A New Front

New Front’s Cover (Prototype)

The I.E.S Entrepreneur sailed through space. Her crew were on a mission to discover an area experiencing mysterious energy surges, as well as discover the fate of an earlier vessel that never returned. Along the way, they will encounter various new problems and threats that could end their mission early, and they must work through them.

Captain Jackson Augustus Brandon is in command of this vessel. He, along with his most trusted mates: Commandant Micheal, Lieutenant Commander Magnesium, Junior Ensign Alia Siriasei, Senior Ensign Richard Xivi, Junior Ensign Worthington and Princess Pristina Alienca along with the rest of the bridge staff must lead their vessel’s crew through the most painstaking situations, or it could spell the end.

Meanwhile, Martin is a pilot for the United Fighter Force (U.F.F) working under the S.R.H.C. He is always one of those at the forefront of the action, and he always must find a way to solve difficult problems. Along with his (newly) sentient star-fighter, who is named Flower, they must embark on the most threatening situations, often having to use their own intellect and resourcefulness to get out of dire situations. Situations that could mean the difference between life and death.

I

### I

A silver vessel flew through space at a steady speed. Inside was a multitude of spaces. Capable of sustaining 4,850 people- 5,500 including civilians, she was a sight to behold. Of course, she wasn’t the newest. But she was capable. And that had been proven time and time again, just as it will be proven once more.

Inside, at the very bottom lay the bridge; The area where the vessel was commanded from. The executive bridge wasn’t the biggest. Most of the officers were located in the command bridge above. The command bridge was also fairly small, with enough room for 50 people.

In the back, there were several elevators and stairs. In the front, several large glass (to be specific, a special reinforced dura-glass) windows. In between, several arrays of control panels. These were not like the modern day button filled computers one might think of; instead, these were composed of holographic displays, with all the controls on them.

Of course, there were several panels with physical buttons just in case something happened, but those weren’t being used right now. Anyways, people were busy. Very busy. Now there wasn’t much movement, except for the occasional person going to the bathroom or going on break. Now that doesn't mean they were just going off, for this was serious (and it always is) work.

In the middle of it all sat a man. A man dressed in white. He wasn’t dressed in the most elaborate attire, but he was distinguishable, notably by the four crimson sleeve stripes on his uniform (on the dress blue/black, these would’ve been gold, as with naval tradition). Crimson red was worn executive and commanding officers. Lower officers wore yellow.

He had a set of ribbons over his left pocket (with three medals hanging on it), and a nameplate on his right. He wore a black tie and belt with a brass buckle, as well as black shoes. He also wore his distinctive officer’s cap with one set of “scrambled eggs,” denoting him as a mid-tier officer. He took a sip from a mug of coffee he held.

“Well, magnify the image, times thirty-five.” He spoke, taking another sip from his coffee.

The image on the screen grew larger. One image was a body of some sorts, suspected to be a planet.

“Wow, look at the size of that thing.”

“That's something, no doubt about it.” He took another sip from the mug in his hand. “Well, no telling what this adventure will bring. Better prepare boys, this could get rough.”

“How do you think it got there?” Asked a person sitting on the far left. Well, it wasn’t human, rather, it was a reptilian humanoid. She was fairly beautiful to say the least. She had shining green, emerald like scales, along with butter yellow belly scales. She wore a violet silk dress with a thick band of fine gold around her abdomen, and thinner bands on her sleeve ends, neckline and bottom line (which dragged on the floor).

She had some horn-like appendages on her head, giving her a dragon or kobold like appearance. She wore a gold circlet with a sapphire in the center. Her eyes were a bright diamond blue. As soft and as graceful she seemed to be, she was just as willing to chop the heads off of anyone who ever presented a threat to her friends, family and comrades.

“I mean, it couldn’t be a planet, right? It doesn’t even have a star. Maybe if it did, the theory of it being a planet would be more… ‘possible,’ right?”

“I don’t know. There isn’t enough information to determine. Either ways, we still have to find out what’s been causing these ‘interruptions,’ whether we like it or not. That's what we’re here for. To find out.” That was Magnesium. Formally, Lieutenant Mag. He was the ship’s first officer. He usually monitored the “outside.” More specifically, he gathered the facts for the captain and the others to help make their decisions.

He was a robot. A robotic dragon. The same type of robotic dragon that Cogwheel and Coral are. Able to do every thing a normal living being can, and even some more. He has white metallic scales and black underbelly scales, along with the standard large black wings and black spikes. His eyes were yellow though, and he had a series of lights that were normally yellow as well (though they could be other colors).

“You know that another vessel that was sent to explore the area had mysteriously ‘disappeared.’ That's why we’re on this mission.” He was a person who could stay calm in all types of situations. They could be in the midst of global core collapse, and he would still be calm. “We can only wait and see.”

“He’s right,” The captain spoke. “Everyone, until we get there, just remain calm. It could be something like nebula, and you guys panicking? Come on. Anyways, yeah, like he said. We’re going to find out what it is, how it got there, and what happened to the original expedition.” He then felt an unfamiliar feeling... A feeling of need. “Well, I’m going to go relief myself. Commander Micheal is in charge until I get back, which won’t take long honestly.”

“Alright captain. You go take care of business. I’ll ensure everything runs smoothly as it should.”

“Thank you, commander.”

“No problem.” Micheal replied back.

### II

The captain had made it to the bathroom. The bathroom itself wast much. It had blue tiled walls, while tiled floor, 15 urinals, 20 stalls and 10 sinks. He made it to the first urinal located on the next to the last sink on the back wall. “Ok then, just have to take care of this real quick.” Seconds later he finished, “There we go, now to…” He washed his hands and then left.

He made his way down the corridors, deciding to stop at one of the vessel’s many cafes. He approached the counter. A dazzling amethyst purple dragoness was behind the counter. She was on the computer when she noticed the captain walking towards the counter.

“Captain Jackson, hello. Why are you here?” She asked curiously. “Not that there’s anything wrong, just wouldn’t expect a ranking officer like you to be here.”

She was quite big compared to the captain, but that didn’t bother him. Well being the leader of a vessel and being a high ranker, it would be weird, to say the least, for things like this to bother him, or anyone. “Well yes it is very strange. Mostly. I was just reliving myself. And I have, as you can see, finished, but I decided that I’d like to purchase a coffee before returning to my post.”

“Very well then. What could I get you?” Although most of the areas on the ships themselves were maintained by the alliance, many areas were leased, staffed and payed for by private businesses. This was meant to give operatives a sense of home and comfort, by giving them the ability to shoo and buy as if they were at home. They also bring brands and companies that the operatives were familiar with, decreasing the feeling of homesickness.

“Hmm… Get me a vanilla coffee with caramel coffee creamer. I’d like four packs of sugar as well.”

“Yes sir.”

The captain watched as the young dragoness quickly got to work making her customer’s order. She didn’t look the most certain, but she worked quickly and precisely. With a certain “grace” that caught the captain's eye. “Say, what’s your name?” Just because he was the captain didn’t mean he knew everyone on the vessel.

“Um, Fluorite. Why?”

“Just Wondering. Hey, how long have you’ve been working?”

“Fifteen Hours.”

“Fifteen hours? That long? When did you last have a break?”

“Seven hours ago.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Damn, you’re overworking yourself like that. It’s not healthy you know. By will?”

“Yes.”

“Why though.”

“Don’t know, I just like serving others I guess.” She shrugged, the look of uncertainty on her face. She then continued to work. In no time, she had his coffee ready. “Alright then, here you go sir.” She then passed him the four bags (packets should I say) of sugar.

Jackson looked at her face. She looked away, but he could notice that slight hint of bags under her eyes. “Has your manager ever checked on you?”

“No.”

*“And she sounds awake too. Talk about the negligence.”* He rubbed his chin. Well, I can’t have my crew, or anyone on this vessel overwork themselves. I am here to not just to lead, but to ensure the wellbeing and safety of everyone on board. “That includes you?”

“What?”

“Yes. I want you to sleep.”

“Why though?”

”Well, because, because… hmm. Well you look fine, but you can trust me that overworking yourself like that is not doing any justice. I know you like to help, but I suggest tending to your needs first. You can’t help others if you don’t help yourself. So I want you tot are a break. Captain’s orders;”

The dragoness just stood there shocked.

The captain was about to walk away, “Right, I forgot to pay. He swiped his “everything” card. The “everything” card, formally known as the universal token is a thing clear semi holographic card that takes care of the needs of someone. Driver’s/Flying license: Check, Credit/Debit Card: Check, Identification: Check, Library Card: Check and pretty much anything that uses a card. “Have a good day ma’m.” He walked off.

### III

Soon enough, he returned to the bridge to find a particularly large object on the screen. “Holy hell, where did that come from?” He looked bewildered. He strode closer to the screen.

“We don’t know captain.” Spoke Magnesium. “There was this cloud of dust, then the object appeared.” He spoke in his ever so neutral tone.

“Do you know what it is?”

“Somewhat. It appears to be a vessel of sorts.”

“Can you give us any details or specifications?” Asked the captain. “Size, weapons, that information?’

”Yes I can. Hang on a minute sir, I’m gathering the information.” A couple of seconds later, he spoke, “Done sir. I’ve had some difficulty scanning the object. It is indeed a vessel. I can’t find anything about it within the U.A’s ship classification database. It matches nothing in the records.”

“Hmm…” He rubbed his chin again. “Well…” He squinted. “So, what are the details. Best if we start off with that.”

”Details, details… Well, it appears to be one mile in length and…” He raised an eyebrow. “ … star shaped, with six points. It appears to be a heavily armed vessel as well.

“Well, what are its armaments and defenses?” He asked.

”Ok then, here’s what I’ve been able to gather: it has thirty magnetic propulsion quantum torpedo launchers, 108 medium sized plasma cannons, 12 heavy plasma cannons, 4 large pulse laser guns and 24 high impact energy rail guns. It has a heat based shield with at least 1.5 kilojoules of power.”

”That’s not a lot.” spoke Micheal, a Commandant and the ship’s executive officer, second in command. He wore a similar uniform to Jackson, although he actually wore the Jacket and it only had three (crimson) stripes. “I mean, I know it’s heavily armed, but if we punch it first, I assume we can take it out before it lands a hit on us.”

“I’m not quite sure about that.” He squinted with an expression of vigilance. “If their shielding is not the… “best…” then it’s because they have prettey good physical armor. You know, it’s either or.”

“Well, what do you suppose we do about it?” Asked asked the reptilian, with wide eyes, staring at the screen.

“Open communications. We first have to find out whether it’s hostile or not.” Spoke the captain.

“Makes sense.”

“Mag, open up a communications channel. Make them identify themselves and make them state their purpose for being here.” The captain ordered.

“Done sir,”

Several seconds pass, which each one getting tenser and tenser as everyone waited patiently and quietly.

“Anything?” The captain ask to to the first officer.

“No, no reply. Either they use different frequencies or technology or are just ignoring the message. Either or.”

“Well, in that case, prepare to-“

“Wait!” Exclaimed Magnesium. “They are hailing us.”

The captain got up from his chair and paced around in a circle for a few seconds. He sighed, before turning to the first officer. “On the screen,” He spoke, everyone quiet, as if they were a fifth-grade class with a strict teacher who told all of her students to shut the hell up.

The first officer swiped and tapped a few times on the holographic panels beside and in front of him. Then, a holographic projection appeared in the front of the bridge, before a dark room with five black silhouettes appeared.

“Who are you?” They heard in a low raspy grumbly deathlike tone.

The captain walked closer to the screen. “Who are we?” He spoke in a defying tone.

“Who are you?”

He squinted, not showing any hits of brightness, “My name is Jackson Brendon. And I am captain of this vessel, the I.E.S Entrepreneur. I see no reason, as to why I should answer to you.”

“You are within our territory. And we demand you submit to an “inspection” by our procedure. Surrender now and live.”

“Sorry, but I do not answer to anyone but the United Alliance, Earth, my friends and my comrades.

“Surrender now or die.”

“Actually, it would be a big shame if your ship were destroyed, and you, and all of your crew, were to be dead.”

“What? What are you talking about? What do you mean.”

“Well, we are not here to engage in hostilities. We’re here on a diplomatic, scientific and a potential rescue mission. We’re only here to…” But he was cut off.

“Don’t give us that garbage. You either surrender now or face total annihilation. If you don’t surrender, you will be assumed to be part of a group of traitors and you will…”

The captain sighed, then yawned. He snapped his thumb and index fingers. The screen then turned off.

Micheal then turned to the captain, “You’re one damn rebel. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

“I guess I did.” He grinned.

### IV

“Ok then.” Spoke the captain. “Amy hostile activity?”

“It looks like it.”

“Sir, be careful, they appear to be arming themselves.” Spoke a being to the left of the captain. It was Richard Xivi, Ensign Richard Xivi, or just Ensign Xivi. He was a dragon, like Magnesium, but he was a biological being. Although he was, well, alien. He was made of forest green slime, with four emerald eyes, two on each side of his face. He also had four wings, two on each side as well that were dragonfly like. They were also green. A transparent lime green.

The captain turned, “Alrighty, begin preparing for combat. Get all the troops ready.”

“Sir, they are powering weapons!”

“Prepare the defenses, raise the shields, man the guns! Battle stations everybody!” Exclaimed the captain in a rushed manner. “Commander, sound the alarm.”

“Yes sir!” Seconds later, an alarm rang out. Not an alarm of panicking, but a signaling alarm to telling everybody to prepare for the battle.”

“Shields have been raised and troops are awaiting for orders.” Said Xivi.

“Good. Let’s wait to see what the enemy does, then we can decide how we should respond. Wait…” The captain stoped and rubbed his chin, thinking, before speaking. “Turn starboard, to ensure our heavy weapons are facing the enemy vessel.”

The driver, who was behind the captain nodded and replied with a “Yes sir!” Before turning the wheel to get the vessel facing in the correct direction.

Suddenly, the ship shook as they were hit with barrage of high impact magnetic projectiles form the enemy vessel’s rail guns.

“Alienca,” he face the reptilian.

“Yes sir?” She asked, waiting to see what he would say.

“Contact maintenance and power supply to see how the shields are doing.” He ordered.

“Yes sir.” She sped-walked to nearest phone, which was only a couple of steps away. She then swiped on the phone’s holographic screen, before choosing the option that had “M & PW” on it. She pressed it. The phone rang, before someone else on the other end picked up.

“Bridge to Maintenance and Power Supply, are we online?”

“Yes ma’am.” Spoke a voice on the other end.

“The captain wants to know how the shields are doing.”

“Let me checkup.”

“Alright. Standing bye.”

Unlike other generators on other vessels, the generator on the Entrepreneur (and its sister ships) was mounted on a sliding rail, similar to how some modern pistols (such as the Glock) have sliding mechanisms. The mechanical forces in any projectile shot towards the Entrepreneur are absorbed by the generator. The generator is attached to this sliding rail to give it the ability to take as much physical impact as possible. This reduces the ship shaking and allows the generator to hold for longer.

Seconds later, the voice on the other end came back. “Shields are holding. We can still take a beating before any real danger.”

“Alright. Hanging up.”

“Status?” The captain asked.

“Shields are fine. We are in no real danger.”

“Good.” The captain sighed, but not of disdain or disappointment. He just took a breath in, and out. “Well, time for some action. Xivi, it’s time to raise our voices a little, fire the light guns, let’s see if that deters them.”

“Copy that.” He made some calls on the phone himself. On the main weapon decals above, sailors and marines ran above, preparing, aiming and loading their weapons to fire. They worked quickly, but precisely. Their efficiency was quite scary. Either way, soon enough, the weapons were ready to fire. Crew were on standby, awaiting further orders.

“Weapons are ready sir.” The Chief Security Officer replied.

“Fire the guns. Just ‘warning’ shots, if that doesn’t work, well give them everything we’ve got.”

“Fire!” The slime dragon spoke through the phone.

“Soon enough, the vessel shook as its light single and double barreled guns fired on the enemy vessel.

“Damage assessment of the enemy vessel.”

“They appeared to have taken some damage. Mainly dents and scratches, but otherwise, their vessel is still intact.” Magnesium spoke.

“Well, prepare the heavier weapons. Let’s let them have it.” But then, the enemy vessel suddenly moved at light speed. “What the hell are they doing?”

“I don’t know sir, they could be trying to outmaneuver us. Maybe we’ll-“ But suddenly, everyone was knocked off their feet as the vessel shook violently, alarms sounding.

“What the hell? The captain asked. “What’s going on!?”

“Sir, there is damage reported on the back area of the vessel. I think they’re trying to attack our rear, where we are the weakest!” Then the vessel shook again, as they began to fire more shots. Then a loud explosion.”

“What was that?”

“I think they fired a torpedo. But it looks like we’ve managed to take it down.”

“Alrighty. Turn the ship 90 degrees. Seeing as they’re able to jump, we’re going to have to keep them distracted. Any damage to the star fighter bay?”

“Yes sir.” Magnesium responded. “Some minor damage, but the bay is still fully operational.”

“Great. Get pilots to their craft. I want two tactical squadrons out there. That way we can keep them distracted while we come up with something else. Anything regarding any possible anti air defenses?”

“No sir, I am able to find… nothing.”

“Ok then. Get those fighters in space.”

### V

In the flyer bay, alarms rang out as pilots rushed and scrambled to their craft. Not before gathering their gear and supplies of course.

“Come on guys. Move it move it move it!” A senior N.C.O called put to his men, telling them to hurry.

“Yes sir!” Martin, a young man in his 20s replied. He was a decent pilot, holding the rank of corporal. He was a member of the United Fighter Forces (U.F.F), the arial warfare branch of the United Interstellar Forces (U.I.F), the United Alliance’s military. He was part of their science division, working for the U.F.F, but under the command and authority from the S.R.H.C.

Martin put on his light sand brown flying suit, googles, gas mask, utility pack, parachute, laser pistol/S.M.Gamong other necessities. After finishing gearing up and obtaining all necessary supplies and equipment, he followed his comrades as they rushed out form the locker rooms to the main flyer bay, alarms still ringing.

Soon, they were in flyer bay. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? GET TO YOUR FIGHTERS!” A sergeant yelled. Soon enough, everyone was scrambling.

Martin found his craft. It was a General P-74 series 2 single seat bomber. The most common craft in the U.F.F’sarsenal. It was fairly reliable. Equipped with everything including life support, oxygen, heating, cooling, a pressurized cabin, reflector shields, heat shields, and navigation/aiming computers, along with A.I (an uncommonly used feature), it was sure something that could last. It could sustain a person for up to seven days. Equipped with 1,000 plasma rounds and a seven high impact energy bombs, it was a hard hitter.

Many pilots often grew attached with their craft, sometimes even naming them and such. This was tolerated by the U.F.F. Sometimes, it was even encouraged. Mainly as means of keeping pilots happy and keeping morale high.

Martin hadn’t got that far. At least not now. He soon found his plane, he opened the cockpit door and got in before closing it. These were biplanes, with two sets of front wings. They were fairly durable, even without the shields, though they were still vulnerable, especially slower planes such as the torpedo bombers.

“Let’s get this started, he breathed, his voice muffled by his gas mask. He inserted the key card, put in the passcode, did the standard retinal scan. Soon enough, the engines roared to life as the blue plasma began flowing around in the tubes within. “Steady and ready.”

He piloted his craft to get it into formation with the rest of the star fighters in his squadron. Gamma squadron. A tactical assault squadron composed of bombers and rocketeers. Once he reached the proper position, he halted.

“Ok Gamma Squadron, stand by and await further orders, prepare to head out. “ his squadron leader, Junior Flying Lieutenant Synthia Smith, or by her native name, Ğęÿ Ħæřlęÿ. A member of the Salasky race, she was stunning to say the least. And very cunning. She would never stay fixed on one decision. She would make drastic changes to any plan, even while in the helm of chaos.

He sighed, feeling a little bit of sweat run down his forehead. This would no doubt be tense. He could die. His whole squadron could parish. But duty called, and he had a job to fulfill. He then saw a figure at the very front of the formation. They were wearing a reflective yellow safety vest and were wielding a pair of orange glow sticks in their hands. The signaler.

The signaler had activated the magnets on their boots to avoid getting sucked out of the bay. Alarms were heard, along with creaking sounds. The bay doors began to open, the signaler signaling for the craft to move forwards, before signaling for him to stop. Seconds passed. The signaler looked up onto a platform. An officer gave a salute, the signaler then began waving their glow sticks, signaling for the craft to go.

“Ok then Gamma Squadron, go go go!” The Junior Flying Lieutenant spoke over the radio. Then the swarm of aircraft flew out of the bay in a spectacular formation.

“And there they go.” The captain spoke, the rest of the bridge staff watching the screen as the star fighters departed and took off.

Back in his craft, Martin filed with the rest of his group. But he did not expect to see his next encounter. As they got closer, a giant star shaped vessel (with six points)l came into sight. “Thats what we’re attacking?” Asked Martin over the radio.

“Yup. That’s it.” Spoke Synthia.

“Damn, that’s huge.” He was flabbergasted.

“You are right. It’s heavily armed and appears to be agile. Our job is to distract it, hopefully land some devastating blows, to give the Entrepreneur enough time to use its main weapons to destroy or incapacitate the enemy vessel. You got that?”

“Yes ma’am,” several squadron members replied.

“Good. We’re going to fly in. Not too close, but enough to test out their arial defenses.”

“Copy that.” Martin continued to stay within formation. Soon enough they were close to the enemy vessel. Then the computer began to ring out, warning of ship mounted defense. “Ma’am, looks like we’ve been targeted!”

“Copy that. Squadron, fly out far. Split into your designated squads to overwhelm their defenses! Gamma 1,2 and 3! Gamma 1 Goes for the top, 2 for the side and 3 comes out the bottom. Capeesh?”

“Capeesh!” They all replied.

“Good. Switch to channel 4 radio to be able to listen to your squad leaders.”

Martin then did as told, opening up a second radio channel to be able to communicate with both his squad and the rest of the squadron. The squadron split into their designated squads. All of Gamma Squadron’s three squads were mixed assault squads, composed of bombers and rushers.

He was part of Gamma 1, so he would be over the top. They climbed high above the enemy vessel, preparing for a dive attack.

“Ok then, as soon as we come into view of the enemy ship’s surface, we will fire our guns. Don’t release your bombs until my orders!” Ordered Master Sergeant Casmo. Part of a race with transparent bodies and bright colors, he’ll look weak to you. But don’t be mistaken, he his strong crush your fingers.

“Alright then!” They climbed higher, and higher and higher. Then once they reached a certain heigh, 15,000 feet above the enemy vessel, they came down on a diving attack.

“Alright then. We’re in range, open fire!”

Every squad member began firing their weapons, streams of plasma raining down on the enemy ship. But the guns themselves were doing nothing to damage the enemy vessel, its armor too thick for any real damage to be done.

“It’s not doing anything Serge! No good!” A member spoke over the radio.

“That was expected, keep flying, we’re turning back!”

The squad flew over the vessel, making a u turn to come in for another attack. But then, “things” began to poke out of the surface of the vessel.

*“What are those?”* Martin asked himself in his head. But then, these “things” began firing energy bolts at their craft. “Shoot, it’s their anti-craft defenses.” He pressed the transmit option his radio, “Serge! They’re firing on us. Those bolts look dangerous! What should we do?”

“Go up. We will gain attitude, then go for another diving attack. Once we’re in position, I will give the order to unleash our bombs, and hopefully knock out some of their guns.”

Martin piloted his fighter in silence, feeling the sweat drip down his forehead, despite the coldness of the craft inside. The bolts of lightning weren’t hitting right now, but they were dangerously close.

“Ok squad, going down for another dive!”

Soon enough, they were within hitting range of the enemy defenses again. The enemy guns began firing again. The firing of the enemy energy bolts becoming more intense and rapid.

“Ok then, we’re in range, bombs away!”

Martin pressed the button on his panel, releasing the bombs stored in the plane’s bomb bay. Then, faster than the blink of an eye, several red objects were seen descending on the enemy ship. Then explosions were heard. Several of the enemy anti air defenses were knocked out.

“Going round!”

Their squad flew in formation, coming back around for another attack. But as they did, he saw an explosion in front of him. Then smoke. A lot of it. Then he saw an object spiraling out of control, heading directly towards the enemy ship. “Is that the… Serge, do you copy? Serge!? SERGE!?” No reply. “Guys, I think our leader has been hit!”

“I think so too!” Replied one of his wing mates.

“What should we do!?”

“I don’t know!?”

“I’m getting reports that the other Squads are taking casualties as well! Maybe we should pull back!”

“You know what!? I’m going in!”

II
--

### VI

Officers ran around in the bridge. Word has gotten around that the plane squadrons were taking casualties.

“This is not good.” Spoke Xivi, a look of concern on his muzzle.

“I know. Do you think we should call them back?” Spoke the princess. Just looking at the screen, the same expression of concern on her face, along with the rest of the bridge staffs’.

“I’m not sure. I mean, the ships anti-air defenses are formidable. But they are… “smart.” I mean, using particle-based weapons that can bypass defenses designed to resist physical objects? Yeah, that’s clever.”

“It is, but we need to focus on the situation on hand.”

“You are certainly right.” Replied the captain. Jackson began to pace, similar to when they first came into contact with the hostile beings. “Hmm… how are our main weapons doing? Are we set?”

“Yes sir.” Responded Xivi, “All guns, including the rotary canons are set and ready to fire. We are only waiting for your orders.”

“Awesome. Tell all craft to exit the range of the enemy vessel. Otherwise, they’ll get obliterated as soon as our guns fire.”

“But isn’t the enemy ship immune to our weapons?” Asked Alienca.

“Well, they use thick plate-based armor as opposed to shields. The shields they do have aren’t as effective against physical projectile-based weapons compared to ours.” Magnesium answered.

“Exactly. If we use all of our fire power, we can overwhelm the enemy’s armor. We have more weapons. And they are certainly more powerful. And if that fails, we always have the good old obliteration.”

”But sir, you know that’s a last resort measure. What if we need it against a potentially stronger, more powerful foe? You know they have a long recharge time.”

“You are right. But that could be our only hope. I guess all can do is hope, wait and see.” The captain spoke, sighing in the process, the rest of the bridge staff, sighing as well.

———

“Are you crazy!?” Asked a voice over the radio. “Your going to get annihilated!”

“No! I’m not going to let our leader die like this!”

“But what if he’s already dead!? You know how horribly his craft spiraled out of control!”

“Well, what if he isn’t? What if he survived?”

For several seconds, there was no reply, only silence.

“You, are, a big, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ son of a \_\_\_\_\_, you know that!? He heard someone respond.

“Yeah, maybe I am, but I don’t care! What must be done, must be done!” He then broke away from the rest of the formation, turning to head back to the enemy ship. He piloted his craft, taking a series of evasive maneuvers to doge the incoming bolts. As he got closer to the surface of the vessel, he began to look for any signs of a crashed craft.

Then. He spotted it. A white object, all mangled and broken. It had the distinctive red chevrons of a junior commander’s plane. “Bingo!” But he then thought, *“Now, how the hell do I land on there? If I’m going to retrieve his body, I’m going to have to find a place to land my plane?* But then, an idea struck him: the plane’s A.I. He had never used the ai. Not even once. He had never even activated it.

“I wonder how this will play out,” he mumbled to himself. He then pressed buttons one one of the holographic screens. The screen flashed, before a voice spoke,

“Booting up.”

He jumped. It felt so odd to be doing this. But he had to. But as it booted up, he began to grow impatient. “Hey, can you be a little faster? Right now, we’re being shot at by ELECTRIC BOLTS!”

“What options would you like to pick?” The voice called out.

“Anything that is the fastest!”

“Would you like the express option then?” The voice, now feminine.

”YES!”

“Choosing ‘option’ give me a few minutes.”

Martin grunted. “DAMN IT!” He slapped the holographic panel.

“Done! Hello, welcome, I am the Platinum O.S. digital assistant version 35.5E. I can help you do many things for you dear pilot. Anything, from aiming, to piloting the plane, I am here to serve you. I will always be by your side. I am also customizable, so I can fit your needs. Would you like to name me?”

“What!? Stupid software development companies these days!” He grunted. Um, damn nit, I feel like a god damn wilted flower!” He mumbled out loud.

“Flower? Thats a beautiful name. Thank you pilot”

“No, that’s not what I said!”

“Pilot, what is your name?” Flower asked.

“Ugh, Martin. Martin Anderson!”

“Nice to meet you Martin,” she said. “What would be your first request?”

“Well, wait, are you just part of the plane? Or are you the plane?”

“I am not sure, but I am able to fully control this craft. I can control of every system. You can even trust my to fly on my own with you sleeping.”

“Um, that’s kind of scary.” He mumbled.

“You said something?” Flower asked, curiously.

“Um, no! No! But, so you are the plane?”

“I guess so.”

*“I’m getting distracted, gotta focus!”* The plane then shook as a bolt of electricity hit just the very edge of the the right-wing tip. “Crap. Ok then.” He breathed. “Flower, I need you to find a suitable landing spot on this vessel, if you can find one. Can you do that?”

“Let me see.” Flower used her inbuilt cameras to analyze the entire ship, or what she could see. She then thought for a moment.

“If your thinking, please be quick!”

“I was able to find several weak spots to the left, the appear to have minimal defenses. They appear to be maintenance areas of some kind. There doesn’t appear to be any enemy beings in those areas.”

“Great, thank you Flower. But, how do I land?”

“Martin, will you grant me control of the craft?”

“What?”

“Will you let me pilot. Please trust me.”

“But I’ve only recently activated you and, and…”

“I can do this. Flower reassured Martin.”

“Fine. Just land, and don’t get us killed.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” The blue holographic screens then turned a rose pink.

“Nice color.” He mumbled. But he then felt the craft began to pilot itself. He could turn the joysticks. Nothing. *“Looks like Flower is the plane.*” Despite being only recently activated, she could pilot herself well. She did some fairly intense and intricate maneuvers, dodging the incoming fire. She then made a corkscrew. “Wow, I never knew you were such a great pilot.”

Flower only responded with hum of her engines.

### VII

Soon enough, they landed at the given area, Flower shutting off her engines to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

“Flower, are you sure this is a good spot?”

“I am very certain. I’ve scanned it many times. I can guarantee you there is no immediate danger here.”

“Percentage?”

“100.”

“Flower.” He called out in a tone of disapproval.

“Fine, how about, 95?”

“Enough for me. Well, I’m heading out now.”

“Ok then but be careful.”

“I will.”

“If you ever need to, you can contact me.”

“How exactly?”

“Your radio. I can help you link right now.”

“Oh, ok then.” He turned on his radio. “Let’s be quick with this.”

“I shall be faster than lightning.”

Soon enough, they had a private communications channel between themselves.

“I’ll be back.”

“Be safe.” Flower said before left.

The cockpit door automatically opened. He activated the magnets in his boots. Martin climbed out. He gave flower a pat on her side, before continuing on. He unholstered his laser pistol and converted it into an S.M.G using the dedicated switch. He then sneaked, crawling on his belly to avoid attracting attention.

He then stopped as he peaked around a corner. He saw a sentry tower. “What should I do?” He then took out a plasma grenade. But he decided that would bring too much attention. “I can only hope I’m as stealthy as well, Kinkajou.”

He continued to belly crawl, avoiding the sentries. He noticed the lack of any biological life forms on the surface of the vessel. “It’s on the outside of course. Then again, it’s possible to just wear a space suit. Time to get back on track.”

He continued. Soon enough, he reached the downed craft that belonged to his commander. “Time to make a wish,” he quietly rummaged through the debris. There, he found his commander. He had no major injuries. He checked his pulse. To his surprise, he was still alive. Ok then, as he turned though, he saw large wound. “Great!” He got to work patching it up, especially because his commander would die of a lack of oxygen.

Once he finished, he took out his commander and lifted him. But then, he stepped on a piece of computer. Oh no. Suddenly, before he could react, several sentries began firing at his position. “God dam it.” He began firing his laser S.M.G. He crawled dragging his commander. But his commander was heavy. “Dang it. This ain’t possible.” *“I’d never thought I’d do this.”* He pressed the panic button his radio.

Using the private communications channel, “Flower, I need help. I’m pinned!” He threw a plasma grenade at a sentry, destroying it, but another sentry took its place. He threw more grenades, but for every sentry he knocked out, two more took its place. “This is impossible.” He pressed again, “HELP!”

Not too long later, he thought he saw an object flying in the sky,

“Is that?” He asked. But he stopped himself, for he already knew.

“Don’t worry, I am here!” Flower exclaimed through the radio channel “I cover you You have to escape!”

“But what if you get hurt! This whole thing will be in vain!”

“Just go! Once you’re at our original spot, notify me! Well only have moments before they realize where you are!”

“If you say so.” Martin turned off the radio, and got back to work, lifting and taking his fallen commander to the area where he was supposed to meet his plane. Meanwhile, Flower, doing her best to dodge the anti-aircraft fire, was busy using her machine guns to knock out the sentries.

“Martin used some of his grenades. But he decided to do something. He grabbed a smoke grenade and threw it. The sentries no doubt had some form of thermal vision, but this could disorientate them. He then threw several grenades into the destroyed craft, causing it to explode, killing anything next to it.

He then heard on his radio. “Martin, are you alright? I saw an explosion!”

“Yes, I’m good. I’m approaching our spot. You can land. Wait, how do you-?” But he halted, *“Right, her cameras.”*

“You asked something?

“Oh no, I was just thinking out loud.

“Alright.”

In a couple of seconds, he could see Flower approaching. Eventually, she landed, not too far from Martin.

“I hope you're ok with another passenger.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. It might be a little tight, but I should enough just enough space.”

Martin loaded up his squad leader into the cockpit, before getting in himself.

“Hold tight.” Flower spoke.

“As tight as I need to.”

Flower then took off, avoiding barrages of incoming A.A fire. She then noticed something. “Hey Martin. I think that explosion did something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look!” Then one of her panels displayed an image of a large whole with something in the center that appear to be glowing.

“Wow. That is one hole. Wait, do you have any bombs left? I didn’t pay attention to how much bombs I used before activating you.”

“Yes, still have one bomb in my bay, why?”

“I have an idea.”

### VIII

In short time, they were flying at lightning speed, directly towards the enemy ship. “Careful to avoid incoming fire!” He exclaimed as enemy air defenses began to target Flower. She managed to avoid the fire, doing various complicated (often spectacular) maneuvers that the average pilot could only hope to achieve.

Soon they were in range, “Alright, Flower, begin aiming for the large hole in the center. Thats where we need to land this hit!”

“On it.”

“Can you display some visuals for me?”

“Sure thing.” She responded as one of the holo panels switched images, to a video feed plus cross hair.

“Ok, ok, ok, NOW! Bombs, or bomb away!”

Flower released the bomb, the bomb zooming towards the the exposed area in the center.

“Time to turn back!” Martin yelled as even he and Flower could feel vibrations coming from below. A large barrage of red smoke and plasma. “Man Flower, that was great!”

“Thank you.” She responded with a sweet calm voice.

———

Back on the bridge, everything stopped as a large explosion of the enemy vessel occurred on screen. Then, as the video played out, the enemy vessel appeared to break in half.

Everyone was quiet. Then, cheering and applause.

“Well son of a gun, I wonder what that was.

“Don’t know. But hey, it’s a win.”

“I think there is still a fighter still out there.”

But suddenly, everything stopped again, as more news made its way, to the captain and his officers.

“Sir, sir!” Exclaimed one of the radar operators.

“Yes?” The captain asked curiously.

“I’m picking up more ships on the radar. More of those bastards appear to be heading our way.”

“Oh shoot.” Went the princess.

“Looks like they sent out a distress to their allies. Crap, that’s not good. We won’t be able to engage all of them. We’ll get torn to pieces.”

“What should we do?”

“Prepare to sonic jump. We need to gain as much distance between ourselves and the enemy ships. Alienca, phone maintenance and power supply, tell them to get the generators set, immediately!”

“Yes sir, I’m on it!”

“Micheal, once we’re set, announce on the intercom that we’ll be sonic jumping.”

Micheal nodded.

“Alienca, status on the generators?”

“All set!” The shield generators also played a role when it came to sonic jumping. They would help the engines by charging them using the ionized plasma that the generators used that the shield generators used to make the magnetic fields that shield the ship from objects or incoming projectiles.

“E.T.A on the enemy vessels?”

“At the speed they are traveling now, I say an E.T.A of five minutes sir.” Responded one of the radars operators.

“Good, we should be able to sonic jump in less than two minutes.”

“Good. Micheal make the announcement.”

The executive officer picked up the phone and pressed the option, signaling all of the vessel. “Attention all, we are sonic jumping in less than T-minus 60 seconds, secure all loose items, fasten your seatbelts, make it to a secure area!”

Everyone aboard the ship ran, quickly running to ensure everything was right.

———

Meanwhile in space, Martin and Flower were still flying, returning from the destroyed enemy vessel.

“Let’s go around once more to make sure it’s truly gone.” Flower spoke.

“Sure.”

They turned back, going over the destroyed enemy ship once more.

“Thats one sight to see.”

“It is indeed.”

“You know, without you, I wouldn’t have been able to rescue him. I wouldn’t have managed to spot that weak area. Good job.”

“Thank you. I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

“I am too Flower, I am too.”

They glanced at the sight (Flower, using her built in cameras), but Martin turned, and noticed something. The engines of the Entrepreneur turning a dark pink color. That could only mean one thing: they were preparing to jump.

“Flower.”

“Yes?”

“We have to go back, now!”

“Why?”

“There, the Entrepreneur is preparing to jump using sonic jump. If they do, we’ll be stranded. We have to get back to the vessel A.S.A.P!

“Shoot!”

Just fly Flower, fly!”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Flower putting her engines to full power, going as fast as they allowed her to, Martin having strapped himself in. “How long do we have!?”

“Less than a minute! You think you can make it!”

“I’ll try!”

It still felt so weird not to pilot, but he was feeling to nervous to be putting much thought into it. He could only hope they made it.

———

Back on the ship.

“Ok then, headcount!” Braked the drill instructor as the pilots lined up. The drill instructor walked (magnetization activated on his boots), counting to track the number of pilots. “How many casualties?”

“Seven.”

“Not bad.”

———

“Come on!” Martin yelled. He could feel the vibrations of the Entrepreneur’s plasma engines. The appeared to be shaking. “We’ve got seconds!”

“We’ll be there in 15!” Flower exclaimed, trying her hardest to avoid getting left behind.

Soon they were within range, but he began to feel the effects as the Entrepreneur began to move forward. He picked up the radio, “Open the bay doors. It is me, Martin, Identification Serial, P6-4077B. Open! OPEN! OPEN!”

“Martin, is it really you?”

“YES IT IS. JUST OPEN THE GODDAM BAY DOORS BEFORE WERE LEFT BEHIND!”

Seconds later, they made it through the bay doors. As soon as they made it, the doors closed, the vessel began traveling at faster than light speeds.

Martin breathed, heavily. “That was sure something.”

“It indeed was.” The craft responded.

The Entrepreneur sped away from the hoard of incoming bloodthirsty enemies, seeking to avenge their fallen foe. This may not be the last engagement with them. Far from it…

———

“Well, we are safe now. For now.” The captain spoke.

“Seems like it. We’ll have to be careful. Once we come back, I suggest taking a different route. Them buggers will probably be here.”

“Depends on how long we take.” Spoke Alienca.

“Maybe so. I mean, maybe we won’t come back from this mission. Maybe we will.” Spoke Magnesium.

“If we do come back, it’ll be best to take a different route. Even if it’s longer.” Spoke Alia. A Crosanty, from a quadruped reptilian race. She walks on all fours, being similar to a Komodo dragon, but she has a torso, along with two extra arms. She had been relatively quiet this whole time. She spoke with certain (slightly unnerving) hiss.

“Right.” Spoke the captain. “Well, it’s safe to walk now.” The captain got up. “I am going to head to my office for a bit. Everything should be fine here. At least at the moment. As always, Commander Micheal will be in charge during my absence.”

“Alright then, have a good… time? Sorry, it’s just that nothing major has happened, well apart from that confrontation.”

“It’s alright, I get it.” The bridge staff saluted the captain as he saluted back. He then walked out.

### IX

The walk wasn’t the longest. Well, he had two offices. The first (his personal) was located next to his room in the high officer’s quarters. The second (his main) was located within the command center.

He took the first elevator that took him to the command center above, before walking down the the main room, where the officers saluted him and he saluted back, down to the hallway that took him to the high officers’ quarters, before taking another elevator.

In no time, he was at his office. Unlike his main office, his personal office has wooden furnishings and walls, which are made of dark oak. The floor is made of brown wooden tiles, and the roof is a soft dark beige.

In front of his desk, are sofa like chairs, with wooden legs and armrest. Several paintings hang on the walls, and a chandelier hangs from the roof. There are several small tables with potted plants. He even has a fish tank at the far side.

It had a homey appeal, which was the goal. Although the ship was meant to be modern, clean and functional, they wanted the vessel to have a sense of familiarity. That’s why operatives were usually allowed to decorate their own rooms with their own decorations.

Blankets, posters, plants, some furnishings such as chairs, tables, things like that. Because it’s usually the small things that count. They don’t want the operatives to feel too homesick. As a result, they were given the chance to bring some of their possessions, so they could always have a small bit of home no matter where they went.

Some rooms, like Jackson’s personal office, had were completely designed to resemble an Earth (or any planetary) based building, thus adding to the effect.

Jackson went onto his computer, typing in his password, wanting to see if he had gotten any messages or notifications, just looking for something important.

Then he found something, a specific message. “Hmm, now what is this?” He raised an eyebrow, curious. “This doesn’t look like a message from high command or any other major body.

It had the number/letter combination, T-3456-E. *“What a minute. That’s a serial number!”* But of what vessel? He decided to search. He left the office, because, while he was the captain, that didn’t give him instant access to the vessel database, so he went to go find Magnesium. Also, he didn’t want to open the message immediately.

He walked to the elevator, pressing the button that took him to the ground floor of the high officer’s quarters.

Once he was down, he began to walk. *“Ok then, now to find out more about T-234, I mean T-3456-E.”* He walked. By the time he reached a corner, he saw Magnesium, walking to the bridge.

“Hello there, Magnesium.”

The yellow eyed, white robotic dragon stoped, turned and saluted, “Hello sir.”

The captain saluted back, “Taking care of some business I see?”

“Yes sir. Just talking to my family back home.”

“Yes, yes. It’s always good to see family, especially when you're this far out. Keeps moral high.”

“Yes sir.”

“Anyways, I have a favor to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

“I was browsing through my computer, and I was checking my messages. I got a message that was simply labeled, ‘T-3456-E,’ and that’s a vessel serial number.”

“Ah yes. Of course. You want me to search it up, right?”

“That’s correct. The weird thing is, that I got the message around six PM Earth time.”

“Now to doubt you, but I just want to ask, how is that weird?”

“It’s ’weird’ because it it doesn’t have proper labeling. And the timing feels kind of odd, for me. I’m not sure why. It just feels odd.”

“Hmm, well. I’ll get the vessel searched. Should we go to my office, for privacy?”

“Yes. I think it’s best that we don’t let the others know until we have better information. Especially given the way the message was labeled.”

“Alright sir. You first?”

“No, you go ahead. It is your workspace after all.”

“Ok then.”

Soon they were in his office, Magnesium sitting at his computer, and Jackson standing behind him.

“Ok, I am searching up the vessel. What was the serial number?”

“T-3456-E.”

“Got it.” Mag typed it into the computer. Soon enough, there was the list of vessels. “Ok, here are the list of vessels in the relating category.

“Here it is. T-3456-E.” He clicked on the link, which took him to the page containing the information of the vessel with that serial number. “Ok, so here is the information. The vessel’s formal hame is the I.E.S Discoverer. It is a Revolution Class standard multipurpose zeppelin, also affiliated with the S.R.H.C.

It’s one of the newer vessels, with enough capacity for 8,000 personnel. 650 of them officers.

“Ok, ok. Go on.”

“It doesn’t have as many armaments compared to some of the other space zeppelins. It has six mounted heavy plasma guns, and two swivel guns. It has six fixed torpedo launchers, and one fixed torpedo launcher towards the front and another one towards the back.

He continued further, “Sixteen light plasma turrets, ten of them double barreled. It has similar defenses to our zeppelin. Now the unique thing about it is that it has a retractable body. This is rare amongst the vessels. Truly multipurpose.”

“For a vessel of its size, it’s lightly armed. Now, for leadership, it’s commanded by captain Shelski Abelaran, a member of one of the quadruped races. Executive Officer Hehehi Alan, First Officer is Kalaki Seeran, Second Officer Meeran.

“Hmm, what is the technical information.”

“Well, for the technical aspects, it is powered by four eighth generation Power Standard Co Power X model 56 series B fission fusion hybrid reactors. It has the similar type of generation and propulsion system as our vessel, but it’s got bigger better versions.”

“Hmm… Anything regarding any specific missions?”

“On the file document, no. It just stores information, but I can search it if you want.”

“Go ahead please.”

“Alright, give me a minute.” The robotic dragon began to type on the laser keyboard (physical keyboards were largely gone by this time, except when needed).

The captain looked put the doorway, just eyeing crew members as they came and went. He checked his watch. “Looks like it has gotten late. It’s ten thirty already? Time sure does fly.” He glanced at the hallway.

“I’ll step outside for a minute.” The hall was empty and quiet. It had that liminal feeling to it. “It’s that feeling.” He mumbled.

“Captain, I found something!”

“Yes Lieutenant Commander?” He rushed in before seeing for himself: this is the lost vessel of the expedition, and that message is a distress call.

### X

“I’m being what!?”

“I said your being demoted.” Spoke the Ordinance Sergeant.

“For what!?”

“For your foolishness. That was dangerous of you. You could’ve endangered the vessel, let alone, the alliance.”

“I saved my commander’s life!” – “*With the help of Flower,”* He thought.

“Look. This is tough. I know you’re an eager pilot, willing to serve the alliance, and you will go through any means to achieve that. But this, just no.”

He grunted, “May I leave now?”

“Sure. Just be careful, you could get punished for insubordination with that attitude.”

“Yes Sergeant.”

“Alright. Dismissed.”

He walked out of the Ordinance Sergeant’s office. *“Really, I do something good, and I get punished for it. They should get fired. Seriously.”* He sighed, I need to calm down. It’s just one rank demotion. It’s not that that much. I regain later.

He decided to go over to get something eat. Maybe he’ll talk to Flower for a bit. It still felt weird for him to be referring to his craft, no, his friend, in such a manner.

*“I’m just going to roam the vessel for a bit.”* He walked around the vessel. He took a look at his watch, “11:32 P.M, dang it’s late.” He continued to walk. “I think I might get a coffee.”

Eventually, after walking for a few minutes, he found a café stand. “Finally.” He mumbled to himself. He walked up to the stand.

Manning the stand was a stunning purple dragoness.

“Hey there.” The dragoness spoke in a calm pleasant tone.

“Hi.”

“Are you here to purchase something?”

“Yes, yes I am. May I have a minute to look?”

“Sure thing! Take all the time you need!”

“You know, I’ll take an ice-cold latte. Can I have Mocha flavor? And I’ll take a donut.”

“Sure thing! I’ll fetch your items right away!”

“Thanks. Very remarkable service!” He began to feel calmer. He still wasn’t fully “there” yet, but he felt a little better.

Soon, the purple dragoness returned. “Back!”

“Wow, that was speedy.” Martin remarked.

“Yeah, I like to get things done, done fast and right.”

“Two good qualities right there I would say.”

“Uh huh!”

“So, you free at the moment?”

“I guess so, seeing as no one was here.” The dragoness shrugged, seeing no other customers nearby.

“So, what is your name?”

“Fluorite. Yours?”

“Martin.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. You know what I think is funny?”

“A dragon and human sitting together at this human sized table?”

“Exactly. So, how long do you work?”

“Hours. I work because I like to help others.”

“Me too. Well, not the hours part. Or it depends. When I’m not in space, I’m helping around the vessel.”

“Of course.”

“Strangest thing. Or maybe not so strange to others, but to me.”

“Yes?”

“I am friends with the plane I fly. Or she flies herself at times. As of the last battle.”

“Hmm?”

“Yep. Weird. Her name is Flower (still weird, especially for a combat craft). She is fairly optimistic and sweet.”

“Wait, is she the craft itself?”

“She appears to be.”

“Strange.”

“It is indeed.”

“You know. These last days have been… chaotic to say the least.”

“You can say that again.”

They continued to talk for a couple of hours. After checking the time, the two parted ways, deciding to meet each other again.

He decided to go meet Flower and ask her how she’s doing. It’s only been a day since she’s been activated, but he still wanted some… comfort, if you could put it that way.

He made his way to the flyer bay. A security guard, stopped him, but he soon went in. He was allowed in, although it was uncommon for members to come in late.

Soon, he reached his craft. Or the craft that was his friend.

Flower noticed as soon as he patted her side. “Hey there.” She spoke.

Now the thing about these crafts was that they had (concealed) speakers on the outside. He could never figure out why, but seeing as he never used them, he never gave any thought to it. But now, was different.

“Hello.”

“What are you up to here, at this time?”

“Just wanting to talk to you.”

“Alright then. How’s or how was your day?”

“Not the best. I’ve been demoted.”

“What? How come?”

“For saving our squad leader.”

“Now that’s unfair. You know. I wonder what the ship’s officers are up to.”

———

The captain walked over to his office, Executive Officer Micheal and First Officer Magnesium following closely behind. They walked normally. They didn’t want to attract attention from other crew members.

At least, not until they found out more. They continued to walk, the Jackson wanting to do this in his personal office, since the chance of crew coming to consult him there was low than his work office.

After several minutes of working, the had reached his office.

“Alright, we are here.”

“Ok. Now.”

“Now to find out what this message is about. Come in.”

Magnesium and Micheal made their way through the door. The captain activated the electronic “do not disturb” sign and locked the door. He went over to his computer, doing a voice and facial/retinal scan.

“Give me a minute. It’s loading up.” In a few seconds, Jackson had the file opened on the computer. “I’m going to press the play button.”

Magnesium and Micheal gave each other a glance. They then both nodded.

The captain pressed the play button.

The message then began to play, although it sounded distorted, with lots of static, “Hello to anyone listening to this, if this even gets to anyone in the first place. Please listen, this is.. big. Do not come here. It-it-it-it is v-v-ver-ry dangerous. Bear wi-wi-with me-e-e-e.”

“My na-a-ame is C-c-c-captain Shel-el-ski Abela-a-a-r-r-an. Do not come here. It is no-o-o-thing but a d-d-death trap. Once you c-c-come her-r-e, there is no way-y-y of esca-a-a-pe. We are under att-ta-ta-ta-ack. This pl-pl-place is f-f-full of…”

“J-j-j-j-j-just don’t come-e-e-e.” Then the audio began to crack as several explosions were heard.

The captain then froze, before sternly looking at them, “I need to take a little break. Now get out.”

“What?” The Commandant asked.

“Sir, what are you…” Magnesium attempted to speak, but he was cut off.

“I said… GET OUT!” He shouted to the both of them.

Both of them stood outside of the captain’s personal office, shocked.