FIRST / PREVIOUS

Subject: Commander Jack Garnet
Vessel: RMV Cambyses
Date: 13th June 3544 (Earth date)

I woke up to an artificial voice speaking to me:
"Commander, you've got an urgent video conference with the Hamilcar" - said Isaac.
A video conference? What could Captain Petrov want so urgently?
“Accept it, Isaac”
When the video feed was activated, I heard a robotic voice:
"This is a confidential meeting, class 3A. No information obtained via this meeting shall ever be shared with anyone except given direct authorisation. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do"
"Connecting video feed"
When I got connected I couldn't believe my eyes. Praetorians were in the Hamilcar. What were they doing there? Then a man came into my field of view. he was dressed in formal navy uniform, with four stars on each one of his shoulder boards. That's why the Praetorians were here, they were escorting an admiral, a four star one, nonetheless.
"Commander Garnet, my name is Admiral Reynard. I have urgent orders for you"
"Yes sir, I'm listening"
"Right about now a shuttle should be docking with the Cambyses. That shuttle is filled with a unit of 12 Praetorian soldiers. They will escort you to one of the two alien ships, UV-2 or UV-3, where you will serve as a formal link between me and whatever autority they have aboard those ships. We want to see if we can reach an agreement over this, let's say, misunderstanding. The Praetorians will be there to protect you in case anything bad were to happen. Is everything clear? Do you have any questions?"
"Yes sir, almost everything is clear but I have one question"
"What is it?"
"Why Praetorians, sir? Why not send a squad of Phalanx soldiers, or just regular troopers?"
"Because Praetorians do what I say, when I say it. They don't question my orders and carry them out to perfection. They are also the most elite combat unit in the whole galaxy, as far as we know. They're the perfect choice for your protection, and that's all you have to know"
"Yes sir, understood"
"Great. You will receive further instructions in the future"
"Thank you, sir" - I then saluted him as the conference terminated.
Whoa. Praetorians? I can’t believe that I’m going to be interacting with them!
"Commander, the Praetorian shuttle is on final approach. You might want to look out the window, it’s an amazing ship" - said Isaac.
When I got to the window, the sun was shining on the ship, which had an angular look to it, more than normal. It must be true then what they say about those cloaking capabilities they have, that they can turn invisible to sensors and to the naked eye. I decided to go to the docking bay to receive them, now that I had seen their ship. Hell, I could look at it more in detail in the bay.
As I made my way down, I wondered where would the Praetorians sleep. At that moment I remembered the VIP quarters just outside the officer’s:
“Isaac, send word to maintenance to ready VIP quarters 1 and 2. The Praetorians will be staying there”
“Right away, Commander”
As I got to docking bay 1, I saw my first officer already waiting for me at the door:
"Is it true, sir? Are Praetorians coming on board?"
"Yes, it is. Who told you though?"
"No one, sir. I just ran to the nearest window, as everyone else did. Then we recognised the shuttle from the Earth Day broadcasts as a Praetorian one"
"Well, we better get in there now, as they must've already landed"
"Yes, sir"
Then, he opened the door to reveal the back of the ship, where a ramp was lowering. Once it touched the ground, two very tall Praetorians got out of the ship and walked towards us:
"I'm Master Sargent 'Shocker'. I need for you to show me to my unit's quarters. Once there, I will speak to you privately about the mission, as none of it shall be discussed in front of unauthorised personnel" - he said, as he looked at my first officer.
"Sure, I will show you personally to your quarters. Follow me"
Then I started walking, and heard the rest of the unit come out of the shuttle. When I turned around, I noticed how intimidating the Praetorians really were. They were at least 2.2 meters tall, and judging by the sound their footsteps made on the ground, they packed a punch. The capes they were wearing gave them an even more intimidating look, as if they were some sort of magical beings. Their suits also looked out of this world. One of these suits costs more than my ship, 10 times over. And their weapons, too. I heard these were prototype PR-13s, a gun specially designed for Praetorian soldiers. Rumors said the gun linked to their mind via special implants, and this plus the suit, which was also linked made the gun literally an extension of their arm. Not that they needed the guns, though. The Praetorians were trained in all known ways of hand-to-hand combat, which made them deadly even outside the suit.
I kept walking through the ship and I looked back to see how they were doing, and they were marching in perfect formation, all in sync, looking forward. I couldn't help but notice all of the crew that were on the same corridor immediately make way for them, hugging the walls.
At once we reached the VIP quarters on the front of the ship:
"This is where you'll be staying, Master Sgt. 'Shocker'. What is your name, anyway?"
"My name and rank are confidential, sir. I shall only be adressed by my codename"
"Alright. Let’s go in and discuss those mission details you wanted to talk about"
Then he and the rest of the unit went into the room, which I entered last, closing the door behind me.
"Commander, you have been chosen as the provisional ambassador for the Second Human Republic. My unit has been selected to protect you at all cost, were the mission to fail. You have been given limited command capability over my unit. We still respond to the admiralty, but in case of emergency we can also take order from you. Do you understand?"
"Yes. If you don't need anything else from me, I will go back to the bridge"
"Sir, there's two more things we have to talk about" - 'Shocker' said, as he took out some things from his pocket - "This is a transmitter. You have to have it on you at all times, for us to be able to locate you. This other thing is a special communications device, that lets you talk to us wherever you are, no remote link needed. Also have it on you at all times"
"Is that all?"
"Yes, sir"
"Great, thanks. Now I must leave for the bridge"
As I saluted them, the 12 Praetorians got up and saluted me. When I went for the door I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned around to see what was happening. Two soldiers were headed for the door as well:
"Sir, we have orders to escort you wherever you go, just for safety"
"Okay, come if you have to"
So I turned and left, with the heavy footsteps behind me. When I arrived to the bridge everyone was shocked to see my newly acquired escorts:
"Commander, incoming video conference from the Hamilcar" - said Isaac
"Accept it"
"Connecting live feed now"
My HUD lit up with the image of Admiral Reynard:
"Commander, I see that you have got the new escorts. I hope everything went smoothly with the Praetorians. I have mission details I'd like to share with you. The Cambyses and the Faramond are to approach UV-2 and UV-3's positions in 2 hours. The Hamilcar will be ready to fire on them if any hostile actions were to take place, and two more Apex-class battlecruisers are on standby on the Gunides system, just in case. Before you jump to the alien ships, your ship-board AI will broadcast a message stating your peaceful intentions. From there on you will have to agree with the aliens on which ship to board to engage in peace talks. Your escorts will be with you all the time and you will report only to me via the communicator they gave you. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir"
"You will recieve a full briefing by the Agency soldiers aboard your ship on what to say and what not to say. Any questions?"
"No, sir"
"Great. I'll contact you again before you get on the shuttle to give you a final briefing"
"Understood, sir. Garnet out" - I said, as the conference terminated.
Shit! I was going to board the enemy ship? That's why they brought Praetorians, so any attempt against me would have no effect at all. I bet my two escorts could get rid of an entire ship’s crew by themselves, if needed.
“Isaac, get everything in the ship checked and ready for when we have to go visit those aliens. Also, alert the Faramond of their duty to come with us and send out probes to the Euclidean travel lanes’ exits to give us an early warning if more alien ships are to come”
“Yes, Commander”
And then I headed for the Agency’s part of the ship. It was located near the bridge, so I didn’t have to walk for long. The Praetorians where behind me, so I decided to ask them their names:
“Praetorians, what are your names? If you’re going to be escorting me I want to know how to address you”
“Sir, I’m ‘Mamba’, and this is ‘Duster’”
“What are your names?”
“Sir, our real names and ranks are classified along with any other relevant information about the program”
“Are you allowed to tell me your age, or that is also classified?”
“Our exact age is classified too, but I can tell you that we’re above 25 years of real age”
“What do you mean ‘real age’?”
“Our physical age is 25 years old, and we stay like that for many years. Our real age is the time since our birth, not the age our body displays”
“Oh. Well, If you want to know anything about me just ask”
“We’ve read your file, sir. We know almost everything about you”
“Well, if curiosity gets the better of you, you can ask anything”
“Alright, sir”
By that moment we had reached the Agency’s part of the ship, so I pressed the button beside the door to come in. The door then opened to reveal an armed soldier wearing full black armor. When he saw me, he saluted and made the gesture for me to go in. When I did, my escorts followed me, leaving the Agency soldier astounded. He saluted them as well and closed the door. I followed the corridor until I got to a desk:
“Good morning, Commander. Your briefing is in meeting room 2. Follow the corridor and turn left to get there”
“Alright, thanks”
Then I went left and turned the corner. When I got to the meeting room there was a soldier waiting outside for me:
“Sir, your escorts can’t come into the room” - said the soldier
“You heard him. Stand guard here”
“Yes, sir” - answered the Praetorians.
The soldier then opened the door for me, which I walked through. Sat inside was an officer dressed in black:
“Good morning, Commander. I’m Sgt. Chau, and I’m here to brief you on first contact protocols. Take a seat, please”
I sat down, and he opened a folder in front of him:
“Alright, first thing is you will follow the OpSec protocol as you would with a civilian. But you will have to take care not to reveal anything related to Earth or the Republic’s history. From now on, the words ‘Earth’ and ‘Sol’ are to be removed from your vocabulary. Your main objective is to de-escalate the situation and to avoid any immediate response from their part. We also have a device for you that we took from one of the captured officers aboard UV-1. We believe it’s a universal translator, and the engineering teams aboard the Hamilcar have tweaked it to adapt the English it has to a more modern version. Any questions for now?”
“No, everything is clear”
“Great. Your secondary objective is to try to get the aliens to have a higher power of their ‘Federation’ communicate with us to make this a more formal matter. You will maintain radio silence for the duration of your mission in order to maintain our radio frequency’s as hidden as possible. The only contact you will have will be with your escorts. You will report everything back to us once you’re back on the Cambyses, and then write a full report for the Admiralty”. Any questions?”
“No, everything remains clear”
“Ok. You will also carry a microfiber camera, implanted directly into your cornea to film the entire mission. Once we’re done here you will go to the infirmary to get it implanted. We also believe it’s in your best interest to wear some under-uniform protective equipment, which you’ll find on the armory”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. Any questions?”
“No”
“Great. Head to the infirmary and then the armory to get ready”
Then we got up, saluted each other and he accompanied me to the door. He handed me another dossier:
“This is what our medical staff aboard the Hamilcar has learned about the aliens aboard UV-1. Take a look at it so you know how they look like and you don’t get shocked to see them”
“Okay, I will. Thanks for everything, Sargent”
Then I walked out of the room and headed for the infirmary. The trip was quick, and when I got there a nurse was waiting for me:
“Commander, right this way”
I followed her to a small room and she gestured me towards a padded chair, on which I sat down. Then, a doctor who was holding a metallic device came into the room:
“Hello Commander. This device will implant the microfiber camera into your cornea. Do you have any preference on which eye you want it?”
“My right eye is my dominant, so put it on my left one”
“Okay”
Then he put the device over my face and a whirring noise started to sound. I felt a needle go into my neck, and I assumed it was some anesthesia. Then, a light shone in my left eye and I felt a small pinch inside of it. When the whirring stopped, the doctor removed the device from my face and said:
“We’re all done! Now drink this” - he handed me a cup full of a light blue liquid - “It will break up the anesthesia in your body and you’ll feel completely normal in about 15 minutes”
“Okay. How does this camera work?”
“Blink three times for it to start recording, blink three times again for it to stop”
“Okay”
After that, I tried to get up from the chair, only to be met with the effects of the anesthesia:
“Wow! You have to stay here at least 20 minutes, for the anesthesia to go away” - said the nurse.
Then she left the room, so I took out the folder abvout the physiology of the aliens to take a look at it.
After a while, the nurse came back in and told me I was good to go. I left the room hastily and headed for the armory, which was close. I looked at my watch to see I had half an hour until I had to get the ship moving. Then, I arrived at the armory and a soldier that was waiting for me handed me a vest:
“Sir, this is a under-uniform bulletproof vest. It will stop any small caliber kinetic round as well as any plasma rounds”
When he finished speaking I said thanks and left for my quarters. One I got there I grabbed my formal tie and swapped the everyday jacket for the formal one. I got dressed and when I was ready, I headed for the bridge. While I was on my way I told Isaac to broadcast our peaceful intentions in all frequencies for the aliens to hear, and to also start charging the Halcyon drive and link it with the Faramond’s. When I got to the bridge, I saw everyone was neck-deep into getting us ready for jumping:
“Commander, the Halcyon drive is charged and we’re ready for jump” - said Isaac - “estimated travel time is 2 minutes, and we’ll be traveling at an estimated speed of 252c”
“Jump when ready”
Then, I saw the blinding white flash that meant we had jumped. I turned toward my escorts and told them:
“‘Mamba’, inform the rest of the unit to head towards docking bay 1, ready the shuttle and wait for us”
“Yes, sir”
Before I turned around, I felt the ship getting out of warp. I turned to face the windows and for the first time saw the alien ships. They were a combination of angular and circular, smooth shapes. Like UV-1, they had clearly defined engine sections and a prominent bridge.
“Commander, incoming video conference from the Hamilcar”
“Accept it”
My HUD lit up with the image of Admiral Reynard:
“Commander Garnet, I hope you are ready. We definitely are and our backup on Gunides station is too. Good luck”
“Thank you, sir” - I said as the conference ended.
“Commander, we’ve received a message from UV-2 indicating that you’re to dock with them, and they will host the diplomatic talks” - said Isaac.
“Okay. Keep broadcasting the signal until I come back. Do not lower shields and keep weapons ready, but not powered up, in case we need to use them”
Then I turned around and headed for docking bay 1. Once I got there, I got into the shuttle and felt it take off and accelerate towards UV-2. The entire ride was silent, until ‘Shocker’ said:
“Sir, get ready. We’ll be docking in 30 seconds. The rest of you, you know what do”
Then, precisely 30 seconds later, I heard a thump that indicated we had docked. I got up, straightened my uniform and walked up to the door. I heard my Praetorians load their weapons and check their systems. Once I was ready I blinked three times, pressed the button and the doors to a new chapter in human history opened before my eyes.

Author’s note: Wow! This was a long chapter, a lot longer than I anticipated. It got dragged on partly because of dialogue but mainly because I didn’t want my third chapter to be a filler one.
I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!
:)

First Previous
Chapter 3: A Little Beating Never Hurt Nobody
​
“Nemesis!” Shavizi yelled. She backpedaled until she hit the pod behind her and flipped over it in fright, but all Kitern cared about was the one word she screamed just before she did. Not a heartbeat later, the marines had swiveled their weapons over to the bed. Five guns of various types pointing directly at what lay inside. At first, they couldn’t see anything. A heap of dust had fallen off the covering as it opened, causing it to swirl around in vacuum, blocking their view.
“What?! Nemesis!? Torshit!” Kass denied as she stood up. As soon as she did, a hand flew out of the dust cloud and gripped her arm. All she could do was squeak in fear, as she was sent flying, hitting Dentala and causing them both to spin erratically. Bumping against the far wall and other pods as their feet were no longer magnetized to the floor. The ship had no gravity to hold them in place. Any loss of contact meant they would be left totally exposed and vulnerable to enemy attack.
“Open fire!” Kitern bellowed. A kinetic rifle and three energy weapons let loose, yet whatever had been released, didn’t seem to care. Wearing the dust like a shroud as it burst through the swirling clouds, perforated by their rounds. It made a beeline directly for Osan, weaving around and dodging their fire. The thing grabbed her kinetic rifle with one hand and gripped her chest plate with another. It used her like a club, and swung her at Asteli, causing the private to join Kass and Dentala spinning through the room. Mid arc, after it had used Onsa to hit Asteli, it let her go, and she crashed into a wall, denting it from the sheer force of the impact. And electing a grunt of pain as the air was driven from her lungs.
While this was happening, Hran, Jurwa, and Shavizi attempted to scurry out of the room on all fours. As Hran was crawling by as fast as he could, the Nemesis kicked him, sending him careening into Gre’Namra’s legs, she flipped forwards as her legs were pulled out from under her and face planted into the deck, before rebounding and adding another two to the spinning circus.
Seeing that weapons weren’t doing the trick, and her team getting tossed about like toys. Kitern threw her weapon at the thing, hoping to distract it. It easily dodged, only to get tackled by her. Normally, her species would have used their sharp claws to rip apart an opponent in such close quarters, but her armor was sealed completely for the vacuum of space. Thus, she was forced to rely only on her species’ natural strength and speed, in lieu of them. She was lucky; the Nemesis had been stepping forward when they collided, so loss contact and was forced into a wall, with Kitern’s shoulder pressed its midsection. She balled her fist as best she could and began wailing on its less protected midsection.
She only got in a few futile swings before the thing used its two powerful arms to grab her around her waist and tossed her off like an insect. She hit the pod that was beside them and began to spin, but caught herself on another nearby pod. She used the momentum of her flight to swing herself around and run on the side of the wall with her magnetized boots. She dashed toward the Nemesis and kicked it in the head, but the strike did little to nothing as the Nemesis barely even wavered. Her foe did, however, grab the offending appendage and swing her overhead, and slam her into one of the other pods, hard enough to destroy its transparent covering, causing it to deform and spiderweb under her.
Still griping her leg, it drug her off the pod and flung her across the room. Dentala who was just getting her footing, ducked as her commanding officer went sailing by overhead, narrowly avoiding her. Using the duck to her advantage, she tensed her muscles, preparing to leap, and pushed off the ground with both legs, crashing into the Nemesis. It took a single, paltry step back, remaining upright. Given Kitern’s previous attempt at tackling it, it had been ready for the maneuver, and countered Dentala shortly after by elbowing her square in her back. Sending her to the floor. Where she bounced and was about to try and stand, but was stopped by one of her juniors joining the fray.
Though the creature could not hear it, Asteli screamed at the top of her lungs as she jumped up and wrapped herself around it like a backpack, causing the Nemesis to stumble forward. Soon Onsa joined in, grabbing onto the Nemesis in a vain attempt to bring it down. Gre’Namra, aiming to lend her body to the pile as well, was met by her fellow private being thrown full force into her. As Asteli was ripped off and hurled across the room, once again sending them both spinning.
Dentala, still on the floor, grabbed its legs and pulled, holding firm and causing it to teeter. Just as it was regaining its balance, Kitern flew out of nowhere, screaming, “BRING IT DOWN!” And finally, after several minutes of being glorified punching bags, toppled the beast. Causing them all to crash on top of the pod the Nemesis had originated from. The machine buckled under the weight of them suddenly landing atop it, the slide caved in and the sides of the pod dented, and the few flickering lights went out.
-
Meanwhile, on board the Into the Black, captain Ohmata was sipping on a cup of tea. When all of a sudden, the program that was interpreting some of the background chatter left over from age old constructs suddenly began screaming bloody murder. Until that point, it had been a few garbled automated warnings reporting power loss or damage.
“Usque in finem!” the console roared, broken by the faint sound of static. Causing Ohmata to jump. She choked on her tea and spilled it across her console. Good thing they were water resistant. She coughed, trying to get up the liquid that had gone down her larynx.
Ever so faintly, behind the screaming gibberish, she could hear the sounds of fighting as an intense struggle took place. As whoever was speaking began slamming into things, causing the sound to echo into their mic.
Realizing something must be wrong, she quickly got on the radio. “Away team? Kitern? Anyone?! This is Ohmata. Report now!” The response she got was not a good one.
“Nemesis! It’s tossing us all over the place. Guns don’t work on it!” someone screamed over the comms, though she thought she recognized Junior Scientist Jurwa’s voice.
“A Nemesis?! Do you need assistance!” Ohmata screamed into the console.
“YES!” was the only reply.
Opening a new channel to the entire ship, Ohmata began, “All hands, all hands. Nemesis have been engaged onboard the derelict. Anyone who has combat training report to Quartermaster Shavan immediately. The away team is in need of immediate support. I repeat, anyone with combat training, or at least knows their ass from the end of a gun, go to Shavan and get kitted out!”
When the intercom system chime began, the crew first thought it was just another announcement. Until they heard Ohmata’s tone. With the situation explained, the ship burst into action. Those who knew how to fight went to get geared up. Medical personnel readied the sick bay for potential injured. The bridge crew and engineers began going over the ship’s status to ensure it was capable of a quick emergency jump, should it be required. Science personnel began scanning the derelict in more detail to determine the site of the battle and give information to the rescue team as needed.
While each section was performing near their best, there was no coordination. Different section chiefs and head personnel were constantly calling the others to determine where they were at in terms of preparedness. Lower-ranking personnel were left in the dark with only their direct command structure to tell them what to do. It was chaos; it needed someone to sort it all out, but everyone was bogged down trying to get ready or do this and that, that no one had the time.
“Captain, I can assist with the coordination and rescue efforts. As you do not have the staff required to do so at this time. I can greatly boost efficiency and assist in the retrieval of the away team.” Aphosi said from Ohmata’s console.
Ohmata paused at this. This is what they needed, but if she unlocked Aphosi, there was no telling what she would do. She already admitted that she wouldn’t stop trying to contact the GU, but what else was she capable of?
“First, do you swear you won’t contact the union and retaliate for being locked away? Second, aside from internal comms to coordinate, you cannot utilize any of the ship’s systems unless specifically told so. And any information you receive must come directly from the section heads. You aren’t allowed to pull directly from their systems unless specifically granted permission,” Ohmata asked hesitantly.
“I will not retaliate. You have done no injustice to me. Your actions followed protocol. However, I will not stop my attempt at contacting the Galactic Union, ma’am. Additionally, being confined to the bridge will hinder rescue efforts, but my involvement will still greatly increase efficiency,” she responded.
Ohmata thought for a few seconds. They had no choice. If they wanted to effectively and efficiently retrieve her crew, they needed Aphosi. Besides, it wasn’t like Aphosi could contact anyone. They were over a cycle away from the nearest inhabited GU system, and that was at faster than light speed. Any transmission Aphosi sent out wouldn’t arrive for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands years.
“Fine,” Ohmata relented. “I’ll unlock you from my console, but you still aren’t allowed out of the bridge. You understand that this information may very well cost me my job, right?”
“It may. But what is one’s occupation to the fate of every sentient in the known galaxy?” Aphosi replied matter-of-factly.
Ohmata groaned. “Just fucking start helping before I change my mind!”
“Gladly,” she replied, then went silent.
The effect was almost instantaneous. The incessant comms chatter that had been driving Ohmata crazy slowed, then nearly ceased as clear and concise instructions were given out, and information regarding the status of the other sections was shared.
Ohmata unmuted herself on the comms link with the away team. “If anyone can hear me, help is on the way. Just hold out as long as possible!”
-
“… hold out as long as possible!” Ohmata’s voice filtered through their comms, static making some of her words barely audible.
“Easy for her to say!” Kitern said, while wrestling the giant metal behemoth that was currently tossing them around. After they had tackled it, the others piled on, but that only kept it down for a few seconds before it wormed its way back up. Now she was the only one hanging on, as it slowly and methodically sent marine after marine flying through vacuum. But help would soon arrive for her, in the form of an enraged Onsa.
A flying kick from the marine lieutenant caused the Nemesis to fall over on top of Kitern, pinning her to the ground.
“Kick the shit out of it!” Asteli screamed as she ran over and began stomping the daylights out of the thing’s head. Every time she kicked, its head would slam into the floor and bounce back, only to be re-kicked, repeating the cycle. Which lasted for a pitiful amount of time before it pulled her leg out from under her. As she was brought down, the Nemesis reared a leg back and gave Asteli a taste of her own medicine. Kicking her full force in her head; knocking her out cold. The kick was so violent, it ruptured her helmet, not fully as to allow explosive decompression, but if left alone for too long, Asteli would suffocate as life giving oxygen escaped into the void. Little crystalline trails gushed from between cracks in the helmet, where water vapor in the escaping air quickly froze in vacuum.
“Asteli is down!” Kitern screamed as she tried to beat the Nemesis off of her, it was futile. While her punches weren’t doing anything to dissuade the creature, the thing did conveniently roll off of her. Only to grab her by her helmet as it stood, and use her as a shield. Using her body to block a stray punch from Gre’Namra. It tossed Kitern aside and counter attacked the Drae’Ildan private. Its own punch was so powerful it dented her chest plate and sent her reeling. Thankfully, though significantly deformed, her armor was nowhere near as damaged as Asteli’s helmet. Regardless, the body suit beneath her armor would have kept her sealed should it be fully breached.
As Gre’Namra literally flew back from the blow, the Nemesis saw that no combatants stood to hinder it. With a moment of respite, it turned toward the door, and began stumbling away. Its legs were shaky and it seemed out of breath, but it made it to the doorway. From Kitern’s sideways perspective, the Nemesis was just leaving the room, when a large blue ball of energy impacted it. Exploding shortly after contact. When the spots in her vision cleared, there was no more Nemesis, just an empty doorway, slightly warped by the blast.
“What the hell?” she muttered, as she grasped for a handhold to right herself. She ached all over. Even with her armor and the insulative underlayer of her bodysuit, she was going to be covered in bruises. She made her way over to the doorway and cautiously peeked around it to the right. There was Shavizi, Kass, and Jurwa holding Hran and huddled behind some kind of scientific instrument that looked to have had its power cell ripped out. Looking to the left was the Nemesis, gently floating down the corridor. Dead or unconscious, she couldn’t tell.
Making sure if it was the former of the two options, and that the thing wasn’t going to wake up and beat their asses all over again. She moved over to finish it off. How? She would figure that out along the way. Seeing what Kitern was about to do, however, Shavizi and Kass both screamed out, “WAIT!”
Kitern turned angrily to them, “Oh hell no! I know you aren’t about to tell me what I think you’re about to tell me!? You know what happens in the vids! Researchers bring the weird alien onboard and it kills everyone, turning it into a ghost ship!”
“That’s science fiction, not reality! You damn gun nut!” Kass shot back.
“Just please, try to restrain it,” Shavizi pleaded. “It could be the last of its kind! Well, in our galaxy. And even if it isn’t, we can’t skip this opportunity to learn about them!”
“Look Kitern, I know we don’t get along. But listen to us! We have plenty of random stuff to tie it up with,” Kass added.
“Fine, I won’t kill it, but you’re tieing it up. I’m keeping a knife to its throat the entire trip back. And someone contact the captain. The ship is probably freaking out by now.” With that, Kitern turned away from the four civilians. She was going to haul the hulking monstrosity over to them so they could restrain it. If it woke up during that time, then the knife she would be holding at its throat would solve the problem nicely.
-
The away team’s shuttle glided into the hangar bay. Multiple crew members were awaiting their arrival, some to treat the wounded, some to help offload their equipment, and others to help haul the Nemesis to a containment cell. Those crewmembers were armed to the teeth and wore EVA-H suits, which were designed for more hazardous environments and had more armor. Only the marines had the proper combat armor. But Shavan, the quartermaster, had more than enough guns for everyone.
As the shuttle door slide open, Kitern stepped out, with Onsa and Dentala slowly dragging the Nemesis behind them. The thing took every scrap of strength they had to move it in gravity. Behind that, Gre’Namra was carrying Asteli out with the help of Jurwa, since she was still out of it, but conscious. Likewise, Hran had an arm linked with Kass, helping him walk. The kick from the Nemesis had broken several of his ribs and made standing upright painful.
The medical staff, all three of them, immediately brought up gurneys for the wounded. While all those able-bodied who weren’t there for the equipment helped escort the Nemesis to the science lab. They left the hangar bay and got on one of the two main lifts, which would bring them up to the deck with the science labs. Exiting the lift, they walked through clean, sterile white, grey and black hallways lit by lights recessed in the ceiling and along the floor. Colored strips in the middle of the floor led the way to the various rooms and labs on that deck and made a multicolored carpet of sorts. Bringing color to the otherwise drab surroundings. Every once in a while, a bit of greenery or decoration could be seen, from the few attempts the crew made to make the space more livable.
As they were marching down the Into the Black’s corridors, Ohmata appeared from around a corner, and sprinted up to them.
“Are you all alright? Your armor looks like shit! I don’t think even Shavan can fix some of those dents and cracks!” she said, astonished at their state.
“I would say you should see the other girl. But to be honest, we didn’t do anything to it. The techies threw a ruptured power cell at it, and the blast just knocked it out for the time being. Everything we did to it, all five of us combined, didn’t even phase it. The damage to its armor is preexisting. We couldn’t scratch it. Damn thing has been in some tough fights by the looks of it,” Kitern spat bitterly.
Ohmata put a hand to her friend’s shoulder. “Well, we got it now. I see why those humans had such a tough time dealing with the Nemesis. If all of them were like this, it’s a wonder they survived for so long. For now, get it to a containment cell in the lab. Even it won’t be able to break out of there.” Ohmata looked the Nemesis over. Something about it didn’t sit right with her. They would have to watch it carefully, and figure out how to take off its armor. For all they knew, the thing was awake and watching them right that second.
“If you don’t mind, captain, we’ll get to it then,” Kitern said. She and what seemed like half of the crew crowding the corridor, continued to the science labs. Weapons pointed and ready. If the thing so much as twitched, the place would become a light show. Kitern thought maybe she should just have her marines handle everything. If someone started shooting, the rounds would ricochet all over the place.
Watching them go, Ohmata turned and made for the med bay. Along the way, crew members saluted her with a fist over their chest. She walked through the ship like the eye of the storm. Wherever she went, the world stopped to acknowledge her, before the whirlwind of activity resumed.
Arriving at her destination, the automatic doors opened to the white, sterile environment of the medbay, and the sounds of cursing.
“Shit! That hurts, stop touching it!” Asteli yelled as she tried to sit up, her helmet was off but she still wore her battered armor. Head medical specialist, Doctor Klofaa, pushed her down and flicked her in the head, causing her to wince.
“Of course it hurts. You have a concussion and a spinal contusion in your upper vertebrae,” Klofaa responded.
“And you hit me in the head!?” Asteli protested.
“I flicked you. Had I hit you would be in serious pain. And given how much you winced, I’d say you are already in enough of it. Now, stop moving. You’ll only make your injury worse. You’ll be in a neck brace for a few days until we can be certain nothing major is wrong.”
“Tsk. Why do I have to wear a neck brace, but no one else does?” she sulked.
Klofaa’s head crest flicked in annoyance, her species version of an eye roll. “Because no one got their skull cracked open by a living behemoth!”
Asteli tried to rise, but was held down by Klofaa. So the fiery private just pointed toward Hran who was behind a curtain being tended to by a nurse. “He’s more hurt than me!”
Ohmata chose that point to speak up from the doorway. “His ribs are broken, not his head. Though it’s not like you were using yours to begin with. Shut up and let Doctor Klofa work, or I’ll make it an order. Got it?”
Asteli frowned. “Yes ma’am,” she mumbled.
“Good,” Ohmata replied. Looking to Klofaa, she asked. “How are they? I can see Asteli is going to be fine. Aside from Hran, are there any other serious injuries?”
Klofaa looked back at a bruised and beaten Gre’Namra and Kass, who were seated on their own beds. The others had escorted the Nemesis to the science lab. A Drae’Ildan nurse named Za’Eer was going over them. While a male Venanian nurse was tending to Hran. While the privacy of the curtain hid Hran, given that he had to take off the upper portion of his suit, she could see his nurse working on him. “Just their egos. They sustained only minor bruising thanks to their armor. Since Hran was just wearing an EVA suit, he is the most hurt. The other non combatants of the away team declined medical assistance.”
Ohmata nodded. Most likely, the techies and scientists were too busy drooling over their new “prize” to worry about their own health. If Hran hadn’t been so injured, he would have been right alongside them. And Kass, well Kass wa a bit dramatic. Aggravatingly so sometimes. Seeing that there were no life-threatening injuries, Ohmata concluded her visit. Before she left, she called out to the Venanian nurse.
“Make sure you fix him up right, little bro,” she said.
The nurse seemed to hiss in annoyance. “I am on duty. It’s nurse Ohmoto, captain. Regulations state we are to remain professional and address each other by rank and name.”
Ohmata chuckled. “It’s my ship. I’m in charge. And the good thing about being in power is that you don’t have to follow your own rules.” She waved farewell as she turned, intent on heading to the bridge.
Ohmoto grumbled his reply. He continued to bandage Hran’s chest.
Ohmata practically skipped on her way to the bridge. Her crew was fine, at least there was nothing life threatening. They had a new playmate to deal with, who was safely locked in a containment cell. And they had plenty of things to do to keep them busy. Things were actually going well, for the most part.
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Chapter 3 is here! I hope you all like it. With that being said, last chapter didn't do very well. Compared to Chapter 1, Chapter 2 didn't do nearly as good in views and upvotes. While I will still write the story even if no one is interested in it, I do use both upvotes and views to determine if the story is well received. If you are liking the story, please consider upvoting it. Also, again, constructive criticism is appreciated. If I am doing something, boring or taking the story down a strange path, etc. please tell me. I can't improve if no one points out my flaws. Anyway, see you all next week.
Oh, and one last thing. Torshit I'm pretty sure is from SSB. I tried coming up with something similar so I wasn't flat out copying it. But it just works so well I had to keep it. I couldn't use bullshit because, you know, they don't know what a bull is.