《Code Name: Genesis》 Prologue Failure¡­¡­. That is what I am most familiar with. I have lost all¡­ Everything I have cared about. My command, my squad, my¡­.. my friends. John H. Glenn, a tall and brawny man with graying streaks in his black hair, and a Commander in the United Space Coalition, could only stare in blatant disbelief at what he was looking at. A derelict space station belonging to the old Sol Empire way beyond disrepair and in the dark space between solar systems. Strange. Especially since all nearby habitable planets even close to this sector were obliterated in the Great Civil War hundreds of years ago. With the mission to explore the space beyond the territory of the U.S.C. and look for suitable planets to inhabit they stumbled upon a signal leading them to this very station. With his many decorated years in the military, his immediate thoughts were of a possible ambush and sent his crew to battle stations. ¡°Lieutenant Shawkwa, get me a scan on that station. I want every detail you can scrounge up.¡± ¡°Already on it, sir.¡± Her response wasn''t a bluff as five of the twelve available drones were already en route to the station. Her slick black hair tied in a ponytail so as to not distract her control of the little machines. Back on Sakina she had many suitors trying to bypass security and board the U.S.C.S. Marathon just so they can be stuck out in space with her. ¡°Sergeant Sterling, get your men equipped for zero-gee combat. Just because we have no visuals of a ship outside, doesn''t mean there are no hostiles inside the facility.¡± ¡°Aye aye, sir.¡± A husky voice replied to the orders. Shortly after the orders a single transport ship was launched and headed to the still silent station. ¡°Sergeant, drones show no hostiles throughout the facility, but are receiving strange reading from within the detention block on the lower sections of the station. Scout out the location and see what it is, we will be providing a drone to go inside and show the way. On the way to the source see if you can find any information on this station from within.¡± ¡°Roger that, sir. We are linking suit cameras to displays now.¡± At Sterling¡¯s word Commander Glenn¡¯s view of the station switched to multiple views of the inside of the transport ship from a four man squad. The command crew had full visual and audio of the soldiers that were going onto the station. ¡°Commander¡¯s orders are to follow the drone from the LZ and find whatever is sending out the signal the drones outside are picking up. Once we locate it we will either bring it back with us or prepare it for a towing crew. En route to the signal source, we are to look for any information that might shine some light on this story.¡± Sergeant Sterling had picked his most experienced men for this Op so he wouldn''t have to worry about losing any of his men and be able to get out of the boundlessness of space as quick as possible After Sterling was giving his warning order to his squad, Lt. Shawkwa said while smiling in her seat, ¡°Don¡¯t worry boys, I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t get lost.¡± Seeming to brighten the Corporals day. After the squad of men dismounted from their ship they were surprised to find that they were bouncing instead of the free fall that is zero-gee space. The station still had gravity despite it being below standard for a station this size. Commander Glenn and the entire command crew were also surprised, especially when the drones had shown no power fluxes since their arrival. The station had no power to generate this gravity and sent the crew into high alert. ¡°Sir, drones are still showing that the station has no power. Maybe whatever is sending out that signal is somehow generating the gravity inside the station.¡± ¡°Sound reasoning because I doubt all twelve of our drones are malfunctioning at the same time.¡± said Commander Glenn, still watching his soldiers aboard this ever increasing abnormal space station. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. After four hours of searching through the station for any information, Sterling and his men made it to the detention block of the station and were finally closing in on the strange signal when the Corporal went from bounding to face planting against the deck at the unexpected increase in gravity. Which sent Lt. Shawkwa into a giggling fit. ¡°Sir, gravity is getting higher now that we are at the detention block. My hypothesis is that the LT was right on the signal being the source.¡± ¡°Proceed carefully and keep an eye on your suits integrity, we have no idea the maximum gravity output the source is releasing.¡± ¡°Sir, the drone is showing the signal at its strongest two hatches from the squad. My bet is the source is behind that door.¡± Feeling slight vibrations in the deck, Sterling brought his squad closer to said room. Reaching for the door release, the team get ready for a breach maneuver just in case. Hitting the release the squad files in through the door in an experienced fashion covering all corners of the room. What was inside the room was a curious cylindrical pod that slowly pulsated to a rhythmic beat. Slowly Commander Glenn opened his mouth, ¡°Sterling, bring all information found and video recorded to the science lab. Maybe, with any luck, we just might find out what is in that pod.¡± After he received confirmation of his orders he turns to his right, ¡°Ensign Rogers, I want you to set up communications with any available top brass in the U.S.C., they are going to want a report and I want to know what the hell they want me to do with this pod and the rest of the floating piece of space shit.¡± ¡°Would they want that in writing or on a holo-call, sir?¡± The quick quip came from the youngest man on the command team. The young man with short brown hair and deep blue eyes could easily be thought of as a handsome man. While changing the display to the earlier image of the strange pod, Commander Glenn said, ¡°Quit it with the wise ass routine, this could be the greatest discovery to put humanity back on its high pedestal it had before that galactic Civil War. And someone get that tow team ready, they might want to be a part of it.¡± Walking into the science lab, Commander Glenn could see several scientists and drones doing multiple scans upon the strange pod lead by the ships lead scientist, Dr. Karen Cineal. Funny when you think about it considering she had the height of child just entering her teens. Her eyes were almost blinding how brightly they shined, ¡±Commander, I believe this pod is some kind of ancient cyro-stasis pod! Truly fascinating that the ancients could make one that could last this long. I¡¯m completely ecstatic on the prospect of what they could have used such an advanced stasis pod for.¡± ¡°Is it ready be opened, Doctor?¡± ¡°Commander, this thing is hardly stable and if history then was as accurate as it is now, whatever is inside has been in stasis for over 500 years. So to answer your question, no it¡¯s not ready.¡± Owning doctorates in astrobiology, cryobiology, biochemistry, bio-engineering and molecular biology, she was clearly more qualified than the Commander to ¡®diagnose¡¯ the patient they was inside the curious metal tube. ¡°Dr. Cineal, I love your Sol-Irish charm, but a simple yes or no could have sufficed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but this cryo-stasis pod is of unfamiliar design and many of the fail safes we have today are not implemented in the model here almost like the never inten¡­¡± ¡°You know what our mission entails,¡± Commander Glenn¡¯s face was one of a stone wall and would not budge on the issue ¡°I want that pod open as soon as possible with whatever inhabitant either in the detention or medical bay depending if the poor bastard is still alive or not.¡± With a sigh Dr. Cineal could only agree, ¡°Aye sir.¡± Awakening Dreams ¡°This is the last remaining base the enemy controls, Colonel.¡± ¡°Octavian, GET DOWN!¡± diving and screaming at the top of my lungs I watch as the last member of my family dies while I try to save his life. Shot from a mounted laser cannon I can only look on to my horror at his melted corpse. The cannons don¡¯t let up and start targeting our armored vehicles and troop columns before they can get to cover. ¡°Damn it!¡± Quickly activating my combat suits radio I scream into the receiver, ¡°Admiral Andes, we need aerial support ASAP! They have lasers that can reach way beyond the normal range and are wreaking havoc on our ground forces!¡± ¡°Start launching our fighters and bombers for strafe runs on the enemy compound. General Seneschal and his battalion are starting their approach and I don¡¯t want a single casualty. And someone get that ¡®thing¡¯ off my broadcast channel!¡± I¡¯m about to refute his statement with a firm ass chewing when the signal goes dead before I can utter a single word. Trying to get in contact with the ship again I hear the fighters coming in to begin their assault on the compound. Turning to watch what would at least be some awesome explosions, I look at the formation coming towards us flying in low as if to begin bombardment behind¡­¡­ Fuck. I hate officers. The U.S.C.S. Marathon was currently en route to the coalition¡¯s capital planet Amasis. After the admiralty sent a team of research vessels with armed support to the abandoned space station, the Marathon was tasked with bringing the stasis pod and all relevant information to them. Hoping to use the planets advanced labs to crack into the unknown pod and get an advantage in technology advancement fueled the decision. While on the way to Amasis, Dr. Cineal and her team were constantly studying the strange stasis pod trying to get a glimpse into the technology and despite weeks of constant research, whatever method they used to construct and operate it was still beyond their best minds. Still drawing an unsatisfying result in spite of Commander Glenn¡¯s constant need for a status update has earned them some reprieve from him the last couple of days. These last few days of unrushed work allowed the team to finally make what seemed like forward progress. Reporting to the Commander, Dr. Cineal was a mix of melancholy and bliss. ¡°We still have no clue on how to open the pod, but we have made progress on what is possibly inside. It¡¯s not a human but one of similar build and constitution and vitals show it¡¯s still alive!¡± The Commander held a confused face when he asked, ¡°It?¡± ¡°Right, since we can¡¯t see inside the pod we have to go off the scans of our equipment. With the pod interfering with anything beyond brain activity and basic vital scans, we haven¡¯t been able to confirm a gender. It could have no gender as far as we know. Also no data we received matched any known species of sentient life.¡± Answering the Commander she seemed to have an epiphany, ¡°Bizarre that they would incorporate gravity in their stasis design. As far as we have deduced there is just no need for it and if implemented beyond the limits of the body it could have killed whatever is inside.¡± ¡°Strange indeed. Keep me posted on any new upd..¡± was all that he got out when he was interrupted. ¡°Karen you got to get in here! The pod is starting to act strangely!¡± the voice high and filled with excitement. Entering the science lab both the Commander and Dr. Cineal could tell what the scientist was talking about. The pod was pulsating at almost twice the rate than when it was brought on the ship. Moving to the closest console hooked up to the pod, Dr. Cineal started studying the screen and asked towards the one who reported the incident, ¡°What did you do to get this kind or reaction, Dr. Ricia?¡± Dr. Mara Ricia was the only other female scientist on the ship and was constantly compared to Karen despite their different fields of study. She was quite tall for a women at 1.8 meters, an obvious contrast to Karen¡¯s short 1.4. She had slightly bronzed skin due to her Sol-Hispanic descent with smooth dark brown hair. ¡°You know how the pod has been vibrating at a constant rate since we found it? Well we were tinkering with one of the drones to see if we could replic¡­.¡± Karen, her eyes shining, intruded, ¡°That¡¯s brilliant! Why didn¡¯t we think anything of the pulses sooner? It must have been some kind of signal key.¡± ¡°Right, the pulses are increasing, but the gravity in and around the pod is steadily decreasing. Once it stabilizes with our ship it might subside. Maybe even revealing how to access the controls to the pod and open it.¡± Hearing this Commander Glenn cut in, ¡°Doctors, what is the estimated time until the gravity of the pod synchronizes with our ships?¡± There is a slight pause as the two look towards the monitors while Dr. Ricia responds, ¡°Rough guess is two hours, sir.¡± The last two hours of constant and indiscriminant bombardment did more harm to our on troops than to the enemy stronghold as it had a planetary bombardment shield. Caring little for friendly fire our air support started bombing and strafing our troop¡¯s defensive line to cut a line for General Seneschal¡¯s assault on the base. Hope he brought some ion cannons or artillery to punch through that shield. Maybe then all our deaths could mean something. On queue ion shells started raining on the shield and started to disrupt its energy. Grabbing my rifle, I run towards the nearest squad left after the friendly bombing. Laying prone as to not get hit by sniper or laser cannon fire I can hear them screaming at each other as I run up behind them. ¡°Fuck guys! Why are they bombing us, we are their own troops!¡± ¡°If we had one of those freaks like that one officer from the vids, maybe we could use him as a bullet sponge.¡± ¡°Prep your gear men we are following the General¡¯s column of heavy vehicles.¡± I say once I¡¯m within earshot over the chaotic sounds of the battlefield. ¡°Sir!¡± the group of men look at me in fear and try to get up fast enough to honor at least my rank but I kneel to cut them off. Before I can even engage with them I am bombarded with fear induced screams from one of the men. ¡°Sir, we didn¡¯t survive all the battles this last 2 months on this shit planet just to be shot in the back from friendly fire! We are not like you and those frea¡­¡± as he pauses mid-sentence I look at the man¡¯s rank and name on the outside of his suit and then to his face. I looked at his fear stricken eyes and knew this man has almost given up all hope. ¡°Lance Corporal Jenkins, I know this shit is going to hell right now. But the only way to survive long enough to maybe live after this battle is to get behind that column. Those tanks can provide us cover from both the enemy and our ¡®friendlies¡¯, I doubt the Admiral wants to bomb his precious 3rd Legion.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I look towards the squad leader, ¡°Spread the word to all our companies remaining soldiers, once that shield goes down the bombers are going to be flying in with a vengeance and we have had enough casualties today.¡± As I watch him relay my orders, Jenkins asks, ¡°Sir, where is the rest of your squad? I haven¡¯t seen them since before we started taking fire.¡± I look at him feeling strange and can only guess what my face looks like. ¡°Those ¡®freaks¡¯ are dead. Last one was taken out by that cannon this morning.¡± His face was one of disbelief at the news, ¡°I-i-i-i.. I¡¯m sorry, sir! I didn¡¯t even know you guys could die!¡± ¡°Stow the feelings for now and know that everyone dies. My team survived so long despite the impossible odds due to their ingenuity and willingness to survive no matter what.¡± I lie to at least instill some confidence in the man. That¡¯s when the Sergeant informed me that all the remaining men of our company are beginning to file into the brigades armor column. We double time and get behind a tank when the base shields finally collapse. Over the ground forces radio channel I could hear General Seneschal¡¯s voice screaming to storm the stronghold while I watch the wall receive the first volley of artillery of the day. At least now I can¡¯t get shot in the back or bombed by friendlies now. Oh goodie. 2 hours and 12 minutes have passed since Dr. Ricia¡¯s guess when the pod finally synced gravity and the pulses ceased. Gradually one side of the pod seemed to ooze a display screen while the top of the pod slowly switched from a reflective plate to see through screen. Hurriedly everyone in the lab turned to look at the contents of the pod that had alluded them for the better half of a month. Inside was a man easily over 2 meters tall with an almost Spartan-like physique with a well chiseled face that reminded Karen of the sculptures from the Sol system. Though looking like a sculpture his body was riddled with wounds that would have shattered in statue. His golden-brown hair was flowing in the now melting cryo-stasis fluid and his eye movement showed he was dreaming. Commander Glenn with a puzzling expression looked towards Dr. Ricia and Cineal, ¡°I thought you said it wasn¡¯t human?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be the vitals from the scans shown that it wasn¡¯t human.¡± Dr. Ricia began working on a nearby console to show the Commander. She pulled up the average human data and compared it to the one inside the pod. Now that it was unlocked she could pull all vital information on the being inside. ¡°If you look at the screen, sir, you can see the average human on the left compared to the vitals of whatever that thing is on the right. He has higher cognitive ability than even the most brilliant human scientist, the strength of his muscles show he could lift over 6 times more than us, and his skeletal structure is coated with some unknown substance. Most likely something to allow him to carry such heavy weight.¡± ¡°There is also a cocktail over other chemicals within his bloodstream of unknown origin and purpose.¡± added Dr. Cineal. ¡°Even with all the wounds we can see on the outside, no matter how deep and gruesome they look, have no abnormalities to his bones. This man maybe similar but is no human being, heavy genetic modification could not cause such a dramatic difference maybe not even cybernetics.¡± ¡°Would releasing such an advantaged person be wise, sir?¡± Dr. Ricia looked questioningly at the Commander. ¡°At best he will be confused from being in stasis for so long. He may even suffer from some trauma and start attacking once he regains consciousness.¡± Commander Glenn only paused for a few seconds, ¡°Doctor your words do not fall on deaf ears, that¡¯s why a squad of Marines are heading to this location. All that will be present for the defrosting of our abnormal snowman will be them, you two, and myself. Prepare sedatives just in case this goes south. I¡¯d rather show up with a live captive than a dead sample when we reach the planet.¡± After the room was vacated of nonessential personnel, Dr. Ricia and Cineal began the process of opening the cryo-stasis pod. ¡°Sir, he should be coming to any minute.¡± General Seneschal turned out to be a pretty shit commander despite being the Empires 3rd Legion poster boy. Besides being such a highly pedestalized man he cared nothing for the troops under his command. Even when he found out he had Auxilia support from my company he just plowed ahead into the fortress leading to many of his men being slaughtered needlessly. Turns out a strategy like that can and will get you killed. Recklessly charging ahead he was ambushed and killed within a matter of minutes after we breached the enemy¡¯s walls. With no one in knowing what to do, I had to step up and take command of his dwindling forces and try to salvage the battle. Finally capturing the fort 3 hours later it was one of the Empires deadliest battles since wars back on Earth. News quickly traveled up the Chain of Command to the Admiral notifying him of Seneschals death and I was quickly summoned onto Admiral Andes¡¯ battlecruiser the S.E.S. Vendetta, to my displeasure. Admiral Andes military life lead too many stressful situations and his scrawny body showed it. He was a man in his mid-40s but he looked like he was at the apex of his 60s. His head was full of greyish white hair that looked like it would fall off with the slightest sneeze. Though his crew was overjoyed with our hard fought victory, his face betrayed his disapproval of seeing me on his ship. ¡°Colonel, I need you to follow me.¡± Trailing the Admiral out of the command deck we walk towards the conference room of his ship. Must be reporting to the Sol Senate of our victory. Was he sits in his chair the room dims and holo-projections of many other Admirals and Generals fill the room. ¡°Number 13, I see that you still live. Even bringing the Empire one of its greatest victories of the Fifth Reich,¡± I didn¡¯t know the man but he clearly knew my history, hell even my number. They usually mix them up not bothering to identify who was what number. ¡°But since you are the last one we can assume this trial is a failure and you must be terminated. Hopefully our scientist can reproduce your spectacular results, maybe even replicate that unique ability of yours.¡± While he was in mid-sentence I was looking throughout the room to attempt to escape but was cut off by the tasers of the men that arrived after he was done speaking. ¡°Admiral Andes, prepare this ¡®thing¡¯ for cryo-sleep and bring him to Installation 04.¡± was all I could hear from the unknown man before I lost consciousness. ¡°¡­..ase th south¡­¡­ Id lather shop with life cap¡­ dead sample¡­. rea.. the plant.¡± Huh? ¡°Serr, eh swood becoming to any minute.¡± What? Interrogation ¡°¡­..ase th south¡­¡­ Id lather shop with life cap¡­ dead sample¡­. rea.. the plant.¡± Being interrupted when in such a pleasant dream, I slowly realize I must be getting defrosted from cryo-sleep. ¡°Serr, eh swood becoming to any minute.¡± I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the freeze talking or if these people have some heavy accents. Thinking that I open my eyes and I see a familiar sight of a barrel in my face. I look around to scan my surroundings, must be Installation 04 though it¡¯s a much smaller room than I would think they would dissect me in. Only about the size of formal living quarters but they had plenty of equipment if they wanted to. Due to my training I quickly identified all personnel in the area and automatically assigned them to threat levels. Four man squad with what seems like out dated gear and armor but look well trained as they keep me away from themselves and a male officer and two female civilians behind them. Weapons trained on vital areas in case I decide to get rowdy. I also notice the females blushing and trying to avert their gaze from my naked body and while I¡¯m lost in thought the officer speaks up with a demanding tone, ¡°Identify yourself, creature.¡± Oh good it really was just the drowsiness from the cryo. ¡°One must always give his own before asking for another¡¯s¡± I say while smirking. I love giving officers shit just to see how the react. Most of the time it results in me getting slapped or shot, but he is too far away to hit me and his men look too well trained to fire just because they don¡¯t like what I said. Surprised at my words he continues with his previous attitude, ¡°My name is Commander Glenn, you are on my ship the Marathon of the United Space Coalition. Now identify yourself.¡± ¡°Space Coalition? I have never heard of such a thing.¡± Seeing my puzzled expression one of the females decides to but in as well, ¡°I know this must be confusing and a little hard to accept, but from what we believe you have been in stasis for over 500 years.¡± Still trying to not look at my junk. I relax and look to the small woman who tells me I am now a time traveler. Over 500 years? That doesn¡¯t explain their tech and seems a little too farfetched. Maybe that mystery man¡¯s Installation 04 is some kind of looney bin full of psychos thrown together to see if they could write Shakespeare. And those soldiers are actually guards. Would explain why they haven¡¯t tried to kill me when I gave their commander sass. The taller woman could tell I didn¡¯t believe the first one and started pulling out records of my pod onto the monitor. ¡°Records on your pod were corrupted so we have no idea when they put you in stasis.¡± ¡°We say 500 years cause that was the last time the Coalition found anything related to the Empire besides the founding your pod,¡± said the smaller woman. I see, better not tell them anything other than the bare essentials to get them to believe me. I¡¯m not going to trade this possible stretch of freedom to be a sample under the knife again. ¡°My name is¡­.¡­. Alexander,¡± I cringe at the reluctant use of the only real name I ever had, ¡°and I mean you no harm, so could you please get these guns out of my face, sir.¡± Hearing my name the crew visibly sigh and the soldiers relax their aim. ¡°Well Alexander it¡¯s nice to have you aboard. These two ladies are Doctors Karen Cineal and Mara Ricia, they will be looking after your health as you acclimatize to being outside stasis again. We are bringing you and your pod to the capital planet of the U.S.C., Amasis for study.¡± ¡°If you are still bringing me to your planet, why am I defrosted when I will have to go on ice again?¡± They look at me like I¡¯m speaking in a different language. Way to not make me feel like a weirdo who takes 500 year naps for fun. The small woman named Cineal began ¡°The Alcubierre drive was designed at the height of the Empires power in Imperial year 2496¡­¡­. 923 years ago.¡± Raising his hand to his face in a studying glare Commander contemplated her words. ¡°So he is even older than we thought.¡± ¡°Sir, even with stasis it is impossible to be that old. The cryo would eventually kill him, that¡¯s why they woke up the crew every 5 years back before the warp drive.¡± The tall women named Ricia was beginning to get heated. Fuck I better throw them off track with something. But before I could Dr. Cineal came to my rescue. ¡°The gravity generators on the capsule could have been designed to keep the cryo from killing him somehow.¡± Close doctor, they were only designed to kill me in the chance cryo couldn¡¯t keep me detained. But with that guess, Dr. Ricia and Cineal began to discuss or maybe argue this new theory. It¡¯s hard to tell and I feel delighted until Dr. Cineal pulls this out of her hat. ¡°We can argue all day but we have the person who was in it and could most likely shed some light on our problem in theory.¡± DAMN IT! ¡°Just sleeping with something doesn¡¯t mean he knows how it works.¡± Commander Glenn to my rescue! A little poor choice of words but I may have misjudged officers. ¡°Now I¡¯m going back to the bridge and leaving two Marines here. It¡¯s just a precaution for the doctors¡¯ sake, I have no idea what it must have felt like to have 500 plus years of blue balls.¡± Too soon. I look menacingly while I watch him leave the room. Then shift my gaze past the Marines and to the two women and see them look away with obvious discomfort. I don¡¯t know if I should laugh or cry. ¡°Well now I feel even more awkward for being the only one naked in this room.¡± This gets a rise from a couple of the Marines as one brings me some clothes. The two doctors show a grim blushing expression to each other. HA! Finally got some shielding from all these horribly disguised glances at my dick! I look towards the name tape of the Marine who gave me the clothes. Private Jenkins? He looks similar to the man I fought with on my last battlefield. Even got a similar boyish face and red hair. Well it¡¯s a common name anyway, I doubt he is related. ¡°So am I going to get a bed or do I have to sleep in the pod some more?¡± ¡°From the Commanders reaction to you I wouldn¡¯t doubt you would receive a bunk with one of us,¡± Jenkins says as he starts calling the Commander to verify. ¡°In the meantime would you allow Dr. Ricia and myself to check your health? Just in case anything foul happened during your unfreezing.¡± This tiny woman just wants to find me out huh. ¡°As long as it¡¯s just a basic scan, I don¡¯t want to be restricted for a long period again.¡± She points towards one of the many tables in the room and I lay onto the closest one and begin to get scanned while Jenkins dejectedly tells me I am bunking with him. Poor guy seemed to have his own room despite only being a private. ¡°So about this warp drive,¡± I begin after Cineal confirmed I was at 100%, ¡°is it really based on that old 20th century theory by ¡­¡­ what was his name again, something Alcubierre?¡± ¡°Miguel Alcubierre, and yes it is loosely based on the same theory,¡± cuts in Dr. Ricia. ¡°So it was possible,¡± I quietly wonder aloud to myself, ¡°How does it work? From what I remember it required a fictional elements like dark matter and negative mass to even begin making rough prototypes. Oh and please make it simple please, you¡¯re talking to a space traveling caveman¡± ¡°Basically we use a gravity core similar to the ones on your stasis pod to compress gravity so dense it distorts space similar to a black hole. Using that phenomenon we have the negative mass necessary to build the ¡®bubble¡¯ for the Alcubierre warp. But this act also opens a wormhole at the destination of the jump as well, so it¡¯s based on two different space travelling theories!¡± I asked for simple and she gives me a fucking Einstein-Rosen Bridge. I applaud her as she stands looking proud of herself, ¡°Lucky for you I understood most of that.¡± She blushes as she remembers her blunder. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Well at least she answered your question, Alexander,¡± said Dr. Cineal, ¡°but I have one for you as well. What are you? You¡¯re human but more than human. Advanced biologically but primitive technologically. It¡¯s very confusing.¡± I look at the group of Marines relaxing by the door discussing the ships food quality and how shitty their sergeants have been acting lately then return my gaze to the doctors. ¡°I¡¯m afraid if I give you that information I would be subject to invasive experiments and tests.¡± Their disappointment is clearly visible as they pout and all I could do is sigh. ¡°But I will tell you that I am mostly human and have been only modified through genetic manipulation and cybernetic augmentations. And please, just call me Alex.¡± Having an answer improves both of their moods. ¡°Empire scientists must just be a higher level of understanding of human enhancements compared to our own knowledge of human augmentations,¡± says Dr. Cineal, ¡°Guess there is no need to have him go through all that when we already have a basic understanding of his constitution with the examination we did of him already.¡± Well that seemed to have worked that problem out and I didn¡¯t even half to threaten anyone. All my secrets are now safe from them. I¡¯m about to ask more questions about this ¡®United Space Coalition¡¯ as they call it when we hear an ungodly load rumble coming from me. Choking from laughing so hard, Jenkins points for me to follow him to the chow hall of the ship followed by everyone else from inside the room. One thing I noticed about this ship the Marathon, is that it¡¯s huge as shit. The science lab where I was awakened in was near the bottom of the ship on the 8th floor. Once we got to the nearest elevator I noticed there was 20 more floors below that. Most of them being battering decks, guess that¡¯s why the lab was so small. This is definitely not a research vessel. As we were moving though the ship towards the chow hall I ask plenty of questions to learn more about the U.S.C. and how they found me. Of course I answer their own questions as cryptically as possible as to not give away too much information when we finally arrive. I could tell from the smell of food getting stronger as we got closer to two double doors passing many shiny collars on the way through. Shortly after getting my food I sit down next to the squad of Marines and the doctors to continue our interrogation of each other. Looks like we are eating chicken, potatoes and gravy with an assortment of vegetables for sides. Nice to see food hasn¡¯t changed since I¡¯ve been out cold. ¡°Hey Alex, were you a soldier for the Empire. I ask because you seemed to know what you were doing around those officers with that beautiful salute back there and all those scars.¡± ¡°Jeez Jenkins, if you hit on him like that he might start coming on strong himself,¡± jokes another of the Marines named Lance Corporal Adams. He¡¯s physically older than Jenkins probably joined the military late. He¡¯s got a gritty face and dark brown hair. I laugh aloud as Jenkins tries to reach over the table to give Adams a smack. ¡°Actually yes I was. I was a Colonel.¡± Jenkins and the rest pause as they look to me. ¡°I know it¡¯s not for me to say but why was an officer of your rank the one in that pod,¡± questions Dr. Cineal, ¡°Were you the ranking officer of the station?¡± ¡°No, but I was the Commanding Officer of an entire Auxilia Company of Marines before I was put to cryo-sleep to go to the next battlefield,¡± I lied. ¡°What¡¯s this Auxilia thing, Colonel?¡± Looks like the squad of Marines are going to start calling me by my rank now. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. From what we know the Empire doesn¡¯t even exist anymore so neither does my rank. Back when it did though the Empire encompassed many worlds and systems and used an archaic ranking system where Sol born and descendants were of higher rank than other common world members of the Empire.¡± Not even trying to hide my growing anger I continue on while increasing my volume. ¡°Basing itself on the old Roman empire of Earth, members of those systems that wanted to join the military were considered less noble and were herded into the Auxilia Companies commanded usually by a pure Sol elite. Also those companies were the first wave against the Empires enemies and slaughtered by them and allies alike generally abandoned and betrayed by their commanders well in advance.¡± After my winded explanation silence included not only our group but also the next few tables. I continue with one final sentence, ¡°That¡¯s why it was nicknamed the Fifth Reich.¡± Murmurs began in the neighboring tables that started to spread throughout the whole chow hall. ¡°How barbaric,¡± Dr. Ricia looks sadly in my direction. ¡°Yes Dr. Ricia, I lost many friends that way and it¡¯s the reason I distrust officers.¡± After eating our fill and getting over the gloomy atmosphere we started our separate ways. The Doctors were heading towards the bridge to give the Commander their findings while the squad and I head towards the ships PX to get me some uniforms made. Seems I¡¯m going to be part of the crew now. I guess it¡¯ll be nice, better than being frozen. After getting my uniforms made and being supplied gear, Jenkins and I started towards our room when I hear a ringing I¡¯m familiar with. I start towards the door the noise is coming from. ¡°Where are you going, Alex?¡± Jenkins sighs and starts following me. I open the door while the noise increases in volume. Inside I find a blonde haired woman fumbling with one of my oldest possessions. A little thin black box that reflected light softly off its transparent glass case projecting soft music outside of it. ¡°This is some primitive music box and this music is so weird. I wonder what planet and what era this music is from,¡± she mumbles. ¡°It¡¯s from Earth,¡± my answer surprises her as she didn¡¯t even know we entered the room. ¡°All the songs are pre-Empire.¡± Her eyes become moons, ¡°You can¡¯t be telling the truth that¡¯s thousands of years ago. How could that music be saved on this box?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a family heirloom.¡± I lie only slightly this time. It kind of was, I received it from one of the doctors who made me, while he got it from his grandfather. ¡°All those songs were collected and saved throughout the generations of my family.¡± I move towards her and retrieve the music box from her and swipe the pause button to stop it from playing. She sighs sadly as the slow soothing music stops playing. ¡°What¡¯s the name of that song? It was played so beautifully.¡± ¡°Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. He went deaf shortly after composing this song.¡± ¡°It¡¯s sad that he went deaf, he could have made numerous songs just as beautiful as that one. Are there more songs on the box? Especially if there are more like that one. What¡¯s that thing called anyway?¡± She¡¯s starting to get excited at the prospect for more music. ¡°It¡¯s called MP3 player, this style was made by a company named after a fruit I recall my grandfather telling me. There are over a thousand songs on this thing. I¡¯ve modified it over the years to allow me to continue using it. And you don¡¯t have to worry about Beethoven, he made his most famous songs while deaf.¡± While I walk out the room I sync the player to my internal cybernetics and begin listening to the flow of music again after centuries. I¡¯m glad my collection has survived through my blunders. Music of the Empire was always boring and never had any vocals. At least this way there is someone who didn¡¯t ¡®Forget about Dre¡¯, whatever that means. Wreaking Ball After leaving that storage room I proceeded to follow Jenkins to our room and pretty much passed out. You would think sleeping for over a thousand years would leave me pretty rejuvenated but you would be wrong. Nothing beats an actual bed. I hear rustling from Jenkins rack and realize he is getting dressed in his uniform, must be time to get up. I look for the nearest time display and see 0430. Fuck me I hate getting up so early, I always feel like I got cheated out of some sleep. Whatever. I set up and try to shake off the drowsiness. ¡°Dude you¡¯ve been asleep for more than 12 hours. Get your lazy ass up. The Commander wants to see us at the bridge this morning, but we¡¯ll eat breakfast first.¡± Well maybe I didn¡¯t get cheated. ¡°Ok,¡± I reply as I start getting dressed in the uniform I got yesterday. It¡¯s a standard grey jumpsuit with my name over one of the chest pockets on the left side and some black combat boots. Supposedly when you attach their combat armor it fuses to the cloth without adding weight. Guess this is the future. A minute after waking I¡¯m fully dressed, synced to my music on low volume and heading to the chow hall. Jenkins and I talk about various assignments of our careers as we chow down on a pretty standard breakfast. Eggs, biscuits, gravy, various fruits and the most delicious thing man has ever created. Bacon. I¡¯m glad this is still a thing. Though I wonder where they keep all the pigs. While we were there we met up with LCpl Adams and we three started heading towards the bridge after eating. After 30 minutes of walking, saluting and elevators, we finally arrived at the bridge. It¡¯s a pretty decent sized bridge but a pretty shitty view of space as there are no windows. They apparently forgo windows for better structural security and use video displays connected to numerous cameras outside the ship. When you enter faster-than-light travel they just turn off the view because it can be very disorientating. It¡¯s a pretty good improvement over accidentally looking outside a window and vomiting from the dizziness. Standing in the middle of the bridge was the Commander, below him were officers of various genders who controlled navigation, communications, life support and various other systems. With his back towards me the Commander began our talk. ¡°Colonel, I finally see that you are awake. I wanted to talk to you yesterday but you were pretty much incapacitated and unresponsive.¡± ¡°I see that news of my former rank has spread through the chain of command,¡± I reply while glaring at Jenkins who just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Just know I no longer go by that rank as the Empire doesn¡¯t exist and I was never too fond of it anyway.¡± ¡°Yes I have heard that, but you will be recognized by the U.S.C. as such by order of the Admiralty board on Amasis.¡± Not even trying to disguise my anger and discomfort, I reply fairly quickly, ¡°So now I¡¯m being ordered by people not even in my non-existent chain of command?¡± He sighs deeply and turns to look at me while crossing his arms. ¡°Yes well if it gives you any solace you are the senior officer on this ship.¡± ¡°I command troops not ships.¡± ¡°And I command ships not troops.¡± He pauses and I¡¯m starting to see what he is putting down. ¡°The Admiralty has commissioned you to your former rank and plan to have you serve aboard this vessel after we drop off your pod and other findings at Amasis in 5 days.¡± ¡°Well I guess I have to go to the PX and pick up some birds then,¡± I say with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s the mission of this ship anyway? Must be something important if you¡¯re drafting random snowmen huh?¡± Jenkins answers from behind me, ¡°Basically we are assigned with looking for suitable planets to colonize to expand the U.S.C. territory. It¡¯s how we stumbled upon your icy carcass and that station.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, Colonel. Now I respectfully suggest you head down to Supply Officer Walker at the armory to get your weapon and armor issued,¡± he says while giving me a salute. I return his salute, ¡°Very well, Commander.¡± I about face and follow Adams and Jenkins to the armory. ¡°So he is the one you guys unfroze yesterday?¡± Lieutenant Shawkwa asked. She parts her hair as she watches Alex leave, ¡°He¡¯s kind of hot for being so old.¡± ¡°Why would you want that fossil when you have me LT?¡± Ensign Rogers quickly quips while turning from his screen. ¡°He must be pretty rusty on picking up girls and his lines are going to be cheesy for being so ancient.¡± Commander Glenn can only chuckle at the display unfolding on the bridge. ¡°Careful what you say. I was saying the truth that he is the senior officer aboard this ship.¡± Hearing that Rogers just laughs, ¡°True Sir, but you¡¯re the CO of the Marathon not just the Marines onboard.¡± ¡°Quit the chatter you two. Ensign, send word to Walker and tell her who is coming.¡± ¡°Aye Aye, Sir.¡± After having his order followed, silence returned to the bridge and the Commander proceeded to his chair. Once seated he started reviewing old messages from the Admiralty and from his family. Being on this mission, he has missed most of his son¡¯s life and was looking forward to returning home to Amasis. While the Commander was lost in the thought Lt. Shawkwa spotted two blips show up on her navigation display. Quickly multiplying she turned her chair to see the Commander¡¯s reaction. ¡°Sir, something is showing on radar.¡± He closed his station and with a stern face, ¡°Put it on display.¡± With swift fingers the center holo-display mirrored the Lieutenants display showing the initial two blips quickly beginning to multiply. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m picking up a warp-buoy!¡± Ensign Rogers exclaims. ¡°They must have picked up our communications with Amasis and are wanting what treasures we found,¡± Commander Glenn quietly mumbled to himself. ¡°Prepare for forced warp exit and signal the crew to get to battle stations. Things are about to get exciting.¡± As we arrive at our destination we enter the door next to the one I found my MP3 player at yesterday. I look towards Jenkins, ¡°Let me guess, the supply officer is¡­¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back again.¡± I turn around to see the blonde haired women I met yesterday. Now that I get a good look at her she is pretty cute. How come every female I¡¯ve met so far eye catching? Maybe all women are attractive in the future? ¡°Commander ordered for the Colonel to be outfitted with weapons and armor. He will be joining us on our mission,¡± LCpl Adams informs her. Her eyes brighten at this aspect and gives a salute. ¡°Good I have many more questions about this Beethoven and other music I heard from the player. Oh and I¡¯m Supply Officer Lt. Sarah Walker.¡± ¡°Colonel Alexander. Let¡¯s just get my gear first shall we,¡± I answer her salute, ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time for that afterwards.¡± ¡°Yes of course, Sir.¡± After I got my basic gear issued and transferred to my own personal locker we head to the armor and weapon racks. The armor fusion idea was pretty cool, but you had to have each individual piece configured to your body size. Without it you could have gaps in the armor if it was too small or be unable to do certain movements if it was too big. Helmet has a HUD that I need to get used to but isn¡¯t too different from the past. Putting away my armor in my locker, Lt. Walker walks up with two guns. One is a small pistol while the other is a rifle with a short scope and a foldable forearm grip. ¡°These are yours from now on, Sir. Take good care of them,¡± she says while giving me a wink. ¡°The pistol is the standard officer issue, and the rifle is the M24 Astral Matter Rifle or the AMR for short and is fully automatic. It¡¯s got a standard x4 scope but can be upgraded to a higher magnification for sniping purposes.¡± I take them from her and begin inspecting them. First thing I notice is that there are no magazine wells anywhere on either weapon. ¡°How do these work if I can¡¯t reload?¡± I ask while looking to her quizzically. ¡°Sir, these mass accelerator weapons. The ammo is a slag of metal freely floating inside. The gun''s internal computer calculates the mass needed to reach the target based on distance, gravity, and atmospheric pressure, then shears off an appropriately sized slug from the block.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°So there is no recoil and accuracy is 100%?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, as long as your aim is true you will hit your target, and after every mission I take the slags from used weapons and replace them for new ones. So you don¡¯t have to worry about reloading as every block can be converted into thousands of rounds.¡± Man the future is pretty kick ass. We were still using primitive powder-based projectiles for guns and only our ships had the technology for rail guns. With that said I now have to get used to not cleaning my weapons. ¡°So about Beethoven, how did he ev-,¡± before she could finish the ship is jostled and sirens start going off. ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± I shout to Jenkins and Adams. ¡°¡°We are being attacked, Sir.¡±¡± They say while running to their lockers to get their armor and rifles. I follow suit and get my previously stowed armor and start attaching it to my jumpsuit. ¡®Crew stand by for enemy boarding!¡¯ came through the ship speakers. Guess I get to test these future guns faster than I anticipated. ¡°Sir, our orders during boarding are to head to the hanger and link up with our LT.¡± Adams says to me. ¡°Very well, Adams. Lieutenant, will you be safe?¡± ¡°Yes Sir, I may not look it but I¡¯m a hell of a shot.¡± She says confidently will pumping her rifle in her hand. We run out the armory fully loaded and geared up to do some damage with Adams and Jenkins up front showing me the way to the hangar. We head towards the elevator while other crew members used the stairs to get to either there battle posts or safe rooms. Elevators were reserved for the Quick Reaction Force in cases of emergencies to get around the ship faster. We get to the hanger floor start bee lining it to the hanger entrance to establish contact with the Marine Lieutenant. I can already see him issuing out orders to various squads as they leave to carry them out. ¡°Sir, LCpl Adams reporting with PFC Jenkins and Colonel Alexander!¡± Adams exclaims upon reaching the Lieutenant and saluting. The LT swings around returning his salute, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s good to finally meet my new CO. My name is Lieutenant James Wilson.¡± I return his salute, ¡°Colonel Alexander.¡± ¡°I have already dispatched most of our company to various hard points the enemy might focus on. If you want to relocate them into different positions you are welcome to.¡± ¡°No need Lieutenant, you are the one with most experience on this vessel. I request to only be viewed as another pawn under your command.¡± ¡°Sir, I couldn¡¯t poss-¡° I cut him off before he could finish. ¡°No lip. If I try to lead in this position it would lead to a lot of meaningless death before I could coordinate to this ship.¡± A look of understanding and acceptance appears on his face. ¡°Very well, Sir. I am attaching you to Sergeant Sterling¡¯s squad. Sterling take your men and the Colonel to the second deck once there cut access to the elevator. You are assigned with keeping the enemy from the bridge at any cost by guarding that stairwell.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± A husky reply comes from a tall, robust looking man. He turns towards me and smiles. ¡°So you are what we found in that tomb.¡± I nod and he points towards the men of his squad, ¡°Adams, Jenkins, Parker, and Campbell! You get off your asses and come on.¡± Nothing happened towards are assigned defense position but my heart was pumping at the prospect of a battle. I haven¡¯t seen action it over a millennium and I was excited! The constant updates from the bridge, the sounds of explosions from outside the ship¡¯s hull, the cries of victory and death over the radio. Marines on the lower decks have reported boardings and have repelled multiple attempts to break their lines, but there has been no such combat seen here. ¡°Adams, Jenkins, you two proceed to the bow and hold a defensive perimeter on that staircase just in case. They would still need to head to this one to get to the bridge but I would rather have them being cut down trying to get up here than waiting for them to build up a sizeable force.¡± ¡°Aye, Sergeant.¡± The two gave an understanding reply and got up to get to their new positions. ¡°Sergeant, I am going with them,¡± I say and before he could deny me, ¡°It would even out the teams and having both of our team leaders in the same position is asking for trouble.¡± He remains silent while Adams and Jenkins pause to wait on his permission. ¡°Very well, Sir, I can see the benefits of it but be sure to fall back if things get to hairy.¡± ¡°We will, Sgt.¡± I say as I get up and run with Adams and Jenkins. After about 3 minutes of running through multiple containment doors we get to the other stairwell and notice that there are already people climbing up. Pirates from the look of them. They have old looking black body armor that looks like a cybernetic exo-suit. They don¡¯t seem to have noticed us while they continue to climb up the stairs. Better get my killing music on. I¡¯m looking through my playlist for a song called ¡®Kokomo¡¯ when I notice Adams pull out what I think is a grenade and I am about to question him when he tosses it 3 meters from the entrance to the stairs. Here I am about to dive away when all it does is deploy a waist high transparent shield which he proceeds to take shelter behind. Seeing my questioning glare and prone body he laughs, ¡°It¡¯s a deployable cover capsule. We can see through on our side but looks like there is nothing here on the other side.¡± I nod understandingly and take cover with him while Jenkins deploys another for himself while giggling. It wasn¡¯t that funny. By the time we are well covered there are 6 pirates coming out of the entrance and I can here fire coming from behind us. Sterling must be holding them off on that side but must be containable if he hasn¡¯t called for us. I look to my team and give a nod and we pop up opening fire on them. Our surprise attack did its job and we proceeded to rip them apart without even taking fire and it was glorious as the chorus was just starting. Though I can hear shouts coming from below and know there will be reinforcements soon and kind of killed my mood. Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya. Using this lull in combat I radio Sterling for a status update and he informs me he initiated combat on a group of pirates as well. Once the call is done I¡¯m about to inform the team when the ship takes a hit that shakes it like an earthquake. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Jenkins asks. ¡®Enemy craft has boarded deck three¡¯ ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°We better head back before both teams get overwhelmed,¡± I say while radioing Sterling who confirms my request. We start our run back but take more time to send the containment doors to lock down. That way they have to waste time cutting through the doors to get through. We get through the last door and are within eyesight of Sterling¡¯s position. I send Adams and Jenkins ahead while I send the hatch to lock down. I¡¯m turning around, my music already switching songs during the lock down process, and see Adams and Jenkins shooting down the stairwell. Better get over there. Singing with the music ¡®We called, we chained our hearts¡¯. Hmm. I don¡¯t remember if I like this song, I¡¯ll wait for the chorus. 50 meters to go and the chorus is about to begin when the wall to my right explodes colliding with me severing off my right leg. Throwing me against the opposite wall my left arm and 3 ribs are broken. I¡¯m starting to lose consciousness from blood loss when I notice it¡¯s a boarding craft and the music is saying I¡¯m getting wrecked. Yep, I don¡¯t like this song anymore. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This chapter was fun as fuck to write if you couldn''t tell. Revenge ¡°¡°Colonel!¡±¡± Jenkins along with the rest of his squad shout out in fear. They just watched a man get launched by an explosion easily killing him and burying him in rubble. ¡°Sergeant, we got to get him!¡± Jenkins screams looking towards his squad leader. Firing at the men running out of the ¡°beached¡± breaching pod, ¡°We can¡¯t do anything for him right now, he is right in front of the enemy. Fall back to the bridge!¡± Being overwhelmed from multiple angles, he knew it would be wise to hold up at the bridge entrance and wait for reinforcements from below deck. Retreating in a controlled pattern of one team moving while the other provides cover fire, they make it into the bridge and activate the lock. ¡°Sergeant, I was informed the Colonel was with you. Where is he?¡± The Commander had his hands full with the various status updates of the space battle and countering breach attempts from enemy craft to know what transpired just below his feet. One battlecruiser can definitely overpower the 13 enemy corvettes, but the constant barrage of landing craft has put his crew in disarray. They have only destroyed half of the corvettes, but have had no major systems breaches yet. ¡°We lost him, Sir. Enemy breaching pod practically landed right on top of him. We didn¡¯t have a chance to grab him before he swallowed by the hostiles aboard the pod.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Commander Glenn was immediately in a foul mood. How was he going to explain this to the Admiralty Board? They¡¯ll be pissed he¡¯s sure. While he is lost in thought another corvette is destroyed and it¡¯s explosion is a temporary sun in the vast emptiness of space before being claimed by the void. Glenn could hear Sergeant Sterling sending an update to Lt. Wilson in hopes of quick reinforcements and rescue. To say he was unhappy was an understatement, he just lost his CO in an hour after getting him. What did these pirates hope to accomplish from this attack? Although they could breach into his ship, the Marathon was easily destroying the less equipped ships. Even if they did raid the store rooms for anything, they would have no ships to return to. Whichever pirate commander this was made a huge error on sizing up the Marathon. ¡°Lt. Shawkwa, maneuver us behind that cluster of corvette debris. That¡¯ll halt them sending more pods in fear of crashing before they can get to us.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± was her answer as the ships engines roar to life. While the Commander took control of the space battle, Lt. Wilson and his company were doing sweeps through the decks of the ship. After leaving a competent leader in the hanger with two squads of Marines, he led his company through multiple combat engagements. After finishing the final sweep of the 4th deck he and his Marines made their way to the stairwells to climb to the next floor cautiously. No word has reached the Lieutenant from the squad stationed on the next floor and could only be presumed dead. His caution is rewarded when the enemy fire doesn¡¯t kill any of his men and only pins them inside the stair case. ¡°Spread out so in case of grenades! Get two Marines stacked on the stairs entrance!¡± Wilson orders over his headset. ¡°2nd Platoon, this is O W, heads up. Enemy contact upon 3rd deck most likely aiming to hit you when you come through the stairwell entrance.¡± ¡®Noted, O W.¡¯ A voice of one of 2nd Platoon staff sergeants. Now back to the task at hand. ¡°Private get over here!¡± ¡°Aye, Sir!¡± A private runs over quickly while Wilson motions him to turn around. Rummaging through the Private¡¯s battle pack on the back of his suit he finds what he¡¯s looking for. A small cylindrical tube with a small metal ring at the top and a thin spoon. Handing the flashbang to the sergeant ahead of him, ¡°Get this up to the Marines ahead and prepare for a coordinated breach.¡± He wished he was facing these pirates on land. At least then he could use and EMP grenade and just kill them when the suits went offline trapping the men inside unable to move. ¡°With pleasure, Sir.¡± A hint of a smile on the man¡¯s face. Radioing 2nd Platoon again, ¡°5 mikes we are using a flash assisted breach. Prepare yours and radio signal when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡®Roger, Sir.¡¯ Using this time to prepare his men, ¡°Everyone check weapons and ammo. We are going hot in 5 mikes. Be prepared for a hard fight as we have to go through the chow hall and various crew chambers.¡± A small murmur as his orders were passed and carried out, while a five minute countdown appeared on everyone¡¯s HUD. A double click on the headset signaled that 2nd had their flashbang and men ready for the assault. Wilson synced his helmet with the staff sergeant so they can coordinate their breach precisely the same time. Moods were getting tense as the countdown rolled in the corner of their HUDs. Wilson maneuvered to the top of the stairs telling the two breach-men to turn off their helmets. The complied and he led them with his fingers. Five. Four. Three. Two. Pointing to the LCpl with the primed grenade, the man tossed it through the stair entrance and everyone moves to cover their eyes. Though the pirates helmets auto-dimmed in the case of bright lights, the flashbang could also temporary overload the visors leaving them too dark for them to see in the dim corridors. Taking that chance the Marines piled into the passageway through the enemies spray and pray. Mainly from the two heavy machineguns that were positioned for maximum suppression. The pirates had erected multiple barriers to use as cover and would prove to be a challenge to overcome. Using their armor to take the brunt of the hits, the Marines highlighted the blinded hostiles and quickly executed them. The pirates who were lucky enough not to be blinded quickly returned fire whilst staying in cover. They were denied the satisfaction of their enemies¡¯ death throes by the Marines¡¯ armor and deployable shields. One Marine was unlucky enough to have multiple headshots land on his helmet, shattering his faceplate and killing him instantly. At this point it was a hellish battle of attrition between the two groups of adversaries. The Marines had superior weapon capabilities but the enemy were keeping them suppressed with machinegun fire forcing them to remain in cover. None of the Marines dared using grenades for fear of damaging the ship. Forcing them to use Whac-A-Mole tactics and take pot shots whenever they could. Half an hour of this twisted game of Hope-You-Don¡¯t-Get-Shot-In-The-Face resulted in a total of 2 Marines KIA with all hostiles eliminated. Radioing 2nd Platoon, Lt. Wilson found out they had a similar set up at the other staircase and was successfully breached with casualties as well. Two Marines took a bullet in the small gaps in their armor but it was not life threatening, and a quick visit from the medic had both men combat ready. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Lucky bastards. While Wilson was leading his Marines below his feet, Commander Glenn was in an ever increasing foul mood. The reason was the pirates outside the bridge entrance having found the Comm-box. Through various annoying threats and promises, the bridge crew had sat in silence refusing to play their game. True the pirates had them outnumbered and trapped on the bridge, but the sheer number of members of his crew was an ocean to a puddle. Even if he died today, the pirates will too. Though his agitation was about to increase ten-fold. ¡°Hello there trapped people. My name is Captain Sh''Ajid Ryante of this here fine crew.¡± Glenn sighed deeply. Well at least he didn¡¯t say ¡®Argh!¡¯ with an accent. Captain Sh''Ajid Ryante was extremely proud of his men. After ambushing a Coalition ship, his men attacked with experience precision. Dividing his ships to flank the ship on two sides and launching countless breach pods overwhelmed the Marathon despite it¡¯s advantage in size and firepower. 30 minutes after the initial attack, Sh¡¯Ajid got on one of the ¡°breachers¡± with a squad of his pirates and had it aimed for the enemy bridge. On the way AA fire forced his pod to crash into the next best thing. The floor directly below their intended target. ¡°¡°Colonel!¡±¡± With his soldiers pouring out of the pod, Sh¡¯Ajid could hear the cries of enemy combatants while he waited. He may be a pirate but he was no fool. He needed to live to lead his band of cutthroats and bask in the treasure he was promised. Entering the ship he found a mangled corpse of a U.S.C. Marine. Must have been this ¡®Colonel¡¯ he heard about. Missing one leg, his left arm is holding on by mere tendons, and half his face is shaved off from hitting a wall. From the look of the body, he must have been nearby when the breach pod collided with the Marathon. Sh¡¯Ajid was about to leave when he saw a peculiar little black box that was playing at a low volume. ¡°Music?¡± He thought out loud to himself as he picked it up and held it to his ear. Music with lyrics too! ¡®I could sell this box for a good price.¡¯ He thought to himself as he pocketed the still playing box. He takes one last look at the ¡®Colonel¡¯ and silently thanks him for an even better bounty. 10 minutes later he was behind a group of pirates trying to override the bridges lockdown. The allure of the music box was too much and he fished it back out of his pocket. Once he got it out he noticed that it was playing at a little higher volume than before. Curious he sat down and started studying the box. Fumbling with it for 5 minutes, he learned more about it. How to change songs with the arrows on the display, and how make it louder with the buttons on the side or the slide bar. There were so many songs here and stopped shuffling when he heard loud cheers and laughter. ¡®Crowds and torches fill the air¡¯ the song started. He looked up from his distraction and found his men making a commotion while the music kept playing. For so long Behind these civilized eyes He stood up and walked over to get a better look and smiled when he heard them making threats to the bridge crew through the ships comm-box. One of his lieutenants saw him and offered the receiver to him. Revenge Revenge Revenge Revenge Clearing his throat he activated the receiver, ¡°Hello there trapped people. My name is Captain Sh''Ajid Ryante of this here fine crew.¡± His crew were smiling and laughing at his attempt at imitating pirates of old. ¡°All you have to do is give us what we want.¡± ¡°Open these doors and let us kill you, no one else on your crew need die.¡± Utan Z''Tani was bored out of his mind. Just guarding the stairwells to the 2nd deck proved disappointing when the only Marine he has seen so far was the dead guy when they boarded this boat. He heard about the firefights on the 3rd deck but the crew on the floor below were holding the Marines at bay. Having exhausted topics to talk about with the other three pirates they sat in silence watching the entrance. Just sitting here when he could be fighting and killing was beginning to make him anxious and bloodthirsty. ¡°For so long my demons.¡± ??? And maybe a little crazy because now he is hearing things. ¡°It''s countdown for me.¡± Or maybe not. He starts looking around to see were that voice was coming from. ¡°You hear that?¡± He asks a pirate named Vraiusi, who just shakes his head and shrugs. ¡°With blindfolds you held us.¡± ¡°See? There it is again.¡± He says pointing towards a hatch behind them. ¡°Yeah I heard it that time.¡± Says another pirate named Nucta. He was starting to get agitated and was looking around erratically. *Thump* A hard crash of something falling onto the floor was heard from another hatch located behind the pirates. ¡°What was that?¡± Nucta cries, a hint of fear was beginning to show on his face. He was always a coward and Utan wondered how he even survived so long. ¡°How should we know? We¡¯ve been here with you asshole.¡± Vraiusi voices his discomfort. ¡°Who cares just have Zantai watch the stairway while we go check it out.¡± Utan states while turning to look at their fourth man. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°What?¡± Vraiusi quickly looks behind him and spots Zantai¡¯s gun laying on the ground. ¡°Zantai, you little ass! Get out here before I find and shoot you!¡± ¡°Maybe that was him in there trying to scare us.¡± Nucta utters while pointing to the door the noise came from. ¡°Alright, me and Vraiusi are going in to find him and drag him out. We¡¯ll give him a beating for doing this stupid shit.¡± Utan looks to Nucta and with a childish voice. ¡°And fo scawing you Nucta.¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± Laughing the two pirates enter the room that Zantai is in. The room was dark and they were forced to use their suit¡¯s lights to see. It looked to be a small storage room of sorts and hand isles filled with boxes. A quick search found a couple boxes filled with tools and parts on the ground. ¡°The dumbass must have tripped and knocked it over.¡± Vraiusi voices his opinion. Utan notices a small dot of red. Bending over and dipping his finger, he brings it up to his visor, ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Till I found the best revenge.¡± A whisper that seemed to tickle the back of Utan¡¯s ears.