Chapter 1: Down but Not Out
[Warning! Shields at 50%]
BOOM!
[Warning! Shields at 46%]
BAM!
[Warning! Shields at 40%]
DUMM!
[Warning! Shields at 38%]
All around him, Silas's ship computer system kept flaring up one warning after another. Accompanying each warning was the uncomfortable feeling of collision, each one causing his ship to tremble greatly, as if on the verge of collapse.
Silas's eyes were distressed as he struggled to hold on. At the same time, the transmission he'd already initiated was moments away from going through.
Even while being hunted throughout the cold expanse of space, deep in his heart remained hope. He was a Megacorp soldier, or to be specific, a captain sent out on a mission he now concluded was the most dangerous he'd ever experienced.
At first, he thought it was merely a simple extraction mission to transport resources back to an auxiliary branch so as to transfer them to HQ. But to think that the moment he and his squad were in the process of transporting said item, they'd be ambushed and hounded by ruthless space pirates.
Currently, his ship was the only one remaining. His entire squad had been wiped out already. Such developments made no sense to Silas.
He knew that space pirates were a dangerous but cautious bunch. Normally, they wouldn't dare to take on the soldiers of Megacorp directly. But right now, those past inclinations had long since been thrown out of the window. Right now, all he cared about was getting to safety. He believed that once his superiors realized what was going on, they would surely send some reinforcements his way.
After all, how could they let one of their forces be pursued by dirty vermin like space pirates?
While it had pained him greatly to have his entire squadron wiped out, he only saw himself getting revenge for his men after his superiors learned of this matter.
[Warning! Shields at 35%]
[Warning! Shields at 30%]
The ships defences continued to drop more and more, but just then.
[Notice: Transmission online]
"Yes!!!" Silas couldn't hold back his emotions, screaming outright with joy.
[Transmission: Soldier, what's the status?]
"Forgive me, Sir, but I'm afraid things have gone awry." Silas didn't hesitate to tell the voice on the transmission all that had transpired.
[Transmission: I see. You have my heartfelt gratitude, cadet, for making it this far. Just one more question: Did you or any of your squad members unseal the container?]
"Of course not, Sir!" Silas replied outright. How could he dare to do such a thing? Although even then, his voice was filled with uncertainty, since he wasn't sure if his men had done such a thing.
[Transmission: 10% Falsehoods Detected]
A robotic voice suddenly came from the other end of the transmission, causing Silas's expression to pale greatly.
"Sir–!" Silas hurriedly tried explaining himself but was cut off by the transmission.
[Transmission: It appears our system thinks otherwise, cadet.]
[Transmission: I thought there was something fishy going on. Those wretched space urchins shouldn't have been able to track down the transported item unless the container was unsealed.]
"But Sir! I didn't do anything!" Silas's heart rate rapidly accelerated as he was overwhelmed with fear. "Sir? Sir!" His voice grew even more frustrated when the transmission suddenly turned silent.
[Transmission: Cadet...]
Just then, a voice came through, causing Silas to feel hopeful once more.
[Transmission: Whether or not you're directly responsible is unimportant. As the leader of this simple operation, I'm afraid you'll have to bear the responsibility.]
[Transmission: Prepare to send an excavator unit to reclaim the item. Judging by his course, there seems to be an uncolonized planet on his path.]
As if not caring that he heard his words, the voice from the transmission continued to go on.
[Transmission: Yes, Sir!] Came another voice, probably the lower-ranking officer the man was referring to.
[Transmission: Hang tight, cadet. While we can't save you from this conundrum, the Agency shall send in someone to retrieve your corpse. After all, you are a soldier of the corps.]
[Warning! Shields at 25%]
[Warning! Shields at 20%]
"That's bullshit!" Silas couldn't hold back anymore, blurting out his frustration.
"You bastards!!! I told you I have no idea what's going on! You were just about to call in for reinforcements!!! I put my life on the line for this corps for nearly a decade! And now you're throwing me away to die?!!!"
[Transmission: Hmph! If that's your decision, then fine. We'll simply leave your corpse to the beasts to claim.]
[Notice: Transmission has Ended]
[Warning! Shields at 10%]
[Warning! Shields at 9%]
[Warning! Shields at 8%]
[Warning! Shields at 7%]
[Warning! Shields at 6%]
[Warning! Shields at 5%]
[Warning! Shields at 4%]
[Warning! Shields at 3%]
[Warning! Shields at 2%]
[Warning! Shields at 1%]
[WAR££_£*@##!!!!]
"Damnit!!!!" The last thing Silas heard was a shrill sound that scraped against his ears before an explosion happened. The entire ship trembled, but just then, the ship had entered the stratosphere of the planet his superior had mentioned. Rather than floating off into the vastness of space, the ship began to plummet rapidly, slow at first before reaching horrifying speeds.
It began to burn up upon entry, tearing through the clouds surrounding the planet. As it grew closer to the ground, one would be able to see the harsh, desolate surface of the planet.
BOOOMMM
The ship crash-landed onto the planet, plowing through the earth, creating a trench in its wake before eventually coming to a stop, steam and smoke billowing off it.
---
"Cough! Cough!" Astonishingly, within the wreckage of the ship was Silas. A faint, flickering, hive-patterned energy barrier surrounded him before shattering the next moment. At the same time, an orb within his hand shattered as well.
Just before the ship's defenses had crumbled, he'd managed to use this life-saving item to save himself.
"COUGH!!" Silas trembled before spitting out a mouthful of blood. While the barrier had saved him from dying, it still hadn't absorbed all the damage received upon re-entry.