up close was something else. A mass of steel and carbon fibre that appeared way too heavy to launch - even without the space-shuttle-like ferry attached to it. As I stepped out, my feet felt unsteady as the boardwalk swayed in concert with waves of dust battering its windows. The small gaps let in faint howls of wind and whispered creaks from the supports, offering no reassurance that it would hold. Each step slowly relinquished any doubts as I gained on the rocket and cast my eyes outside to the charred and dying landscape. There wasn¡¯t much to say goodbye to - no green grass or trees, just dust right out to the horizon. Pausing for a moment, I tried to take it all in for one final time, convincing myself of the billions of people left behind that many gave up hope or would kill me to be in this position - an effective narrative I often repeated to myself in order to suppress my guilt. It worked until a voice abruptly cut through it, followed by a gentle but firm slap to my back. ¡°How¡¯re you holdin¡¯ up there?¡­. Jeremy..¡± he said, raising his hand in introduction and pushing further into my field of vision. ¡°Uh A..Alex¡± I responded, shaking his hand whilst rolling my shoulder to dislodge the unexpected small talk. He had thick framed glasses resting atop of a smile that seemed genuine though misfitting the situation. His smile was the only tell of youth on his weathered face, looking late-thirties rather than the mid-twenties that he¡¯d likely be. Despite that, he was clean cut and well-dressed compared to my beaten and exhausted appearance¡­an obvious sign that we had two very different journeys up to this point. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. As we made our way to the boarding crew, it was easy to tell that Jeremy¡¯s seat on the ferry was a sure thing. He was calm and collected, even when faced by one of the thug-like crewmen. ¡°You payin¡¯ attention!? You guys are the last to board and I ain¡¯t wasting anymore time on this hellhole¡± the crewman shouted while aggressively tightening Jeremy¡¯s suit. Oddly enough, the smile didn¡¯t fade on Jeremy¡¯s face, even quipping to the crewman ¡°life as a ferryman a bit lonely is it?¡± The crewman locked in his helmet and swung Jeremy through the door, where he went crashing down to the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll see you up there¡± spat the crewman. He pointed up to the sky with eyes locked on Jeremy before he turned his attention to me. The crewman snatched the helmet from under my arm, slammed it over my head and pushed me through the door with a final ¡®good luck¡¯. ¡°T - 20 minutes to launch¡± On the ground, and with the pain still leaving my finger tips from the nerves down my shoulder, the new announcement got me to my feet. The room was quite cozy with a long stretching ladder etched into the wall extending down to the floor. Looking up and with a sense of unease at the climb, I wrapped my hand around the first rung and heaved myself up - until Jeremy pulled me back off. Unable to hear through the helmets and with no voice-link, he motioned me over to a hatch further to the left. Inside there were tensioned steel ropes that hung down the long vertical shaft. Reaching into a compartment, Jeremy grabbed a couple of harnesses, hooking himself up, before helping me connect to a steel rope. I had little time at all to think about how he knew all this before we were zipping up, stopping at each break that had a hatch to check for vacant seats. ¡°T - 5 minutes to launch¡± Shortly after the countdown hit 5 minutes we found a break-point with a vacant seat. Scrambling through the hatch door, I turned, and passed back my harness to Jeremy. He threw a casual salute goodbye and shut the hatch door behind me. I felt alone, hardly noticing the burning gazes from the other passengers who no doubt thought I¡¯d be turned into a deadly projectile any minute. I fumbled under pressure getting onto the seat as they were facing vertical (like a plane flipped 90 degrees). My hands and body trembled as I tried to untwist my harness until finally, I felt the clicks of the buckles locking into place. With hardly any time to get my heart rate under control, the countdown struck single digits. ¡°Five¡­ Four¡­ Three¡­Two¡­ One¡± The lag between the countdown hitting zero and the engines igniting felt like time stood still, leaving me plenty of time to imagine several disaster scenarios in rapid succession. Suddenly the muffled roar turned ferocious as the vibration finally reached my seat as it made its way through the whole rocket. My body trailed behind my mind as it was pushed into the seat - a feeling unknown to nor one I was prepared for. The pressure of sudden acceleration left every bit of anxiety back on the ground replaced by a clear, adrenaline filled mind that could hear every noise and feel every adjustment on our way up. An overload of new sensory experience and force had my vision flickering like a faulty lightbulb and I wasn¡¯t sure how much longer I could last before it blew. Chapter 2 | Salvation Awoken by a jolt similar to a trip in a dream, my eyes sprung to life. Instead of a bed breaking my fall, it was the harness gently but firmly pressing against my chest. My Curiosity over how long I was out for was exchanged with another new sensation - weightlessness. There¡¯s no hope in trying to trick a panicked mind either. The hull of the ferry was windowless and with no idea of which way was up or down, left or right, nausea was truly set in. All up it took three hours trying not to vomit and cursing every person I could think of that had a hand in putting me in this position, in this lifetime, but for the first time since leaving the voice-link in my helmet activated. It was the ferry captain, announcing the imminent rendezvous and docking to our new home - the Transporter Salvation. At the will of the turning ferry, my body bounced in the confines of my harness as it manoeuvred in to dock. The muffled sounds of thrusters adjusting, a couple of violent shakes, followed by a stillness started to ease my mind. We had made it. Whirls, hisses, and cranking filled the next few minutes with an occasional subtle shake to the ship - providing much needed relief that we had made the first leg of the journey. It wasn¡¯t until a crewman entered my seating area that I realised there was¡­ gravity!? ¡°Alright listen carefully,¡± the crewman announced, tapped into our helmets voice-link. ¡°Walk through this door behind me, keep following it off the craft onto the walkway and keep going until you hit the lobby. Do not stray and do not remove helmets until outside of the craft!¡± After the all clear to disembark, the seat harness released - and to my surprise so did all my co-passengers. While being so anxiety ridden during boarding I had forgotten that this Ferry was probably carrying hundreds of other people as well. As I joined the group, we exited through the airlock, we merged into the other passengers - the true scale of the Ferry made apparent by the sea of people stretching toward the direction of the lobby. Straddling the side of the crowd allowed me to look down through the large window-lined wall to the docking bays below which was abuzz with crews hastily working around the multiple Ferries, with their wings folded 90 degrees to allow for their comfortable fit. With only limited time until the windows stopped my eyes darted around to attempt to take in as much as possible. Approaching the last window I noticed a small, odd group walking through the middle. Their suits charcoal and black in colour - a stark contrast to the white and grey suits the bay workers wore. Entry into the ¡®lobby¡¯ as the crewman referred to it, was incomprehensible -it was open all the way to the top of the craft and spanned almost the whole width. It had small information hubs, seating areas, even food kiosks scattered around. Elevators ran up and down and each floor looked as if it was carved into a steel cliff. If it weren¡¯t so massive you would have thought it was a grand lobby of a hotel rather than a spacecraft. As the sea of people walked further in, us new arrivals were funnelled through some temporary ropes where crew registered our arrival. As I approached the start of my line I couldn¡¯t help but notice how exhausted the woman looked, her face drawn out with little emotion like she¡¯s on autopilot. ¡°What¡¯s taking so god damn long¡± a frustrated passenger ahead cried out. ¡°Sir, you need to calm down, the ship is significantly under capacity Including crew.¡± She explained while glancing over her side with a nod of her head. Immediately, three men approached the rowdy passenger, one of which was the crewman from boarding. Gasps of shock and murmurs made its way around the crowd, looking on in shock as the crewman tried to drag the resisting passenger out of view. The scene unfolding stuck out in an otherwise chatty and tame-filled lobby, so much so, that it gained the attention from another group. All around, bodies snapped upright and the tiredness wiped from their face. The crew looked almost intimidated in what was to come as a group of four more people approached, all wearing the same charcoal and black suits I saw earlier down in the bays and making their way over to the commotion. ¡°What¡¯s the issue here¡± Asked a stern female voice as she stepped out in front of the group. ¡°Nothing to do with Miltech¡± Snarled the man from boarding, with the three crewmen still holding the passenger. ¡°You sure about that?¡± She said as she raised her hand and signalled the group behind her to move forward. In an instant, the Miltech group progressed forward with batons, swiftly buckling the crewman at the knees with an extra strike to the torso for good measure. Outnumbered and seemingly outranked, the crewmen didn¡¯t put up much resistance and were soon getting escorted away from the prying eyes of the passengers. Watching on as they disappeared out of sight I couldn¡¯t help but notice a man standing off to the side behind the chaos - it was a young man with thick glasses resting atop a youthful smile on an otherwise weathered face. This time however, his crew issued suit from earlier was swapped for one of charcoal and black¡­ it was Jeremy. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Utterly baffled I kept my eyes locked on Jeremy as he slowly trailed behind the group. I couldn¡¯t deny that it was satisfying to see the crewman get some karma, but I also had an unnerving feeling that Jeremy orchestrated swift revenge so soon after our arrival. Confusion lingered amongst the passengers as the line slowly began moving forward again, clearly shocked by the brief show of force. Had we just got a first glimpse into what life is going to be like now? I thought as I reached the women registering arrivals, who looked even more rattled than before. ¡°Well that was intense¡± I said to the woman as I reached her, trying to ease the tension with a gentle smile. ¡°Ha yeah, that¡¯s just how it is with those Miltech guys.¡ª what¡¯s your name please" she replied while trying to brush it off and move things along. ¡°Uh Alex Carter, so what¡¯s Miltech?¡± ¡°They¡¯re the ¡®new military¡¯ that¡¯s attached to each transporter.¡± She answered taking on a more sarcastic tone with an obvious dislike of them. ¡°Is the transporter really that under-capacity?¡± Looking up from her Data Slate for the first time and with a stare daring me to continue she reluctantly answered. ¡°Half capacity in fact. A bunch of the shitty ferries assigned to this transporter never made it. Now, unless you want to sign up you better move on and stop wasting my time. Take your slate, sit, and orientate yourself with Salvation.¡± I took her advice and moved on. Sitting myself down and stealing a minute to take it all in. It¡¯s surreal and still hard to comprehend, that I was sitting in a ¡®lobby¡¯ of a massive space craft ¡­in orbit¡­ around our dying planet, where billions were (or maybe are?) still down there. Meanwhile people all around me are chattering again and filled with excitement of being up here and the impending adventure. Admittedly, it was easy to forget the whole reason we¡¯re all up here as I found myself carried away in awe of the Transporter like the rest. Opening the data slate I noticed that was pre-filled with as much information about me as they could possibly have, even records about me during the most turbulent recent years. How the fuck would they have this sort of information from when all hell broke loose? I thought, reminded of when the civilisation we left behind turned into a shit show of mad max proportions. Name: Alex Carter Gender: Male Age: 34 Height: 5ft 11in Injuries: Left shin break - scar visible along shin Bullet wound on left forearm- scar visible Multiple scars over torso Concussions - multiple Notes: Recommended that passenger be utilised within Crew or Miltech. The last 5 years he has been combat trained and working in the Regional Protection Force. The RPF was a handover organisation when police and military were pulled from active duty and reassigned to Miltech. He was involved in heavy fighting in defence of his regions towns and assets. Many of his injuries can be attributed to combat in service. He is reserved but shows characteristics that could cause rifts within the transporter if issues should arise between crew and passengers. He did not originally have a seat aboard this ship, only gained through force. ______ I had to give it to them..they were transparent about the information they had on you at least. I continued to flick through the slate, skipping over most likely important information until I found my quarters designation - D3-24 (or Deck 3-Cabin 24). After making my way over to the elevators and trying to figure out the pad, I noticed a deck named ¡®main¡¯. Pressing it the elevator whirled and briskly carried me up to the deck in a matter of seconds. Stepping from the elevator felt like you were thrown back down to Earth. Hit with a mix of chatter, laughter, music, and a surge of aroma had transported me to a metro-style market. It was bustling with people, their expressions lit with the soft glow of neon from shopfront lighting. As I made my way through the mini market streets, I finally saw it. A window! Giving a glimpse of black with a subtle tear of light streaking across it. So absorbed in getting to the window I came to a halting stop and felt my head clash against a hard object. That hard object? A crewman¡¯s head. Of course of all the people I could of ran into I had to run into the only man with the build of a fridge; He had a clean-shaved head, a furled brow, and a hint of gritted teeth behind a well kept beard. My shirt dropped a few sizes as the fridge of a man gripped my shirt, wrapping his hand with the material to gain control. ¡°Are you fucking blind or what!¡± he shouted with a heavy hitting British accent. Using his hold on my shirt to pull me closer then push me backward onto the ground. I had no time to even form a response before a woman¡¯s voice interjected. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a dick Kai, Major Lewis will put you on restrictions before we even leave.¡± Taking a second look I noticed it was the same woman from the lobby. ¡°Oi¡ªc¡¯mon c¡¯mon¡± Kai pestered, as he reached out his hand out and made a subtle raking movement, telling me to grab it. He pulled me back up, still not letting go of my hand while grabbing my shoulder with his other hand. ¡°Just a bit of play with my new mate here Ro, don¡¯t get so uptight¡± he said, putting on a laugh and slapping my shoulder a few more times before he turned and made his way to a nearby bar. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him, I¡¯m Sergeant Ro by the way,¡± said the woman. I must of taken too long to respond because before I knew it, she had pulled out a scanner and shoved it in front of my stunned face. ¡°Alex Carter, hmm, interesting name,¡± said Sergeant Ro, clicking her tongue over one side of her mouth with a look of intrigue on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll catch you around Carter. You¡¯re deck is that direction, and try stay out of trouble won¡¯t you,¡± she concluded as she turned to go and join Kai at the bar. Still rattled by the little scuffle with the fridge they call Kai, I made my way back to the elevators completely forgetting the excitement of seeing my first glimpse of space off the ground and made my way to my quarters. Chapter 3 | No wars you say? Throwing back her drink with a scrunched face Sergeant Ro spluttered ¡°So you think there¡¯ll be no wars huh!?¡° Over the last week I had gotten to know Sergeant Ro and some of her Miltech squad a little more. Frequently catching them at the imitation dive bar during their off time. In my mind Miltech were an uncertain force. They seemed like a mixed bag of personalities and definitely had their fair share of loose cannons so I was happy to make inroads with some of them. One thing I learned though was that they all shared a common thought, that war was coming. ¡°Let¡¯s enlighten Carter shall we guys,¡± Ro said while she pulled me off the barstool which was met with laughter and cheers from the squad. We made our way to a Miltech section nearby and Sgt Ro quickly whisked me into a small room. It was filled with lockers and on the wall at the far end was all sorts of gear, including weapons, neatly packed on racks. Ro stopped, turned, and flung open her locker with a force that bluntly filled the room. I awkwardly averted my eyes as she lifted her top over her head and quickly unbuckled her belt, followed by the top button of her pants, and pushed them down around her ankles, flicking them off. ¡°Relax, I¡¯m not going to jump you. Yet¡± she laughed as she quickly opened another locker and threw me a spare Miltech suit. ¡°Here put these on.¡± I quickly chucked on the suit while Ro grabbed a couple of helmets and small arms off the back wall before she called me over to the doorway next to her. It led into a hallway that plunged us into a deep red lighting with dark shadows lining the hidden recesses. The clangs from our boots echoed as we walked down the grated walkway. About ten metres in, we reached an airlock with a small fluorescent backed sign next to it that read ¡®SR-22¡¯. Ro punched a code on the access pad that sent a tingling sensation down my spine as the airlock hissed, that was mainly due to Ro giving up no hints as to what we were about to do. The entryway was confined and dark as I followed Ro¡¯s lead inside. After a few steps in, it opened up slightly where Ro stepped off to the left and jumped into a chair, swivelling it around and triggering the lights to illuminate the space. ¡°Jump in¡± Ro gestured to a seat that was to the right of hers but slightly behind it. As soon as I sat down I heard a winding and my suit started to feel like it was getting tighter. ¡°Uhm is-¡° ¡°The seats strapping you in via the locking mechanism on the back of your suit¡± ¡°The wha¡ª¡° A jolting click now at the back of my head. ¡°Annnd that¡¯s the oxygen supply¡± Ro said with a chuckle before giving me a crash course on what exactly we were sitting in. We were sitting in a special assigned Miltech fighter craft with the ID of SR-22 (Sergeant Ro - Craft 22). The inside of which was quite small though filled with a heap of screens and compartments. Even with the lighting it was hard to make out what was what inside as it seemed completely blacked out from floor to ceiling. Just as I started to think that she was going a long way to prove a point, two bay doors opened up to dark open space and a glare hit across my visor before the craft windows started to adjust the tint. Loud clunking and the sound of multiple machines winding up started to rattle my helmet. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You Ready?¡± Ro quickly announced. ¡°WHAT!? N¡ª¡° A Sudden onset of noise and G¡¯s forced my eyes closed which only lasted a a few seconds before we were flung out into the silent darkness of space. Only a soft hum from the craft and Ro¡¯s composed breathing could be heard. The windows gave a 180 wide by 90 degree high view, and in only a short time we had moved far enough away to view the full scope of Salvation - an absolutely jaw dropping sight. She zipped the craft back over top of the transporter, using it as a reference point to show how fast we were actually travelling before continuing on and not turning back. It had been several minutes of silence until a crackle comes through our voice-link. ¡°Unknown craft this is Transporter effugium, we¡¯re unable to lock you. Please state your craft name and current home dock¡±. Ro ignored the call, shifting her head to look the direction of our turn. The force increased with a rapid thrust of acceleration. ¡°See the screen to your right, hit the green button and flip the visor down on your helmet¡± said Ro with a tinge of urgency in her voice. Quickly doing as she asked I hit the green button and flipped the additional visor down. For a brief moment it felt like wearing sunglasses inside before the visor adjusted. Suddenly the space outside became clearer than the naked eye and I noticed pixels popping up in my vision, rapidly going from one side of my visor to the other. Ro jerked the controls seemingly in the direction of one of the pixels before it reached the edge of my vision, where it slowly was brought back to the middle. The pixel began expanding out to a circle, then to a crosshair. Before I fully understood what I was looking at or what was going on, I heard a static type noise followed by a thump and a tingling feeling wrapped around my body. In a matter of seconds we narrowly passed by the object in front of us. ¡®What the hell just happened, did we just take them out?¡¯ I thought as a red arrow appeared at the bottom of my visor¡­and then another, and another. All beginning to flash in rapid succession. ¡°Uhh Ro, what¡¯s with all these flashing¡ª¡° ¡°I got it¡± she cut in as multiple metallic ¡®whumphs¡¯ could be heard. The red arrows vanished one by one, each time celebrated by a chuckle from Ro and the operating hum of the ship descended. As quickly as it had even begun we started the short journey back to our Transporter, the trip was silent and I had the feeling Ro was going through an adrenaline comedown, possibly unsure of the consequences from her random provocation of another transporter. Docking back into the transporter was smooth with hardly a shake. Ro calmly unhooked herself before helping me and hardly saying a word, however all she needed to do was give me a quick look for me to understood something was about to happen. Sure enough as the airlock hissed our arrival, waiting on the other side was Jeremy, who I had started to be less surprised by now. Without a word he started walking. Motioning me to join, Ro followed behind. The walk was painfully long, going down Miltech service elevators to one of their dedicated decks and weaving around the many hallways. It was like a massive office building - a more mundane side of Miltech but nevertheless still nerve wracking. We finally arrived at a large glassed private office with the name ¡®SecMajor Lori Henderson¡¯ written across the door. A fiery looking women with Auburn hair smirked before standing and walking to the door before Jeremy could knock. ¡°Major Lewis you wait outside. You two come in¡± she said in her commanding tone. Once inside she got straight to the point, instantly reprimanding Sergeant Ro, giving her Brig duties until further notice. The look cast over her face, I could tell it was a severe punishment enough in her eyes. Henderson then threw her hand outwards showing Ro the door, while waving Jeremy inside. ¡°Carter¡± she began, the use of my surname a good reminder of why I should have been worried. ¡°I¡¯m going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you¡¯re just a stupid boy with a tongue wagging from your mouth. That along with Major Lewis¡¯ words that you¡¯re more use to me than just another body down in the brig to feed. "Major Lewis here is in charge of all Miltech combat units attached to this Transporter and is now your superior. Your fuckups will now be his fuckups and ultimately it¡¯s me who decides punishments here.¡± Hendersons stare was cold and disarming as she ended her little speech, then, opening her eyes to a glare, she included the cherry on top¡­ ¡°Now get the fuck out of my office¡±. Chapter 4 | Welcome to Miltech After the preemptive reaming from SecMajor Henderson and the sense that I somehow got off the hook lightly, Jeremy and I made our way toward the elevators. I still wasn¡¯t entirely sure what had happened ¡ª Ro took me on a joyride, she hurt or even killed people, got herself on crappy duties in the brig, and somehow got me enlisted to Miltech. ¡°She didn¡¯t kill those people you know. She Only disabled those craft,¡± said Jeremy breaking the silence, taking a correct stab of a guess at my thoughts. ¡°So Ro took me on a joyride and now I¡¯m a part of Miltech? How does that even work?¡± ¡°I may have used up a favour to help you out. Besides you have combat experience, something we need since losing a few platoons worth of personnel on failed Ferry launches.¡± ¡°That bad huh? Well it''s on you Major Jeremy Lewis when I eventually fuck up. Just so you know.¡± Jeremy cracked a smile, still as calm and collected as when I met him, even with my admission that it wasn¡¯t if I messed up, but when. Even though he had helped me stay out of the brig or from being assigned some monotonous job, it wasn¡¯t really something I wanted to be a part of. Many people seemed to hate Miltech and it was easy to see why. Miltech are essentially a force unto themselves. While their primary goal is to ensure safe passage of transporters, uphold new space laws and treaties, they do have their own agendas while almost entirely given free rein outside of everything they uphold. It¡¯s not hard to see why people were reluctant to their presence, with some being very outspoken and passionate about their dislike of them. Little did I know at the time but it was actually Miltech that forced me to join my branch of the Regional Protection Force in those last years on Earth, as the Nations started to pull all skilled police and military from active duty to start serving in a new combined force. It was essentially their doing that made it kill or be killed. Their doing that created rogue groups that terrorised the innocent forgotten in a bid to escape. It was hard not to sit on the dislike-side of the fence when it came to Miltech the more I came to think of it. As we continued our way back to my home deck, we quickly ducked into one of the small Miltech stations that were on pretty much every single deck besides their dedicated operation decks, and he put me through the system officially making me a conscript and I was now Private A. Carter. Yippee. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Just as I was sarcastically saying ¡®yippee¡¯ to myself as we were wrapping up, an alert came over the Salvations broadcast system. ¡°Emergency stations - Ship lockdown - Anomaly detected¡± repeated the announcement with a blaring alarm. It was disorienting, overwhelming, and had already caused panic throughout the nearby hallways. ¡°Alright Carter, training starts now¡± Shouted Jeremy while pulling me to the lockers of the Miltech station and throwing me my very own charcoal and black suit and helmet. ¡°Time to muster¡± he joked over the Miltech voice-link which was met with over the top yeehaws and yips from the other squads. Over the next 30 minutes we swept across the decks, moving down a level after we cleared of people back to their rooms. We had gotten down to deck 7 and had just cleared it when this time a distress call came over the open channel¡­ ¡°This is Sergeant Peterson, we need support on deck nine right now. We¡¯ve been pushed back to our station and holding defensive positions. A large crowd is¡ª¡° the call suddenly went static. ¡°Peterson, how copy¡± Jeremy replied. My heart rate scrambled with adrenaline as I stared at him waiting for a reply, and when no response came though, Jeremy, in an instant switched from larrikin to cold and calculated. He had shutdown all elevators ship-wide and completely locked down decks eight and ten while simultaneously organising several squads over voice-link and his slate - it was impressive and left little doubt in my mind now how he held such a powerful position within Miltech. The only way to get through to deck nine was through the manual service ducts and Miltech service-ways. We had gotten down to a darkened deck eight where we met up with a dozen or so other Miltech personnel. With Jeremy leading, we got to the station on the deck where he handed out a mix of stunning and lethal rifles. We had split off in groups of four with Jeremy still calling the shots over the voice-link as I sat in the middle of his group. After making our way down a Miltech service shaft, we got to deck 9. There was total silence as the comms went cold while the teams got in position, my breathing had gotten shaky and my hands began to tremor as rifles were raised in preparation to breach. ¡°Go. Go. Go¡± A small shockwave pulsed by me and time slowed while my mind kept running a hundred miles an hour. The two behind me pushed in front, leaving me at the tail end of our team before I decided to join. Comms on the voice-link were so rapid that I could barely keep up. Bright flashes and dull rings of weapon fire ran into the side of my helmet when suddenly I went tumbling forward. The lights started flickering, revealing the scene in flashes. The tumbling didn¡¯t stop.. gravity had all but disappeared, and bodies were floating amongst all of the loose items. It seemed like carnage. An absolute shit show. Comms became replaced by high pitched squeals and static, reaching painful levels that made me claw at my helmet for it to stop. It finally did stop just at the same time gravity restored. Quiet enough to feel the the thud, crunching and pain shoot through my body as it hit the floor. Chapter 5 | Anomalies I woke up the following morning in medical, dazed and slightly confused that I was somewhere other than the floor on deck nine. The fall to the ground heavier than I thought at the time. ¡°Ah good you¡¯re awake Private Carter. I¡¯m Dr Sted. You must have taken quite a hit to the head last night, you were out cold when your team brought you in. Sergeant Ro has been waiting to help you back to your quarters. Make sure to take it easy for at least the next week okay.¡± One the doc signed off on my discharge, Ro came in with a wheelchair and an annoying smirk across her face. ¡°Hop on in cowboy,¡± she joked as I hopped into the chair. I just wanted to get back to my own bed without getting shit for a concussion on my literal first day in Miltech. ¡°So what happened on deck nine in the end?¡± ¡°Ha! Well let¡¯s just say that my job down in the brig got a whole lot more entertaining. But that¡¯s not important right now anyway¡­ that anomaly salvation hit? Well it did something.¡± ¡°W¡ªwhat do you mean did something!?¡± My voice trembled thinking possible worst case scenario. ¡°Nothing bad¡­ I guess you could say that we just jumped ahead of schedule by a year give or take¡± I turned in my wheelchair to face her. A stare-down to get to the point. ¡°Well no one is really sure exactly how it happened but we were gaining on Jupiter before the anomaly, and now we¡¯re on the edge of our solar system.¡± This sort of brain zinger was hard to take on a concussion and it was even harder to process. It was crazy in itself that we had already made it near Jupiter so soon but now we were on the edge of the solar system. When the ten year window to evacuate began on Earth it was all over the news how physicists, engineers, and scientists were working together to build and test theoretical propulsion systems. It¡¯s amazing the strides they made in a short period of time - I guess that¡¯s what happens when you let them have at it. They were able to construct systems that could slash travel times from hundreds of years to a mere several. Not to mention the ability to grant us all the luxury of gravity in space! As we ventured further from Earth it was normal to have the occasional anomaly that would mess with the ships equipment but nothing that ever disrupted Salvations gravity or plunged us deeper in the universe by millions of kilometres in a matter of seconds. ¡°So it¡¯s a good thing then?" ¡°I guess, but we have one of our first missions coming up sooner than expected. The engineering teams have to assemble a satellite and construct framework for a station for precise deployment. So the next week or so will be mayhem aboard Salvation. From there, we continue to Alpha Centauri¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡ª Once Ro dropped me back to my quarters I spent the rest of my time watching the craft tracker. Zooming out you could see our path with a massive break in it from where we jumped, along with several other transporters left behind. As I scanned around I happened upon a tiny blip on the screen, it was barely visible but it was there. I had to wipe the screen to make sure the concussion wasn¡¯t making me see things because it was ahead of us. How the hell could a ship be in front of us? I thought as I pressed on it. It was named the Dominus and had a small fleet attached with it. There was no other information about it other than it was a private craft and my curiosity was piqued. I sent Jeremy a message from my slate, not getting a reply until late that night where he vaguely told me to come down to the dive bar on the main deck. Puzzled by the vagueness and slightly annoyed having to leave my room, I made my way down there. Jeremy, except for a few late night stragglers, was sat alone in the empty bar. Looking disheveled, he turned to face the door, tipping his glass to acknowledge my arrival. I pulled up a stool next to him and ordered one of their dirtiest beers (making it to a transporter didn¡¯t equal rich by any means). ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be drinking, should you?¡± he said with a scoff kind of chuckle. ¡°Eh, It¡¯s the only way to numb the pain right¡±. The suds from the beer burnt my tongue as I set my glass down and asked Jeremy about ¡®Dominus¡¯. ¡°There¡¯s not really much to say other than It¡¯s a private fleet from one of the mega-wealthy elites back on Earth.¡± ¡°What and they somehow made it all the way out here?¡± ¡°I guess so. The only way that would be is if they hit the same anomaly we did. That or they have more advance tech than us, which is unlikely. One thing I do know though, is that we caught them off guard and they have requested to dock when we catch up with them.¡± Jeremy took the last gulp of his beer and pushed his stool back to stand. ¡°Wait, are we going to dock with them?¡± With his trademark larrikin grin he pat me on the back ¡°Salvation isn¡¯t. But Mortifera will be¡± ¡°Morti¡ªwhat!?¡± ¡°Mortifera¡± he laughed¡­. ¡°Bringer of Death¡± Leaving me utterly confused at what that was suppose to mean, he turned and made his way out of the bar where I heard him quickly exchange some not-so-pleasant words with another man as he entered the bar. It was an obnoxious sounding man and one I had recognised immediately. My hand clutched the glass in anger, and in anticipation of what was next. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t Private Bitch. Movin¡¯ up in the world aren¡¯t ya!¡± he said as he pulled up a barstool next to me. ¡°I heard you got a little boo-boo on deck nine yesterday¡± I turned to get a good look at the guy and confirmed that it was indeed the thug wannabe crewman from back on Earth. This time he had his crew badge on and finally I had a name to put to the douchebag. ¡°Oh yeah? And how did you hear that, William, when they¡¯re all down in the brig?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Bill to you and let¡¯s just say right, that you guys aren¡¯t the only ones who know how to sneak around this ship¡± ¡°Lucky my doctor said to take it easy or I¡¯d upset my boo-boo otherwise you¡¯d be down in the brig with your pals. And remember, I might be private bitch to you, but I¡¯m in Miltech now and there¡¯s plenty of airlocks around here for you to fly out of.¡± And there it was. All up it had been a day or two and I was already having a pissing contest, using my new found position within Miltech to one up somebody else. My conflicted thoughts blocked most of his anger outburst in response as I walked out of the bar and made my way back to my home deck. I just became the one thing everyone hates about Miltech - Flaunting unrestricted power over civilians. Over the next few days I barely left my room. Due to our jump people became more panicky and the underbelly of Salvation started to rear its head. Deck nine was just the beginning and I was reluctant to risk getting dragged into anything else. Or so I thought. ¡°Major Jeremy Lewis requests entry¡± ¡°Approved¡± I shouted and the door to my quarters opened. Without even a hello, Jeremy stood at the doorway and called out ¡°pack a bag, you¡¯re coming aboard the Mortifera.¡° Chapter 6 | Mortifera - death bringer With my Miltech suit on and my bag hung over my shoulder, I felt like it was my first day at school as I waited down in the lobby of the Transporter Salvation. The only people down here were scattered passengers lounging about or the crew going in and out of the docking areas going about their day. It was more calm then when I first arrived and it was still breathtaking - it felt already like a lifetime aboard Salvation but it had only been a couple weeks at most. After several minutes of lounging about myself I started to think I was being set up as a joke until a heard a shout break the silence. ¡°You coming or what!¡± Called out Jeremy from across the lobby. His arm raised in disbelief that I was just sitting about. I quickly hopped up and made my way across to the doorway he was standing in front of, following him inside. I had assumed that this was just an entry into a Miltech station as they were the doors that they pulled the crewman into when I first boarded Salvation, however, it was just a boring old staircase on the other side - surprisingly the only direction it went was down though. After a few flights of stairs we got to the bottom and were greeted by a small section of floor that reached over to a large cut-in portion of wall. We approached it and Jeremy punched in his code. It was a big open shaft and a rather large caged platform made its way up to us. We stepped in and I noted a small elevator control panel that had only three options. ¡®Lobby Miltech Control Miltech Dock 001¡¯ Jeremy slapped the Dock 001 button and we started our descent. I had also assumed that the lobby of Salvation was the very bottom of the ship. Oh boy was I wrong. Reaching the bottom of the shaft we were met with a huge open airlock that gave a view right down the middle of a massive cargo and equipment bay. There was a mix of land vehicles, shipping containers, surveying equipment, and weaponry off to either side with Airlocks stretching down along the bay walls. ¡°Uhm where are we and why are we in an area I had no idea exists?¡± ¡°Welcome aboard Mortifera Private Carter¡± laughed Jeremy while looking out across the bay like a proud father. ¡°I better not keep Henderson waiting, you know what she¡¯s like. You¡¯ll be reporting to Sergeant Ro for this mission now she¡¯s back off brig duties.¡± He ended with a formal salute in which I returned. It felt odd but It had finally clicked as I paid more attention to the surroundings. We were aboard an entirely different ship. A military one. I wandered down the centre of the bay watching all the personnel securing down everything to anchor points, ready to undock and meet up with the Dominus. It felt like taking this ship was necessary but perhaps a little overkill to meet with a private fleet. ¡°There you are Carter, I was wondering when I¡¯d see you Down here¡± said sergeant Ro as she popped out from behind a cargo container. ¡°Missed me already?¡± ¡°Only missed seeing you in that wheelchair, come with me.¡± Ro led me up to the bridge and was happy to let me know she only invited me because I was ¡®less of a dickhead¡¯ than the others in her squad. A compliment in some way? I wasn¡¯t so sure. All up the Mortifera had 5 decks plus the bridge. It was sleek but wide and aggressive. Upon entering the bridge Jeremy and Henderson were standing in the centre, with Henderson instantly telling us to sit in the jump seats and that we were wasting time. The bridge had wrap around windows that were auto-tinted to general solar light and directional lights. In the centre there was a large command bench, with screens embedded into it. Circling from the middle out to the windows were command stations, each on manned and ready to go. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. A ship-wide announcement sounded ¡°undocking with Salvation in three, two, one.¡± There was a light jolt with momentum pushing me back the slightest as Mortifera thrusted out of dock with Salvation. Followed by a rotation and another countdown for forward thrust. After we achieved cruising speed and gravity stabilised within Mortifera, we were allowed to freely get out of our seats. The higher commands gathered around the centre command bench, not wanting to push my luck I hung back trying my hardest to over hear their discussion. ¡°We¡¯re just over one Earth day away from Dominus and we need to be prepared for hostility. We surprised him by jumping to a relatively short distance from the fleet.¡± Declared Henderson, leaving the floor open to strategies. Jeremy jumped in and took the floor establishing a plan where one recon craft would advance ahead of us, relaying information back to Mortifera before we positioning fighter crafts on the flanks of Dominus as we approached. ¡°Solid plan as usual Major Lewis. Who¡¯s flying the recon craft?¡± ¡°Sergeant Ro with LCPL Kai Wateki as co-pilot¡± Jeremy replied. ¡°Requesting Private Carter join me instead. Sir.¡± Interjected Ro. ¡°Granted, and only because It¡¯s recon and should be uneventful. Prep Carter and get to a recon dock asap Ro.¡± Ro turned, walked by me, and motioned me to follow. We quickly picked up the pace after we exited the bridge and she led me to the prep area in front of what I was guessing was the recon craft airlock. The suits slightly differed from the one I was currently wearing. It was thicker and felt squishy to the touch. ¡°What¡¯s the go with these suits?¡± I asked while I locked my helmet into place. ¡°It has multiple layers underneath. The first layer gets cooled way way down to hide our heat signatures, the second is a kind of border insulation that separates the third layer, which heats up and keeps us from freezing¡± Hoping that my suit wouldn''t malfunction, we walked through the airlock but this one didn¡¯t lead straight into the craft. Instead it led into a small bay where Ro did her own walk-around and preparation. It was pure matte black, not small but not overly large either. You could only just make out where the windows were against the streamlined hull and it was hard to tell how you even got inside. A small staircase popped from near the tail underneath the craft as Ro linked her slate and signature to it. Though entry was cramped it opened up on this inside more than I expected. The seating arrangement was the same as Ro¡¯s usual craft and so was the process. My suit got tighter as it locked in tight against the seat and the rapid whirl of my helmet getting linked in. ¡°Mortifera this is Recon craft Velox we¡¯re ready to deploy¡± ¡°Velox you are clear to fly¡± responded Miltech control as they opened the bay doors. ¡°Velox deploying in five, four, three, two, one.¡± I¡¯m not sure if it was my suit or not but cold shivers ran through my body as the adrenaline kicked in. Compared to my last outing with Ro, the only giveaway of launch this time was her countdown. It was completely silent other than a soft hum and pulse on launch. And this time, I blacked out from the sudden acceleration. ¡°Woah what just happened¡± I slurred as I started snapping out of it, much to Ro¡¯s delight. ¡°Carter that¡¯s gotta be 4 of 4 now you have passed out or been unconscious¡± She wasn¡¯t wrong, it had become a habit of mine and maybe, just maybe, I¡¯d hoped I¡¯d be too unfit to continue to serve in my newly enlisted role ¡ª one could only hope. Approach to the Dominus was one of the most anxiety ridden experiences of my life despite reassurance from Ro that they couldn¡¯t see or hear us in any way. It¡¯s fleet was out on full display in preparation for Mortiferas¡¯ arrival with 10 crafts ranging from small to large in formation around it. I could see why there were concerns, Dominus was hardly just an innocent looking private fleet - it looked military as well with enough weaponry and supporting ships to give the Salvation arm of Miltech a run for its money. We gave them a wide-berth as we looped around, relaying the data back to the Mortifera. Hooked into their comms signal we heard little to no chatter, a good sign they were oblivious to our presence around them. As we gathered the last dregs of data from them, an orange arrow appeared on the bottom of my visor and slowly started to change to a bright flashing red glow. ¡°Umm Ro. I have an arrow. There¡¯s an arrow on my visor. Craft behind us!¡± With a pulse of thrust Ro changed the direction of our ship and suddenly we were faced with nothing but the darkness of space even though our visors and ship systems had a large crosshair right on our nose. An indication we were facing another craft dead on. ¡°We better get out of here, our ship systems must be glitching¡± said Ro, a tremor to her voice as she adjusted our course to head back to the Mortifera. After docking back to Salvation, Ro got some of the engineers to check over the systems on Velox who eerily reported back that all systems were fine. She reluctantly included this information in the de-brief under the assumption they wouldn¡¯t believe it, but she was wrong. It was the first time I saw Hendersons rage fly off the handle. She assumed that the Dominus had illegal tech for a private fleet thus breaking new treaties and laws in space, and that the encounter Ro and I had was one of provocation. She ordered Jeremy to prep the whole ship and to deploy every war craft the Mortifera had at the ready. We weren¡¯t just meeting for a friendly chat. We were now meeting for battle. Chapter 7 | The Dominus Tensions were high on the bridge with all fifty fighter crafts escorting Mortifera. The Dominus and its fleet were in view and still in the same formation as when Ro and I did a flyby in the recon ship Verox. Henderson was still enraged at the thought that a civilian, privately owned ship somehow had the technology to undermine Miltech. I had gotten the feeling that there was more to the story though, as if there were history between them and that Henderson was ready to finish it. ¡°Dominus this is SecMajor Lori Henderson of the Mortifera. I want to warn you - we are Miltech warship and will not hesitate to destroy you at the slightest provocation.¡± ¡°This is Captain Fletcher of the Dominus. Mortifera I¡¯m sorry to say but we are not obliged to¡ª¡° My jaw dropped as Captain fletcher was cut short by two seperate bright rapid flashes, followed by a soft shake to the Mortifera. The space surrounding the Dominus was covered in bright speckles of light, moving outward. It took me a moment to realise what had happened. The light speckles were actually scattered pieces of debris that were reflecting light. Realisation dawned on me just as support called out that we had successfully destroyed two fighter crafts belonging to Dominus. It was an unbelievably aggressive message that was hard to agree with and made me wonder still, what had Henderson so eager to start a fight. ¡°You¡¯re not obliged to what Captain?¡­¡± Silence lingered after the rhetoric until fletcher finally responded. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t of done that.¡± Said Fletcher over the comms, his tone shifting down a few octaves like a man who was disappointed. None of the Dominus fleet moved in the slightest, even after being fired upon by us. There was a look of confusion between Jeremy and Henderson before several bright flashes occurred again. With no debris and no alarms Henderson looked around the bridge ¡°well what the hell was that. Anybody!?¡± ¡°They just lost two more of their fleet¡± Said the support crewman again. ¡°How! We didn¡¯t fire on them and there¡¯s no sign of debris¡ª¡° ¡°Captain Fletcher what the hell is going on? Are there other ships? Why did you request a rendezvous with Salvation?¡± probed Henderson further with urgency. With no response Henderson ordered the fighters to surround the Dominus fleet and recon crafts to patrol while the Mortifera was to move in and dock. The Dominus remained still. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Carter come with me¡± Jeremy said as he turned and made his way out of the bridge. We walked back down to the cargo hold where breach teams were on standby waiting for Jeremy¡¯s orders. I was on the same team as Kai, and unfortunately, he was in command of my squad as Sergeant Ro was in her fighter leading another squad. We were geared up and waiting to see if the Dominus captain or crew would respond to our calls telling them of our intention to open the airlock and begin discussions. After a painful ten minutes and still no response Jeremy made the order to enter and clear the Dominus. There was no lethal force allowed unless the situation called for it and It was uncertain what waited on the other side of the airlock, It could have been a well crafted trick for all we knew. There was only one point of entry which we were all to go through, splitting off separately and working our way through the ship until either finding Captain Fletcher or locating the bridge. Each team was to communicate their location and outcome before moving deeper into the Dominus. It was go time and the airlock was forced open, we made our way in and I was following Kai¡¯s lead. None of the Dominus crew were waiting by the airlock and it wasn¡¯t long before squads started calling in their locations along with ¡®all clears¡¯ and ¡®no sign of crew¡± calls. I followed Kai deeper into the Dominus as he pushed his way down the main thoroughfare of the ship. The hallways all lit up and each door opened on our way past, triggered by our proximity. It seemed the ship was entirely operational but without a person in sight. We had finally made it up to the main bridge door, weapons at the ready. The hiss of the door gave us the go ahead and we stormed in. ¡°The bridge is clear and¡­and empty. No sign of Captain Fletcher or any crew¡± called in Kai over the voice-link. It was odd hearing a hint of fear in Kai¡¯s voice, he was confident bordering egotistical majority of the time. ¡°Roger that. Finish up and make your way back to the Mortifera asap. Sergeant Ro confirmed that the fighters are unmanned too,¡± responded Jeremy. Confusion rattled us all. Captain Fletcher had only just been communicating with our ship, then had vanished without a trace, along with the crew. ¡°What do you think happened¡­where did they go? Asked Kai in disbelief. ¡°No idea but I don¡¯t really feel like sticking around let¡¯s hurry up head back¡±. A sense of fear and unease draped over us on the bridge of the Dominus, like we were being watched and all I wanted to do was get back home to Salvation. We searched through everything including ship logs where I managed to find the craft tracker and surprise, surprise. The Dominus looked as if it hit the same anomaly that we did, only with one major difference. They remained stationary for months after the jump, with no reference to ship trouble or distress. Back on Mortifera there wasn¡¯t a single person that didn¡¯t feel like somehow we lost. If a whole crew disappeared does that mean we lost the battle? I asked myself as Jeremy spouted orders for everyone to prepare to undock to make our way back to the Transporter Salvation. I was happy to get out of there, as were the rest. After about a week Salvation was ready to continue its journey. Teams of engineers had successfully completed the first missions, deploying a satellite and the constructed the frame for the new space station sitting on the edge of our solar system which would be finished by the other transporters as they travelled by. The curiosity of what happened to the Dominus lingered and I anxiously watched the tracker waiting for when we would pass by the coordinates. As we approached I made my way out to the large viewing platforms located on my deck for one last look. ¡®The Dominus¡­ it isn¡¯t there!¡¯ I shouted at the window, it was such a shock it wasn¡¯t just merely a thought. I must have it wrong. I frantically cross-checked the coordinates against Salvation but it was indeed correct. It can¡¯t be. I pressed my hand against the window. Staring out into the now empty space where the Dominus fleet once sat, I saw a blur of refracted light from a distant star. Was there still something there? I ran as hard as I could to the nearest Miltech station. I needed to get Jeremy on a voice-link. Chapter 8 | Celebrations ¡°Happy new year!¡± Shouted everyone as the clock hit midnight. Pops of fireworks could be heard across the town, filling the sky with a brilliant show of lights and explosions. Alice was sat on the armrest of my chair with her arm across my back. She leaned in and planted a kiss on my cheek, her mousey brown hair giving me goosebumps when it brushed against my face as she straightened back up. ¡°Happy new year Alex, I love you.¡± She whispered in my ear as she stood up and made her way into the house to find a new bottle of champagne. After the fireworks had settled, everyone began chatting again, sitting off in groups around our porch with Eli plonking himself on the outdoor sofa next to my chair and cornering me into a conversation. Eli was our intelligent but quirky friend and a bit of a lone wolf. He was a great friend but could get carried away with conspiracy rants, especially after a few drinks if you weren¡¯t careful. ¡°You and Alice are planning to try and conceive aren¡¯t you?¡± He asked with an unusually straight face. Most of the time he would start a conversation with a ¡®knowing something you didn¡¯t¡¯ kind of smirk. ¡°Uh yeah it¡¯s something we¡¯ve discussed I guess. Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It might be something you¡¯d want to reconsider unless you have a plan¡± ¡°Reconsider? plan? What are you taking about? I fired off with a scoff at how ludicrous the conversation had turned and so quickly at that. He had me there for a second thinking we were about to have a normal conversation about life for once. Eli scuffed forward in his chair and lowered his tone, occasionally glancing over at the doorway to see if Alice was about to return. ¡°Well you know my work, right? Over at the research observatory? He paused. ¡°Well we discovered an odd trend. Repeatable through different models. It¡¯s not good Alex.¡± If there was anything to take seriously it would be Eli¡¯s work. He never joked when it came to his work and he was over-the-top passionate about it ever since university. He worked at a space climate research lab, using satellites and all that jazz to study climate change. It was a field he was held with high regard in, despite our young age, and had already a handful of accomplishments under his belt. ¡°What do you mean ¡®not good¡¯?¡± Eli sat there paused, likely thinking of the best way to say whatever bomb he was about to drop on me. ¡°Ten years¡± is all he could think of. ¡°Ten years for what?¡± ¡°Until Earth starts truly becoming inhabitable. It starts as a slow decline and then as we approach the ten year mark it starts to go off a cliff¡± We sat in silence for a brief moment as I tried to process what he just said. I had no words, I kept opening my mouth to speak but no words, no sounds, nothing. ¡°There¡¯s already talk from the higher ups that there¡¯ll be some sort of evacuation attempt but it¡¯s all under wraps right now. When they announce it, which will be soon, we¡¯ll all need a plan.¡± I Still had nothing. I wasn¡¯t sure what emotion to feel in that moment either. I felt an urge to cry but then again I was angry like I could punch a wall. The future, our future. The child we hadn¡¯t even conceived yet, I felt grief for it all, like it had already happened. In that moment I could barely keep it together and it¡¯s a feeling that has never escaped me. A feeling that keeps me alive but wanting to die and give up at the same time. While dealing with the inner turmoil, I could see Alice through the window making her way back out to us, and all I could picture was her beautiful smile turning sour as soon as she found out. Before she reached the door, Eli had grabbed my attention again. ¡°Whatever happens don¡¯t bring new life into a world scheduled to die. Not unless you know for certain you can get off this planet.¡± Said Eli, knowing our conversation was about to be cut short by Alice any second. With a pop of a champagne cork, my attention was slowly was sucked back to my unfortunate reality. ¡°A glass Carter?¡± Asked Sergeant Ro, holding out the bottle ready to pour me a glass. Salvation was celebrating our official departure out of the solar system and into deep space. There were parties all throughout Salvation and ours was on the viewing platform on Deck 3, my home deck. ¡°Sure, why not.¡± ¡°Not still thinking about the Dominus and the phantom ship of yours are you? I had been ever since it disappeared. By the time I had gotten to a Miltech station and notified Jeremy to look, whatever was there had gone. I started to doubt my own recollection of events, heck I even started to think I might be going space crazy - I wouldn¡¯t of been the first one. The Dominus had all but vanished, not even showing on the craft tracker. I became obsessed with searching for it in my spare time, hoping to catch its blip on the screen in an ¡®aha gotcha¡¯ moment but it never happened. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Kind of¡­ just thinking. Anyway, I don¡¯t know why everyone else seems so keen to forget about it!¡± I said to Ro as I took a big gulp of the champagne. ¡°It was nothing more than a flex and trick by Fletcher to get under Hendersons skin. We¡¯ve got bigger and better things to look forward to now.¡± Ro had a point, after all the dust settled it was made known that Captain Fletcher previously had a number of companies that worked on Government programs, spearheaded by non-other than Henderson herself. According to Jeremy, a lot of the tech within the Dominus fleet was taken from these programs which makes sense why Henderson was so eager to take him down. As the celebrations continued I turned my attention to gaze out into the endless black, pondering my existence, as you do, and wondering if any of this was even real. Maybe we all died and this is some kind of cosmic journey of our souls, damn I really am starting to go space crazy. ¡°Captivating isn¡¯t it¡± said a deep, calm voice that was unfamiliar. There would be the regulars I¡¯d occasionally chat with, a mix of passengers and crew but this one was different. He sat there staring out into the black as well. He was wearing an outfit I had not seen yet since being aboard Salvation, it was a charcoal suit-like outfit but its colours weren¡¯t those of Miltech, although he did appear military in the way he spoke and carried himself. He had dark greying hair that was styled as well as sporting a lighter grey beard that was neatly trimmed. On his lapel was a name badge that had a deep red captain insignia with the name ¡®Captain G. Lee¡¯ next to it. ¡°Are you the one they¡¯re all joking about over there.. the phantom ship one?¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s me¡± I sarcastically replied pointing to myself. I decided to own it after my reluctant nickname was handed out by Kai like it was going out of fashion. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them too¡± ¡°Them? Like multiple? Are you screwing with me right now?¡± I queried slightly taken aback by the calm admission of seeing ships that I had been copping so much flack about. ¡°Not at all, ever since we¡¯ve left I have overseen every decision aboard this ship and since we that anomaly that made us jump I¡¯ve been in the bridge almost 24/7¡± Captain Lee continued to tell me about the wild things they had seen, heard and encountered while piloting the transporter. Everything from picking up static to picking up comms from transporters that were now millions of kilometres behind us, and also about the unknown crafts that had been buzzing around us since the anomaly jump - some of which were cloaked, ¡®phantom ships¡¯. ¡°So these things are all connected? What do we know about the anomalies?¡± ¡°Not a whole lot yet, we have a bunch of our specialist crew researching around the clock, as does Miltech. They have been trying to convince me to put Salvation directly into the next one that shows¡± I could tell that it was something that he was considering, he held a look of intrigue as we discussed the pros and cons of purposefully putting salvation through one of these anomalies. Captain Lee was almost of the opinion that these unknown crafts actually wanted us to do it and he made a strong case when he spoke of the movements and timing of when they would appear. It started to feel as if everyone with authority aboard Salvation had no issue gambling away their life and the lives of the thousands of other people. Just happy to roll the dice and see where they land. The preceding days after the celebrations and introductory chat with Captain Lee had proved interesting. It seemed as if each day we were having more and more anomaly alerts which meant we were continually having to clear people from the decks back to their rooms per emergency protocol. It had become obvious that the Captain decided to play along with the idea of putting Salvation clear into the path of an anomaly but so far nothing extraordinary like the last had happened yet. Each time an emergency was enacted, the passengers and crew were more defiant, refusing to go back to their rooms. It escalated our clashes to a more violent nature and it was wearing the Miltech crews thin. Already short of personnel, coupled with more frequent injuries, we needed to find and remove the figures pulling the strings. Luckily for us, I already knew who one of those figures were, Bill the boarding douchebag. I pulled Ro aside after one of the recent clashes and told her about my run in with Bill at the dive bar late one night after my meeting with Jeremy. She had no hesitation in saying yes to tracking down Bill and making him divulge any information. He usually hung out on the main deck and was becoming more inclined to blow off his crewman duties for helping to establish a new black market and criminal underground in Salvation. So for now he had been one of the main players or at least had a hand in establishing them. It never got old stepping from that elevator back onto main deck. Each time gave me the same feeling as the first, like I was back on Earth for a night on the town. The deck would of been give or take about the size of a city block or so, but it was divided up by narrow alleyway style streets and had buildings that were a couple of stories high. It held a lot of businesses and also accomodation style places to - I¡¯m guessing for cross-transporter stays or something like that. Like any city though, with the main bustling streets also came the seedy dark alleys. Where Bill was most likely lurking. There was no shortage of shady characters that scurried away on sight of two Miltech crew too. ¡°What are you guys selling here, all legit right?¡± Ro said to a back alley vendor who had a bright medical cross hanging above his shop. ¡°Of course it¡¯s all legit baby¡± replied the man. Ro grabbed his head by the hair and slammed it onto the small counter of his shop, then pulled him up and slammed it one more time before pulling him over it, scattering his stock all over the ground and wasting no time at all getting to the point. ¡°I¡¯ll put you out an airlock if I ever hear you call me baby again you fuck. Now tell me, where¡¯s Bill? Don¡¯t even try to tell me you don¡¯t know who I¡¯m talking about¡± ¡°He¡­he¡¯s down the far end usually, them guys just opened up a new bar¡± ¡°Alright Carter, Let¡¯s go. Kick him in the ribs as a thank you¡± At first I thought she was joking until she shot a stare at me as I was about to step over him. With a half hearted apology telling him he asked for it, I gave him a kick to the ribs just hard enough to get praise from Ro before we made our way to the far end of the deck. ¡°There he is, grab him!¡± Ro shouted as she spotted him, quickly running across one of the alleyways and slipping his arm behind his back. There was a group of guys with him, who didn¡¯t look too happy about us being there. ¡°Ya know, Miltech shouldn¡¯t be this far down ¡®ere¡­ we don¡¯t really like you lot down here do we boys¡± Bill said with a psychotic false sense of security, however, it was enough for the others to move forward. I raised my rifle and pointed it toward the group, which included Ro as she remained trying to restrain Bills arm behind his back. ¡°Well you lot know better than to fuck around with Miltech don¡¯t you¡­ or is this when you find out?¡± I shouted toward them. Instantly they tried to call my bluff, stepping forward at the same time Ro activated her voice link for backup. One of the group placed a quick kick to the back of Ros knee, buckling her and loosening her grip on Bill. I pointed my rifle at his body, inhaling and tapping the trigger two times to take him down. I drop to a knee as I see another one pull out his own rifle and point it at me. As I¡¯m swinging around to engage, I place a single round into Bills leg before dropping to a stationary position and putting one through the head of the armed one of the group. They all dropped in rapid succession with Ro still kneeling and covering her head while Bill groaned in pain on the ground. People were still screaming and running away without realising it was over as quickly as it began. ¡°Holy fuck Carter, what was that? I didn¡¯t think you had it in you¡± Ro said as she stood up and looked over the aftermath. I couldn¡¯t talk, I just laid there for a second as the adrenaline dumped from my system. All I wanted to do was sleep now. It was hard to think of how easy it was to snap back into combat, the kill or be killed mentality I had back on Earth in the end. Ro pat me on the back and helped me back to my feet as backup arrived. ¡°Alright guys take them all to medical, take the one who¡¯s still alive to the brig after they patch him up. We¡¯ll catch him there later.¡± ¡°How the hell did that guy have a rifle¡± I asked with a strained voice. ¡°No idea but we¡¯ll find out soon enough, after we get some rest. Good job Carter¡± added Ro with a smile. Chapter 9 | Express Ticket ¡°It seems the ranks of Miltech have been compromised¡± said Jeremy, as he held the rifle that was pulled off Bills¡¯ dead accomplice. He flipped the rifle in his hands in a playful motion almost mockingly going along with Bills defiance. He was stood in the holding cell that housed Bill while Ro and I stood back by the door waiting for the interview, or rather interrogation to begin. ¡°Now let¡¯s get this moving you ¡®ole Willy Billy. I thought you¡¯d stay a good boy after your beating on our arrival to Salvation.¡± Bill snarled and stared at Jeremy, getting ready to talk until the noise of the rifle clapping against Jeremy¡¯s hands stopped as he gripped it tightly. In one fluid motion Jeremy raised his arms and swooped down, bringing the butt of the rifle across Bills face. Leaving him in a daze. ¡°Argh, I didn¡¯t even say anything yet¡± groaned Bill. ¡°Just a bit of a taster for ya if you don¡¯t tell me who gave you the Miltech rifles.¡± Bill started to settle into a villainous laugh before he turned his attention over to me. ¡°I knew I should have left you back on Earth.¡± Before I had a chance to say anything, another crack filled the room as Jeremy brought the butt of the rifle down again, this time on the wound on Bills leg. ¡°You¡¯re not too smart if you think it¡¯s just one of ¡®em givin us them guns¡± mocked Bill. ¡°All I need is the first¡ª¡° ¡°Major Lewis. SecMajor is requesting you and Sergeant Ro join her in her office immediately.¡± Interrupted a Miltech officer, met with a nod by Jeremy. Not wanting to lose his stride with the interrogation, he told me to go with Ro in his place and see what Henderson wanted. A slight rumble through the ship made both Ro and I lose our footing as we made our way to the dedicated Miltech deck. When we made it up there the overhead lights started flickering in tandem with the shakes and I already new what that was about, the anomalies, but this felt different. It was consistent grumbles instead of sharp little events. ¡°Carter why do you always happen to be in these meetings, aren¡¯t you still just a private? Said Henderson as we entered her office.. ¡°By the way, good job down on main last night.¡± It did feel nice for once to have Henderson give me a compliment for once, even if it was hidden within an insult. She had called us up to brief us on a transporter called Haven that had a similar event like Salvations, making a massive jump in a blink of an eye, putting us within a closer proximity than that of the others left behind. ¡°Are we going to check on them? Or is the Mortifera going to go out there? I said without barely taking a breath and gaining an inquisitive look from Henderson. ¡°Why do I have the feeling you want us to go to the Haven?¡± ¡°Nothing important, I just might know some people aboard is all.¡± I said trying not to draw any more attention to the suspicion that both Henderson and Ro showed. ¡°Well they are still too far for us to rendezvous with but we should cross paths with the Haven in about a years time, two at most.¡± It wasn¡¯t what I wanted to hear at all. I couldn¡¯t be certain but I had a strong feeling that I did know people aboard Transporter Haven, two in fact. Alice - my wife, and, Lilly - my daughter. Despite the warning from our friend Eli, and as selfish as it was, Alice and I had accidentally fallen pregnant and we decided it was meant to be and were blessed with a little baby girl, Lilly. Each year It broke my heart every day seeing my little girl happy and celebrating her birthday while in the back of my mind I knew that each birthday also brought us closer to the deadline for evacuation - one we didn¡¯t have a seat on. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. When both their names were drawn in the lottery it had brought me to tears, it was a heavy burden of regret lifted of my shoulders. I was relieved although destroyed at the thought that I was more than likely going to be left behind. I did everything I could to get them both to the Ferry on time. It¡¯s where I got some of my worse injuries during the last five years - ensuring they were safe. SecMajor Henderson didn¡¯t just call us up to her office to inform us of the Haven however. She wanted Ro to go out in the Velox recon ship again. Since working together with Captain Lee to put the Salvation into the path of more anomalies she had became aware of the ships he had been seeing since our jump. The crafts had been getting more frequent and and we were running into more ¡®turbulent¡¯ space. After successfully requesting that I join her in the Velox, we made our way off the Miltech deck and down toward the Mortifera that was docked below Salvation. Arriving at the lobby we noticed a small group formed near a viewing window, excitedly chattering and pointing. As we got closer Ro turned to me with a look of confusion over her face as she started to fall backwards. ¡°What the he¡ª¡° ¡°Wha¡ªWoah¡± A tingling sensation filled my stomach and I quickly felt unbalanced, my arms acted like windmills trying to keep me upright but I fell backwards too. My eyes slammed shut in anticipation of hitting the ground, but, it didn¡¯t happen. I peeled one eye open and suddenly I knew I had been in this situation already. The ships gravity had failed. Both Ro and I tried to orientate ourselves out of our spins while the blaring announcement started. ¡°caution¡ªcaution¡ª anomaly¡­ Prepare for sudden reinstatement of gravity¡± That can¡¯t be good I thought as I managed to stabilise myself against the nearest wall. Like a swimmer I pushed myself off the wall in a diving motion, aiming for the floor to get myself as close as possible to the ground before gravity restored. Unlucky for me, and in typical fashion, it restored mid-dive. A warm numbness had spread across my face, complimented by an metallic taste. Slowly the ships gravity began to restore, and after a few sighs of relief, everyone began to get to their feet again. I had pinched my nose to stem the bleeding trying to clean myself up before Ro noticed. Our reprieve from the assumed anomaly only lasted a few minutes before an intense pressure took hold. For a moment I had thought it was just me experiencing it, from yet another head injury, until I saw Ro. She had dropped to a knee and had her arms across her head as the pressure started to get unbearable. I shuffled my way over to her and put myself over her in a big bear hug. The pressure had become too much at that point that my vision started to tunnel. I felt Ro¡¯s body fall limp right before I submitted to the pressure and once again blacked out - five for five. I groaned as I pushed myself up off the floor, still not used to it though I had done it a handful of times now. ¡°C¡­Carter. Uhh look at this¡± said Ro, as she stumbled over her words. ¡°Wait, what¡­ we¡¯re back home?¡± I said loosely in a daze as I walked over to her and caught some blue and white framed in the window. ¡°Uhh.. I didn¡¯t think we left a healthy planet or one that looked like this, did you? She was right, we didn¡¯t, and it definitely didn¡¯t look like that. A pristine world with deep blues, sweeping array of greens, and pops of brown and whites. It all looked like the Earth we not long left, beside one glaring difference. There were only two very large land masses that extended from either pole of the planet which were separated by an ocean sized river and had little specs of islands scattered throughout. I was almost certain that we had been put straight into one of the so called anomalies, but how did it work, how did we jump again but seemingly into a perfect orbit around this planet. ¡°Is this - is this real?¡± I said in a soft spoken state of shock. ¡°I think so Carter, and that¡¯s not the only crazy thing¡­ check this out.¡± Ro waved her hand, calling me in for a closer look as she had her head placed against the window. She was trying to look across and was pushing her finger against the glass. ¡°Can you see it Carter!?¡± ¡°Uhm no!?¡± I said while thinking that Ro might of hit her head a bit harder than me because she was starting to sound more crazy. ¡°Ready¡­wait for it¡­ look, now!¡± A glimmer of light flashed, then another, and another. They were faint but definitely there. They were reflective surfaces. More than likely constructed rather than natural according to Ro. ¡°Well what are they then?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, they gotta either satellites or ships. Have to be. Let¡¯s get up to the bridge and see if Captain Lee can¡¯t let us look through their scopes.¡± We made it to the bridge where Captain Lee let us in, rather reluctantly. It was only due to Jeremy and Henderson already being there that he allowed it. Trying to play it cool we went for a casual speed walk over a sprint when we went over the the navigation section of the bridge to take a look over their screens and scopes. Taking the controls, I zoomed in on one of the flickers of light. I couldn¡¯t believe it, it was a huge ship similar to the size of salvation but had a strange design. ¡°Are they transporters?¡± I asked with hesitation. ¡°No, all transporters look the same as Salvation. They could be private but I still would doubt that.¡± Said Captain Lee. ¡°Well¡­ who¡¯s ships are they then?¡± ¡°None of ours..¡± I looked around at everyone, hoping for answers but all I got was the same look telling me what I had been thinking. These weren¡¯t ships made by humans. Chapter 10 | Two lands I studied the ships for as long as I could before the crew got sick of me and kicked me off the bridge. There were two ships that were clearly visible from Salvation. The closest had no visible signs of propulsion, oddly though, it almost resembled something similar to an aircraft carrier. The second had several oval shaped hulls connected to a main hull via beams. They were vastly different to that of salvation but also shared a lot of similarities. Salvation was built with inter-connecting ships but they were so tightly interlocked into the main central hull you could barely tell that it could break off into several independent ships if need be. There was the military ship, Mortifera; a medical ship; multiple escape ships; and of course the main ship, all neartly packed together to make the Transporter Salvation what it is. While watching the ships, I occasionally saw that there were other glints of lights that would pop up across our line of sight. These sightings led everyone to speculate that there could be more ships in other orbits around the planet, causing a mixed reaction from the commanding officers on the bridge in deciding the next course of action. ¡°We have to send the Mortifera out asap¡± said Jeremy. ¡°No, we need to drop pods down there immediately. Captain Lee can you give me the first civ-pool to look over?¡± Replied Henderson. Creeping uncertainty started to rear its head again, and I wasn''t entirely sure what she meant. However, Captain Lee soon sent Henderson over the data to her slate, where she had instantly started to look over the statistics. ¡°Right, we¡¯ll remove 50 crew and 50 civilian from this pool and I¡¯ll sub in 100 of my Miltech officers.¡± ¡°So we find this pristine planet and we¡¯re gonna leave?¡± I asked. ¡°Not leaving, just starting to put pieces into play.¡± The way Henderson spoke of the other ships was more like a confirmation of something she had prior knowledge in. She didn¡¯t seem surprised that there were unknown crafts just chilling out in orbit with us at all, she was more concerned how we¡¯d start conquering. When Henderson spoke it was hard not to be convinced by her resolve. She was confident, convincing, and also intimidating. Her logic being that there were now unidentified ships on the playing field and we needed to secure regions of space to ensure our survival as a species both now and in the future. While she discussed logistics with Captain Lee and Jeremy, Ro and I continued to informally survey the planet. It made me wish Eli was there with me, he¡¯d be able to rattle off all of his annoying facts about the climate down there from way up here and this time it would be interesting for once. I know he would have somehow managed to get to a transporter but jury was out still on which one he was on. We had lost contact with each other around that five-year mark when all hell broke loose. ¡°What should we name it?¡± Joked Ro. ¡°Hmm how about Biterra? ¡ª Two Lands¡± I suggested. A gentle smile came across her face and she nodded in agreement. ¡°Sounds like the perfect name Carter.¡± ¡°Where would you start a civilisation down there?¡± After some careful deliberation, Ro pointed to a small cove where the narrow ocean between the two lands expanded. It looked like a sub-tropical type region, with fresh dark green forests contrasted with bright white sands and piercing blue water. It had little islands scattered off its capes before the ocean descended to a deep blue. ¡°I¡¯d choose here. You have protection in the cove while still being close to multiple potential food sources from the ocean and vegetation that lines the coast. You also have scout locations here and here and the islands give a defensive advantage¡± The way Ro¡¯s brain worked was definitely intriguing, she had made the choice relatively quick and didn¡¯t hesitate. Henderson must of been thinking the same thing as me as she quickly turned and smirked, ¡°you heard the plan¡­prepare civ-pool ones descent to Biterra. They are to start establishing our first settlement in Ro¡¯s Cove.¡± It was the first time I had seen Ro get so flustered I could of swore I even saw her turn a shade of red. ¡ª Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. It had only taken a few days to have the civ-pool prepped and ready to decent. It was a major milestone for Salvation and humanity in general so it was broadcast all across the ships screens and I was sat in the Miltech station eagerly watching on. The pods and ships that were deployed down to Biterra had all the building blocks for a new civilisation within them including the thousand odd people that rode in them down to the surface ¡ª the new pioneers of Biterra. Who knew when we¡¯d be back, if ever. It was my suspicion that we were either brought here by the unknown ¡®phantom¡¯ crafts or by sheer luck. We had the massive job ahead of surveying the solar system that Biterra occupied and would have to attempt to orientate ourselves in relation to where we had jumped from. Making things more difficult was Salvations navigation system, it had gone haywire after the jump, leaving the nav teams stumped of any clue of where we may be in the universe. We still had no idea how these anomalies worked either. They were most likely wormholes according to the research teams but we had no idea what we were playing with as they had been entirely theoretical until our accidental first run-in with one nor did we any idea how to control them if that were even possible. As I watched the last pods drop into lower orbit before entry, I noticed that there were more than there should be. Sure enough my initial thoughts were right, our pods had forced these other unknown ships to deploy their own landing parties and had triggered an obvious race to conquer Biterra between all crafts in orbit. My initial urge was to race to the bridge again to get involved with the excitement but I didn¡¯t need to push my luck any further and I had to get down to the brig to check on Bill and to remind him that we had not forgotten about him, or our interrupted interrogation. Tensions within Salvation had been quiet between the shoot-out on main and then the preceding jump, but with things settled for now it was only a matter of time until it flared again and I needed to find out how they were getting supplied weapons and intel. ¡ª ¡°Crewman where is the prisoner that was in this cell?¡± I shouted in a panic. ¡°One of the Miltech officers pulled him out, said it was ordered by Major Lewis.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to ask major lewis before you released him?¡± I said as I turned and pushed him out of the way, activating my voice-link. ¡°This is Private Carter, prisoner William Trado has escaped the brig, it may be possible he is with a Miltech Officer.¡± I grabbed out my slate and connected it to the brig camera feeds where I scrolled back to try and catch who had pulled Bill from his cell. After only a few minutes I found it. ¡°Lewis. Ro. Do you copy?¡± I called over the radio, they both confirmed their presence and I switched us over to a secure, private channel. ¡°It was fucking Kai! He has pulled out Bill and said he was ordered to by you Jeremy¡­do you guys know where he¡¯s at? ¡°I¡­I saw him not that long ago on the Mortifera, he said he was doing checks on some of the fighters.¡± Said a shocked Ro. Being the closest of the three, I ran to the Mortifera to try and stop Kai and Bill before they did anything else stupid but unfortunately i was too late. As I searched across the airlocks I noticed two fighters were missing, hardly a coincidence as all fighters were grounded from leaving the Mortifera while in orbit. Jeremy and Ro made it down to the Mortifera just as I was about to voice-link. ¡°They¡¯ve taken fighters, how far do they think they¡¯re going to get with those?¡± I said. ¡°Attention: All Mortifera assigned officers return immediately.¡± Ordered Jeremy across all Miltech channels. Following the order to return to the Mortifera an alarm sounded, it was different to the usual warning alarm, this one was emergency stations. A cold feeling swept across my face and down my body when I realised that it meant that an impact or conflict was imminent. Still unsure of my actual place within Miltech, I opted to follow Jeremy and Ro to the bridge of the Mortifera. Henderson had made her way to the bridge as well, flustered and red with rage. ¡°We¡¯re undocking now, who ever is incompetent enough to not be here yet doesn¡¯t deserve to be on this warship¡± barked Henderson. People were thrown off their feet as Henderson initiated the undocking procedure without even waiting for people to make it to their stations. Thrusting back and away I could see that Salvation had also started thrusting the opposite direction which gave us a rapid separation and a full view of the surrounding space in seconds. ¡°Prepare battle stations¡± Henderson shouted, with Jeremy quickly ordering all officers to their stations and fighters. Amongst the initial chattering and organised chaos, It was the last thing I expected to see even after plopping in orbit of a pristine planet with unknown ships - it was the Dominus fleet and the two fighters taken by Bill and Kai were headed straight for them. ¡°Ro, Carter, you both work well together so you can jump in a fighter again. Ro you¡¯re leading your usual squad¡± said Jeremy. ¡°Requesting permission to take my own fighter, sir¡± My unusually formal request had thrown Jeremy off guard as he paused for a second, just leaving enough time for Ro to voice her objection. ¡°Major Lewis¡­Carter has limited piloting experience except for some training flights and his co-pilot flights with me, he¡¯ll get himself killed¡± I hadn¡¯t seen Ro so concerned as she did in that moment. She pleaded with Jeremy that he would be signing off on my death if he let me pilot on my own. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re up for something like that Carter?¡± he asked showing some slight hesitation too. ¡°Yes¡± I said with gritted teeth and determination. I was ready to risk it all for a shot at Bill. My request was approved despite Ro¡¯s further objections and I couldn¡¯t of been anymore motivated if I had tried. A burning desire for revenge started raging within me. I had been a ticking time-bomb and the betrayal shown by both those men pushed me over the edge. I was certainly over-confident in my ability as I went through the airlock and jumped into the pilot seat of the fighter. However, I was certain the mix of fear, hatred, and adrenaline would see me through what was coming. Chapter 11 | Battle of Biterra The fabric of my suit tightened against my chest as the seat whirled and locked me into place, an influx of fresh air pumped into my helmet as the direct oxygen hose attached to the rear of it. My visor overlay lit up and the fighter powered on while the cockpit lights dimmed to complete darkness. A lance of glare swung down through the window as the bay doors opened, soon thwarted by the auto tint. I could see fighter after fighter being slingshot out below the rapid fire from Mortifera¡®s turrets. My breath became shaken while I waited for authorisation to deploy. ¡°Carter you are clear to launch¡± called in Miltech ops. I slammed my thrusters on, heard the whirling power up of the fighter before I was pushed back into my seat, and was plunged into the heat of the battle. The overlay on my visor lit up like a Christmas tree, a mix of friendly green arrows with enemy red. In the time from when the first fighters deployed to mine, chaos had broken out. Swarms of fighters flowed around Salvation and the Dominus almost in a fluid like motion with flashes of light indicated that a battle was in full swing. ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake Alex¡± said Ro over the voice-link as I accelerated toward the Dominus. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, now wheres ¡ª¡° A flashing red arrow with an alarm started to sound. I barely had been out for a minute before I was in the midst of the battle. My pulse started to rack up as I grabbed the controls and yanked it vertically and toward starboard side, hoping to get behind the enemy fighter. Our two fighters were locked in a funnel, circling around each other, both of us waiting for the other to exit. It was getting harder to hold on and impatience was going to be my down fall, until finally they pulled out before I did and it turned into a chase. I adjusted my orientation carefully until the circle on my visor centred before turning into a crosshair and the auto-lock flashed, letting me know it had finally kicked in. ¡°See ya¡± I muttered as a ¡®wumph¡¯ noise left my fighter, followed by a flash - decimating the enemy fighter. ¡®You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me¡¯ I shouted as more arrows started flashing rapidly behind me. All I wanted was a clean break over the Dominus. I started to panic as my control panels blared telling me that I had been locked before I heard Ro come over the comms. ¡°Release the disabling mines Carter, now!¡± Three clunks in rapid succession told me that they had been deployed, with two successfully disabling enemy fighters as their arrows turned a stable orange colour on my visor. The third disappeared as Ro cleaned them up. All indicators were now in front of me except for one blinking green arrow behind me. ¡°Ro are you on my tail?¡± I asked in which she quickly responded that she wasn¡¯t. ¡°Uh well I have a blinking green indicator on me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a friendly lock Carter, it¡¯s either Kai or Bill¡± said Ro with urgency. ¡°Ahh shit, well you just had to ruin the fun, didn¡¯t you Ro¡± said Kai with a laugh. For the first time since I had entered the battle, the fear that had been lurking in the back of my mind started to surface. I did everything I could to get Kai off my tail but he was too good and had a wealth of experience flying with Ro that I didn¡¯t. The only reason why he hadn¡¯t been able to take me out yet was because Ro was on him as well. ¡°Catch me if you can traitor¡± I called out to Kai. It was ¡®follow the leader¡¯ as I snaked our chain into the swarm of the battle. It was a light show of seizure proportions - flashes of impacts as the fighter crafts exchanged fire, icons showing enemy and friendly crafts on my visor, and smudges of light from fighters zipping every direction. The clangs from the debris of destroyed ships peppered my own as we weaved our way around the swarm. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I committed to the first red crosshair my fighter locked onto, my body tensed as I started to chase the Dominus fighter down, expecting a random impact at any moment from another craft. Eventually, they led us back out of the swarm where I managed to gain on them and get my second kill of the battle when they made an unfortunate error of turning back into my line of fire. Also unfortunate was that Kai had managed to stay behind me through the swarm, determined to kill me before Ro took him out no doubt. ¡°Carter I¡¯ve got Bill on my six now, I¡¯ve gotta pull back to deal with him. Hold tight until the rest of the squad arrives¡± announced Ro as she pulled back and manoeuvred behind him, leaving me to shake off Kai on my own until backup arrived. Is she really going to fucking ditch me now after she was so worried about me dying? I thought as I kept trying to turn all different directions to confuse Kai. It didn¡¯t deter him in the slightest as he managed to clip my wing with a disabling shot. I pushed myself downward to face Biterra and caught site of Bill and Ro punching along the foreground of Biterras land masses - a cool sight to see if I weren¡¯t about to die. I was certain that this was it, that Kai was about to push down as well and finish me, but he seemed to drop back and disengage from chasing me altogether. I assumed he just gave up for now and would return any moment, like coming back to a wounded animal when they¡¯ve tired themselves out. That¡¯s until I realised we had started to fall too close to the mesosphere and had crossed the threshold, sending my fighters warning alerts nuts. Soon after I started to feel some weird resistance, kind of like driving a car on a windy day, and that''s when I began to hear the thunderous roar of an atmosphere against my craft. I was way too low but I needed to get to Ro. Looking ahead of me now as I circled around to get behind Bill, I could see the trails from Ro¡¯s fighter ahead, fighting against Biterra¡¯s forces with Bill right behind her. My heart started thumping as I saw that Bill was gaining on her and fast. ¡°Ro don¡¯t pull up just-¡° There wasn¡¯t enough time to warn her, Ro pulled up 90 degrees to thrust away and Bill was just far enough behind her to adjust his incline slightly, launching two precise projectiles right into Ro¡¯s fighter, throwing out flames on the impact. My stomach knotted and I felt physically ill as I saw debris from Ro¡¯s craft flake away and burn up. The main hull was still intact but was flaming as it started to tumble out of control. ¡°Ro¡± I yelled as grief snatched at me after what i just witnessed. It manifested into a short burst of anger again as I yelled into the silence of my own craft and lined up Bills fighter. He mustn¡¯t have been aware the I dropped behind them because he didn¡¯t seem to react defensively. It allowed me to cycle through my fighters arsenal, selecting the biggest missile I could find. The time between my auto-lock and letting loose was in the milliseconds, giving Bill no time at all to react. It was a bullseye right on the nose of his fighter, with a flash as bright as a nuke, even too much for my visor and tinted windows. He was dead a thousand times over. I closed my eyes and started to feel my craft rattle, bang and hiss as it went through the two debris fields and more alarm bells rang out, leaving my systems badly damaged and they slowly started to power down. ¡°Jeremy. Ro¡¯s been shot down. My fighter is toast and altitude dropping. Bill is dead. Kai is still active¡± I called in across the comms. I may have killed Bill, but I was a defeated man. The thought of losing Ro had made me accept my impending death all the easier as my ship started rolling in violent shakes as it re-entered Biterras atmosphere. I wasn¡¯t even sure I had been able to get through to Jeremy back on the Mortifera before the comms severed. All I could hope was that the hull stayed intact on the way down and that Ro¡¯s too, survived somehow. The shaking eased as my hull entered deeper into the atmosphere, meeting with a less fierce resistance but with a heavy gravity starting to pull me down. I had gotten use to the falling feeling of zero gravity in space but this time I was actually falling. My fighter was in a slow spin and I could hear the thrusters trying to stabilise before deploying the chutes. Luckily all fighters from the Mortifera were built with space and atmospheric conditions in mind. The chutes finally deployed with a jolt and everything became steady. My visor was on the fritz with damaged pixels flashing all around my field of vision. I flipped the visor up, confident the worst of the rough and tumble was over now that a sudden calmness set in. During the gentle descent it gave me time to assess the broken fighter and my scratched and beaten body and lucky for me nothing was broken or life threatening. As the wind of Biterra caught my emergency chutes I tried to pay attention to the ground that was fast approaching and the surrounding landscape. I was inland from the coast, not too far but far enough that it would be a trek in itself to get there. The ground below was dry and shrubby and slowly became more green as it led toward the coastline. You would of thought I was dropped back to a remote part of Earth except this planet, I guessed, was void of intelligent life until today. Mountain ranges dotted along the horizon further inland and I couldn¡¯t see any small cluster of islands and took a guess that I was somewhere on one of the main land masses. The final few feet before hitting the ground felt like forever, the wind dragged the hull along for a few hundred metres, grinding against the surfac before the chutes got tangled and I had finally come to a stop. Although I had finally come to a stop, I just sat there in my seat unable to move. Not from any sort of injury but pure exhaustion. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and deal with this whole situation later. After a bunch of frustration and profanity, I finally managed to release the airlock manually and step out onto Biterra. A dry heat of the purest air I¡¯ve felt or breathed flowed over me, the glare was surprisingly difficult to adjust to as it reflected off patches of sandy soil. I kept my hand raised to keep the sunlight from my eyes as I scanned across the horizon, hoping for a sign of Ro¡¯s crash site until finally I saw a small billow of smoke in the distance. I went back into my crashed fighter and pulled out the emergency bag, flung it over my shoulder, and started my walk to Ro¡¯s crash site. Chapter 12 | Journey to Ro鈥檚 Cove part 1 After nearly a full day of walking, I finally approached the area where I believed Ro¡¯s crash site was. The billow of smoke had all but disappeared but I still had the bearing of its direction which I followed religiously. Despite exhaustion and dehydration setting in, it had been an interesting trek so far. The landscape had a striking resemblance to Earth but with slight variations or completely alien type of Flora and Fauna. I had started to tread carefully around the shrubs that occupied the dry and arid landscape, their bright but matte coloured flowers packed quite a punch which I had found out earlier while trying to pick one to inspect it closer. It sent a shock of electricity through my arm, leaving me with a bad ache throughout my muscles. The large open face of the flowers followed the sun as it moved across the sky, reaping the full potential of sunlight throughout the day. They seemed to capture energy from the sunlight much like solar panels had back on Earth. Energy storing plants? That¡¯s insane I thought to myself. What was even more insane was the soft hum of all the plants that kicked in as the daylight started to disappear - like a natural power grid. I found myself bumping into these shrubs more often than I would have liked as my attention kept being drawn away by the forest over on the horizon, appearing way closer than they probably were which led me to believe that the forest was larger than anything I could imagine. I hadn¡¯t come across any wildlife yet either. At times I was sure I had seen something out of the corner of my eye like a little reptile, but I was either seeing things or they were too quick for me to catch a proper glimpse. Every rustle in the bushes made my skin prickle. I hadn¡¯t even considered what kind of creatures roamed this planet¡ªor where they ranked in the food chain. There was a kind of an excitement around being on Biterra now and I had found that time passed a lot faster as I played a game with myself, called, would I find that on Earth? After hours of walking under the setting sun, I finally spotted a trail of debris and tiny plume of smoke that wasn¡¯t there earlier. Could it be? My heart raced as I picked up my pace over the crest, praying the wreckage ahead belonged to Ro¡¯s ship.Looking down from the top, sure enough I could see the wreckage and hull of one of Mortiferas fighters. It had to be Ro! I ran down, all I could see was a body laying still next to the small fire and the wreckage. As I got closer the body sat up and turned my direction, I was drawing in heavy breaths by that stage and stomping my feet in exhaustion so it wasn¡¯t a subtle approach at all. ¡°About time you showed up Carter¡± Ro said with a smile, in her smart-ass tone. I couldn¡¯t believe it, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief and let the tonne of anxiety that was hanging over me that she hadn''t made it and that id be all alone down here. She was alive and in high spirits of course, even though we had both fell to Biterra in a fiery mess. ¡°Ro¡¯s cove?¡± I quizzed to which Ro agreed with a nod. We sat around the little make-shift fire for the rest of the evening discussing the battle we just had endured, our crash down to Biterra, and how we plan to find our way to Ro¡¯s Cove. We decided our best bet was to make our way to the coastline where water and food were more likely to be. We watched the sky as it got darker, there was still an occasional flash or two across the sky that looked like just a flash of lightning but it only appeared when we saw the lights from the mega ships, all still circling Biterra in orbit. As the conversation drifted off with Ro, I kept my eyes fixed on the unfamiliar night sky wishing that Lilly my daughter was with me. I just wanted to know that she was okay, and to tell her I had made it off Earth too. It pained me knowing she would be thinking I was dead or would be soon. At the end of the day it was Lilly that gave me the strength to push through pain, to somehow defy odds just so I could hug her and tell her I love her. ¡ª The next morning I had woken up from a chime that would go off every few minutes. I let out a frustrated groan before I snapped up and realised it was my slate, I had totally forgotten that I slipped it into the emergency bag. It was a message from Jeremy. At some stage during the night they must of been able to secure a connection as they passed over and I had never been so happy to get a message on my slate as I had been then. ''Carter, Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll receive this or if you even survived. We won this battle but the Dominus and some of its fleet managed to slip away, including Kai. Kai and Bill weren¡¯t the only traitors to Salvation and Miltech either. Find Ro and try and make it to Ro¡¯s Cove. The Salvation Civ settlement successfully set up communications and will be able to assist getting you both back aboard Salvation. We tracked your trajectory the best we could and believe you are somewhere around here. '' Jeremy had sent a map with pin points of where Salvation suspected we had crashed and it didn¡¯t look good. Ro¡¯s Cove was on the Southern landmass and to the East. Our crash sites sat on the Northern landmass and we were way over to the West. It would take weeks to walk and I had no idea how we were going to cross the river-ocean. ¡ª- It took about three days before the gigantic forests started to appear in their full glory. The trees were as wide as buses , and as tall as towers, heck to me they even looked as big as that rocket that took me to Salvation. It had layers upon layers of trees, vines, shrubs and ground cover - so dense that I doubted we¡¯d even be able to enter it. A symphony of bird-like noises, screeches, breeze catching branches, and unknown sounds grew louder as we hit the edge of the main forest. It was dark inside and had an eerie feel to it but was the only way forward so we had no time to hesitate. The ground cover curled in on itself over a radius of a few metres, almost like it was trying to move out of our way, as did any other bits of vegetation that had some flex in it. ¡°Must be some sort of defence mechanism,¡± Ro muttered, crouching down to examine the curling leaves, her brow furrowed. Whatever it was, it sure was helpful because it made it possible to even get through the thick vegetation. The noises began to deafen as we walked further in, replaced by noises of tree branches moving and cracks of twigs. There was some kind of mammal jumping from tree to tree that we had spotted ¡°What is that, like a monkey or something¡± I whispered to Ro. ¡°It could be, the animals are weird here..¡± We continued under the watchful gaze of the monkey-like mammals as the canopy of the forest had almost plunged us into complete darkness. All I could make out was the monkey like figures that the glowing Fluorescent eyes were attached to. We both spoke in whispers in an attempt not to spook the creatures but also not to attract unwanted attention from any other animals that may be in the forest with us. It was hard to remain quiet due to the magical glow inside this forest. Mushrooms and other fungi lit up sections of the forest floor and stretched up the ancient trunks of the trees. Finally, the trickle of water was welcoming and led us down to a larger river that was flowing with the most clear and refreshing fresh water - unpolluted and clean. We stopped to refill our canteens and take a quick break, still being watched from high up in the trees. As we followed the river the forest slowly whittled down to a more coastal state until we finally reached the open beaches and fresh salty air of the ocean. ¡°Alright let¡¯s set up camp here for tonight¡± said Ro Ro and I set up our make shift sleeping arrangements and scouted around to prepare a fire. We had picked some fruit and manage to snag some alien looking fish that we wanted to try. Thankfully our emergency kits had testing kits for food which enabled us to find out the makeup of anything we found and told us if it was in known safe thresholds to consume. ¡°Quick cover the fire¡± Way off in the distance I saw tiny lights flickering on an off, lined across a level ground then up what I assumed was a cliff against the ocean. It didn¡¯t seem like natural light, although it wouldn¡¯t surprise me here if it was, we¡¯d have to keep walking a day or two to get close enough to confirm. The following morning we packed up and moved out, heading east and toward the lights we saw the night before. It had taken us another couple of days to get to a location close enough for us to strategically camp out and observe, we had no idea who or what it was that we had to pass by to continue our journey to Ro¡¯s Cove but we took it carefully. ¡°Are they from Salvation? ¡° ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡± I said These ¡®people¡¯ looked almost exactly like us but they were taller, tanned, and each had unique coloured eyes of purples and deeps blues. We spent days camped out observing them to count how many there were, their movements, and whether they looked hostile or not - noting everything down on our slates to hand over to Salvations settlement. They had started building out a little settlement probably much like ours in Ro¡¯s Cove but they had also started constructing the base of what what I could only assume was some kind of megalithic structure which they had dedicated much of their attention and time to. We cleaned up our camp, trying to erase an visual cues we were there and continued our journey, giving them a wide berth on our way past. As we passed to the North East back through a section of forest we heard rustling ahead of us, and sure enough a group of three tall, tanned males were walking by us quite close but hadn¡¯t noticed us yet. They were talking to each other as they walked. It¡¯d be easily forgiven if you thought it was just another language from Earth. I felt myself holding my breath as I took a step backward, and a loud crack echoed out as I planted my foot straight onto a branch. Ro and I dropped to the ground as they snapped on guard, certain they would have spotted us but they didn¡¯t. We weren¡¯t exactly camouflaged for our landscape, but still it seemed as though they struggled to see under the darkened shade of the forest canopy. They couldn¡¯t see us but they knew we were there. Spooked, they shouted out and fired some sort of charge weapon that singed the foliage around us in an attempt to scare us off before they quickly retreated back toward their own settlement. Once the coast seemed clear we crept the rest of the way through the section of the forest until we hit the open dunes and beach, where we picked up to a run too put as much space between us and them as possible. Chapter 13 | Journey to Ro鈥檚 Cove part 2 The coast transformed as the days passed, sandy dunes giving way to towering, jagged cliffs that cut into the sky like the teeth of some ancient beast. The air was cooler here, and the once gentle sea breeze had turned into a more biting wind. Every now and then, the waves would smash against the cliff faces below us, sending sprays of salty mist into the air. We had to watch every step carefully, navigating the narrow trails and rock formations, as the cliffs jutted out unpredictably. It wasn¡¯t just a physical journey anymore; the isolation was starting to take its toll, even if we both pretended otherwise. Eventually we made it to a stretch of beach between the cliffs, a patch of forest lined the entrance and it was the perfect place to put a plan into action on how we were going to get across to the Southern landmass. ¡°So uhh how are we going to get across this ¡®ocean of a river¡¯?¡± Ro tapped her slate confidently. ¡°It¡¯s all in here, Carter. Step-by-step guides for everything we¡¯ll ever need to build a civilization from scratch, including a boat. I¡¯m talking anything from a medieval dinghy to a mega-yacht.¡± ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re going with the dinghy, I take it?¡± I muttered, looking at the scraps of wood and vines we¡¯d scrounged up. Ro grinned. ¡°Well, we¡¯re a little short on mega-yacht materials, but trust me, medieval ships were designed to last.¡± ¡°Yeah, but last where? Ponds?¡± I shot back, already imagining us sinking in the middle of an unpredictable ocean. The boat, although impressive for a couple of amateur boat builders didn¡¯t get my complete vote of confidence yet. We weren¡¯t sailing across a gentle body of water, but rather a very unpredictable ocean. ¡°What should we call it?¡± ¡°Little Salvy¡± chuckled Ro. I had started to think that maybe she was going slightly¡­crazy and that we had better get a move on the last leg of the journey. __ The day of the maiden voyage of little Salvy was perfect. The breeze was light and the sea appeared relatively calm beyond the sandbar wave-breaks. Little Salvy was, well, little. It was about six metres long, both ends narrow with the middle the widest point. It had a single mast smack bam right in the middle, with a makeshift sail. ¡°No better time than the present¡± announced Ro as she leant against the side of the boat. We grabbed either side of the boat and pushed the boat down to the waters edge. As it glided into the water we both jumped in and started paddling to get past the first set of shore breaks. We raised the sail between the shore and the sandbar where it caught the wind rather effectively and pushed us both off our feet, tumbling into the hull as we sped off toward the sandbar. The sound of light quick slaps to the underside of the hull told us we were gunning it toward the sandbar until it lengthened to larger more spread out slaps as we hit the larger waves of the sandbar. The nose dug in through the whitewash of the waves, I had to grab onto the mast and pray it wouldn¡¯t snap and Ro tucked herself into the nose of the hull. As we pushed through the last white wash of a wave, I could see the face of the next walling up getting ready to spill over, the mist starting to curl off its tip. ¡°Fuuuuck¡­Hold on Ro¡± I shouted as I adjusted the rudder to turn to the port-side, it was our only chance of making it over the wall of water without it directly crashing on us. The boat creaked and groaned as it climbed on an angle and started to tip to its side. I launched and pushed the weight of my momentum against the opposing side to keep it steady until we burst onto the back side of the wave. The boat rocking viciously but intact. By the the time we got to the next wall it was only a large hump, easier to conquer until gradually the waves soften to just a gentle slap against the underside of the hull again. It was a rough start but we slowly started getting the hang of things as the boat cut through the gentle swell and hours rolled by. The water was flat and we were about halfway through the crossing. The winds died down and we were at the ultimate snail pace, hardly breaking any records. ¡°So Ro¡­ you¡¯ve never told me about your life before Salvation, before all this¡± ¡°Not much to tell Carter. Childhood was meh. I turned 17 and joined the Airforce. Had fun and flew jets. Was too good so they assigned me to Salvations Miltech fleet.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Wow well that¡¯s a nice concise life story¡± Maybe one day I¡¯ll let you know more Carter¡± laughed Ro with a wink. The currents lightly pushed us toward the cluster of islands that dotted the sea surrounding Ro¡¯s Cove, we were close but not close enough where we would have been comfortable running aground. We both leant in against the current and adjusted the sail in hope that the gentle gusts would keep us far enough away from the shallow waters surrounding the islands. The next few hours the sea gradually started to shift. The boat¡ªour handcrafted medieval miracle¡ªcreaked and groaned under the weight of each growing wave, and every shift in the wind made my stomach lurch with anxiety. It wasn¡¯t long before the clouds began to thicken, and the current became more aggressive and pulled us toward the cluster of islands. Ro leaned into the oars, her arms straining against the current. I followed her lead, though I had zero confidence in our vessel holding together much longer. The wind picked up further, and I cursed as a large wave slapped against the hull. The boat wobbled but stayed afloat. The gusts of wind and current were moving little Salvy too fast now, we were making great time but at the expense of the boats integrity. ¡°We¡¯re close,¡± Ro shouted over the howling wind. ¡°Just a bit longer.¡± ¡°Close to what? Disaster?¡± I shouted, gripping the edge of the boat as tightly as I could. A large shadow fell over us, the sleek shape of a catamaran roaring past on the waves. I blinked, struggling to process what I was seeing¡ªafter days of nothing but open ocean, the sight of a fully functioning boat with an actual motor seemed like a mirage. ¡°Carter, get down!¡± Ro hissed. We both ducked instinctively as the boat came alongside ours, kicking up spray in its wake. ¡°You must be Staff Sergeant Ro and Corporal Carter!¡± a voice yelled over the roar of the wind and waves. I peeked up, squinting into the spray. A man stood at the bow, grinning like he¡¯d just found lost treasure. He pulled Ro up first then latched onto my wrist and heaved me aboard. ¡°Major Lewis said if you survived, you earned a promotion!¡± he added, laughing. Ro and I looked at each other in disbelief as we laughed, it felt good finally being around other people of our own and to get a taste of Jeremy¡¯s humour after weeks of solitude and cut communication. Both relieved and in high spirits again we saluted Little Salvy as it got dragged under and taken by the sea. ¡°I¡¯m kind of sad to see it go¡± As we sailed closer to Ro¡¯s Cove, I couldn¡¯t help but stare. The small settlement was nestled along the shore, a line of wooden huts that looked almost idyllic against the backdrop of the calm cove waters. A pier jutted out into the bay still being constructed, and I could see settlers bustling around, building more huts and tending to small gardens along the sand. It was nothing like Salvation, but it was civilization. And after weeks of isolation, it felt like finding an oasis in the desert. Ro and I exchanged glances, We¡¯d made it. The welcome we received on the beach felt almost surreal, with Miltech officers saluting us and settlers offering us food and water. Children ran up to show us their drawings of the battle they¡¯d seen in the sky, colorful depictions of rockets and stars that made me choke back unexpected emotion. I had quietly pulled Ro aside, ¡°uh do those drawings look familiar to you in any way?¡± Ro laughed ¡°kids drawings¡­ really?¡± ¡°Look closer!¡± Ro¡¯s jaw slowly dropped as she figured out what I was saying. The drawings looked eerily similar to old carvings and drawings found on Earth. As we walked back over to the Miltech officers I was having my mind blown. Is this all somehow linked to beginnings on Earth. The more I mulled it over the more of a mind fuck it was but luckily I got saved from deeper thought as we reached the officers. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s the plan for getting us back to Salvation?¡± I asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. The officer hesitated, glancing nervously at the others before answering. ¡°Well, uh¡­ Salvation de-orbited some self-guided rockets for us. We¡¯ve got the materials to build something big enough to get you back up there.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hesitation?¡± Ro asked, crossing her arms. ¡°Spit it out. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Salvation had to leave orbit,¡± he said, his voice dropping. ¡°We¡¯re on our own for now but Major Lewis informed us they would be back to get you soon.¡± I glanced at his name patch and chose my next words very carefully¡­ ¡°Well where¡¯s the fucking rocket Ron?¡± ¡°Uh, We..we haven¡¯t started it because we didn¡¯t know if you were dead or alive.¡± ¡°Tick Tock Ron¡± Ro looked at me in amusement. ¡°What?¡± I asked half heartedly. ¡°Oh nothing, it¡¯s just fun watching you get all serious¡± she laughed. It was a certainly disappointing blow, I knew we still had to construct a rocket with the parts Salvation provided but it had taken weeks to get here and it just added more time. I had an itch to get back into space and find a way to the Haven, I was sick of being away from Lilly any longer and my patience was running thinner each day and made me prone to outbursts like those with old Ron. ¡ª Later that evening, and after I had calmed down some more we joined the Miltech leaders for a meal and debrief. ¡°So you¡¯ve got these human-like beings right here¡± I said as I navigated the 3D map. Ro adding details to it as I went. ¡°They seem to have poor biological night vision, I mean ours is shit but theirs is worse. They struggled to see us in a heavily shaded forest¡± ¡°We¡¯ve come across the opposite." Said Ron. "Night dwellers we call ¡®em. They absolutely suck-ass seeing during the day but during the night they¡¯re warriors. They are exactly like us as far as we can tell.¡± The ¡®night dwellers¡¯ sounded way more scary than the humanoids we encountered and had hoped we didn¡¯t have any run-ins with them before the Salvation returned. Chapter 14 | About Time Seasons passed on Biterra and Ro¡¯s Cove had evolved into a fully-fledged town, a blend of old-world charm and modern ingenuity. The makeshift huts that lined the foreshore changed to wooden and stone buildings with solar-panelled roofs, or, if they had space, electricity was generated from the shrubs that I had first encountered when I arrived on Biterra. The markets bustled with people exchanging goods ¡ª freshly grown crops, hand-forged tools, and small gadgets scavenged from the remains of the descent pods. People had even travelled as far as my crashed fighter in search of scrap material and tech. The long pier that stretched out into the cove had been completed with a range of boats moored, from small wooden ones to large catamarans that were used for faster travel along the coastlines, creating little mini shipping lanes and allowing for easier travel between human settlements. The initial thousand people dropped here by Salvation had split off strategically into small communities with the main bulk of people staying in the Ro¡¯s Cove. You could buy or barter for building materials, food, and a range of other goods to help establish yourself in the new world. It also offered a doctor, jail-house, blacksmith, and alcohol at the Tavern. It was a real clash of medieval and technology. Farmland stretched back from the town out to the forests. We were slowly but surely spreading out to secure fertile and resource rich lands for agriculture and mining.I had been able to create my own slice of home on the outskirts of Ro¡¯s Cove, the one good thing from becoming stuck on Biterra and being a part in the construction a new civilisation - laying claim to my own land. A little cabin nestled into the forests edge that had a view that swept over the undulating land all the way down to Ro¡¯s Cove. It was dotted with open fields that housed clusters of vegetation and natural springs. It was nice but lonely. In my spare time I had built a room for Lilly and planted a garden, hoping that one day she would be laughing and playing about in the garden with me. It seemed like a far fetched dream but stranger things have happened. I had even built the cabin with Alice in mind, however, I couldn¡¯t help but think she might have gotten on with life thinking i had passed back on Earth but at least I¡¯d always have Lilly. ¡ª While making my way down into Ro¡¯s Cove from my cabin, a short journey that would usually only take 10 minutes or so.I was headed for the main Miltech building or rather the Southern Guard when an officer was waiting by the main trail. ¡°Carter, the intermediary from the Northlands is in the hall. LT Ron wants you involved¡± said the officer. The Miltech officers that dropped with the new settlers on Biterra decided to rename themselves the ¡®Southern Guard¡¯. It was a fitting choice of name because we had all rather unoriginally named the southern landmass that we occupied the Southlands. There may have been a change of plan when it came to Ro and I on Biterra but we were still Miltech so naturally we joined when Salvation never returned. The Southland Guard was still a military force by all means and it had become a requirement rather than a need. First of all, humans. Second, incursion from other humanoid settlements became more frequent and had already led to a few brief clashes over land and resources. Just as I was about to enter the hall the officer that had been walking with me pulled me up. ¡°It¡¯s already tense in there Carter, He¡¯ll get us all killed¡± he whispered as he grabbed my arm, referring to Lieutenant Ron, before letting me continue inside. The intermediary in question was from the Solari, the humanoids that Ro and encountered on our journey to Ro¡¯s Cove. They were the tall, tanned humanoids that had terrible eyesight in the dark and in the darkened forest. We had later found out it was due to their constant exposure to a sun filled planet, which much like ours, eventually told them time was up and had to leave. We had our fair share of small clashes with the Solari, nothing too serious other than some bruises and sore heads on either side but It had become a common occurrence, until, one day Sylaran ¡®the intermediary¡¯ for the Solari appeared in the middle of Ro¡¯s Cove and wanted to start discussions. The other humanoids that dropped from their own ships have so far been very similar to us - we look similar and use the same vocal communication so it had taken some time but we had effectively been able to learn each others languages, kind of similar to learning another language back on Earth. You would think that as we learnt how common we were to each other that we would bask in each others stories and knowledge. Unfortunately it wasn¡¯t the case when it came to a new pristine planet like Biterra - they wanted it all and so did we. ¡®Dong..Dong¡­Dong¡¯ the deep sound of bells around the perimeter rang out, a warning of movement outside the walls of the settlement as I walked into the meeting. ¡°You guaranteed that you¡¯d keep your men at bay during our meetings Sylaran.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°They are merely here to ensure my safety, if we wanted you dead you would be already¡± said Sylaran in his odd accent with an air of disdain. Although Sylaran was the intermediary for the Solari you could tell that he was battle hardened. He had on a protective leather vest lined with steel that exposed his well defined arms that were laced with scars from his shoulders down to his hands, noticeable by the lighter colour than the rest of his skin. His thick long hair though tied back would definitely keep the bearing sun of Solari off his shoulders and back. Ron scoffed at the remark ¡°We¡¯re done here. Come back when you actually want a serious peace talk¡± Sylaran¡¯s lips curled into a sneer. ¡°You think we are done here? Do you think that we¡¯ll sit back and let you humans strip this planet bare like you did to Earth? You don¡¯t belong here.¡± ¡°Funny,¡± Ron shot back, his voice steady but with one hand resting on his blade and the other holding onto a rifle on his lap. ¡°Because I thought we were making a deal. You agreed to a peace-treaty.¡± ¡°Peace is a fleeting thing,¡± Sylaran said coldly. ¡°We want what you have, and if we must, we¡¯ll take it.¡± Tension rippled through the room. Several of Sylaran¡¯s men, dressed in the same battle-scarred leather, shifted closer to their weapons. I could feel my heart rate rapidly increase as Ron stood, ready to provoke them further. ¡°Ahh Sylaran, the intermediary if I remember correctly¡± I interjected. ¡°Surely it would be a dishonourable act to make a move in a peace meeting, no?¡± Offended at my remark and Rons hostility, Sylaran jumped to his feet and made sure to cause as much ruckus as possible by flipping his chair and pushing some of surrounding people out of his way as he flicked his cloak hood back over his head. He turned, his face darkened by the thick material of the hood before leaving with some parting words. ¡°The Solari don¡¯t want war, but come to it, Biterra will be painted with human blood¡± ¡°R..Remember the sun always sets Sylaran¡± droned Ron in his half ditched attempt to sound threatening. Sylaran had paused briefly before he threw the door open and left. ¡°Nice work, you¡¯ve just gone and started a war Lieutenant¡± I said as I pushed past a flabbergasted Ron. Walking out of the meeting I was unnerved, not only from witnessing old pudgy LT Ron trying to swing the big dick of the Southern Guard but also from Sylarans threat. I had a feeling that we would end up in a war with them sooner or later, we were too similar and humans loved a good war. It felt inevitable. As I was dragging my sorry ass to the Tavern once again another rather flustered looking officer came hurling my direction. ¡°Carter¡ª hey Carter¡± shouted the officer trying to get my attention. I tried to pretend I didn¡¯t hear him and B-lined it to the Tavern entrance. ¡°Sir¡ª sir! It¡¯s Major Lewis, he¡¯s on comms.¡± ¡°What did you just say!?¡± I froze, feeling conflicted at the unexpected contact contact from Jeremy. After a few years I had come to terms that we were left behind by Salvation and that I was condemned to a new life in Biterra. What would I even say¡­am I going to leave? What about Carter ranch? I thought. I held the radio in my hand for a good couple minutes just staring at it contemplating whether or not to just put it down and forget all about Salvation. ¡°About time¡ª where the fuck have you guys been¡± my hand unsteady as I clicked the comms and spoke. It had turned more snappy than anticipated. ¡°Turned to a bit of a grumpy old man down there have ya¡± quipped Jeremy. ¡°It¡¯s been three.fucking.years¡± The comms had gone silent. ¡°Sorry Carter, I¡ªI had no idea the time dilation would be so severe. To us it was only a couple of weeks.¡± On the best of days it was hard for me to comprehend special relativity and even having a first-hand example of it only confused me more. I had begun putting down rootson Biterra, throughout the Southlands, and started a whole new life over the last few years while Salvation just whipped around for a couple of weeks, the space equivalent to popping to the shops. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll find Ro and tell her the good news.¡± Ro had been jumping from post to post, trying to see some action in the little clashes, like a drug abuser trying to get a fix - her drug of choice, adrenaline. I had missed the constant banter with her, occasionally I would join her but for the most part I let her do what she did best. I reluctantly hopped onto the next catamaran to leave Ro¡¯s Cove that was headed to where she was stationed. I still hadn¡¯t fully recovered from our crossing of the river ocean so I was filled with dread every time I had to jump on one of the boats to travel. When I finally arrived, stepping off onto the small dock an arrow, out of nowhere, thumped into a wooden post, literally inches away from my head followed by an ¡°aha¡± and small roar of laughter. In typical Ro fashion she was stood further up with a bow in hand and look of delight across her face. ¡°Been honing in these skills Carter, I¡¯ll get to use them one day¡± she said as she lunged toward me and gave me a big hug. ¡°Yeah maybe one day sooner than later.¡± We sat and I told her the news about Sylaran and that the Salvation had returned to pick up us. I thought she¡¯d maybe have her reservations like I did but that was hardly the case¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s fuckin¡¯ gooo Carter¡± she beamed clapping her hands. ¡°Alright, alright, calm down!¡± I laughed ¡°Let¡¯s go to the rocket and get it checked over, it¡¯s been sitting there for awhile¡± Ro ran to grab her bag and met me back on the Catamaran where we travelled to a remote settlement that housed research labs and our rocket back to Salvation. ¡ª- ¡°It¡¯s gonna be about a week till this bad boy will get you up to Salvation safely.¡± Said the lead engineer giving the hull of the rocket a few slaps. ¡°We gotta make some new parts that, uh, we had to borrow¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding¡± I muttered to myself. Now I was onboard with heading back to Salvation It was another setback I did not want to deal with. Anxiety started to peak again thinking we¡¯d be left behind or that tensions with the Solari would boil over. We had our weapons but ammunition was low and was used in dire situations only. It takes a lot to start a new civilisation from scratch, we hadn¡¯t managed to manufacture ammunition at the time so it was back to basics when it came to weaponry in the first instance. Civilisation on Biterra was basically the equivalent to the Middle Ages on Earth except we had some tech on hand and libraries of knowledge on our slates to speed things up. Though it was cool to swing around swords and fire arrows, the Solari had a physical advantage. They were taller by a foot or two and had a longer reach than us humans. A fight and opponent I had hoped we would miss. Chapter 15 | Attack on Iron Hill We were a day out from leaving when we got word that a small coastal community to our west had been hit by the Solari. True to his word and ego, Sylaran had started to spill human blood. I would like to say I was surprised, or that any of us were surprised of an attack, but we weren¡¯t. We all knew that LT Ron fucked up and it was only a matter of time that people paid. ¡°They attacked right as the sun rose¡± cried the woman ¡°th¡­their blades hummed as they cut us down¡± she fell to her knees, lost to uncontrollable sobs. Hummed? How¡¯s that even work. I believed what she was saying, she had no reason to lie about it but it made me wonder how the humans and Solari were similar yet so different. We both were advanced enough to have spacecraft but the way we progressed on our home planets must have looked very different. Up to this point of time we had only really learned each others dialects and had missed the opportunity to learn about one another in more detail other than just the basics. ¡°Get a message to all the settlements, they have to get back to Ro¡¯s Cove, they don¡¯t stand a chance on their own¡± I ran over to the comms station and activated voice-link to tell all settlements to return as attacks would be likely. While I was there I decided that I should contact Salvation, letting them know of the attack down on the surface and that we needed more supplies and backup, if it were even possible. ¡°Jeremy this is Carter, do you copy?¡± I called over the main voice-link channel. ¡°Copy. What¡¯s up Carter?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been attacked by the Solari down, they¡¯ve slaughter a whole Settlement. Can you supply drop a cache of equipment and a land vehicle or two?¡± ¡°We can but it won¡¯t be hitting the ground for another¡­ six hours¡± ¡°Fuck okay that¡¯s gonna have to do. Can you drop it at these coordinates¡± I sent two dropzone coordinates to Jeremy from my slate. One on the outskirts of Ro¡¯s Cove and the other to the west, roughly in between us and the settlement that was attacked. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing Carter. You don¡¯t have the authority or rank to run this show¡± Barked an annoyingly familiar voice. It was lieutenant Ron. I turned and got back onto the comms ¡°Major Lewis. Permission to stand Lieutenant Ron down. On the grounds of being an incompetent asshole who provoked this attack¡± I cranked the responder way up so everyone in the room, including Ron Could hear. ¡°Permission granted¡± ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t have authority now either Lieutenant¡± ¡°make sure you keep him under watch so he doesn¡¯t interfere further¡± I said to the officers in the comms station. Ron looked absolutely furious. It was satisfying to say the least and everyone understood that it was the right call to make. ¡ª Four hours had passed and only three settlements returned out of five o Ro¡¯s Cove. One wasn¡¯t expected because it had been attacked and the survivor had made it there. The other, was Iron Hill, a key resource settlement over the other side of the mountains. We had to move even though supply drops were still a few hours out. The officers of Southern Guard had all assembled in the centre of town. With Ron out of the way, from my doing and a reluctance from the rest except from a handful, it was decided that I was the one to lead the initial clash with the Solari. ¡°It¡¯s all you Carter!¡± chuckled Ro as she threw her hand up in a salute as I joined the assembled Southern Guard in the centre of Ro¡¯s Cove. ¡°Me? Really? This is kinda fucked up¡± I whispered in her ear as I stepped past her with all eyes on me. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Okay Carter time to wing it. I took a couple of deep breathes and channeled every movie and pre battle scenario I could remember in hope I could reign in an overwhelmed Southern Guard. ¡°This morning we were attacked by the Solari. They targeted a civilian heavy settlement - an easy target for them to spill blood but cowardly. The Solari may appear fierce, they may be ¡®warriors¡¯¡­ But so are we. War runs through our veins. Our ancestors have been both victor and loser in battles throughout our existence, all leading us to this moment. They are willing to wipe us from taking hold on Biterra, but we won¡¯t fail humanity. We can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hua¡± shouted the assembled troops in unison. Ro¡¯s Cove went into lockdown and sentries occupied. The last defence filled with majority of the ammunition we had left. I had scrambled together a small platoon of 20 men and women, while the rest were to defend Ro¡¯s Cove until the drop from Salvation was made. We split into four squads and made our way inland, heading South-West toward the mountainous region of the Southlands. The forest edges became our protection as we made the arduous trek to Iron Hill. We took a break on a mountain side around the two hour mark to look out toward the coast for any sign of the drops from Salvation, and sure enough there was. I could see a cluster of large objects descending rapidly, slowly spreading apart as they plunged toward the ground. There seemed to be more than the three or four I was expecting. Almost all of the objects started their landing burns at the same time, an astonishing sight to witness while sitting up there on the mountain side, more importantly there weren¡¯t any massive fireballs so it seemed like they should of all successfully landed. Hopefully the squads assigned to secure the landing sites made it on time and before the Solari. We continued over the mountain range where a large plateau was located and where the protection of the dark shade of the forest canopy started to thin out. Fight or flight kicked in as we spread out in a line as we hit the open plains, keeping low and moving slow. Off in the distance was Iron Hill, looking too still as I peered through my binoculars. Iron Hill was one of the mining settlements of ours cut into the side of a rolling hill that was right in the middle of the open plains. The wooden huts and metal machinery made for an interesting sight in front of the cut-in cliff face of the mine. ¡°All hold¡± I whispered as I got a better look into the settlement. There were a group of thirty to forty Solari dragging away bodies. Another massacre on a human settlement. We were outnumbered but our blood boiled collectively, we couldn¡¯t let them get away with it. We unsheathed our weapons, Ro led a squad around to the flank of the settlement whilst a squad of riflemen strategically positioned themselves. The riflemen had limited ammunition so had orders to only pick Solari off if they tried to flee or were about to overcome any of the officers. The rest remained with me where we continued to crawl through long grass to get as close as we could before Ro¡¯s signal and launching our attack. ¡°Away¡± shouted Ro ferociously as her squad let arrows fly down into the Solari, few of which hit with deadly precision while the others garnered wounding strikes. The Solari, caught by surprise tried to spot the direction of the arrows which meant it was our time to hit them. With our blades raised we charged into the settlement with a roar. I could hear pops of gunfire together with the sound ofblades bluntly bashing against the skin of the Solari, spilling blood. It felt like something in our DNA was unlocked, an animalistic drive to inflict pain and death on them. In an instant we had wiped out half of the attack party without so much as a scratch. The remaining Solari had finally figured out what had happened and regrouped. The sobbing woman who first told us of their attack on the other settlement was right, their blades had a hum to them as they wielded them as well as a soft purple tinge to the shiny steel. ¡°Filthy human¡± one of the men shouted as he charged with eyes locked on me. I raised my blade to block the attack only for it to slice right through it and gash my arm. The pain ridiculous for a cosmetic wound as it pulsed up my arm. The hum of his blade grew louder with the slight touch of blood. He swung his arms back up and before I even had a second to register what was happening he hit the ground with a thud, followed by a crack whip. A rifleman had managed to get a clean headshot on them and had saved my life just in the knick oftime. My arm was still in excruciating pain as I turned my attention to the handful of remaining Solari, the harmonious hums of their blades rung as they started thrashing in their last stand. They were taking down our men, cutting right through them, even taking out there legs from under them. ¡°Ro take them out now! this needs to end¡± it was a call that I still doubt to this day, we still had officers in their that would likely be hit. Arrows rained down on the last of the Solari attack party, ending their final stand¡­ including a few of our own. We had managed to beat them this time through the element of surprise but I couldn¡¯t help thinking why, why was it so easy to surprise them and why didn¡¯t they expect us to show up? I dropped to my knees and started to wrap the gash in my arm to try and relieve some of the pain and stem the bleeding. As I wrapped I looked around the once productive mining settlement that had turned into a literal bloodbath with human and solari bodies. We were under the pressure of time to regroup at the drop points but the sun was starting to recede and I knew that the Solari wouldn¡¯t be launching any night time raids, so with that decided that we needed to lay our fellow humans to rest, and lay the Solari out as a warning. ¡°You alright?¡± Asked Ro as she knelt beside me and place her hand on my makeshift bandage. She had a concerned look across her face, a gentle reminder of her compassion hidden beneath her hardened, though often psychotic, demeanour. ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll be fine let¡¯s sort these bodies out¡± I said through gritted teeth as I winced from pain and stood up. ¡ª- By the middle of the night we had buried our dead and laid the Solari on the far outskirts of the town in hope it would make any additional Solari think twice before entering further into the settlement. While we lugged around bodies into the night, Ro and a few others got to work on repairing the small communication station, the receiver didn¡¯t work but we could still send out a message informing of the fight on Iron Hill and that planned to move out to the drop site to the west of Ro¡¯s Cove before daybreak. After a few hours of rest we regrouped and moved to the North. The sun was about to rise within the next few hours and we had to get to the drop as I had no doubt more Solari attacks were imminent as the day broke. Chapter 16 | The Best Defence is Offence We finished the push North to the supply drop just after daylight, it was easy to find as the landing rockets were still standing tall and assisted with navigating. As we arrived we were greeted by only five men guarding the drop. However these men were in full Miltech suits, different to the more casual approach that the Southern Guard had adopted down on Biterra. ¡°Corporal Carter¡± one of the men nodded with his rolling southern accent before turning to Ro ¡°Lieutenant Ro ma¡¯am¡± and nodding again. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else? You guys drop down from Salvation?¡± Ro asked staunchly. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am we dropped with the gear, as for everyone else they have partly dropped back to Ro¡¯s Cove and the rest have made their way to the Northlands¡± ¡°The Northlands?, I exclaimed, ¡°why the hell would we be pushing across the sea?¡± ¡°Hendersons orders sir, we¡¯re hitting Solari camps tonight¡± Henderson, of course. We all knew she had a short fuse and had already made it known she wanted us to control basically the whole universe if it were up to her. Her calls had progressively been getting more aggressive and although I could see the reasoning behind it, I started to get worried about where it would end up taking us. ¡°The best defence is offence,¡± whispered Ro, contemplating the logic whilst also answering my underlying question. ¡°Seems risky, they have larger numbers than us though,¡± I said. ¡°Well that¡¯s not the case anymore sir, there was about a hundred extra Miltech officers dropped with the equipment¡± ¡°Fuckin¡¯ hell.. a hundred? We can¡¯t afford that many off of Salvation, what is Henderson thinking!¡± declared Ro. ¡°It¡¯s the first tour, only temporary ma¡¯am. Salvation will be back in a few years again after we get you to your rocket¡± I was shocked at the loyalty and commitment shown by these Miltech Officers. They were totally willing to deploy and try to secure human stronghold on Biterra, for years until Salvation dropped back in again. ¡°Alright let¡¯s move out. LT Ro and CPL Carter you¡¯re with us. The rest of the men can stay here and guard the drop.¡± In the drop was a Humvee style vehicle. Two of recently deployed Miltech Officers hopped in the front, with a third in the centre gunnery, and Ro and I in the back. It wasn¡¯t long before we were making tracks and on our way back to Ro¡¯s Cove. It was nice for once not having to walk or take a boat and make the trip in a half decent amount of time. ¡°So have you guys even seen the Solari yet?¡± I asked, raising my voice so the guys could hear me over the loud rattle of the humvee as it was knocking down brush making its way over the bumpy terrain¡± ¡°Ha no not yet, we¡¯ve heard rumours though,¡± said the officer in the gunnery.¡± ¡°Yeah just humans on steroids basically,¡± chimed in the officer in the front passenger. ¡°You guys have no ¡ª¡° An explosion hit the side of the humvee sending the back of the vehicle up and flipping it over several times before coming to a stop in some thick scrub on the edge of a forested area. Lost in a daze and with heavy smoke all I can remember is hearing one of the officers calling over the radio that we had been ambushed. I was hanging upside down and looking next to me, Ro was hanging by her belt too, but she was limp, unconscious from the crash with blood dripping from her head. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Argh fuck. We gotta move! ¡°We gotta take cover and hide in the forest until backup arrives,¡± yelled one of the officers in panic as he tried to unbuckle himself. I unbuckled myself and with a thud I hit the ground, well the now ceiling of the humvee. I grabbed hold of Ro, trying to support her weight while I cut her free of the belt, grabbing the shirt around her shoulders after she dropped. I paused for a moment before pulling her out of the wreck. It was odd, despite the crackling of the wrecked humvee I couldn¡¯t hear any shots or hums of Solari blades as we emerged. I could however, hear the sound of explosions and gunfire way off in the distance as it echoed its way through the gully¡¯s and hills that surrounded us. Was this a trap or just a random mine laid by us or the Solari? The other Miltech officer pulled his co passenger off to the forest edge and sat, a pool of blood soaked through one leg of his pants. I pulled Ro away from the wreckage and sat her down gently, running to the officer. I tore his pants leg to to find a large piece of shrapnel embedded into his leg. The pain had started to hit him and he was yelling with each throb of pain. I ran over to the wreckage and managed to find a couple of medical kits then ran back to the officer first. I applied a pressure bandage around his injury then jabbed him with a single morphine shot before leaving him with the kit. ¡°Use these sparingly, I¡¯ll be back for you and Lieutenant Ro.¡± I ran over to Ro and cleaned up her head the best I could before dragging her over to some bushes and propping her up against a rock, hoping if any Solari came through that she would be hidden enough until I had returned. ¡ª- As I gained on Ro¡¯s Cove, the sound of a range of weapon fire could be heard, they were fending off an attack. I picked up the pace to a sprint, using up my energy reserves trying to make it into the settlement to find any sort of vehicle to go back and get Ro. I couldn¡¯t tell where or who shots were being fired from, but on my run I saw a group of downed Solari that I dropped next to in search of any type of weapon. One of them was holding what looked like a rifle, it was extremely light weight for its size, a dull metallic colour, no obvious sign of traditional ammunition like we¡¯d use, and I had no idea how it worked. At all. So I picked it up and ran with it anyway, it seemed to make me more confident in my dash. Just as I was almost inside the town I started to take fire, I could feel cold chills slice across my back and torso as I was skimmed by whatever it was they were shooting. Out of reflex I aimed the rifle at the closest Solari I was approaching, I had totally forgotten this gun was useless to me. Until it wasn''t. As I raised the rifle, I had what seemed hundreds of thoughts all at once. The Solari is raising his weapon; it¡¯s too late to shoot his chest; will I try for a headshot or should I hit his knees and drop him first. When I had settled on a headshot the rifle.. just¡­fired. It was like it knew what I was thinking, it was somehow tapped into me. There was no trigger, no nothing. I had no other explanation on how it fired or how it kept on firing every time I went through the same process. Aim, think, fire. Inside the town it was absolute chaos, people running everywhere trying to coordinate defences to keep the Solari at bay. I noticed a small ATV style vehicle ahead of me with a Miltech officer scrambling to get inside of it. It was not ideal but the best I could run into. ¡°Out out out,¡± I demanded as the officer was about to drive off again. ¡°No way, are you fucking crazy!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking this fucking vehicle, I¡¯ll shoot you if I have to,¡± I said in desperation as I kicked the officer out of the drivers seat. I put my foot down, not even looking back. I couldn¡¯t. On my drive out I started to get the hang of the Solari tech, holding the rifle in my armpit, aiming and just thinking how I¡¯d shoot them as I drove past and the rifle took care of the rest. I eventually made it back to the bushes where I laid Ro down, she was still there and was still alive to my relief. The Miltech officer though was no where to be found, with no tracks or trails of blood to be seen. I had to move out of there as fast as I could. I was met with groans as I strapped Ro into the passenger, wrapping some extra restraints around her to keep her as still as possible for the sprint to the research station and our makeshift launchpad. ¡°Just hold on Ro, we¡¯re gonna get out of here,¡± I reassured her before stepping on the gas. Swerving in and around bushes, trees, and boulders, the ATV was more up to the task than I gave it credit for. I had made it to the research station in record time. I zipped up to the main entrance beeping the horn to get the attention of the officers inside. It was quiet out there and it was the perfect time to get out. ¡°We¡¯re launching now, and I need help getting Lieutenant Ro up to the capsule,¡± I ordered as the officers emerged from the building. ¡°But there¡¯s a bunch of pre-launch activities we¡¯d need to do before a launch, the Solari will be heading this way any moment,¡± said one of the men. ¡°Do the short version, we¡¯ll be fucked either way if you all didn¡¯t do you job properly anyway.¡± They reluctantly agreed after they all denied any responsibility for our deaths if anything was to happen and before I knew it they had Ro and in the capsule and I was Strapping myself in ready to go back home aboard Salvation. This time I had more of an idea of how this was going to go down, however, I had zero confidence in its construction and ability to get us into orbit even if I had been playing it cool with the officers earlier. ¡°Okay guys we¡¯re launchin¡¯ you in ¡ª five, four, three, two one. Good luck¡± With the most casual launch countdown I¡¯ve ever heard, the engines roared and we were flying up and away from Biterra in the most aggressively bumpy rocket imaginable. I couldn¡¯t handle picturing what was happening down there now, and I didn¡¯t want to know. All I hoped is that they could hold off the attacks and gain the upper hand so humans could remain on Biterra. Chapter 17 | Home Sweet Salvation It took a couple of hours of tumbling and adjusting for our pod to get close enough to Salvation. Ro was still in and out of consciousness, the launch to orbit had made it harder on her injuries but it was a risk I hope would pay off. Ah back in space again. Life had started to feel normal. Different, but normal¡­ I mean before all the wars and despair started again. Staring down to Biterra left me rife with emotion again, similar to when I had left Earth. Well, maybe not as emotional, but still, I had put down roots on Biterra and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if my little slice of land would stand the test of time until I returned, or that maybe a Solari would take up residence in my little cabin. The latter made my blood pressure skyrocket at the thought. The pod began to auto align to salvation, just in time as Ro had started to show signs of heading downhill, she had become unresponsive. ¡°C¡¯mon this is taking fucking ages,¡± I muttered to myself. My frustration was a ten out of ten. For everything we managed to do this felt like it was going way too slow. ¡°We¡¯re almost there Ro, hold on,¡± the fear gripping my vocal cords as I tried to reassure her. The small pod was thrashed about as it got closer to the docking port before finally letting out a thud and some loud snaps as it latched onto Salvation. I quickly unbuckled my harness and flung the belts off as fast as I could so I could get Ro ready for the medics. Just as I unbuckled Ro the airlock hissed and opened. ¡°Quick, she¡¯s unresponsive,¡± I shouted as a group of people rushed in, picked Ro up, and whisked her away to medical. I fell back into the seat of the pod, exhausted, with my eyes closed. I heard thuds of footsteps enter through the small airlock. ¡°Jeremy?¡± I said, keeping my eyes closed. I couldn¡¯t handle seeing that smirk of his, and I knew if I locked eyes with him, he would have went straight for a joke. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Jeremy inquisitively asked as he grabbed the only thing I brought with us. A nice piece of Solari tech. ¡°A Solari Rifle. ¡°Fuckin¡® be careful with that,¡± I yelled as he started aiming it around. ¡±It will act on your thoughts, or maybe impulses, who knows.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking right?¡± A look of intrigue came over Jeremy as he swung it around a bit more, finding it funny to see my cringed reaction as I waited for it to fire. ¡°Alright alright, I guess I¡¯ll take this to the labs for them to look over. Get yourself looked at as well, rest, and come find me.¡± I had forgotten about the large laceration in my arm from the Iron Hill fight, it was still crudely wrapped. Its stinging pain turned into a more dull ache that I managed to put in the back of my mind until Jeremy ever so nicely pointed it out. ¡ª ¡°What did you say cut you again?,¡± asked doctor Sted. She had a concerned look over her face as she adjusted the lamp and held my arm with her two hands, her thumbs pulling the massive laceration apart so she could get a better look. ¡°It was a Solari blade that did it¡± ¡°Hmm, well, it hasn¡¯t healed at all,¡± she stated, getting a closer look, seemingly unbothered by the pain she was causing. ¡°If anything it looks like it has started killing off your flesh. Did you rub some alien dirt into this or something?¡± I scoffed at her last remark, ¡°do you really think I got that primitive down there? ¡°No I didn¡¯t rub dirt into it. Solari blades are different.¡± Sted looked at me intrigued but doubtful. ¡°Their blades are made out of something that gives it a purple tinge¡­ it, it hums when it comes in contact with blood.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Carter, stop before I put you with the rest of the space-crazies,¡± said Dr Sted before she began to cut away the dead areas of flesh and stitched it together in an attempt to get it to heal. It was disgustingly painful but I had other things on my mind, Ro. I was more concerned about her, she was in really bad shape when they got her off the pod and I couldn¡¯t play it cool any longer. I needed to know how she was. ¡°So¡­ is Ro going to be okay?¡± Dr Sted looked at me like you would a child who doesn¡¯t know any better, a half smile with a sigh of ¡®you poor clueless thing¡¯. ¡°She¡¯s stable for now but suffered a lot of trauma, it¡¯s too early to tell. Let her rest, she¡¯s been through a lot. ¡°And look after that wound, redress it frequently. Now you go get some rest too.¡± The trip up to my quarters was interesting to say the least. Usually, most people you passed aboard Salvation would keep to themselves or exchange brief pleasantries as you passed each other but now it seemed different. Now it had stares and snarky comments thrown into the mix. In the elevator I had a lady scoff, roll here eyes at me, and say ¡°disgusting¡± as she crossed her arms and faced the elevator wall. In the hallways I had several people bump into me on purpose, I could tell by the way they pushed their shoulders into me on collision. To my surprise my door had graffiti scribbled over it. Miltech scum. Hmm that can¡¯t be good. Nope nope. After all recent events the obvious increase in Miltech hate didn¡¯t seem to affect me much as I entered my quarters for some much needed rest. ¡ª- The following morning Jeremy swung by my place. It didn¡¯t seem to bother him I was still sleep deprived and had a laceration that was literally eating at my arm ¡ª it was back to the grind. ¡°Interesting bit of tech you snagged down there,¡± he said coolly. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Well you were right about it¡ª¡° ¡°Yes yes I was right, I know,¡± I interrupted. ¡°Well anyway, it will help. I¡¯m guessing they had a similar situation to us down there that¡¯s why they resorted to blades too with limited fire power. ¡°Out here it will be a different story though, so knowing how their tech works should give us more of a chance.¡± As we made our way down to a meeting with SecMajor Henderson in the Mortifera. Jeremy filled me in briefly of what they had been up to before and after they left Biterra. Once the battle broke out, the other unknown ships burned out of orbit of Biterra and retreated. However, Salvation and the Mortifera were locked in battle with the Dominus and its fleet in orbit for awhile after Ro and I crashed down to the surface before Dominus made a jump. Yes, a jump of its own accord. Salvation retreated and made its way to the closest planet to Biterra and held while the Mortifera tried to chase down the Dominus. Henderson still furious at being outwitted by Fletcher again, made the Mortifera scour the system in hope they would accidentally ¡®bump¡¯ into them. Jeremy warned me not to bring up this topic or let it veer that way in conversation when we entered the bridge. ¡°About time, living on Biterra time are we Corporal Carter? Well your little play holiday is over now,¡± said Henderson as we entered the bridge. ¡°Feeling relaxed after my three year wait for you to not capture the Dominus.¡± The bridge went dead silent, everyone was certainly ready for my death but I remained with a satisfied smile on my face, made bigger by the sight of Jeremys shocked expression. Henderson went red with rage but even she couldn¡¯t help but to crack a smile, I think I had somehow unlocked a pinch of respect from her for being ballsy enough to bring it up. ¡°Ahem¡± Henderson cleared her throat before continuing. ¡°So we picked up a signal while waiting for you to get ass back to Salvation Carter. It¡¯s faint and unintelligible but we know it¡¯s man made.¡± ¡°As in from humans?¡± ¡°You got it, not from Earth either,¡± answered Jeremy. ¡°We¡¯re hoping our unknown cosmic friends or just the unknown? Will help us jump there. All we gotta do is follow the signal each time in pulses past us. ¡°When are we going to leave,¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re already well on our way,¡± said Henderson. ¡ª- Salvation spent the next week following pulses of signal as they gradually grew stronger, like a guiding beacon. We were still many light years away, going at a cosmic snail¡¯s pace, until finally we started hitting disrupted space ¡ª a good indicator we were about to hit an anomaly. Sure enough we did. In fact, it was another high-pitched, black out inducing anomaly, one that jumped us through a shortcut toward the signal. It was strong enough to decipher. We all waited impatiently for the broadcast to be played in its true form, until finally, it played across the bridge¡­ ¡°We welcome you to visit Nuvora City, the premier city pit-stop for cosmic travellers. ¡° Non-residents are to dock to the Miltech spaceport.¡± It¡¯s a fucking advertisement for a human planet! ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± I said, this time out loud. We all exchanged looks of disbelief with the sound of scoffs and laughs filling the room. We just came from our newly settled planet that was half middle-aged and half modern, to now following an advertisement broadcast for a city. Wild was an understatement. ¡°Well that¡¯s an odd,¡± said Jeremy ¡°looks like it might be some PTO for us.¡± ¡°I could use a night out in the city,¡± quipped Henderson. ¡°Wow even the SecMajor wants in on this,¡± I laughed before getting a dead eyed stare down from her. Both Henderson and Jeremy agreed that Salvation should go into holding position on an outer planet while the Mortifera approached and docked to the spaceport. This was mainly to keep the passengers of Salvation in the dark about our upcoming discovery of a human settled city on the far flung edges of space. It would of thrown Salvation into chaos if they were to find out, passengers and crew were getting tired of being in space and with multiple uprisings quashed, this had the power to tip the scales. Before Mortifera undocked from Salvation I went to medical to visit Ro. She was still in an induced coma and it killed me knowing she was missing out on this. ¡°You¡¯d never believe it, we¡¯ve followed this mysterious signal across the universe and it¡¯s turned out to be nothing but an advertisement for a city,¡± I began to tell Ro. ¡°Stay strong, I¡¯ll tell you all about it when we get back, and I want you to be awake for it, got it?¡± I squeezed her hand before hopping up and racing back to Mortifera for undocking. It was time to check out Nuvora City. Chapter 18 | Nuvora City On the bridge of the Mortifera I could see the huge spaceport for Nuvora City that we were approaching. It was long, curved, and in line with the planets curvature with its outer curve facing our approach direction. Craft were buzzing all over the place ¡ª it was a busy spaceport, I think? Can¡¯t say I had ever seen one before that day. The planet behind it was a deep blue except for one large continent that I could see from our distance. It appeared to be a planet that was primarily ocean. ¡°Stop your approach warship and identify yourself,¡± a voice commanded over the open channel. ¡°This is the Miltech warship Mortifera, and I am SecMajor Lori Henderson.¡± ¡°SecMajor, welcome, proceed to dock 9. The General would like to meet with you on your arrival to the surface.¡± ¡°Sooo how the hell is this possible,¡± I asked. ¡°Well remember when you were on Biterra, and how we were gone for a few weeks but had been years for you? Like that, but on the extreme end.¡± Entering the spaceport was some futuristic madness, well it was the future I guess you could say. It was like an orbital airport, departure and arrival gates lined one side of the port and large windows allowed you to see down to the world below. Crafts docked to the outer curve, while shuttles down to Nuvora arrived and departed from the inner curve of the station. As we made our way across the port to the shuttles, I had noticed a large monument with a plaque that stood boldly in the midpoint of the port. There wasn¡¯t only the one either. I could see slight variations of the same monument spread across every hundred metres or so No way, it couldn¡¯t be, could it? As I approached the monument I noticed that the plaque contained an acknowledgment to the first settlers of Nuvora that read. ¡® To the initial settlers of Nuvora, we thank you. Thank you for standing firm against enemies and allowing human civilisation to flourish and progress further than ever before. Giving us the ability to build Nuvora and continue the human species. Civilisation pods one and two from the Transporter Haven of Earth.¡¯ It scared the absolute shit out of me reading that plaque. I was almost certain that Alice and Lilly were on the Transporter Haven and I hoped to god that they weren¡¯t in the pods that created Nuvora city. A city and planet that seemed to have stood for hundreds of years already. I kept my composure the best I could as we made it to the departure gates, I didn¡¯t need the others to know or want them to know that my primary focus was finding them both. Luckily after only a short stroll the attention was off me and on the shuttles. They were fairly small, only seating about twenty people at the time but they looked impressive. They were sleek and almost looked like our Miltech fighters in the way they were designed. Capable to operate both in space and in atmospheric conditions. Despite the shuttle size, the entry down to Nuvora was relatively stable and felt like a gentle glide down to the surface rather than the bumpy bull ride kind of journey I became used to when leaving and entering orbits for that matter. We landed directly into the middle of the city, with a burst of thrust setting us vertically down on one of the many landing pads behind a string of massive buildings. As we hopped out a man ran over to us, we were gifted it seemed with a special baby sitter for our visit to the city. Our very own chaperone who led us away as the shuttle roared back up and away on its journey for the next lot of our crew. Overwhelming was an understatement as we stepped out onto the sidewalk. People were everywhere, humanoids too, I only took notice when I saw a Solari stride past us, flashing a smile as he registered my blaring gaze. He was friendly, and his smile disarming as I clutched my arm, the psychical and mental turmoil from Biterra still fresh in my mind. It would take some adjusting to hide my anger toward Solari. In that moment however, it became a fleeting memory as my eyes followed a building in the background. On the ground it looked like a regular, modern day building back on Earth but as my eyes drew further up it changed. From about the tenth story the building merged into a sleek futuristic tower that I struggled to see the top of. There were still remnants of the old building stretching up several more floors, almost as if the older building was in ruin and they just built on top of it ¡ª a true representation of civilisation roots. It wasn¡¯t the only building like that either, with many others similar looking ones in the same area we were in. Faaaar out. This is unbelievable. Cars were zipping by us, some that looked familiar from Earth brought to life on a new world and some totally alien just gliding along the road. It added to the surreal blend of old world and new. ¡°This is the old side of Nuvora,¡± announced our chaperone, pulling us out of our wonderment. Hmm old side, wonder if I¡¯ll be able to break off and find some settler records. ¡°Is there any historical buildings around here? With information on the first settlers?¡± I asked. The chaperone hesitated before answering. ¡°Uh yeah I¡¯ll send it to your slate, if they¡¯re even still compatible with our advancements¡± ¡°Carter, we¡¯ve got a meeting with the Miltech General of Nuvora in a couple of hours. Make whatever it is your doing quick,¡± said Henderson before the three of them continued on their way. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. My slate chimed, the ping the chaperone sent me was for the Novora Archives building just a few blocks away from where I was. The city was clean, well the part I started in at least. Even the old buildings merged into new looked like it all had just finished being built. No mess on the sidewalks, no graffiti, no riffraff. That was until I started getting to the real old part of the city. In just a few blocks the bustling streets turned less crowded, rubbish was strewn across the streets, and the more beat up vehicles though rare, roared up and down the streets. The buildings weren¡¯t restored with new futuristic additions, they gradually got smaller and older as I walked. If I blinked I would have missed it. A small building wedged between two larger ones made of brick had the sign ¡®Nuvoru Archives¡¯ punched into the stone it was constructed with. As I entered a little bell jingled upon opening the door, it was a sound that instantly reminded me of home, actual home ¡ª Earth. The jingle of my entry was met with a softly spoken greeting from an old lady, surely in her nineties. She gave me a look like she knew what I was after, gesturing me toward the back, where amongst the computers was an old book on a stand. Labelled first settlers of Nuvora. There names were all written on a kind of paper. That¡¯s odd. What the hell happened for them to be writing records down manually. I grabbed the book, sat down at the nearest table, and started my search. A¡­Ale, nope. Ali, that¡¯s it. As my finger ran down the page there it was¡­. Alice Carter. No no no. Alice. My mind started to go beserk, I was bouncing my knee up and down in quick succession as I sat there staring at her name, trying to drive the excess energy out of my body before I started to rapidly flip through the pages. Li, Lill, this is where it should be. It¡¯s not there. Lilly¡¯s name wasn¡¯t on the record. I had no idea if she was missed, her name withheld, or if somehow her and Alice had been separated. I had to find out for sure. My frantic movements caught the attention of the old lady who wandered over to me, taking a quick glance at the book before turning her attention to me with a soft reassuring smile. ¡°You know, there was a coup against the Haven Miltech branch. The new settlers decided they wanted to start from day zero. That¡¯s why it¡¯s all handwritten. They destroyed most, if not all of the technology they were dropped with. ¡°Of course, however, Transporter Haven came back with more Miltech and regained control. Turning Nuvoru into what it is today.¡± My finger traced up and down the book while the old lady was talking, still scared that it might land on Lilly¡¯s name. ¡°Lillys name won¡¯t be in there you know.¡± My mouth dropped and eyes started to well upon hearing someone else say her name. I slowly turned on my seat to meet the old ladies. ¡°She¡¯s my older sister¡± she said, still with a gentle smile gracing her aged face. ¡°Or younger? Who knows,¡± she chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for the Haven to return so I can tell her that our mother, who to you is Alice your wife, forgave her for running away and how much she loved her. ¡°When she returns she will still be a child no doubt, it will be hard for her to comprehend but I¡¯m not getting any younger and my time is running low.¡± A tear slowly ran down her cheek before she wiped it away. She continued to tell me story of how Alice thought I died back on Earth, thinking that I probably hadn''t even made it past seeing them off on the shuttle that day. Not Lilly though, she was adamant that I was still alive and was out in search for her. The old lady told me that Lilly was angry that her mother moved on, angry that she had a half-sister, and angry that me, her father, had been forgotten about. Just before the Transporter was due to leave, she snuck or I should say, lied her way onto a rocket, leaving her distraught mother behind. Ahh Lilly what have you done. My thoughts interrupted by the chime of my slate. It was Henderson and I was late to the meeting with the General. Before I ran out, the old lady placed nearly folded paper in my hand and pleaded for me to return before we left ¡ª The General. I still don¡¯t know his actual name, heck maybe that was the name he was born with. Who knows. You could tell he was battle hardened, he had that occasional thousand yard stare that would look right through you when he was in a daydream, bright scares on his dark skin, and a deep no nonsense voice. ¡° To what do I owe the pleasure to for having the Mortifera of the Salvation stopping by our lovely city,¡± welcomed the General. A trickle of liquid perked my ears, he was pouring us each a glass and motioned us to sit at his desk. I had the honour of having to stand back though because i was a measley Corporal in Hendersons eyes, and I was late. ¡°Captain Fletcher, heard of him?¡± Asked Henderson, getting straight down to business. The General raised an eyebrow, still not looking her in the eye as he threw back his glass before pouring himself another. ¡°Can¡¯t say it rings a bell.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile at the showdown that had already begun between the two of them. ¡°Captain Fletcher of the Dominus Fleet.¡± This time she took on a more stern tone. The battle of ego was set in motion. ¡°You sure you want to bark up that tree SecMajor?¡± Henderson slammed her glass onto the table. ¡°It¡¯s a tree I want to cut down.¡± The General roared with laughter, even drawing a hint of a smile through her poker face. It was already obvious he knew who Fletcher was, even more so now. ¡°Oh you original Earthers do have a temper don¡¯t you,¡± he said in delight as he threw back a second drink. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I¡¯ve told the others¡­. ¡°Find a planet and make it yours. You¡¯re wastin¡¯ your time and your lives.¡± He took on a more serious almost ominous tone when he delivered the warning. It felt like he was genuinely watching out for us while at the same I had a feeling he was telling us to leave the city, and the planet. He told us tales of eight connected systems, matching the eight transporters that left Earth, they were shortcuts between worlds ¡ª Wormholes. These shortcuts however were open and closed at the will of the unknowns, or gods of the cosmos as the General referred to them. They had calculated that the Transporter Haven should have arrived back already and its lack of return was due to these cosmic gods closing the shortcuts on them. It was a notion that would have seemed far fetched if we hadn¡¯t already encountered the wild unknown the universe had already plunged us into. ¡°So where¡¯s the Haven now¡± I asked. The General chuckled again ¡°the infamous Corporal, Alex Carter. We¡¯ve all got bets on whether you¡¯ll make it back to your ship or not.¡± Uhh what the hell, I thought as panic started to run through my body. His chuckle turned into a more boisterous laugh again, he found it entertaining that I had no idea to what he was referring. ¡°Well General it¡¯s been a pleasure,¡± said Henderson as she stood up and shook the generals hand. She was being unusually nice, so much so, that it even caught the general off guard and snapped him out of his laughter. Henderson turned and waved me out first. ¡°Lewis, how long until Mortifera is restocked and ready to go?¡± Said Henderson in a hushed tone as we walked along the long hall. ¡°We promised the crew an overnight.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust him. Keep a low profile until we¡¯re away from this snake pit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got something I have to take care of first.¡± ¡°Major Lewis is going with you, you can¡¯t be alone,¡± ordered Henderson before we reached the exit and parted ways. Chapter 19 | Bounty As we left the Miltech building, the sun started to set over the skyline of Nuvora. An orange glow met with the flickering lights of the city gradually getting brighter as it dipped below the horizon. It didn¡¯t take Jeremy long to start quizzing me about what I had to take care of, especially after the ominous turn the meeting with the General took. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you don¡¯t have to babysit me either,¡± I said trying to brush Jeremy off. ¡°Right, in a city we never knew existed and suddenly you¡ª¡° Jeremy paused as his slate chimed with a new message. He looked up at me, his face lit by the slate as we got into the darker streets of Old Nuvora again. ¡°It¡¯s a bounty Alex. For you. That¡¯s what the General meant when he said they¡¯re betting on you making to back to the ship.¡± ¡°Just my luck,¡± I muttered. ¡°Alright we better make this fast then.¡± ¡°No Carter, we gotta get back to the Mortifera.¡± I stopped and pushed the paper the old lady gave me against Jeremy¡¯s chest. It was a note left by Lilly before she ran away onto the Haven. It explained why she was leaving and at the end of it she left a P.S. that said for me to leave a note if I ever came to Nuvora before she returned. Jeremy was silent ¡ª no grin, no cheeky comments, just silent with a gentle nod of his head to acknowledge he was with me. The evening air in Nuvora felt cold, a nice change to the warmth and bustle of the city earlier in the day. As we gained on the Archive building I could see a group of people close by. It was a large group that seemed like an odd place to hang out. ¡°Alex, we need to keep moving,¡± Jeremy said, his voice low and urgent as he scanned the street, eyes moving between each figure. We crossed the street and tried to keep to the shadows, I took a glance over as we passed. It was a group of Miltech officers. They weren¡¯t in uniform, but I recognised the stance, the way they held themselves. My stomach tightened. Surely Miltech wouldn¡¯t be after us? Jeremy nudged my arm. ¡°They must know,¡± he muttered. ¡°About you. About the bounty.¡± I didn¡¯t respond. I was too busy counting how many of them there were. There were six, maybe seven, we were outnumbered. My mind raced, hoping they wouldn¡¯t look over as we walked on. ¡°Oi you over there, stop for a sec,¡± shouted one of the group across the street. They quickly closed the distance between us, with the rest of the group slowly trailing behind. ¡°We¡¯re Miltech, I¡¯d stop there if I were you,¡± demanded Jeremy. The man laughed as he stopped in the middle of the road, putting his hands up mockingly in surrender. ¡°Alright what branch you with then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Major Lewis out of Transporter Salvation.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s this then?¡± He said as he ignored Jeremy and pointed at me. ¡°Nobody,¡± I replied defiantly. ¡°You look like a million Nuvora coins to me,¡± he snarled. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. He pulled out a concealed pistol, similar to one from Earth but another reminder that we were in some strange retro future city as it also had striking similarities to the Solari rifle I picked up back on Biterra. It was more fear inducing than having a regular weapon pointed at you, this one would fire as soon as the thought entered into his mind. ¡°Woah where¡¯d you get that?¡± I said as I took a step back. Without a word Jeremy lunged forward, hooking the leaders arm, taking his weapon and knocking him to the ground. The rest of the group pushed forward undeterred, their pistols were bio locked to the individual as Jeremy soon found out. ¡°Fuuck,¡± grunted Jeremy He flung the pistol at the nearest person and clocked them right in the face, their head whipped back on impact giving Jeremy the chance to reach for his own pistol. Somehow in those seconds I got a chance to take in the glory of that move which was quickly taken from me as pops, hums, and cracks wizzed around me, followed by a nice jarring strike to the side of my head. Knocked on the ground and no idea if Jeremy was fighting at this stage, I put my feet flat on the ground and started pushing myself with my back to the ground before a figure leaned over me pointing propping up their hands. I quickly rolled and kicked as hard as I could into the side the their knee, a yell of pain and a stumble was all I needed to get back onto my feet. I hadn¡¯t brought weapons with me to the surface ¡ª a rookie error that I never repeated again. I jumped forward, grabbed the pistol and knocked them back before I took another blow to the side of the head. ¡ª- I opened my eyes and involuntarily gasped a breath like no other. It was like I was taking my first breath ever but it felt like I still couldn¡¯t get enough oxygen. That¡¯s when I realised my vision was obstructed, and I had some sort of bag over my head. It let in little trickles of light between its fibres. ¡°Take it off,¡± a deep voice commanded shortly before my face covering was removed. Sitting on a chair opposite to me was the General. Jeremy was sat on a chair next to me with his chin against his chest with the men who nabbed us stood around the room. ¡°You guys put up a bit of a fight, almost had me worried there for a moment,¡± he said with a light laugh while shaking his head. ¡°What¡¯re you doing, we¡¯re on the same team aren¡¯t we. Miltech?¡± The General hummed to himself, ¡°You¡¯re from the past Mr Carter, and unfortunately you made a mistake in the past.¡± His finger started tapping against an object in his lap, a pistol, the same hybrid type as the others. He clicked his tongue as he raised it, pointing it at my head. ¡°I¡¯m envious of the past,¡± he said before six shots filled the room, followed by six gradual thumps. With another gasp of air I opened my eyes. I was sure I was a goner, but instead he killed the six men who brought us here. My confused look from what I thought was certain death seemed to amuse the General as he hopped up of his seat and approached. ¡°Corrupt. They didn¡¯t deserve to be in Miltech. ¡°The only reason I¡¯m standing before you is because I had you followed,¡± he said as he cut me free of the restraints. ¡°I..I thought you were behind it.¡± ¡°Ha. As much as Fletcher and his first mate would of enjoyed that, I couldn¡¯t do that to the infamous Carter. Back from the dead and ready to haunt them.¡± It felt like he was talking in riddles again, a lifetime of stories summarised in a few short sentences, but one that I didn¡¯t live like him. ¡°What are you even talking about?¡± I asked. ¡°They came here and told stories of the battle they had with the Mortifera around the planet that the transporter Salvation founded. They said the Mortifera were savages that needed to be dealt with ¡°I was born on this planet, in Nuvora City, but one thing I know is that Miltech wouldn¡¯t put their assigned transporters at risk for no reason. ¡°The first mate, Kai, well he was the one pushing to put up a bounty for you. As for Fletcher, he made sure he put some roots down here. He has large stakes in Nuvora industries and has his own little army in the shadows, like the ones you ran into.¡± Fear and anger sent a chill down my spine as the General told me of the apparent stronghold that Fletcher has over Nuvora City. It sounded as if Fletcher wanted to keep his Elite status even out in the vastness of the universe. Typical. Theres always gotta be someone like Fletcher. A thirst for power, for control. The door to the room burst open and Miltech came flooding in. ¡°SecMajor, room is clear.¡± It was our Miltech. Off the Mortifera. The sharp clicks of Hendersons heels reverberated around the room as she entered. Our Miltech officers immediately picked up a still unconscious Jeremy and escorted him out while the others held up in defensive positions and stripped the dead Nuvora officers of their weapons. The General let out one of his laughs again,¡±here SecMajor I¡¯ll make it easier for you.¡± He pulled out a slate and swiped his finger up the screen in Hendersons direction. Her slate chimed as she scoffed and bent over to pick up one of the pistols. ¡°Let¡¯s try this Carter, it¡¯s the last time you¡¯ll go anywhere unarmed,¡± scolded Henderson as she scanned the pistol then put it into my hand. Two orange flashes followed by a green meant it was now bio matched to me. ¡°I¡¯m assuming he¡¯ll need this on our way back to our ship,¡± she surmised and confirmed by a nod from the General. ¡°All of Fletchers mercenaries will know you¡¯re here by now. And SecMajor¡­ I¡¯ve assigned two platoons and an additional ship to accompany you until your return, they¡¯ll be waiting up at the space dock.¡± It was refreshing to have the support of the General, but nerves still wrecked havoc across my bruised and battered body at the thought of getting to the space dock in one piece. Chapter 20 | A Million Nuvora Coins It was 4am by the time we got prepped and left the building I was held in, and the General had organised a couple of cars and an escort for us as we were on the other side of the city to where the shuttle station was located with shuttles waiting to get us back to the dock in orbit. The city was eerily quiet, the residents still asleep waiting for the sun to mark a new day, and the low hums of the cars grew louder as they approached and stopped in front of us. The reflection of the city lights cast off the pristine body work, helping them to blend into the landscape of the city. ¡°We¡¯re not going in the same cars?¡± I asked as the General waved Henderson into one vehicle and me the other. ¡°You¡¯re the one with the bounty. You¡¯ll draw them out,¡± Said the General as he hopped in his vehicle. Great, just being used as bait at this rate, I thought as I slammed the car door shut. The cars peeled out and began the journey across the city, keeping several metres apart as they cruised along the empty streets. ¡°Hope you guys are ready,¡± I said half jokingly. ¡°Should be smooth sailing,¡± the driver joked in return. The buildings started to get closer and taller, signalling our exit from the industrial areas to the more dense city centre. The streets started to get busier as early risers hit the streets and it made me more nervous - more people, more potential threats to eventuate. Although I was riding in the back, I kept my eyes peeled ahead, watching the car in front of us. We were only ten blocks away from the shuttle terminals before it all started to turn to shit. The car in front gracefully veered onto the curb, like it was being purposefully pulled over until a sudden bang of impact into a storefront. No sudden braking, no sudden swerve. Whatever happened to the driver of the car was sudden. A sharp turn tumbled me across the backseat of the car as the driver decided to duck down a side street. I grabbed my pistol that Henderson unlocked for me just as the driver started to slow down. I could see him reach into his jacket while watching his rear view mirror. ¡°You¡¯re not are you?¡± I said in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s a million Nuvora coins, nothing personal.¡± As far as I knew, he was unaware that I had been gifted a pistol. As he came close to a stop he pulled his hand out of his jacket and began to turn in his seat. I instantly unloaded a barrage of bullets into his seat and flung the back door open, before turning and unleashing more through the window. The anger may or may not have made me go overboard. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Looking up and down the road there were no other cars, the convoy had been split up and as far as I knew I was on my own again. A sharp screech echoed down the street as I pulled the officers body out of the drivers seat, my plan to take his car up in the air once I saw it wasn¡¯t the same type as the convey cars. They came to a halt just up the road before five people piled out of it, unleashing their own wave of bullets. I ran to the back of the car, bullets whipping by me and shards of glass dropping like snowflakes as I was pinned down. I had no where to go. Trapped behind the heap of junk in the middle of the road, I blindly held the pistol over the body and let it rip, giving myself a quick moment to make a break for the sidewalk where I could use a number of things for cover. I ran for it and instantly had bullets whirling by me again, I tripped, slamming against the pavement but managed to scurry to the closest bit of cover. Out of nowhere, more would-be bounty hunters arrived. Word was out, and a firefight in the street only made it more easy for others to find me. My only option was to run and shoot and pray for the best. A few quick honks of a horn called my attention to an intersection, it was Henderson and a sudden glimpse of survival kicked me into gear. She covered me as I sprinted to the car before she hopped into the drivers seat. ¡°What the hell happened to your driver?¡± I asked as she floored it. ¡°Tried to kill me,¡± she said with a smile, ¡°how about yours?¡± ¡°Yeah, the same,¡± I replied as I began to laugh. I started to lose count of the times I had been shot, shot at, stabbed, sliced, knocked unconscious, and passed out, that it had become numerous. ¡°Okay Carter, I think you¡¯ve become as crazy as the rest of us now. You¡¯re truly Miltech now,¡± she laughed. By the time we had pulled up to the terminals, more of Fletchers mercenaries and bounty hunters were hot on our tail. I¡¯m not too sure how she did it, just being a fucking nutcase I guess, but Henderson was still in heels, walking backwards and picking them off with ease. One by one. ¡°Quick let¡¯s go,¡± I shouted to Her as we closed in on a shuttle. While she graciously ran in heels I was dealing with a reluctant shuttle operator who I had to trial out a pistol whip on to make him comply. ¡°Go now,¡±I shouted as Henderson jumped into the shuttle and I cover fired until the doors hissed shut and thrusters kicked in.. not before the shuttle got peppered by bullets in a last ditch attempt to take us down. Lucky for us, enough distance had been put between us and it just sounded like some relaxing rain on a tin roof. ¡ª- The space dock was trashed, remnants of its own battle evident from the sparks flying off damaged circuits, burn marks from explosions, debris scattered, and lifeless bodies strewn across the floor. We quickly paced across the dock to the outer curve, where the Mortifera was docked. As we got closer there was a small squad, fully kitted out in Miltech battle-suits that stood at attention as we approached. ¡°Ma¡¯am. Sir. I¡¯m Major Hamilton of the Nuvora platoons assigned to tour with the Mortifera,¡± Henderson thanked them and ordered them onto their accompanying ship. ¡°Major Hamilton, undock your ship immediately once you¡¯re aboard and connect to my Comms channel. Being back on the bridge of the Mortifera felt empowering and safe, like no harm could happen now, though it felt lacking from the absence of both Jeremy and Ro. ¡°Major is the dock clear of all civilians like I asked?¡± Called Henderson over the comms channel to Major Hamilton. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± he responded. ¡°Good, we¡¯re going to blow the fucking thing up,¡± commanded SecMajor Henderson. ¡°That¡¯ll set them back a few decades.¡± Several pulses and bright flashes occurred simultaneously, the Mortifera dealt a parting blow and out of all the crazy things Henderson had ordered, so far this was the one I agreed with and hoped the General would see reason in. Chapter 21 | Troubled Salvation After our destructive exit from Nuvora City, we returned to Salvation which had been patiently waiting for us in orbit around a nearby planet, conducting surveys of the system and research. As we approached, it was brought to attention that there was a smaller ship alongside Salvation which later turned out to be the medical ship. ¡°There must be an issue on Salvation,¡± said Jeremy. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t undock from Salvation for no reason.¡± From everything we had seen so far, I was still utterly impressed by the versatility of the Salvation ¡ª the ability for large sections to break off as their own standalone ships. Jeremy was back in good health and spirits, though he was still a little rough with bruises and cuts on his face. We were sat on viewing platform near the bridge of Mortifera as we waited for word from Captain Lee aboard the Salvation. We kept a cautious distance while we waited for docking approval, which was only given by Captain Lee. When it came to the transporter and anything to do with it directly, he had the highest authority, even superiority over SecMajor Henderson. It was peaceful, quiet, and uneventful on the viewing platform. A nice change of pace for once. ¡°Does all of this bother you?¡± I asked. Jeremy turned and gave me a smile, ¡°does what bother me?¡± ¡°Just¡­ everything,¡± I said raising my arms out to the universe. ¡°We¡¯ve jumped through anomalies; discovered two planets, one of which is way futuristic; and, according to the General back on Nuvora, there¡¯s supposedly eight linked systems that coincide with the eight transporters that left Earth. ¡°Not too mention, there¡¯s a whole other race of psychotic humanoids that want to do exactly the same as us ¡ª dominate systems. Meanwhile there¡¯s some shadow puppet masters that seemingly dictate where we can and can¡¯t do!¡± I took a massive breath after unloading my semi-manic train of thought. It was a lot and I felt like no one had really acknowledged it. ¡°You forgot about Fletcher having it out for you too,¡± joked Jeremy. I shot him a defeated look, it was funny but I couldn¡¯t crack. I needed someone to acknowledge now fucking crazy it all was. ¡°We were always going to have a hard time out here,¡± said Jeremy before he paused for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think we were ever meant to make it off Earth. The odds were against us, but somehow we all worked together to do it.¡± ¡°Jeremy. Carter. Hop on a fighter and go over to the medical ship, still no word from Salvation,¡± interrupted Henderson. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± we both responded before heading to the large bay on the bottom of Mortifera where the fighters were housed. ¡ª After a rather boring couple of hours we managed to rendezvous with the medical ships orbit and successfully dock. It was strange boarding medical as a standalone craft, usually you would just walk through one of the several entry points within salvation and you would be in the medical section. Most people probably didn¡¯t even realise that it could seperate, and it wasn¡¯t supposed to unless Salvation was in danger. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Major Lewis, Carter,¡± sighed Dr Sted, with a hint of relief as she met us on entry to the ship. There was an awkward pause before Jeremy addressed the elephant in the ship. ¡°Why has medical separated from Salvation Doctor?¡± She let out another sigh, but this time it was more concerned. ¡°Well. There¡¯s trouble on Salvation and several decks have been locked down, maybe more since we¡¯ve left. It wasn¡¯t good and we¡¯ve totally lost comm channels with Salvation too.¡± It turned out that while we were gone word had gotten out about our visit to a civilised planet. It wasn¡¯t good. It was purposely put under wraps, and Salvation placed in orbit around another planet in the system to prevent an all out mutiny against Captain Lee, the crew, and Miltech personnel. It seemed as though that didn¡¯t pan out and Salvation was in the midst of a mutiny. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you respond to us?¡± Asked Jeremy. ¡°Comms are completely dead. Nothing in, nothing out. We tried to radio the Mortifera once we noticed your arrival, but it was silent,¡± she said. ¡°They must be actively blocking comms, we¡¯re gonna have to board,¡± said Jeremy. ¡ª Doctor Sted led us to Ro¡¯s recovery room, where she was sitting watching a screen with no idea we were there. The doctor knocked on her door and announced she had visitors. For some reason my heart was pounding and I was shot with nerves. . ¡°Thanks for leaving me behind you fuckers,¡± Said Ro as we entered her room. I had no words or hope at a witty response like I had planned, all I could do was rush forward and give her a hug. She was alive and I was grateful. I could feel her body relax before she whispered her thanks into my ear. ¡°So you guys really screwed the pooch taking a vacay and not inviting everyone,¡± joked Ro. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you have me now to get it sorted,¡± she added. ¡°No absolutely not, she¡¯s still recovering. What is it with you Miltech guys!¡± Said Doctor Sted. ¡°Make me doc,¡± said Ro defiantly with a smile. Dr Sted raised her arms in frustration and let them slap by her sides in disbelief as she glanced at Jeremy to back her up. ¡°Sorry doctor, she¡¯ll force her way back to the Mortifera one way or another so it may as well be with us,¡± said Jeremy. Ro squealed in happiness. Yes squealed. It was a first for me to witness as well, and she was so eager to get out of there it took her all but a few minutes to have her bag packed and be ready to head back to the Mortifera. After a reluctant and kind of forced release from Doctor sted¡¯s medical care, we were back on the fighter and on our way back to the Mortifera to let Henderson know of the possible situation aboard Salvation. After some trial and error with establishing a connection with Salvation, we were able to circumvent the comms block by using Miltech channels, we just had to wait for someone from Miltech aboard Salvation to scan channels and land on the same one. They confirmed that several scattered decks were locked down, containing majority of the mutinous group however, included in that was the bridge, where a rogue group had taken control but was met with resistance by the Captain and bridge crew. Their demands, in my opinion, were valid. They wanted to get off Salvation and start a new life on either of the hospitable planets that we had visited. Although reasonable, their course of action was risky, especially for the group that had taken the bridge. Our priority was to board Salvation, retake the bridge and restore order ship-wide. This scenario was one of Miltechs main functions when it was established - to maintain the safety of transporters and its passengers. Docking the Mortifera back to Salvation was too obvious and risky to the mission. We had to go in stealth and catch them by surprise. Most of the Miltech crew were stuck on the lower decks of Salvation and were completely blocked from using service-ways to bypass the locked down decks. ¡°So how are we going to get onto Salvation if we can¡¯t dock to it,¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re going to spacewalk it,¡± said Jeremy. ¡°Uh what now?¡± Jeremy laughed while Ro¡¯s face lit up like a kid at Christmas. ¡°We¡¯ll use a recon craft to get us close to Salvation and then jump across and scale the hull to one of the many airlocks scattered across the exterior where we can force our way in.¡± It was actually a great idea and made the most sense, but again, it was something I hadn¡¯t done before so I hated it. Henderson gave us the all clear and ordered two squads of four people to make breaches into Salvation. Our squad was lead while the other squads were primarily support and plan B if somehow we got annihilated. We went to the bay deck of the Mortifera and suited up. The same suits that Ro and I wore back when we did recon on the Dominus, it had three layers to hide our body heat signatures while also giving us the warmth to not freeze to death. The joy of nervous butterflies, how I missed putting on a suit that I still had zero trust in. Chapter 22 | Space Walk It felt odd approaching the Salvation in a similar fashion to the Dominus, though this time we were circling much closer while trying to find a good point of entry into the Salvation. Even in our zippy little recon craft, the Velox, it took some time to cover the Salvation due to its sheer size ¡ª it was a massive ship compared to the Dominus. Being completely dark, we weren¡¯t even allowed to talk, the only noise were my shallow breaths as I sat to the rear of the cabin in a jump seat while Jeremy and Ro had main pilot controls at the front. They manoeuvred the Velox making sure to avoid any of the main viewing platforms, however, someone would have to be playing close attention to pick out the stealth craft against the black backdrop. Jeremy slowly brought the craft from the rear of salvation to near the bridge before bringing it to a hold, with only the slightest hum heard, and vibration felt. It would barely register on Salvations sensors that we were there, but my anxiety was peaking. I slowly floated out of my Jump seat as the buckles released. As did Jeremy and Ro, with Jeremy signalling that it was time to move. It was still dead silent as I slowly followed Jeremy towards the airlock, using my arms and legs to manoeuvre my body carefully down the small entry way. The airlock area for the Velox was tiny with only the tiny hallway between the exterior airlock door and the Interior cabin door used. Once the interior door was locked, the 02 sensor in my visor started to blink as Jeremy began the decompression process and oxygen started to be pumped back into the tanks of the ship. The exterior door slowly extended down and opened, offering a peak at the exterior of the Salvation, its dull metallic grey being the only thing visible. Along the exterior, amongst all the instruments that lined her were a series of anchor points, with the main routes on the exterior already having steel lines across them. ¡°Okay it¡¯s time to make the jump,¡± Said Jeremy as he activated a secure channel between our voice-links. ¡°Jump?¡± I asked with a shaken voice, my mouth was starting to dry out from the nerves. We were close to the Salvation, but not that close. Although the exterior stretched for what seemed forever in every direction, I started to panic that I would somehow mess up my jump and float away into the endless nothing of space. Jeremy laughed it off and pushed a large loop of rope over to me. ¡°See that,¡± he said as the rope gently floated over to me. ¡°That¡¯s how it will go. Just a nice push off the Verox and we¡¯ll float on over.¡± I grabbed the rope and attached it to my suits tool clips without saying another word. I was that scared that I had lost the ability to talk. ¡°Relax Carter, you¡¯ll be fine¡± said Ro as Jeremy positioned himself to jump first. He grabbed a rail, positioning his legs underneath while looking across at the Salvation. He released his grip and pushed himself off. It seemed as if he was still, suspended in the same position, stuck in that point of space forever as I watched him float away ¡ª an illusion of sorts as there wad no reference for his speed or distance from where I still floated on the Velox. Next up was Ro. Following Jeremy¡¯s movements from earlier, she pushed herself off and away, leaving me lucky last and dreading it. I positioned myself as they did, looking across and prepared to push off. It was quiet and still. Jeremy and Ro still appeared stuck between the Verox and Salvation, but at least they were starting to appear smaller. Oof It¡¯s fine. Totally fine. There¡¯s no way I could miss it. Just push and float over. It was like experiencing weightlessness all over again as I pushed myself off the Velox. It was one thing bobbing around in a ship in zero g, but a whole other level propelling from one ship to another without any lines or safety in place.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. At first it felt like I threw myself off a building. A sense of panic from falling, making me swing my arms around to stabilise myself. ¡ª- I was still slowly approaching salvation but I could see that both Jeremy and Ro had made contact with the exterior hull and were attaching themselves to anchor points with their lines. ¡°Carter, when you touch down on the hull I¡¯ll grab your line and help anchor you down,¡± said Ro as she waited for slow and steady approach. Ro extended out her arm to grab me as I got closer but let out a panicked scream as the distance between us grew larger. ¡°No. Carter!¡± ¡°Fu¡ª ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I yelled as I started to tumble against the hull. Every small impact made pushed me a little further away until I was gliding a foot above the exterior. Except I wasn¡¯t moving despite the feeling of free-falling. It was the Salvation that was moving and I was stationary. ¡°Carter you¡¯re going to have to try and anchor yourself,¡± said Jeremy in trepidation. I quickly grabbed the rope I attached to my suit before the jump, tethering one end to the clips on my suit and tying off a big loop on the other. I pushed the rope so the loop gently floated to the hull to capture any protruding It hooked but the slack was still there when one of the larger exterior devices decided to show up. The impact was hard, knocking the wind out of me while pushing me up and away from the hull. In seconds the slack got snapped and gave me a jarring pull - I was being towed. The line held, giving me an opportunity to get my bearings of how far removed I was from Jeremy and Ro. It wasn¡¯t good. Due to the curvature of the Salvation I couldn¡¯t see them at all, even being fifteen metres off the ship at the end of my line gave me no clue at how far I tumbled my way down. ¡°Guys, do you copy?¡± I called over the voicelink while I slowly heaved myself along the rope. No answer. Shit. I got myself against the hull and set up on one of the main lines, carefully pulling myself toward the front of the ship where I guessed Jeremy and Ro would be. I periodically checked the comms but there was no return call and it started to play on my nerves. At the time I thought I might have been going crazy, I was certain I could feel a rumble or two as I scaled Salvation. That¡¯s when my voice-link began to crackle with static. ¡°Carter?¡± ¡­ Static¡­ ¡°Are you there?¡± ¡­ Static¡­ It was a female voice but it didn¡¯t sound like Ro at all. ¡°Ro is that you? Who is this?¡± I asked. There was no response only the crackling static for the next few minutes as I picked up my pace. In my heightened state of panic I kept making mistakes, one of which sent me flying out again, using the whole length of my line. ¡°Get in the ship,¡± said the unknown voice. ¡°Quick,¡± said a voice that now sounded like Ro. There¡¯s a hatch fifty metres ahead of you,¡± said a voice that now sounded like SecMajor Henderson. I turned myself around and looked out toward open space. I couldn¡¯t see the Mortifera or the Medical ship, but I could see the planet that the Salvation was suppose to be orbiting. ¡°SecMajor Henderson?¡±I questioned the voice. ¡°Yes you fucking idiot Carter. Get to that airlock hatch now, Salvation has burnt out of orbit and heading into an anaomly.¡± Said a sarcastic and angry Henderson. As I went to grab my line I noticed little waves in the rope making their way to me, followed by larger ones ¡ª all the same height and symmetrical. The static in my voice-started to pick up again but in a more flowing in and out kind of way. It was matching the waves of slack in my rope. It was too late. I was already starting to feel the oncoming pressure, was still at the end of my line, and the airlock hatch was fifty metres away according to Henderson. ¡°Woah¡± I said in awe. A calm washed over me. Witnessing a thing of such beauty apparently removes all sense of peril. Several mass clusters of stars, colours, and light appeared toward the front of Salvation ¡ª like planet sized snow globes. The centre of them looked clear, as if you were looking at a speck of space through a telescope back on Earth. It had clusters of stars and a multitude of coloured spiral galaxies that all distorted out of shape as they reached the edges of their containment. The slack waves in my line started to whip my around more aggressively and the static on my voice-link started to pick up with the addition of a high pitched squeal. The Salvation was navigating by a few of these cluster globes and everything was getting more erratic. These must be the anomalies I thought as I started to hyperventilate. Panic was back in my mind as well as intense pressure ¡ª we were about to jump. Light started to stretch all around me, bending in the most curious way, though everything felt still. I was out of breath, my own vision started to tunnel, and my visor alerts were going haywire. Chapter 23 | Locked Down Each time we made a jump, the blackouts felt shorter in duration. I¡¯m not sure if it was because I was fighting it more every time or whether our bodies were becoming accustomed to the high stress of jumping. Either way, I saw what I saw and when my eyes opened again it felt like what I witnessed was the universe snapping back to a still state ¡ª like an elastic band being stretched and let go to take its original form. I wasted no time in pulling myself back along the rope to the exterior hull, then scrambling to the airlock that Henderson pointed out before the jump. I hadn¡¯t heard from her or anyone else for that matter and I was growing concerned whether we all made it through or not. My hands kept slipping as I struggled to get a solid grip on the airlock, all I needed was two good rotations for it to activate decompression and release. However that would only work if the interior hatch door was closed. C¡¯mon. C¡¯mon you stupid thing. My visors sensors started to chirp. They were notifying me that my oxygen was running out, and at a rapid rate while I struggled with the airlock. After a few more trying attempts I got the first turn, then the second. After a minute the airlock door fully released and I was able to pull myself into the small bay, closing the hatch behind me. I pushed off the wall and glided over to the control panel, quickly cycling the air back in while my visor was indicating critical low oxygen. I was gasping for the air by the time I dropped to the ground and just managed to unlock my helmet. ¡ª I had entered into a locked down deck. Made apparent by the deep red lighting and the light strips flowing along either side of the hallways, plus the lack of crew or Miltech near the airlock was a good giveaway. No welcoming party for me. Airlocks were always located in restricted areas on Salvation. It was one of those things that you couldn¡¯t just let any old passenger walk up to and open, even with the safety features, so it was odd that no body was there to staunchly greet me as I entered from the outside. After rummaging around nearby crew locker rooms, I managed to find some plain clothes. There was no way I could stroll around a locked down deck in my Miltech without being noticed or attacked. Leaving the restricted area, that was still void of anyone, the lights flickered back to normal. The dull red illuminated hallway turned to a blinding white in contrast. Something had shifted. I heard cheers ahead from a large gathering in one of the mess halls which grew louder as I zig-zagged the walkways toward the noise. ¡°These are our demands.¡± The crowd fell silent again, happy to hear the coming words from their elected, or self-appointed leader that sounded across the main intercom. ¡°We demand a return to Biterra. ¡°We refuse to be complicit in Miltech warmongering and their breaches of the laws that they swore to uphold.¡± Roars of assent filled the hall and came pouring in from other areas of the deck nearby. ¡°We still have the Captain and control of the bridge. I urge anyone who hasn¡¯t joined our fight for freedom to join us now. They have to listen to the majority.¡± ¡°Just kill him,¡± shouted someone from the crowd which was met with further agreement from others. They were fired up, and the worrisome thing is, that I kind of agreed with their leaders statements. Miltech has been pretty heavy handed in provoking our own kind, as well as other humanoids such as the Solari. Though I could agree with some of the sentiments, it was turning into a serious revolt and there was no doubt in my mind that it had already spread further than just the locked down decks of Salvation. Our trip over to Nuvora had been the tipping point. The passengers felt trapped in a huge tin can in space and were dragged along wherever Miltech wanted to go and I couldn¡¯t blame them for being frustrated. ¡ª With everyone distracted by the demand speech, I was able to hide in the background unnoticed and slip off to try and get out of the locked down deck. I knew that there were a mix of service and hidden Miltech shafts but I still wasn¡¯t entirely sure where they were all located, or if any were even accessible during such a serious lockdown. Making my way through the deck I kept my eyes peeled for any crew or Miltech areas before I came to a breached door. It was an entrance to a Miltech area, the door broken in by sheer force from the unruly mob on the deck. I walked in and saw gear, paper and rubbish covering the floor. It was fully looted as I checked door to door before I came to one of the last closed offices. Mutually startled, I opened the door on a man rummaging through an office. ¡°Who are you,¡± he shouted, steadily holding a piece of pipe next to his body as he positioned himself to face me. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. His face was scrunched up in an aggressive frown with his his sleeves rolled up, showing his tensed, sweaty forearms and clenched fist. ¡°Just trying to find a way out of this fucking jail cell of a deck man.¡± I tried to match his frustrated manner in an attempt to not seem so out of place like I was just another passenger trapped on this deck. A facade the man grew suspicious of almost instantly. ¡°I don¡¯t know you,¡± he said. I scoffed. ¡°I know everyone who¡¯s trapped on this deck.¡± ¡±Oh really? Mister popular are we?¡± His face grew menacing, his hand twitched ever so slightly but made glaringly obvious due to the pipe he was holding. He didn¡¯t believe me and was ready to strike. He lunged forward with a yell, swinging his arm back and around for full momentum with the piece of metal pipe. He was too quick for me to be able to pull out my pistol I shoved in the waistband of my pants. The one accessory I was warned never to leave behind by Henderson and I couldn¡¯t even get it. I stepped to the side, dodging the strike, leaving it to smash against the wall. He quickly spun to face me. ¡°You¡¯re one of them.¡± ¡°One of who?¡± I asked with urgency and my hands out in front of me. A last ditch bid to get him to calm down. He swung again. This time hitting my arms as I raised them to defend. The crushing blow sending waves of pain shooting down my arms. A monstrous yell filled the room. It wasn¡¯t the man though. It was me. The pain and the frustration I had at the situation unleashed the bottled up rage I had been holding in. I pushed him forward with my forearm , grabbing his shirt on the side he held the pipe to dampen any effort to use it again. ¡°You¡ª¡° I landed a heavy blow on his face with my free hand. ¡°Piece¡ª¡° And another. ¡°Of¡ª¡° And another. ¡°Shit.¡± A final blow sent him tumbling to the ground, semi-conscious and spitting out blood. He was groaning in pain and kept repeating ¡®it¡¯s all a game¡¯ as I grabbed the pipe from him. As he kept muttering to himself, I got a better look around the room and noticed that there was a doorway slightly exposed and hidden behind some shelves. It had a key code lock on it, the guy must have been looking for a passcode when I had interrupted him. I walked over to the keypad and had an urge to see if just simply putting in my assigned Miltech number would work. Lucky for me it did, my authority must have been updated by either Jeremy or Henderson. I quickly entered through the door and it let straight into what I was looking for. I slammed the door shut behind me and made my way through the Miltech shafts before exiting on the deck above. I arrived at another door with a keypad, put in the code, and the door swung open. Waiting for me and somehow to my complete surprise were about twenty officers pointing their rifles at me. ¡°Easy fella¡¯s,¡± I said. I stepped out with my arms raised and hoped none of these guys were feeling trigger happy. ¡°I¡¯m Corporal Carter. With Miltech.¡± ¡°Bullshit. Why are you in civvies, and there¡¯s no way you¡¯d be entering from a locked down deck¡± said one of the men. His patch let me know he was a Sergeant. I was worried. Feeling guilty even, as he stepped forward with his rifle still pointed at me, waiting for me to respond. I knew I wasn¡¯t guilty of anything at all but I could tell that he had already made up his mind that I was lying. The story of how I got to this point would surely make it even more unbelievable in his eyes. However, there was nothing else to tell besides the real story. So that¡¯s just what I did. He considered it for a moment and even slightly lowered his rifle before snapping it back upright at me. ¡°So if I put out a call for Major Lewis or Staff Sergeant Ro they¡¯ll be on the ship will they?¡± He said rather condescendingly. ¡°Mhm,¡± I replied with a nod. The Sergeant left the room, leaving the squad of men to guard me with the sights of their weapons never dropping from my eye line for the longest ten minutes of my life. ¡°Of course the Major would be involved in something that sounds so utterly ridiculous,¡± he said aith a scoff as he walked back in. ¡°At ease guys. He¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Ah thank god. I thought, finally able to relax my body after being tensed up with stress for so long. ¡°We¡¯ll take you up to where they both are, by the bridge. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to gear up again though. The whole ship is turning to shit Corporal.¡± The Sergeant wasn¡¯t lying at all. There were protests breaking out that were quickly turning into full blown riots on the way over to the bridge. It seemed the whole ship had turned on itself. We were attacked by passengers. Passengers were attacking other passengers. It was mayhem, so much so that decks were getting locked down ship-wide. ¡ª ¡°Thank god you managed to make it back in,¡± said Ro as we arrived on the deck just below the bridge. ¡°Great work buddy,¡± said Jeremy, slapping my shoulder. ¡°Were you guys still outside of the ship when we made the jump?¡± I asked. They both looked at each other and then to me. ¡°No. We had already made it inside for a while before the jump,¡± said Jeremy. ¡°Were you still outside the ship Carter?¡± Asked Ro. The way they acted and spoke to me was like there was something wrong with being on the outside or perhaps they thought I was starting to go batshit crazy again. ¡°That¡¯s a story for later,¡± I said, deciding against divulging what I had seen while outside during the jump right away. ¡°Anyway. What¡¯s the go with these demands? Salvations passengers have turned fucking mental.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to agree to their terms,¡± said Jeremy solemnly. I shot him a quick look of disbelief, although I did think it was a smart decision. ¡°I would have never guessed that the SecMajor would give in to demands much less even entertain the idea of negotiations,¡± I said. ¡°She didn¡¯t. I can¡¯t get hold of her. The passengers are going to only get more out of control. The crew is refusing to work. It¡¯s the only way forward. If we still have the time.¡± Jeremy was stern and serious as he told me that he made the decision to give in to the mutineers demands without Hendersons approval. It would be internally killing him to lose this battle. To essentially surrender Miltech against passengers of a transporter. Either way, it had to be done and we began our walk up to the bridge. Chapter 24 | Negotiation A silence flowed out of the bridge door as it opened, welcomed by the large group who had taken it over. They were well armed, courtesy of ransacked Miltech stations no doubt, and were strategically placed amongst the bridge crew. However, it only took a moment to realise that these people weren¡¯t just passengers or the occasional crew members. Half of the group were actual Miltech soldiers. It further explained how and why they were so decked out in Miltech gear. They had the bridge locked down and it was only after the threat of killing everyone in there by purging the oxygen out of the room that allowed the main door to open to let us in. Like so many other times, I wasn¡¯t too sure whether there was any fact in the threat that Jeremy made. I assume they weren¡¯t too sure either and that¡¯s why they quickly opened the door after it was issued. Maybe it was a tactic of his, to keep everyone guessing what he was or wasn¡¯t capable of doing. I was just grateful I wasn¡¯t on the receiving end of them. ¡°Traitors,¡± Said Jeremy with a raised growl and trembling with anger. ¡°Harper. I¡¯m surprised to see you at a cross roads up here,¡± he added as he clocked one of the soldiers as someone he knew. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± said Ro as she raised her rifle. In an instant weapons were raised. With the bridge door closed and our backup on the other side, their ten beat our three. Although most of the bridge crew had backgrounds in armed forces or similar, they winced in anticipation of a firefight. ¡°Why do this?¡± Asked Jeremy. The corner of Harpers mouth raised into a grin like he was waiting for the ¡®big reveal¡¯. ¡°You know exactly how this came to be. You and the SecMajor are keeping everyone in the dark, even these two,¡± he said pointing to both Ro and I. Jeremy awkwardly averted his eyes and shifted his head slightly down as I looked over at him. It was out of character and even started to make me wonder what was going on. Jeremy raised his rifle and aimed it at Harper. ¡°No. Explain it to us all please.¡± ¡°Fletcher. The Dominus. They are the ones who¡ª¡° Harper was cut off by the sound of a rifle being cocked. ¡°I¡¯ll stop you right fucking there,¡± said Jeremy, his voice raised and serious. Harper didn¡¯t utter another word. He knew that Jeremy wasn¡¯t to be tested. He did, however, keep that annoying grin across his face. When I thought about it, they all seemed to have grins, like they were overly confident in their positions in taking over Salvation. One of the soldiers even let out a sarcastic laugh before drawing attention over to me. ¡°Carter. They still haven¡¯t let you have a real gun have they? It ain¡¯t even got a trigger,¡± he said, with some others letting out some light laughter at the joke. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He was referring to my pistol. The one that I picked up on Nuvora. Also the one that was crossed with Solari tech and didn¡¯t require a trigger at all. ¡°Want to see a cool trick?¡± I asked. Despite my best effort, I couldn¡¯t help but feel the need to prove myself to be taken seriously. It seemed I was somewhat infamous throughout Salvation but not in a badass kind of way. More of a mocking kind of way, like It was a joke to them that I was in Miltech. That I didn¡¯t deserve to be in it. He let out a singular laugh, ¡°sure, we¡¯d all love to see one, wouldn¡¯t we guys.¡± He let out a dismissive scoff as I slowly tracked the sight of my pistol from his face, down his body before stopping on his leg. ¡°BANG,¡± I yelled abruptly, eliciting a jump scare from him and the surrounding group of people, while getting a laugh from Jeremy and Ro. ¡°Gotcha,¡± I added before I relaxed my posture, though still aiming at his leg. A loud pop jumped through the bridge. This time it wasn¡¯t me mimicking the sound of the pistol. It was the pistol. All I had to do was think with intent and the pistol did the work for me. A yell of pain and confusion ensued as the smartass fell to the ground. For a fleeting moment it was the only noise from the bridge as everyone took a minute to take in what just happened. ¡°Woah what the fuck was that Carter,¡± said Harper with a sprinkle of fright, dropping down to look at the leg of the wounded soldier. ¡°Yeah what the fuck was that,¡± said Jeremy, quietly from the side of his mouth. Captain Lee shot over a piercing glance. The type of glance that told you that something needed to be done to gain control of the situation. In fact, it seemed like everyone in the whole bridge was shooting the same look. Like we were all just playing a game and I ruined it by popping the guy in the leg. ¡°Really? No fire fight after I just shot that guy in the leg?¡± I quipped. Ro let out a contemplative hmph before aiming her sights at another pair of legs. A pair only just behind Harpers back as he was crouched over. She had the same idea as me. That they were bluffing when it came down to it. ¡°Ro. Don¡¯t do it,¡± whispered Jeremy. Ro decided to ease her rifle down and by this point most of the mutineers had also eased up after the display of weapon tech they had no idea existed yet. ¡°Captain Lee. Where are we after that jump?¡± Asked Jeremy, breaking the tense silence on the bridge. ¡°On the outer edge of the Biterra System. It could take weeks until we get to Biterra¡¯s orbit.¡± Weeks. There was no way Harper and the rest mutinous leaders could promise a calm day let alone weeks. They had encited a rebellion and a ship-wide lockdown that they had no control over any more. Jeremy huffed, choosing his next words carefully. ¡°Harper. We will return you and whoever else to Biterra when we¡¯re able to, but for now, you need to relinquish control back to Captain Lee and the bridge crew. ¡°You also need to calm the shit storm you¡¯ve stirred up across the ship, otherwise no one will make it.¡± ¡°Has the SecMajor agreed to this?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll either accept it or will kill you all. But If you don¡¯t leave this bridge she¡¯ll definitely kill you,¡± threatened Jeremy. Harper looked around, buying himself a few extra seconds to consider Jeremy¡¯s words. ¡°The Mortifera is approaching Captain,¡± called out one of the bridge crew. ¡°They are trying to establish comms.¡± ¡°What do you say Harper?¡± Harper gave a reluctant nod of agreement, in the end he didn¡¯t want to risk going against Jeremy or Henderson. Jeremy quickly ordered the bridge crew to bring comms back online and to clear the Mortifera, and its new addition to the fleet for docking. Harper looked a little uneasy when hearing that we had picked up another warship on our exit from Nuvora. Another parting gift from the General as we left. ¡°Okay now it¡¯s time for you to start to reign in your little mutiny,¡± said Jeremy as he motioned Harper over to him. They both made ship-wide announcements calling for calm now that an agreement had been made and that we were headed toward Biterra, allowing anyone who wanted to leave the opportunity to. As Harper and his group began to leave the bridge, Jeremy turned back to us. ¡°I need a debrief with the Captain. You two make your way back down to Mortifera, it should be docked by the time you reach it.¡± We weren¡¯t sure how successful the call for calm would be until we made our way down the decks of Salvation to the bottom where the Mortifera would soon be docked again, but we were sure to find out soon enough as we left the bridge. Chapter 25 | Fake Out While there was no rioting or discord as we descended down each deck of the Salvation, it was clear that there was no order anymore. There were barely any crews at their stations, petty low-level looting crime, even the agricultural decks were almost bare of people, leaving the internal goings on of Salvation at a grinding halt. Heck the only thing that seemed to be open was the dive bar on main. My bet being that it was one of the most heavily guarded areas on Salvation due to it being frequented by Miltech. ¡°What do you think about Harper meant about everyone, including us being kept it the dark,¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got no idea Carter, but I wouldn¡¯t believe anything that comes out of their mouths.¡± Ro was a Miltech gal alright, and there was nothing you could do or say that would make her doubt her superiors or Miltech. Admittedly it was one of her only faults in my eyes. ¡°When are you going to spill on what happened during our jump?¡± She asked. ¡°Our jump?¡± I knew exactly what she meant but I wanted to try buy myself a few seconds of consideration ¡°The jump. Remember? You said you were still stuck on the outside when Salvation jumped through the anomaly,¡± she prodded. She could straight through my strategy. As we still had a long journey to the bottom deck of Salvation I began to tell her the story of the circle, snowglobe-like shapes that seemed to hold entire systems and galaxies, and how everything stretched around us before I succumbed to the forces and blacked out. She had hung onto every word of the story with no judgement or interruptions. She believed me but was still rather perplexed about one thing. ¡°But how were you still outside the ship? Our O2 alerts were critical when we made it into Salvation and that was before the jump.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said softly, trailing off in deep thought. It had me stumped too. My sensors weren¡¯t going crazy until after the jump, and I still had just enough time to make it through the airlock. A contemplative silence sat in the elevator, and we were reaching the lower decks before I recalled another strange occurrence while I was outside Salvation. ¡°There¡¯s one other thing.¡± She curiously raised her eyebrows in anticipation of what else I could possibly add. ¡°I heard you on voice-link. Well it sounded like you at first, I was sure it was you calling out, but then it was the SecMajor. Trying to help me to a hatch door.¡± Her expression turned into a confused frown. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. It would have been Henderson the whole time. Maybe your oxygen was more depleted than you thought by that stage.¡± ¡°Hmm. Yeah maybe,¡± I muttered as the elevator door opened. We had reached the bottom deck. Salvations Atrium, and were only a short walk, a flight of stairs, and a brief elevator ride away from the Mortifera. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡ª- The Mortifera was swamped with crew, the large open bay from the main docking entrance to Salvation was the busiest I had ever seen it. They were all restocking supplies and undertaking some major preparation, even all doors to the small fighter craft bays were open with specialists and technicians coming and going. Scanning around I noticed that there were numerous soldiers from our new support vessel that were dressed in a slightly different type of Miltech attire, a more futuristic version of ours on Salvation. There were just over a hundred additional soldiers As we entered the bridge I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. Standing there, leaning against the centred ops table of Mortifera was SecMajor Henderson, Harper, and the guy I had shot in the leg not even a couple of hours ago. ¡°Relax you two,¡± said Henderson. Harper still had the menacing grin on his face. Meanwhile the guy who I had shot was in a chair, hand over his dressed wound and occasionally drawing in sharp breaths through his teeth. ¡°I wish you didn¡¯t fucking shoot me in the leg Carter you dick.¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have talked shit,¡± I snapped back. Henderson smacked her hand on the table to take quick care of the squabble. ¡°Carter. Apologise so he stops complaining would you.¡± I offered a halfhearted apology which he accepted similarly, like two children being forced to make up by a teacher. The worst. ¡°Took one for the team eh Peter¡¯s?¡± Jeremy joked as he walked onto the bridge. ¡°Took one for the team? Sorry but what the fuck is this?¡± I lashed out. Henderson dropped her hand in a ¡®you got the floor¡¯ motion to Jeremy. He spent the next several minutes repeating the same story to ¡°You mean to tell me that you orchestrated a whole mutiny on Salvation.¡± She nodded with a smile of satisfaction. The chess master at play. She had planned this with Jeremy before we had even left for Nuvora on the Mortifera. Harper, a high ranking Miltech officer had approached Jeremy not long after our battle with the Dominus. He wasn¡¯t sure when or how but the Dominus had been in contact with several Miltech officers in addition to Kai before we even approached them for the first time. It was after being approached by Harper that Jeremy was also confided in by Peter¡¯s, who like Harper had been propositioned to sabotage Salvation and defect to the Dominus. From that point in time, Harper had the approval, backing, and support of both the Major and SecMajor of Salvation to incite a mutiny and disruption across the ship. They used the aftermath of the battle around Biterra and our visit to Nuvora to their advantage, increasing the frustration of passengers, crew and Miltech ten fold. All the while, sending messages out to the Dominus about a wounded and imploding Salvation that was ripe for the taking. It was a plan that would gain an upper hand on the Dominus while also flushing out Miltech and Salvation crew members that had been compromised. We had approximately a week until the Dominus would try to ambush the Salvation, Harpers intel was that the Dominus fleet would be hiding in orbit around one of the outer planets of the Biterra system. Harper was to remain in contact with them and continue playing the part of the defector right up until they attacked, meanwhile as far as the rest of Miltech and Salvation were concerned, we were prepping for a large-scale training exercise. ¡±By the way. Thank you for the heads up about the nearest hatch door when I was hanging off the edge of Salvation,¡± I said to Henderson on my way out. She raised an eyebrow. Prompting me that I needed to elaborate. ¡°You ¡ª that was you right? Even called me an idiot for asking if it was you at the time,¡± I added. ¡°Definitely something I¡¯d say to you, but I don¡¯t recall helping you Carter.¡± Unable to tell what was a lie or truth with the SecMajor anymore, I left scratching my head in confusion. ¡ª A week had passed and Harper had kept exceptionally well at playing his role of lead mutineer. Everyday we¡¯d start restoring order to the decks of Salvation, and each day it seemed like there were new flare ups of disruption, undoing everything we had done the day prior. When we had got the crews back to work, they would come in and make them strike again. When we tried to apprehend unruly passengers, they were there to free them. It wore me down so much that I started to actually look forward to another fight with the Dominus fleet, even though death was always likely¡­that¡¯s how over it I was and it was coming up rather quickly. As we contained another strike an announcement was made across the ship. It was to inform passengers and crew that the ¡®training operation¡¯ had begun as we were approaching the outer planet B-004 of the Biterra system. As part of the Miltech training all passengers including crew were ordered to their quarters with Miltech to lockdown at their stations or to make their way to the Mortifera. This was to give the appearance of a crippled ship and to stop any missed leaks to the Dominus while also having less eyes on the takedown of the defectors. Soon the brig was to be full of new prisoners, the Salvation to seem like easy prey for the Dominus, and me to have another crack at piloting a fighter. Chapter 26 | Ambush Everything was falling into place. The brig was ruckus-filled, Mortifera¡¯s additional warship was on its way to flank the Dominus, while the Mortifera itself had undocked and began cruising behind Salvation. All fighter craft were spread wide across all areas surrounding Salvation which had been powered down and playing ¡®half-dead¡¯ and our orders had come across for all to match velocity and completely power down our craft. It was another moment of quiet solitude, gliding along the vast emptiness knowing that soon lights would be flashing across my visor and ship alerts ringing through my ears. A lot of thoughts crossed my mind for the next couple of hours including how I¡¯d find Lilly, or if she was even alive anymore. One thing I learnt from Nuvora is that time dilation is aggressive from the stationary positions of planets we discover. Nuvora had probably gone through another hundred or so years of civilisation already and I couldn¡¯t even fathom what could have had happened on Biterra since we had left after discovery. Had Biterra become a planet with thriving civilisation and cities like Nuvora, or was it slowly ticking along going through different ages. Did humans even survive a war with the Solari. My train of thought kept flicking between picturing a prosperous world and a grim one. One thing I knew though was that we tainted that planet as soon as we set foot on it. All I had was the hope that the General from Nuvora was right about eight systems connected by the anomalies, but I was stuck with one question. How were we to know, or figure out how to travel to a desired system at will. So far it seemed completely random where we jumped to and it was only by sheer luck that we ended up back in the Biterra system where we needed to be. The curvature of B-004 started to become more prominent, a sure sign that my moment of peace was about to be flipped upside down. B-004 as far as I knew wasn¡¯t surveyed by humanity yet and I wasn¡¯t surprised that there was no rush in doing so. Its atmosphere looked hazy and from what I could see it looked dry, dusty, and inhabitable. Kind of like Mars back in our solar system and what Earth would most likely be on the brink of. Large weather systems with swirls of bronze from the dust they sucked up dotted the massive planet. Even hostile planets had their own type of beauty when backed by the deepest of blacks. I could see lights ahead, slowly getting brighter and larger. As they approached they fanned out to surround the Salvation and like us, their fleet had become larger. More lights flickered on from craft that were running dark on approach, sending a shiver over my skin as I prepped myself to power my fighter on when signaled. A bright flash spread across the light speckled black, and that was the signal. I powered on my fighter, flicked down my visor, and pushed thrust to max. Salvation, that was just up from my position, powered on and started reverse thrusting, flashes from the defensive weapons in full swing straight away as I zipped past it. My visor was lit up with dozens of red dots. A moment of hesitation on which to follow gave away my edge as my alarm for being locked on started to sound. ¡°Nuvora warship you¡¯re a go,¡± said Miltech control over the comms as I pulled my fighter into an evasive turn from the lock. The flashes of impacts taken on either side were numerous as I was able to clock a look while banking out of my turn. So far the first wave of the ambush on the Dominus fleet looked successful. They had no idea a second warship of ours was coming in from the flank or that we were faking a wounded Salvation to lure them in. Filled with motivation at the sight of having the upper hand, I managed to get the Dominus fighter off my tail and get onto theirs, chasing them down to an explosive end. ¡°Carter turn back to the Mortifera, you¡¯re too far out,¡± called Ro over comms. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I checked my position and sure enough I managed to push out several thousand kilometres during the dog fight. It took all my concentration and energy as I made my way back toward Mortifera. It wasn¡¯t only enemy fighters that you had to look out for but also the massive debris fields created by the battle. Craft could take numerous small hits from scattered debris but you had to mitigate collision the best you could, evident by several craft that appeared to randomly explode as I got closer to the Mortifera. More red targets appeared on my visor now I was weaving between larger debris fields, disabled ships, friendlies, and enemies before a familiar enemy craft appeared. A Miltech fighter painted red on my visor that had a special tag against it. There was only one of those getting around. My good old friend Kai. The defecting piece of scum that was a part of starting all of this shit. I banked and thrusted full, until the red circle expanded to a crosshair and pulsed to a locking flash. I had him and there was no way I was going to let him go. Both of our fighters pushed to the limits as Kai tried his hardest to lose my lock. He flew dangerously close to the Mortifera, hoping I¡¯d make a mistake and crash, or abandon chase ¡ª neither of which happened. Movements became more erratic, he was starting to panic. Although I had him locked, I hadn¡¯t fired yet and I could tell it was starting to mess with his head. He was making mistake after mistake, giving me plenty of time to line up perfect, small shots. My goal was to disable the fighter. He didn¡¯t deserve death as far as I was concerned. A stream of white poured out of the fighter, I pieced the hull and his oxygen was venting. He slowed but was still thrusting back toward the Dominus, the backup supply of oxygen that¡¯s in all Miltech craft would allow him survival. I pushed my fighter harder to swoop in front of him, engaging the disabling mines before hearing the thud thud thud as they released. With full reverse thrusters engaged I spun around to face the disabled fighter, an orange flickering crosshair letting me know that it was successful. ¡°Ro. I need Mortifera to capture this craft. I¡¯ve tagged it on the system,¡± I called over to Ro on the voice-link. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a fucking fight Carter, I¡¯m not going to ask Mortifera to pick up a craft.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Kai.¡± The voice-link fell silent for several painful seconds before she responded. ¡°Copy that. Mortifera on the move.¡± Once confirmed I hightailed it away to join the last fighters that were still active which were becoming less and less. ¡°Nuvora warship to Mortifera,¡± called the warship. ¡°Requesting permission to fire on Dominus.¡± ¡°Permission granted warship. Disable only,¡± responded control. Debris pulsed out from the Dominus, taking a huge long range hit to its port side as it started thrusting further away from B-004. I was just outside of weapons range and was one of the closer crafts to the Dominus at that stage. I pushed my fighter to its capacity in a last ditch effort to gain on the Dominus, hoping to fire off some more crippling shots to prevent its escape. But just as I was on the brink of being in range, the fighter started to malfunction and my visor overlay haywire. Oh hell no. Ahead were the cluster of anomalies, appearing out of absolutely no where and the craft start to move erratically as if I were in a choppy sea. I pulled as hard as I could to bring myself out of the path with no luck. It sent me hurling toward one of the anomalous orbs. This time though, there was no blacking out. Light stretched around me as I started to fall through the anomoly, unable to comprehend how fast I would have been travelling at that moment until my mind started to play tricks on me. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if I was moving. As the pressure on my body eased, I began to feel ¡®still¡¯ and that everything around me was in fact moving instead of me. It felt like I was suspended in time and during those moments like nothing else in the infinite universe was taking place. Just frozen until I reached my destination, wherever that would be. How long have I even been in this anomaly, I started to wonder. It started to feel like eternity. Panic evoking, like ¡®I¡¯m trapped in here forever¡¯ type of panic. My stomach started churning nauseas anxiety that pumped through every inch of my being. I was certain that this was it. The end of my journey, stuck in an infinite shortcut loop. My despair eventually turned into curiosity. I had been on the outside of Salvation during another jump. It started to make me wonder if I could leave my craft and just swim on out, just push myself out and exit the anomaly. Anything at that stage seemed possible. Beyond the stretched fragments of light I could have sworn I could see perfectly still stars, like I was in the middle of a raging river and I just needed to get to the edge to save myself. Just as I began to unbuckle my harness my body started being forced forward and out of my restraints as the hypothetical brakes were being applied. The stretching streaks of lights became less prominent and my fighters¡¯ systems started to come back online with the centre sight repeating, going left to right. It was in a spin. I started to get forced further out of my seat and further away from the controls. It was becoming harder to fight the G¡¯s and less likely that I¡¯d be able to pull myself out of the spin. Finally after chaotically spinning the fighters systems fully restored and began to correct itself, slowly easing me back into straight flight and back into my seat. After clicking my harness back into place and regaining control of the fighter I could finally assess where I had ended up. It was nothing to jump to joy over, but rather the opposite. Chapter 27 | A Familiar Face You¡¯re what?¡± Exclaimed Eli, smacking his hands against the armrest of his chair in an otherwise quiet room. We were sitting in his office and I finally had plucked up the courage to tell him that Alice and I were expecting a baby. ¡°I ¡ªI told you not to fucking do that Alex,¡± he continued, this time more hushed and through gritted teeth. ¡°And why did you choose to tell me here, at my work?¡± He looked over my shoulder, nodding his head and giving a wave as a colleague walked past the office door. ¡°Well you¡¯re never around anymore are you. I¡¯ve tried stopping by your place but you¡¯re always here!¡± I replied rather defensively. ¡°Keep it down would you.¡± He put his hands up to quiet me down before shuffling out from his desk to go and shut the door. I could already tell his mind was racing and that the strongest thought would be how could I be so stupid? And he was right. That New Years Eve, when he first told me of what was to come, came with a warning ¡ª don¡¯t have a child. ¡°Okay so what¡¯s your plan?¡± I looked at him slightly bewildered. ¡°Your plan¡ª¡° he sighed. ¡°You know. The one where I said don¡¯t have a kid unless you have a plan. So what is it?¡± ¡°I - uh - don¡¯t have a plan. ¡°We¡­we only found out Alice was pregnant right before the announcement.¡± I stumbled over my words remembering it as soon as he said it, and by the look on his face it was obvious that he one hundred percent thought I was an idiot, an increase from probably ninety percent. It was scrunched up in disgust, like a sour taste that was hard to swallow. ¡°You can help us out though¡­ can¡¯t you?¡± I said shamelessly as I scrambled to fill the silence. Eli¡¯s sour expression turned into more of a deadpan, but emphatic stare. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious Alex.¡± He placed his shaking head into the palm of his hand with only a defeated scoff filling the room that had fallen silent again. That told me all I needed to know. That I had asked a favour Eli couldn¡¯t deliver. ¡­ My radar alerts started to ping as I sat running diagnostics on the fighter. I tried my best to ignore them because they were telling me what I already knew ¡ª that I was surrounded by objects. As for damage, it was minimal with only minor damage to the hull and thrusters, more than likely from the battle before the jump. But out there minor could turn into major real quick. A debris field is what I was faced with on system arrival. Masses of twisted metals from perished ships, organic materials like asteroid belts as far as the eye could see ¡ª a graveyard of sorts. Preliminarily scans started to feed back to the craft with my system maps being updated rapidly. Humans were in this system or had been at some point otherwise it would only be mapped via my travel throughout it. My console updated showing it was the Atlantis System, made up of several planets, each with their own satellites in orbit as well as a ridiculous amount of active probes traversing all over the place. It appeared like a massive net of communications and survey assets just flying around everywhere. One point of interest stood out amongst the cluster of labels that filled the screen. It was highlighted with special attention drawn to it. Space Station Atlantis. There was a massive distance between us, with the space station being a few planets deep into the system whereas I was on the furthest reaches, and that was without taking into account the debris fields which to me looked like a huge barrier that had a definitive inside ¡®edge¡¯. ¡°Okay all I gotta do is make it through this debris field then I can start slingshotting my way to Atlantis,¡± I said, trying to pep talk myself into how easy it would be. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡­ Hours turned into days and I had made such an insignificant dent into the debris field that it was laughable. I was legitimately laughing in frustration to the point where I felt I was going crazy. I tried thrusting the debris out of the way, shooting the debris, even tried yelling at it but nothing seemed to work. I just floated there for days without moving, just holding onto a slither of hope that whoever was in the Atlantis system were able to pick up my arrival and would come to my rescue, bailing me out of this never ending nightmare of scenarios I kept falling into. It was then that I heard a harsh beep from the radar. ¡°Yeh. Yeh. Debris. I fucking know,¡± I cursed at the ship as I floated around in my ever increasing depressive state. It beeped again. And again. In quicker succession. ¡°Wait.¡± I pushed myself over to the console in a panic. It wasn¡¯t a debris alert but rather a ship alert. It must have been on the perfect angle to get picked up between all the shit that surrounded us. ¡°Shit.¡± It wasn¡¯t a known Miltech or human craft either as far as I could tell and was flagged as such on the screen - possible hostile craft. It pinged again, its trail moving from the outside of the debris field and pushing in. It was moving with speed, making easy work of it. Here goes nothin¡¯. After pulling myself back into the seat and harnessing up, I turned the fighter and started manoeuvring around the space junk the best I could to intercept the unknown craft. Caution went out the window in my desperation. I was clipping, and in some instances hitting debris head on in a bid to make it across in time. I refused to check the diagnostic panel for damage, I was certainly inflicting damage on the fighter but couldn¡¯t risk any hesitation at pushing on. It wasn¡¯t a long wait before I could lay eyes on what was plowing through the graveyard of debris. It was a huge ship, unknown to me as it looked nothing like the transporters that humans were on but it did look like it was specially built for just this task. It had fanned out domes across its three exposed front side areas that perfectly displaced all the crap that laid in front of it without incurring any damage to its hull. All I had to do was get behind it and let it do all the work. ¡­ ¡°Woohoo. Fuck yeh,¡± I shouted in excitement as the unknown ship finally breached the inner edge of the graveyard with me coasting behind it. Thank you unknowns and god speed. As I was singing the unknown ship well deserved praises for plowing a way through for us I reversed thrust to lower velocity and drop behind them not wanting to risk being picked up now we were out. As the distance between me and the unknowns increased I saw a heap of coloured flashes of light zipping through space before a horrifying sight unfolded before me. The huge unknown ship started to separate like it was being disassembled piece by piece. It became unrecognisable as it grew wider and spread further apart. ¡°Woah what the shit,¡± I quietly said in shock. The unknown ship, the one which had been my saviour, got absolutely obliterated without any hint of what was coming. And what just so happened to be passing by at that moment? A cluster of the probes. Did they do this¡­ Were they sent this direction on command? ¡°Miltech Fighter AC-55. Disengage thrust and weapons,¡± commanded an unknown voice over my hijacked comms. With zero hesitation I complied. I was absolutely shitting myself that I was about to suffer the same fate and was about to get cut down into a million pieces. ¡°AC-55, We¡¯re transport locking with your craft and escorting you to Space Station Atlantis.¡± After some back and forth discussion over comms once I picked up the courage to talk to them I found out that I was being transported by a sweeper. Sweepers were designed to undertake two jobs. Sweeping the debris fields aka graveyard for threats and intrusions, and salvaging. There were apparently hundreds of these craft patrolling and working their way around the system, going between the outer edges and the space station. After what felt like forever, and a dropping conversation with the sweeper crew, we arrived at the space station. If you took a city, made it space-worthy and plonked it somewhere in the universe, that is what the space station Atlantis looked like ¡ª a sprawling cityscape in space joined by a network of tube shaped thoroughfares instead of roads. The transporter that had built the Atlantis Station was unique. It didn¡¯t carry random passengers plucked from a lottery like the others, instead it carried leading specialists, materials and equipment to build something this significant. It had long protruding walkways lined with airlocks that stretched out into open space from the station, it was one of many space docks around Atlantis, reminiscent of huge docking piers back on Earth. It was there, after a short interrogation followed by debrief on how exactly I ended in the Atlantis system that I was assigned a guide I guess you could say, Layla. Layla was a neatly dressed young woman that was pulled from a nearby office, handed a slate and directed over to me. ¡°Alright come with me,¡± she said with a sigh and rolling her eyes. She clearly wasn¡¯t impressed with her new task of being my guide or being seen with a disheveled looking man that¡¯s been stuck in a small fighter for days on end. As Layla was walking me out of the space docks, I saw an advertisement on one of the screens. It was for the science and exploration arm of Miltech and showed a snippet of an interview with their lead climate discovery scientist. He was an old man, probably in his seventies with a luscious grey scruffy beard though the hair atop his head had receded. Even though the advertisement was muted, there was something about the man that was familiar. His facial expressions, his demeanour told me so. ¡°I know him.¡± Layla let out a small laugh.¡±Who? Doctor Wilson?¡± She asked. ¡°Eli Wilson?¡± ¡°Uh yeah. How do¡ª¡° ¡°I need to see him. Now,¡± I said, abruptly cutting her off. She paused for a moment, glancing over to the screen before back at me. ¡°If you¡¯d follow me I¡¯ll take you to your room and then take you to see Dr Wilson. If he wants to meet you, that is.¡± The way she spoke was as if Eli was some higher class of person and who was I, just some lowly traveller that stumbled on Atlantis and wanted a meeting with some science nerd overlord? How dare I! Well, that¡¯s what I assumed she thought anyway. Chapter 28 | An Old Friend Air rushed along the platform before a small sleek, pod type of carriage pulled into the main station within Atlantis¡¯ dock. It had capacity for about 5 people max and it was obvious it was different from any carriages that usually pulled in, due to the decals spread across it that read Miltech. The door hissed shut behind us and I took a seat before the carriage set off at a rapid pace. Layla had a smirk across her face like I was some caveman experiencing technology for the first time. ¡°You know. This isn¡¯t anything new to me. I¡¯ve seen things way crazier than this,¡± I blurted out in desperation to sway her opinion of me. I wasn¡¯t sure why I even cared about it. But I did. ¡°Naw sure you have. ¡°By the way, we have to make a quick stop on the way to your temporary quarters.¡± ¡°Really. You¡¯re dragging me on an errand?¡± ¡°Yes. I am,¡± she said, cutting the conversation to an end. As we glided along the rails I had to attempt to remain calm like I wasn¡¯t losing it over how crazy this space station was. We were going through station after station and in between each one it gave a glimpse outside as well as the structures that made up Atlantis where staring up was like looking up gigantic skyscrapers all intertwined by steel and tubed passages. After not too long, Layla pulled out her slate and brought the pod to a stop at the commercial district as indicated by the bright neon sign that overhung numerous air-locked entry ways. These sections were similar to the ones on Salvation though at a much larger scale. It was a shell protecting the contents from the harsh realities of space and inside of it were numerous buildings, almost like city blocks separated by a network of paths. Entering the commercial district was more underwhelming than expected. I imagined it would usually be buzzing with life, noise and lights at a more reasonable hour than when we arrived. The grated paths were occasionally lit by some late night establishments and dimmed street lights, and the only people walking were either Miltech patrols or an occasional patron making their way home. ¡°Wait here,¡± said Layla once we got down an alley between two buildings. She entered through a back door of one of the clubs ¡®Neon Monkey¡¯ where the muffle of grungey music got gradually louder before shutting the door behind her. The least she could do was let me tag along, I thought and used for justification to wait a few seconds before opening the door and slowly making my way in. It led me into a storage area where just up ahead another door remained open with voices lightly spilling out of it. I quickly moved up to the edge of the open door to try and get a listen into the conversation. ¡°They¡¯ve entered the system but we aren¡¯t entirely sure where they are.¡± There was too much noise so I pushed my head further into the door to hear them more clearly before I was yanked backwards by my shoulder and thrown onto the ground. A big pissed off guard stood over with me. Not saying anything besides a grunt here or there when he was pulling me up. He swung me through the door and shoved me into the room first with aLL eyes turned to me. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I caught this guy snooping around,¡± the guard grunted before taking a seat next to the door. A dark toned woman with piercing purple eyes stared at me in consideration. Studying me almost, and it wasn¡¯t hard to recognise that she was Solari. The only one in a room full of a handful of others. ¡°A friend of yours Layla?¡± She said. ¡°Hardly, but he¡¯s with me.¡± The woman pursed her lips, intent on leaving long pauses between each question. ¡°Where are you from, mysterious man?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a rookie traveller that accidentally stumbled on Atlantis,¡± answered Layla. She shot a glare toward Layla so vicious that she dared not try to interrupt again. This woman was scary. You could tell she was in charge of a lot more than this dingy little club in the commercial district and honestly it had me just as intrigued as frightened. Who was she and why is she so suspicious. ¡°I¡¯m sure he can speak for himself, Layla. ¡°Where are you from?¡± she asked again, more sternly this time. ¡°Uh. Nuvora ma¡¯am.¡± She leaned back in her chair, taking on a more relaxed posture with a smile. Though It was a smile from catching someone out in a lie. ¡°Interesting scar you have on your arm.¡± She pointed to the scar on my arm and the one that I just so happened to receive from a Solari blade way back on Biterra. Does she know that it¡¯s from a Solari blade? Before I could even fumble over my own words she turned her head back to Layla, smiled and stood up. ¡°When you locate them, best to let me know right away okay sweetie.¡± Said the woman in a condescending tone. It struck a nerve and I could see Layla briefly tense up and clench her fist before relaxing, smiling back and reassuring her that she would. ¡­ ¡°So what was the go with that?¡± I asked, finally breaking the silence once we hopped back into the pod to leave the commercial district. ¡°Nothing that has to do with you. ¡°Change of plans again. Looks like Dr Wilson does want to see you,¡± she added. The pod suddenly took a vertical turn. It was a quick subtle feeling before things felt normal and ¡®horizontal¡¯ again. Woah that¡¯s weird. We must be going up Atlantis. Or across¡­. Fuck, who knows. ¡°So why did you lie to that Solari woman back there?¡± She laughed at the question. ¡°Who? Serena? The same reason as you no doubt. ¡°She holds a lot of power across Atlantis and some things are better off leaving her in the dark about. Though you¡¯ve done a good job at raising her suspicions. Haven¡¯t you?¡± I sure had done a good job of it and it had left a lingering feeling of unease. For as much as I knew about the Solari, there was just as much I didn¡¯t know. I felt as if she read me like a book but enjoyed making me squirm at her line of questions. ¡­ Each district we approached a quiet announcement sounded. I hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it until I heard one in particular ¡ª Fletcher industries. The same as Nuvora. Fletcher had a foothold in Atlantis. Two for three systems so far and my stomach churned at the thought of another situation like Nuvora. I wasn¡¯t game to ask Layla about it either. I was too unsure what side Layla was on and there were too many unanswered questions. ¡­ ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± announced Layla as she pulled out her slate and stopped the pod in the Science and Research District. It was an insane difference to the commercial district. It was bright and refreshing. A wide path led into a massive open area in the centre of the district, like a big open parkland that was surrounded by areas of grass, plants and the buildings of course. ¡°Okay now this is crazy,¡± I said, finally cracking a slight smile out of Layla. She led me down the pathway and through the open areas. It was so reminiscent of Earth I just wanted to sit and take it in and never leave. It felt familiar, comfortable. ¡­ There he was. Sitting by his desk in an office that was an exact replica of his one back on Earth with a smile on his face ¡ª my old friend. ¡°Ha-ha. It is you. You made it Alex!" exclaimed Eli, his voice more horse than the one I remember. ¡°And you got old!¡± I had so many questions. It was a D¨¦j¨¤ vu moment that struck so many emotions that I had no idea where to start so I just stood there. Chapter 29 | Debrief Sitting there, talking to Eli like no time had passed was refreshing but also terrifying. For me it had been years since we last spoke, still fresh in my mind, but for him it had been decades. He was an old man and had spent more time in the Atlantis system going between the space station and its home planet than what he spent living on Earth. There were many moments we just sat in silence sipping our drinks where he¡¯d just stare at me ¡ª a relic of an old life. I guess we were both trying to figure out what questions were the most important to ask each other after such a warped period of time had lapsed. I eventually began to recount the story of how I came to end up on the last ferry to depart Earth and the string of events that followed to lead me to that point of time with Eli in his office. ¡°So Salvation started it all,¡± muttered Eli as he started to flick through his notebooks in search of something. ¡°Started what?¡± He kept rambling under his breath, flicking through all those pages until he registered what I said. ¡°You were the first Transporter to jump. The first to meet the Solari species. The first¡ª¡° He trailed off. ¡°To start war.¡± ¡°A war?¡± I scoffed. Flustered in frustration at my questioning he scoffed back and mimicked me. Yep, he was still the same guy, just older. ¡°That¡¯s not a very good argument Dr Wilson,¡± I said mockingly. Eli took a few deep breaths, gaining his composure before choosing his next argument point. ¡°You had a battle around your new home planet in front of an audience of unknown craft and then started a bloody war with the Solari. ¡°Salvation is the reason we have to defend our system from ¡ª¡± ¡°Oh fuck off Eli,¡± I interrupted. ¡°A war with Solari would have happened eventually. They are too similar to us, besides, I saw a Solari woman on my way here.¡± ¡°Who, Sahara? The only one of them aboard this station?¡± ¡°Sahara?¡± I asked, raising an eyebrow at the name. ¡°Yes yes it was a name we gave her when she arrived. It Seemed fitting considering, well you know.. hot desert planet¡± ¡°Hmm sure. Anyway, you can¡¯t blame us for the other, uh aliens? Humanoids? Whatever. I haven¡¯t even seen or met any so that¡¯s not on us.¡± After some back and forth bickering like the good ole¡¯ days we decided to agree to disagree on the subject and I was happy to move the conversation forward to find out about Eli¡¯s journey and what he knew. Transporter Atlantis spent several years travelling through interstellar space before hitting the anomalies and jumped to the system now named after it. They jumped right into orbit around the only habitable planet in the system, just like Salvation did except they didn¡¯t have to deal with psychopath Fletcher and the Dominus like we did. Instead, they dropped their Civ-pods to the surface and then left to continue their research and mapping of the Atlantis system. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Being the primary scientific Transporter that it was they didn¡¯t want to jump through the anomalies but instead wanted to study them while protecting their new home planet, amplified by the frequent unfriendly incursions into their system by the Solari and other species. ¡°Can we visit Atlantis?¡± I asked, curious to see what the planet was like and also wanting to veer the conversation away from war blame again. ¡°I believe that can be arranged. But there are strict protocols you have to adhere to Alex. Shenanigans are off the table.¡± ¡°Shenanigans?¡± I laughed. ¡°Your fighter craft contained data from Mortifera which was updated to our systems. I did my research once I heard one space-crazy Alex Carter was requesting a meeting. Curious and suspicious mind remember,¡± he said, tapping his finger against his temple. He let out a yawn and pushed himself out of his old squeaky chair. ¡°For now, this old man needs a rest. Meet me back here in the morning and don¡¯t tell anyone what you¡¯re doing. Not even Layla your ¡®guide¡¯, it¡¯s always hard to tell who she¡¯s spying for these days.¡± With that he motioned me out. Waiting for me, and standing way too close to the door when it hissed open was Layla. ¡°Do you always creep so close to doorways?¡± ¡°Funny, I could ask you the same question,¡± she quipped. She spent the next painful twenty minutes trying to pry the goss out of me about the conversation I had with Eli, which I kept shutting down much to her disappointment before her last ditch effort as we arrived at my temporary quarters. ¡°Want to invite me in for a drink?¡± She boldly asked. I could only do what seemed fitting for the situation. I pressed the button to shut the door where it hissed to a slow close ¡ª the space equivalent of slamming a door in someone¡¯s face. ¡­ After three hours of terrible sleep I made my way back to the Research District to meet with Eli where he then led the way to their own dedicated dock area. I guessed that it was for their research exhibitions to slip in and out of Atlantis with ease. Entering through the airlock, we walked into what I could only describe as a small plane, though in reality it was much larger than just the area in which we entered. It had two rows of seats with a walkway in the middle that stretched down to the cockpit of the craft where ladders leading both up and down sat. The bottom level was filled with gear. Scientific and military. While the top most level was entirely a research lab within the medium sized craft. ¡°A lot of firepower for a research vessel,¡± I said as I sat next to Eli in the copilot seat, a luxury afforded to me being the only passenger on today''s journey. ¡°Well you know we wouldn¡¯t have to have this if you didn¡¯t start that war.¡± ¡°God let it go would ya.¡± We both laughed and continued the banter as he ran through his undocking checklist and before I knew it we were leaving the station. Excitement consumed me like a child as in just four short hours we would be coming close to Atlantis. ¡­ ¡°So. Layla, my guide. She referred to me as a traveller and it seemed like a bad thing?¡± I asked. ¡°Those that are in a continual motion aren¡¯t bound by the same laws as the rest who stay still. ¡°The perception of travellers is a bad one. Like they¡¯re cheating life ¡ª skipping lifetimes ¡ª appearing immortal.¡± What the fuck is he talking about, it¡¯s making my head hurt. ¡°How long has this been going on? How many travellers are there?¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t know. You¡¯re only the fourth unexpected ¡®traveller¡¯ that has jumped to this system.¡± A fresh breath of hope waved over me at the thought that Lilly had inadvertently become one of these travellers. As long as she kept searching and travelling I could find her without much time disturbance between us. ¡­ ¡°Alex¡­¡± ¡°Alex. Wake up.¡± ¡°Wha¡ª what is it,¡± I groaned. I had drifted off to sleep as our conversation slowed down thanks to my shitty sleep prior to leaving the station, and we had just arrived in orbit around Atlantis. Holy fuck. ¡°This looks almost identical to Earth.¡± ¡°It¡¯s something else isn¡¯t it,¡± replied Eli. It sure was. While it was no Earth it held more similarities to it than Biterra or Nuvora. Its land was spread across vast areas of the, a mix of familiar colours and weather systems dotted across it, as well as prominent ice caps on either pole. ¡°Now before we go down there¡­ the protocol¡ª¡° ¡°Yes Alex it¡¯s important,¡± he added as I mushed up my face in disgust at having to hear a bunch of rules. Chapter 30 | Atlantis Touchdown Eli pinged my slate with a document of the rules and an ultimatum that if I didn¡¯t listen to them or abide by them then he was going to dump me on Atlantis to live out the rest of my days. Entering, observing, and staying on Atlantis:
  1. Conform to the Civilisation age that Atlantis is currently in.
  2. Minimal contact and/or interference with Civilisation on Atlantis.
  3. Visitors are not to introduce foreign ideologies to Atlantis.
  4. Visitors are not to alter/create/collude events for personal or commercial gain, or for power grabs.
The list continued for what seemed hundreds upon hundreds of points down to the most minute detail. ¡°Woah wait a second. What ¡®age¡¯ is Atlantis currently in to have all these rules?¡± I asked. ¡°Eh around the late¡­ish Medieval Period I would say,¡± claimed Eli. He had a smile stretched across his face. It was hidden by his luscious beard he decided to grow out but it was an obvious happy topic for him. Like a milestone for a child¡¯s growth but his baby was a planet. ¡°You¡¯ve essentially started from scratch. Why?¡± ¡°Well Alex,¡± he said rather sternly. ¡°Every transporter had orders to do the same but it seems like two of the eight decided to do their own thing didn¡¯t they.¡± Eli cleared his throat and seemed slightly offended by the question but continued. ¡°More specifically as to why Atlantis was set up this particular way¡­ research mainly.¡± He tapped his legs, lost in deep thought for a moment. ¡°Anyway,¡± he sighed, ¡°we¡¯re approaching our descent target. Time to get prepped.¡± Why does he seem like he¡¯s hiding something? ¡°How the hell do you enter and exit the planet without anyone noticing?¡± I asked. ¡°We enter during the night and exit during the day. Some people will see us operate, but, who¡¯s going to believe them?¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve gone from conspiracy nut to conspirator?¡± He let out a husky chuckle at the remark. ¡°The latter makes me just as much as the former.¡± The ship itself wasn¡¯t making the entry into Atlantis instead there were small drop pods made specifically for researchers and the like to drop down to planets in a more stealth like approach. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The drop pods were cramped with only two people sitting side by side being able to fit into them, and they were not much smaller than a car. There wasn¡¯t too much crammed into the pod either, basically a kind of rudimentary but high tech piece of metal you could say. It had only one small viewing window in front of us with a control panel sat below it which extended between our seats. The control panel only required manual intervention in the most dire situation reassured Eli. For the most part it was highly automated. All Eli had to do was punch in the coordinates on Atlantis and the research craft and drop pod did the rest. ¡±So I¡¯m curious. Have you been looking for Alice and Lilly?¡± Asked Eli. According to the small countdown clock on the panel we had five minutes before drop. Ergh no way to avoid this conversation. ¡°Yeah I have.¡± Eli shifted in his seat to get a better look at me. Only to pressure me into elaborating though of course. ¡°God you¡¯re even more annoying now you¡¯re an old man. ¡°Alice is dead. Lilly is¡­ I have no idea.¡± He shifted back in his seat and let out a sigh. ¡°Sorry to hear that.¡± ¡°She lived a full life on Nuvora. Even remarried. Lilly didn¡¯t believe that I was dead and ran away,¡± I explained. ¡°If Lilly continues to travel there¡¯s a good chance not much time would have passed between you both.¡± The centre panel let out two slow beeps followed by consistent beeps at second intervals as the countdown hit the final ten seconds. ¡°Thanks.¡± I was grateful that Eli remained positive, usually he fell on the more pessimistic side of things. Well he used to at least. A drop in my stomach timed perfectly with the countdown timer hitting zero. The pod released and we were on our way to the surface. ¡°Relax, we still have a couple of hours until it gets a little bumpy,¡± taunted Eli. This was the third time and second controlled entry to a planets surface since leaving Earth and I was still scared out of my fucking mind. None of anything felt real or like it should be possible, and over thinking it always helped further my bouts of existential crisis. I¡¯d always put myself into a panic attack thinking that I was already dead and never made off Earth, but then if that was the case it would mean that this was still reality. Crazy space talk that is. Eli tried to lighten the mood with some small easy chit chat but I mainly remained silent due to my belief of impending crash and death on our descent. And it only got worse. The pod started shaking from the resistance against its hull getting stronger. We were punching into the atmosphere. A bright glow illuminated through the tiny window. We were coming in hot, literally. The size of the pod, our entry time, and landing location would more than likely appear as a meteor to any observers on the ground. It was all a well oiled deceptive operation it seemed. The shaking, burning , and a little fear subsided as we broke further down into the atmosphere and turned into a smooth, less jarring ride. We began to tumble as we hit air pockets and the winds of Atlantis. The pod started thrusting to adjust itself before it deployed its initial chute, drastically reducing our speed and almost winding me as my harness dug into my chest. ¡°Nothing makes an old man feel more alive,¡± cheered Eli. What a sicko. ¡°Gotta watch out for that heart, can¡¯t have you dying on me now.¡± He laughed and it was obvious he was having the time of his life. *** ¡°Brace yourself. We¡¯re coming in a bit fast than I would have liked,¡± announced Eli. I quickly pulled my harness tighter. My shoulders and chest had already had enough force put on them from entry. A loud and hard thud shuttered through the pod as we smashed into the ground, followed by the grazing of metal on grass with the occasional clang of rocks being in the way as we were dragged along with the breeze. Finally we came to a stop and Eli got to work in releasing the pod''s hatch door which had been banged up pretty well after our harsh touchdown. After a few bangs and forceful kicks it finally released and let us out. An earthy, damp smell filled my nostrils as I scanned around. It was dark. Not a source of light anywhere but from Atlantis¡¯ moon. We were in an open field with shadows of tree lines in the distance scattered around us. As I looked around some more I spotted the most dull orange glow off in the distance. ¡°I think this is the closest I¡¯ve ever gotten. Next time I¡¯ll get right on the doorstep,¡± laughed Eli. ¡°Let¡¯s get going shall we.¡± Chapter 31 | Atlantis Interference We arrived at a small shack, the orange glow I spotted in the distance being the glow from a crackling fire. Eli didn¡¯t bother knocking, instead he just pushed the crappy wooden door open as if he had just arrived home. It was cold despite the fire and surprisingly inviting though no one was inside. There were no rooms, rather different ¡®areas¡¯ which were only discernible by furniture placed across the small hut. Only a living area combined with a bedroom and a tiny slither of what you might call a kitchen. If you count a rudimentary bench with some buckets as a kitchen. ¡°We¡¯ve got some more preparation to do before morning,¡± said Eli. He waved me across the shack where he pushed one of the small stones. A loud click pulled my attention over to the floor where some false planks lifted up. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°What?¡± Said Eli. ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone in this time period is going to expect false floors and a trigger stone in this crap shack.¡± He too laughed as he struggled to bend over to lift the false patch of floor. Bright white lights illuminated up revealing metal staircase lined by white walls leading downward. ¡°Close the floor behind you please.¡± Down below it felt like I was back on the station or even Salvation rather than a subsurface hidey hole that was in fact a research lab. At the end of the entry hall was a massive reinforced door with keypad entry. ¡°Is this bomb proof? I wouldn¡¯t expect anyone to breach this. Seems kinda¡­overkill.¡± He scoffed as he put in a code and the door released. ¡°Think ahead Alex. In a couple hundred years, give or take, nuclear fission will be discovered.¡± ¡°Uh wha¡ª.¡± ¡°Dr Wilson. We weren¡¯t expecting you so soon,¡± Interrupted a woman. ¡°Yes, well I had to bring it forward. Can you get the team to retrieve the pod.¡± ¡°Already on it sir.¡± Eli gave her a nod but she lingered for a moment with an ahem. I raised an eyebrow at the awkward exchange but Eli remained silent and motioned me to follow, forcing the woman to step out of the way. She was fishing for an introduction and for some reason Eli was reluctant to give it up. We walked deeper into the labs until finally arriving at a large room with screens that lined the walls. There were charts, diagrams, and information of planets. All of them with comparisons against Earth as well as civilisation timelines marked. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°The planets that humans have reached. Ones that we are aware of at least. Soon Biterra will be added thanks to the logs we got off you and your craft.¡± ¡°Might be a bit outdated now.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a start,¡± sighed Eli. He looked across all the screens with pride before turning back to me. ¡°We¡¯ll come back to that. Let¡¯s get dressed and I¡¯ll show you around the local town.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. He pulled out some clothes from the container and threw them at me. It was medieval alright. Did I ever in my wildest imagination think that I¡¯d be getting thrown around the universe to parade around and partake in roleplay? nope! *** ¡±To our North is the town of Gart, to our east and south is the ocean, to our west is.. actually don¡¯t worry you¡¯ll never go there.¡± The sun was starting to rise and we had been carefully weaving through the forest for over an hour. To be honest it was a nice change of pace, and reminded me of the English countryside on Earth, before it decided to die. ¡°Keep on your toes Alex. There have been increasing raids on these towns from the ocean in past years.¡± Great. *** The wooded path had finally started to open up as we came across two flags hanging on stakes either side of it. We were entering the town''s limits. There were small plots of farm land that led up to a large fortified wall. The roofs of buildings became visible as they scaled up to high ground behind the wall where a castle sat on top, looking over the town and the valleys that surrounded it. Eli was a familiar face to the townsfolk, with many stopping to welcome him back after his travels. I guess he had told them he travelled the lands to explain his long absences from the town, meanwhile he was actually up in a space station. This is fucking crazy. It was literally stepping back in time. But it wasn¡¯t. I was a tourist. A fucking alien tourist. Well we were the same but I wasn¡¯t from this planet. Textbook alien. It wasn¡¯t long before we stopped by a workshop. Loud bangs and clangs of metal on metal got louder as we approached the large open doors. Inside was a heavily built man smashing a hammer against a sword he was working on. He glanced up and didn¡¯t look like someone you¡¯d want to interrupt, until he saw Eli. ¡°Ah Eli, my old friend. Come. Come,¡± he said. He waved him in for a hug before Eli got straight to the point. ¡°I¡¯ve got somewhere to be but I have a new idea for you to explore.¡± Eli handed the blacksmith some drawings. They looked like sketches of weaponry. Not swords but more like crude guns. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m ¡ª uh ¡ª sure I¡¯ll figure it out.¡± The blacksmith looked a little confused but Eli reassured him that it would eventually make sense and that he¡¯d figure it out before we continued up along the narrow streets. The streets hardly seemed to have any kind of logic behind them. They curved and zig-zagged all over the place, but Eli knew his way around. We eventually turned down more of a corridor rather than a street, it barely fit one person. My shoulders grazed against the seeping stones as I followed Eli down the darkened path before we arrived at a door. He gently knocked and the door swung open to a quirky looking man that had thick circle glasses that were held on by thick leather straps. I could barely get a good look at him as the alley was too narrow and Eli didn¡¯t enter. He did however hand him a scroll of parchment which the man delightfully took in his blackened sooty hand. I started to guess that the man could have been an alchemist. An early scientist I guess you could say where he had to hide away in some dingy alleyway. But what was Eli handing him? ¡°What was that?¡± I asked. ¡°You know. Sometimes they need a little push in the right direction.¡± ¡°Sounds like you guys are breaking your own rules.¡± He was purposely vague. He didn¡¯t want to directly tell me what he was up to but it was easy to take a guess. Eli was handing out future inventions, I was sure of it. As we shuffled out of the tight alleyway, bells were tolling. ¡°Must be something happening over at the church,¡± Eli said. Sure enough, once we got back to one of the towns main thoroughfares, people were making their way up to a church built into the edge of the large hill that the castle sat atop of. The streets were chatty as people moved along until shrieks and screams sent the streets into disarray. ¡°They¡¯re coming. They¡¯re here. They¡¯re going to destroy us all!¡± Yelled an unknown voice. A man ran into the narrow street in front of us and grabbed a woman by her shoulders, shaking her to listen to him. ¡°Please listen to me. This timeline isn¡¯t safe for us.¡± He started to clutch the side of his head and started stumbling forward crashing into a street stall before leaning against one of the cold stone walls that lined the narrow street. ¡°They¡¯re up there watching us. No. I¡¯m not supposed to be here!¡± His ramblings had the whole street at a standstill while he was pointing up to the sky. I was floored, as was Eli. He turned to look at me with fear in his eyes. It was something that he wasn¡¯t expecting down here on the surface. A woman came rushing up behind him to grab him. He started to flail his arms to resist before giving in. ¡°Shut up. You¡¯re going to get us fucking killed,¡± she yelled. The couple started to move briskly down the street in the opposite direction of the flow of people. Ahead there were some guards talking to a group of people investigating the disturbance. ¡°We need to get to them before they do,¡± said Eli. We started to trail behind them to either follow them to their home or to get them out of the town. ¡°What the fuck is going on down here Eli? They¡¯re not from this planet are they?¡± ¡°No and I have no idea how they made it to the surface undetected.¡± Chapter 32 | Atlantis Protocol The couple weaved through the streets unsure where to take refuge and Eli couldn¡¯t sit back any longer and risk them being caught. We caught up to them and cut them off thanks to Eli¡¯s knowledge of the towns streets. We steered them toward gates before we got out into the farmlands and back into the forest. Eli spoke with the unknown man while I dropped back to talk to the woman. I was all sorts of concerned with everything that was happing on Atlantis, but more importantly what was going on with the man. ¡°Are you from Earth?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes. Transporter Effigium.¡± ¡°How did you get onto this planet without being noticed?¡± ¡°Better stealth tech I guess,¡± she sighed. Her body language and the way she answered, told me that I had to cut to the chase before completely losing her attention. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± She let out another deep sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s been getting worse. That¡¯s why we decided to settle here. I don¡¯t think he could handle another jump.¡± Her voice was shaken and she was trying to hold back tears but I had to know more. ¡°What do you mean, handle another jump?¡± ¡°We took a ship from our Transporter and went out on our own to find the perfect place to spend the rest of our lives.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She paused and held me back to put more space between us and the two ahead. ¡°The last few jumps. He started saying odd things. Remembering things different to how they happened. Each jump he got worse.¡± ¡°Wait but you said you have been jumping together. You seem fine?¡± ¡°He¡¯s jumped two more times than I have.¡± ¡°How many times has he jumped?¡± ¡°Ten times,¡± she answers, letting out a whimper. Shit. Is eight times the limit? *** Back at the research lab, the man had calmed from his delirious state and stared at me from across the large meeting room table. ¡°Carter?¡± He asked. The man scrambled to his feet, at attention as soon as he saw me. ¡°It¡¯s me. Sergeant Hays. Sir.¡± ¡°Do you¡­ know each other?¡± Asked Eli. Eli was taken with curiosity and excitement, evident by the smile on his face at Fred¡¯s question and my reaction. My eyebrows raised in utter confusion. In a way he did look familiar, but I had never met the guy before today. ¡°Yes sir. We served together on Salvation, I was in the same squad with Sergeant Ro.¡± ¡°Is that so,¡± said Eli, the smile on his face even larger now, even hidden under that beard of his. ¡°Yes sir. Well until ¡ª¡° He gave me a somber glance before continuing. ¡°Until Sergeant Ro was killed in action.¡± I felt a sudden hit of mourning. Like the words he spoke were true, but they weren¡¯t. She was still alive when I jumped to the Atlantis system and I¡¯m positive these two would have been here. ¡°Where did she die?¡± ¡°What? Biterra. When your¡ª you know, vehicle exploded? I looked over to the woman who shook her head, visibly upset by the responses she was hearing. I turned back to Eli and asked to speak in private to explain that what he was saying was true besides Ro dying on Biterra. ¡°Have you seen this happen before?¡± I asked. ¡°No. This is still all new territory. So many things we thought were impossible are ordinary now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something else,¡± I said before telling him everything that me and the woman talked about. I didn¡¯t think that Eli¡¯s eyes could widen in delight any further. A man was going crazy but he was having a scientist''s wet dream¡ªa new discovery.