《NanoTec: Flight to a Distant Star》


 01: 2079: Over a Blazen Sky

    Hello there!


    Thank you for choosing to pick up NanoTec: Flight to a Distant Star. This chapter has been rewritten on the<u>22 September 2016</u>at the request of my head writer. Well, to be honest, I never particularly liked the way I wrote the original either.


    To new readers, welcome! To old readers, thank you for sticking around to this day. I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy the new and improved Chapter 1!


    *End of Author''s Note. *


    For ages long before, and for many more to come, the human race have always looked up to the stars. The question always remained, when will they begin to travel among them. From the beginning of the 1950s was when the space age begun. Countless testing and experimentation have been conducted. Breakthrough after breakthrough, through the sweat and blood of many, many brilliant men and women, through the countless failures and lives lost, they have brought the technology and wisdom to change the world.


    Curiously enough, a strange entity etched itself in human history in January of 2015. ICY Products, together with that entity, began as an ice cream company. They were the most technologically advanced in those days and were influential in their town''s politics. InterCon followed second in the late 2020s with their marvel inventions and ideals. Some say that it stole technology from ICY but, nobody really knows. This was when ICY Products lost their monopoly of the local economy and disappeared from the playing field.


    InterCon gave the world a new incentive to go to war over. A revolutionary new element. Everyone always fights over new things. This one was no exception. The bombs fell, and everything went to hell. The Earth Coalition Government, or EarthGov, emerged soon after and united the crippled planet together under a single a red banner of hammer and sickle. They strove to find humanity a new home. Or so they said.


    Money was poured into space flight. Many saw it as the salvation for mankind. It was in its own sense, but many others had other ideas. ICY Products, previously thought to have melted away (no pun intended) long ago reappeared and began actively supporting EarthGov in a new secret project, despite being on terrible terms with them. InterCon however, stood idle.


    Alas, the fruits of their labors finally ripened. All the investments, all the resources and more importantly, all the hopes and dreams of humanity finally showed results. After the audacious amounts of research and administrative work, EarthGov was ready to announce it''s biggest project since the last mass bombing of the planet''s surface. The final frontier, SkyLab2.


    Story Arc 1: Over a Blazen Sky.


    TKE was an official working for EarthGov as an engineer and a particle physicist. His job was of high status and pay, that is if he even received a salary to begin with.


    He was of average build, about 175 cm tall and 21 years old. He had short black hair and a pair of equally black eyes. He had no name but his code initials, TKE. As a result, he was often referred to as "Teeke", the Head Engineer.


    As he sat in his office contemplating the final plans and date for the launch of the final module of the kilometer long and wide SkyLab2, his office door burst open with a bang.


    "Hey Teeke!", resounded the shrill voice of TKE''s assistant, Clanedd.


    She was someone one could say was "happy-go-lucky", always easily distracted but is serious when need be. She was a 156 cm tall freshman about 19 years old. Her short light brown hair held to her left head with a cat shaped clip. She flew into the room.


    "Have you seen Mr Saegen, our manager, recently? I hear that he..."


    "Get to the point please, I do not have time. And please do not refer to me as that during work." TKE interrupted hastily.


    Clanned stuttered a little and replied quickly, "Right sir...Alright, I have done my analysis and final system checks on the information sent in of the crew blocks and they are prepped for launch. Now we need the scientists and engineers to board and we should be ready to go. By the way, when are we launching again?"


    TKE replied monotonously, "This Saturday, tomorrow.¡±


    Clanned jumped up and down in excitement, clapping her hands, "Great! Then see you there sir."


    Clanedd stepped out of the room and closed the door. "Please help me speak to Mr Saegen about the snacks issues please!" Clanedd added as she left.


    The following morning, TKE and his team of 36 engineers boarded a high speedA86 Hypersonic Jet, to the launch site stationed at what was then known asAfrica. With a loud roar and an equally intense acceleration, the Turboprop/Ramjets were ignited as the plane lifted clear off the ground.


    Seeing the brown, barren lands of what used to be the tip of the Malaysian peninsulamade TKE''s heart lower. Ever since "InterCon", then and still is one of the most powerful companies in the world, started massive bombing runs on countries infected by an unknown bio-weapon, South East Asia being one of them, it caused world wide nuclear winter and the rest of humanity retreated to underground habitation.


    Even though most of the radioactive fallout have been scrubbed from the Earth and atmosphere, surface bound civilization is still not possible. Either due to the high ambient temperature, high concentration of Radon particles in the air or due to the much thinner ozone layer. TKE thought to himself, if only he could have seen Earth as a lush green planet again... At about this time, the A86 slipped into supersonic silence.


    The plane was inbound for the launch site in about 10 minutes. The A86 slipped back into sub-sonic flight. TKE felt the thoughts of launch failure slip into his mind. He forcefully brushed that thought aside and flicked the "On" switch for his MIC. In a sharp and serious voice he briefed his engineers.


    "Men, I hope you understand the importance of our job. If you don''t already know, we are here to make the final checks on theStarXBoosters and the crew accommodations. Ensure there are absolutely no hull breaches, faulty wiring, broken reactor shielding, etc... Whatever you do, please do not enter rocket sector 05. That is an order. Understood?"


    With a resounding and clear "Yes sir!" from the engineers, the plane made its descent down onto the runway.


    The Titan XV Rocket stood majestically on the launch pad. Light glimmering off the titanium hull. The billion dollar beauty was about to be inspected on the inside and outside and soon was going to be exposed to the hard vacuums of outer space. TKE dispersed his engineers off to various sections of the craft while he himself suited up into aT-295 RShield Suit.


    "Clanedd, please follow me. We are going to check the fission reactors personally." she answered as though she was on coffee high, already suited up, "Y-Yes sir."


    The two chief engineers stepped into the MagLift installed onto the launch tower and stepped through the airlock.


    The first thing the two engineers saw were the white inner walls of the crew capsules. They saw no crew as the 120 thousand of them were in cryostasis in the chambers to the left and right of them.


    Still looking at his paper notebook and checklist, TKE and Clanedd then proceeded into the reactor chamber. TKE looked at the single blast door in front of him, noting the numbers "05" above it.


    "Wait a minute," Clanedd started, "I thought we were not supposed to enter room 05?" TKE, seemingly ignoring her, stepped forward and pressed the "open" button.


    "Something¡¯s odd about this¡­ I can hear¡­ voices?¡± he muttered to himself.


    "This is no time for jokes sir! Or I am going to call you Teeke the rest of your life...?"


    ¡°Clanedd, follow me. I know this is an EarthGov secret but I am curious. If nobody finds out, then the order isn¡¯t broken. In any case, as head engineer, I have the right to inspect every sector of the craft. At least on paper.¡±


    The blast door slid open revealing a3/3/2(m) chamber, centered with a glowing blue orb orbited by what seemed to be graphene rods.


    TKE stuttered "What the hell is that?!¡±


    Clanedd shook her head. Apparently she knew nothing of it as well.


    The core roared or seemed to. It glowed an even brighter cyan blue and the whole rocket started shaking. Clanedd and TKE were thrown across the room.


    "What¡¯s this? An earthquake?" Clanedd shrieked. "We better get out of here fast!"


    "Umm, alright lets go?" TKE answered in response.


    The two engineers ran towards the airlock. "Shit! The doors are jammed! What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Clanedd, try look through the windows!" TKE yelled behind his back.


    Clanedd nodded, frantically scrambling and trying to find anything transparent to look through.


    "... S-Sir, may I ask, what is that? What does it do? Surely you must know!"


    TKE shook his head and replied "I don¡¯t know. I think it is a secret EarthGov experiment. I did catch a glimpse of it¡¯s designation though¡­ MAXIS If I read it correctly. Meanwhile try to find somewhere to look out from!"


    Clanedd shouted across the room.


    "Ok I managed to hack this control panel and am now accessing the lower cameras... Enter password? Damn it!"


    "Let me try!" TKE yelled back. ¡°Where are you?¡±


    After he located his assistant, TKE ran towards the panel, nearly tripping over his own feet twice.


    "Ok, never underestimate the skill of the head engineer! Password...? What kind of password is that? ¡®luckyme¡¯?¡±


    A sudden downwards force made itself apparent. It pushed downwards with such force, the two engineers found it appallingly difficult to remain standing on their two feet.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "Ugh! This... are we taking off?"


    TKE had his fingers on the panel. "Come on... come on, windows crashed?! You have got to be kidding me!"


    There was a sudden sound of scraping metal against metal on metal and the total downwards force upon the two... suddenly ceased. TKE finally managed to access the cameras. The first thing he saw were the white clouds and brown ground of mother earth below. Not to mention the ring of metal many previous space launches produced orbiting the planet.


    "...It appears that we are in space. After telling my engineers not to enter room 05..." TKE said to himself, "I feel like a dammed hypocrite."


    Approximately two hours later, there was the sound of a magnetic link being established and the hissing of nitrogen evaporating that woke the two half snoozing engineers.


    "I think... we have engaged in s... I mean we have docked with SkyLab2! Sir!"


    Half asleep, TKE replied, "So have we."


    The previously jammed airlock now swung open with ease. The inner walls of the SkyLab2 were similar to that seen in the cryo chambers, white and high tech looking. Sprawled upon the floor was a man of similar stature as TKE and was wearing a black lab coat and an equally black pair of shades. Pinned on his right pocket was his ID "Saegen"


    TKE ran forward and knelt by his body "Hey! Hey! Are you ok sir?"


    Saegen did not stir.


    "Oh no! Clanedd get a medic!"


    "There is nobody conscious on this station but the two of us! Where¡¯s the nearest medkit?¡±


    Just at this moment, the seemingly dead body of Saegen started shivering, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.


    "Ha Ha! I knew, Ha, I would get, Ha Ha. you with that... Huh you are... Teeke and Clanedd! What are you doing here!"


    "Don''t call me Te..."TKE tried to speak


    "And why are the two of you dressed as though you are about to embark on a mission to the Diode Project?"


    "What is the Diode Proj..."


    "And where is the crew? Were there supposed to be more than 100 thousand of them?"


    Saegen interrupted once again.


    "Wait, wait wait wait... I am asking the questions here Mr Saegen. What are YOU doing here and when did you get on board?"


    "Ah, it is a long story my dear Teeke." Saegen answered. "I arrived on board the Artificial Gravity module. I was doing some research on the MAG technology ICY Production sold us for $10 and I did not hear the announcements over the comms for launch... Well here I am!" Clanedd walked up to Saegen such that their two faces touched.


    "Mr Saegen, about the snacks..."


    The sound of the opening of the airlocks to the crew modules entered into TKE, Clanedd and Saegen''s ears, followed closely by the sound of a hundred or so jaws hitting the ground. The chief scientist of SkyLab2, Claev, standing his full 190 cm, still dazed by cryosleep, spoke in a half drunken fashion.


    "Huh? What are... Who are you people?"


    Saegen stood up and spoke in your typical scientist voice, "Ah good to see you. It is alright Dr Claev. These engineers suffered the same fate as I. I will explain later. Do we have sufficient life support here?"


    Claev opened his mouth to speak to only be interrupted by TKE.


    "Engineering reports sufficient oxygen and subsistence to excess of 121 thousand personnel, in other words, 3 of us should make no difference whatsoever."


    Saegn''s face lit up, "Great! It is settled. Gentlemen, let me introduce TKE, head engineer of EarthGov; Clanedd, assistant head engineer of EarthGov, and myself. After all, none of us wants to return to that filthy planet right?"


    Saegen''s remark was followed by the nods of all 132 personnel who were present in the room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the necessary administrative work.¡± Saegen said. ¡°A little hacking never hurt anyone.¡±


    Time flies. And did time really fly by. All in the life of an engineer, one could expect him to work all day. TKE did. Clanedd was there to assist him of course but, there was no time to number his days and the years passed one by one.


    It was the usual routine everyday. Wake up, work, sleep repeat. EarthGov never found out about the strange crew discrepancy aboard SkyLab2. It was as though everything was as it was meant to be. Nothing worthy of note happened¡­ At least until the late 2084. The year that everyone would never forget.


    "SkyLab2 is no different from the underground bunkers we stay in don''t you think Clanedd?¡± TKE said, casually dropping a rhetorical question.


    ¡°After all, we have been in space for almost five years..." TKE sat side by side with Clanedd in the observatory decks, reminiscing about the past events.


    "Yeah, I guess so..." Clanedd blushed.


    TKE almost never had time to spend with Clanedd, especially with the amount of paperwork and analysis he had on his head.


    "By the way, you still have not explained to me what the MAXIS is."


    TKE let out a soft sigh and began, "Alright Clanedd. Putting it simply, according to reports, MAXIS is not from our world. It...She is of alien origin. MAXIS can be used as a power source but, she will only output power depending on her mood. In other words..."


    The comms channel opened, interrupted TKE and out blared the familiar voice of Dr Claev, "TKE, we need you down in the PAR&PRP (Particle and Propulsion) sector in 15 minutes. Can you make it?"


    The head engineer tried to sound enthusiastic, "Yeah sir, we are on our way; come on Clanedd, we have a job to do."


    Clanedd spoke in a quiet, yet strangely sweet voice, "We should try to spend more of our time together like this... right... Teeke?"


    TKE said softly, "I guess you are right..."


    Clanedd jumped to her feet, her cat clip swaying in response to her excitement. "Ok! Lets go!"


    "Rgh! This is no good! Every time we try to get this to work, it always blows up in my face!" Saegen groaned. The nuclear fusion technology he was working on was far from done. "Careful there mate. Our "Trans-Lightforce Fubuki Fission Reactors" cannot output this much power for too long." The dual glazed blast doors slid open. TKE and Clanedd walked briskly into the room, donning their white engineering protective gear.


    Ever since the invention of theBio-RIGa mere 2 years ago,it made all form of experimenting much safer and reliable. The RIG is mounted across the spine of the user and it displays holographic notations and graphs of all relevant information for the user''s activities such as temperature and radiation levels.


    There is also the physical and mental health bars of the user, should any of these health bars reach zero, the RIG would emit a loud "flatline" noise so that anyone within earshot will be notified of the user''s death.


    Not only that, the RIG employs a unique tracking system such that anyone is traceable wherever on board a station or ship. That was why no one flinched when TKE and Clanedd entered the room without warning.


    TKE stepped forward.


    "Sir you needed help? We are ready."


    Claev shot to his feet. With a tinge of frustration in his voice he spoke rapidly.


    "Yes, indeed we do. My friend here and I have been working on this fusion reactor for more than 1354 man hours already to no avail. I would have thought that I would never have needed the help from a bunch of engineers but could you see what we are doing wrong here?"


    TKE was taken aback slightly by Dr Cleav''s final remark but regained his composure.


    "I understand. Let me take this pile of horse crap back to my office and see what I can do. I am sure it would lead to a breakthrough... director."


    TKE once again was sitting on his space office chair analyzing the lump of spare parts on his desk which was supposed to be a fusion reactor. Clanedd was sitting beside him silently providing him with a supple amount of mental support.


    TKE''s RIG was displaying a net neutron release amount from the appliance to be exactly zero. He cupped his hands around forehead and let out a silent moan. This "reactor" really was garbage, he thought to himself.


    "Wait a minute..."


    TKE mumbled to himself. "Radiate neutrons... Radiator... Heat Sink!"


    He stood up sharply and spoke so loudly due to excitement that the hairs on Clanedd''s back stood on ends.


    "Clanedd! Go down to the engineering department and get me a dual nitrogen radiators and three tapping screws! I think this going to be one hell of a breakthrough!"


    Clanedd widened her eyes at this sudden request. ¡°Right away. Which radiator again?¡±


    ¡°The biggest one you can find!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    With new tools at his disposal and motivation welling up in him, TKE put his mind forward into the task at hand once again.


    "Ok, I am done. Clanedd, would you mind passing me the high voltage jump cables attached to the wall over there?" TKE said, wiping his sweat off his brow.


    Clanedd stammered, "Umm, Te... I mean sir, I really do not think this is such a good idea... I mean to say, what if this thing blows up in our faces?"


    TKE laughed, "Don''t worry! I am an engineer, I fix problems. Trust me on this. After all, what is the worst that could happen..."


    *Boom! * The sound came as fast as it went.


    "*Warning! Warning!Hullbreach detected! Oxygen levels dropping rapidly...76%! Sealing off all local ventilation ports and quarantining the affected area!**"


    "Damn, me and my big mouth." TKE mumbled to himself, amidst the loud, high pitched screaming of Clanedd.


    After what seemed like nearly ten minutes of a constant gale blowing out the shattered window, the blast shutters clanged shut.


    TKE and Clanedd collapsed to the ground. His office was in a mess, papers were all over the place and also in space. Not to mention TKE was still clinging onto his table and Clanedd was lying on the floor looking very pale and dazed.


    Claev burst into the room.


    "What have you done this time?!" he bellowed, "You had one job! One job! Now, where are the reactor debris?"


    TKE coughed and replied weakly, "I really have no idea sir. One moment, the thing was on my table, then it formed some sort of weird distortion bubble around itself and flew out of the window. It was as if the "reactor" was traveling at some sub-luminal velocities!"


    Claev listened on with large eyes and a rather surprised composure. He continued, "Do you still have the models and figures of what you built?"


    "Well, my paper documents flew out of the window..." Dr Claev face started turning red. "I mean, urr, well I have the softcopy! Here, in the computer!"


    Dr Claev cleared his throat and bent forward such that his face was right next to TKE''s. He spoke in a soft voice, with a tinge of suppressed excitement. "You were right. This really is a breakthrough. Not what we expected but still one *redacted*ing breakthrough!"


    He leaped up into the air so high, even Clanedd seemed surprised.


    "Head Engineer, sorry to have doubted you before. If what you have created is really what I think it is, oh man, I cannot think straight!"


    Claev laughed. He turned towards the still half-dazed Clanedd. "Miss, go to the communications centre and tell the officers there to cut the ties with EarthGov. They cannot know about this!"


    Dr Claev put his hand around TKE''s shoulders. "Head Engineer, looks like you have really done it this time!"


    To be continued.

 02: 2084: New Boundaries

    MAXIS glowed bright blue, her swirling mass of plasma shifted restlessly. The core room had a single lead-glass window, of which MAXIS often looked out of. Gently easing her energies, she touched the window with her endoplasm and let out a sigh. Not much of a sigh, more like some sort of cosmic radiance.


    "When will I see you again?"


    MAXIS'' swirling mass began turning red...


    TKE was in the engineering sector again.


    "''A new breakthrough!'' Dr Claev says. Even Mr Saegen seemed excited." He muttered to himself.


    "Dr Claev and Mr Saegen have taken up the new task, and now having cut communications with EarthGov, I really do not know what is going to happen next."


    TKE dropped his wrench onto the floor, and let out a sigh.


    "Do you require my assistance Te...sir?" Clanedd really seemed to be unaffected change in circumstances, lively and focused as usual.


    "Lets take a break sir. We have been standing here for over 4 hours and not a single neutron from this dang machine. A change in pace would certainly help!"


    Clanedd spoke with the same bright smile.


    "Alright Clanedd. Lets go to Observatory Deck 12. Our usual spot."


    TKE and Clanedd walked down the same, familiar sector towards the observatory deck. Both of the engineers saying nothing. The soft tapping of the engineers shoes in sync filled the hall, until it was interrupted by a certain peculiar android.


    "*Beep! Beep! Server ID error! Uplink establish... Failed! Initiating new port 29801467...Failure...*" resounded the loud cries of a malfunctioning android.


    TKE stepped forward and inspected the android.


    "I see the problem with this thing."


    He spoke in a soft and yet serious tone. Clanedd looked on with awe filled eyes.


    "First things first, we don''t have any AI software for androids on this station whatsoever!"


    After a brief pause, TKE continued.


    "Well, whoever was conducting industrial espionage on us certainly does not know how not to put your company logo onto your surveillance drone."


    TKE said as he pointed to a picture of an ice cube stuck to the android.


    "Teeke, umm so what should we do with this robot?"


    Clanedd asked as she prodded the android''s torso.


    "OK, Clanedd, go to my office and get some opaque black duct tape. I will attempt to hack this android."


    TKE said hastily. Clanedd ran off in the direction towards his office. TKE took out a Philip head screwdriver and undid the outer hull of the android.


    "The next thing I wonder about is why whoever is spying on us built this damn thing so huge? And why did they build it to stand out? I mean to say, not everyone has "Dalek" shaped robots around."


    TKE mumbled to himself while contemplating the structure of the AI. The hallway was once again filled with the rapid, loud tapping of footsteps.


    "I''m back!" yelled Clanedd.


    "I got the duct tape! I also got a pair of needle nose pliers in case you need one!"


    "Thanks Clanedd! You are a great help!" TKE yelled back. "Now, to duct tape all the sensory devices of this thing and rewire the AI such that it cannot transmit data back... done!"


    TKE closed the open section of the android and stood it at the same corner he found it at.


    "Let us not have anymore to do with this. Now Clanedd, I have to spend some time with you right?" Clanedd nodded, blushing and eyes gleaming.


    Up on the observatory deck, TKE and Clanedd sat side by side admiring the untouched stars of the sky. At least for humanity. Flashes of light from the glinting meteor fragments burning up in the atmosphere filled the horizon.


    "I really wonder, why there are so many shooting stars today. It''s as though someone is shooting fireworks out there." Clanedd said to herself.


    She leaned her head onto TKE''s shoulder.


    "Well, at least they are pretty."


    "Careful what you wish for." TKE said with a smile.


    Clanedd giggled softly.


    The two engineers did not utter a word. After all, nothing was needed to be said. The view, even after five years was still stunning. It seemed to shatter the worries in TKE and Clanedd''s hearts. Suddenly, so did the viewing port.


    The window was webbed with fractures. Multiple cracking noises and the hissing of leaking atmosphere resounded from the broken window. The metal slug was embedded in the glass, red hot from either the muzzle velocity or friction during contact. The two engineers stepped back in horror.


    "Aww shit, are the InterCon and EarthGov fighting again?" TKE said.


    He reached behind his back and opened the blast door. The cracking of the glass continued, threatening to rip the glass pane open. TKE and Clanedd retreated behind the blast door, just as the glass gave way, releasing precious oxygen into space.


    "A war?" Saegen contemplated TKE''s words.


    "Yes sir. Apparently Observatory Deck 12 was hit by a stray gauss shell. I suspect InterCon and EarthGov are at it again." TKE commented.


    "I highly doubt it." Saegen replied. "After all, knowing InterCon, they would have blown another continent into orbit if they wanted to. I have confirmed the participation of EarthGov from their signature G77-AntiArmour Gauss Cannon Shell. In my opinion, I think they are fighting a extraterrestrial opponent. In other words, aliens."


    TKE stood rooted to the spot in awe. "No way! We have long decided our galaxy to be devoid of intelligent life, there could not be an alien attack!"


    "Unfortunately, you are mistaken." Saegen said bluntly. "Never heard of the secret Terran-Martians war (1942-1975)? Luckily it was resolved peacefully in the end. That being said, this had proven that we are not the only intelligent species in the galaxy."


    The comms system suddenly blared with Claev''s voice, "Saegen? Head Engineer? Please head to engineering sector 01 immediately. I have some important news."


    Claev was sitting on what seemed to be a pile of scrap metal when TKE and Mr Saegen entered.


    "First things first..." Claev started. "My apologies for calling you two here so abruptly but I really cannot wait for a test run with the newly developed warp drive."


    Claev got down from the pile and stood up.


    "Unfortunately we still do not have a suitable power source to power the drive for long periods of time. You see, the maximum test speed we were able to achieve was measured to be 11.03 c.(33.1 times the speed of light) This means that we can travel one light year in about 11 days."


    Claev coughed softly to clear his voice before continuing.


    "Something that can produce 4.11GJ of energy a second for that long will be sufficient."


    TKE tried to reason with the doctor, "But sir, our current "Trans-LightForce Fubuki Fission" would not be able to produce that much power for such intervals, I mean to say that it can but..."


    Mr Saegen interrupted TKE, "Well, how about nuclear fusion? Te...I mean head engineer, you have completed the fusion reactor no?"


    TKE felt the glares of his two superiors burning holes in his forehead. The sensation was almost unbearable.


    "Umm, well I..." Claev shouted in triumph, "Alright! It is settled. The warp test, Probe Daledalus, will take place next week, 22 April 2084!"


    What a joke, TKE thought to himself.


    "Deciding on things without the head engineer, me, giving approval. What if the project is not up to standard and therefore costs the lives of millions? I will get the blame, me!" he continued to curse silently.


    At this moment Clanedd entered the office.


    "Umm sir? Are you still working on the fusion reactor?" TKE remained silent, fuming internally. "Well, you see sir, I think that..."


    "Keep quiet will you, I am trying to focus here!" TKE snapped, regretting what he said almost immediately after. Clanedd was taken aback. She stepped backwards once, tears in her eyes. "I...I just wanted to help¡­ she stammered. TKE felt a sharp sensation pierce at his chest. "Umm¡­ Clanedd, I-I''m sorry. I well¡­"


    Clanedd let out a long deep sigh.


    "It is OK, sir. I understand. W-Would you like a moment by yourself?" Clanedd said softly as she wiped her tears on the sleeves of her uniform.


    TKE sat dumbfounded. That was the first time, he have ever seen Clanedd cry. Shit... what have I done? He thought to himself. He spoke up again, desperately trying to rectify the situation.


    "N-No. Clanedd. It''s fine. I was really¡­"


    Clanedd stared at her feet, not saying a word. She walked up to TKE silently and swiftly brought her right fist upon the head engineer''s head.


    He yelled, although it was more like a yelp of shock.


    "Seriously! Could you be any blunter?" Clanedd said, apparently red in the cheek.


    "S-Sorry! Sorry!" TKE squeaked. He nearly expected her to run away crying. Thankfully this was not the case.


    "Yelling at me like that! Be thankful I did not run away crying or I would have embarrassed our head writers!"


    "Head writers?"


    "No coffee for you."


    "Aww come on!"


    TKE almost felt better.


    Two days later, TKE yet again was in the engineering sector. He silently screwed on the final part for the fusion reactor as he watched it spur to life.


    The ring shaped magnetic containment chamber and the central solenoid worked in direct unison, producing a net output of nearly 5 GJ of electrical energy a second. This was definitely an extremely noteworthy innovation in power sources.


    Clanedd stood behind TKE and clapped her hands.


    "See! I told you could do it!"


    "Yeah. Thanks Clanedd. Sorry that I shouted at you then. Forgot you had good intentions all along."


    Clanedd blushed slightly. "O-Of course I do. I would have been fired long ago if it weren''t so. Without my help, you would have not had finished this by today¡­ OK, you probably would have but would not have been proud about it because I would not have been there!"


    TKE threw himself onto his back and laughed. He stretched and quite literally threw the last spare bolt into the waste disposal bin on the opposite side of the facility.


    "Great to have you around. Come. Let''s go and finish the report."


    "Yeah!" Clanedd replied.


    On the way to Claev''s office, TKE could not help but to think about his assistant. From young, Clanedd was dismissed as being noisy and annoying, as a result TKE was the only person she could have called a "friend", and yet he reacted in such a rashful and violent manner two days ago. How would she have felt? Did she really forgive him?


    Door after door passed, until TKE and Clanedd reached the one with Claev''s name plate on it. The head engineer knocked on the door once and entered without even waiting for a response.


    As he entered, he immediately recoiled back in shock and Clanedd''s face flushed bright red as she pivoted on her toes and did a full one-eighty. Claev was in his boxers with his feet on his desk, and the scientist was playing with his toy figurines.


    Claev was equally surprised to see the two engineers.


    "What the f¡­"This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "KNOCK NEXT TIME! KNOCK!" Claev yelled as he flung all his figurines off the table into the cardboard box that lay under the desk.


    "Did you see anything?" Claev said as he shifted his feet off the table, and sitting upright, looking very uneasy.


    "No sir." TKE replied with a straight face. "I did not see you playing with your dolls sir."


    "Good!" Claev flicked his eyes between the two engineers suspiciously before letting TKE continuing. "So¡­ what are you here for?"


    "The Fusion reactor is ready. Sir." TKE said as he felt a smile creep up onto his face.


    "Good!" Claev said again. "I will have Saegen know about it¡­"


    He opened a file on his RIG and sent it to TKE.


    "I have a new job for you. Read that and execute. I have to go back to playing with my dol¡­ I mean to continue doing paperwork."


    TKE and Clanedd nodded, saluted and went on their way.


    Suiting up in a LongExposure TV2 EVA Suit, TKE stepped into the airlock. Once completely depressurized, the blast doors opened revealing the harsh vacuums of space.


    Maneuvering himself carefully, TKE pushed himself off the walls of the airlock and into the open. From where he was, TKE could easily see the probe under construction, foundations being put into place.


    Reaching onto his back, he pulled out a tether line and attached it to the fractured remains of Observatory Deck 12.


    TKE looked at the observatory and gave a thumbs up to the other person floating about within it. Clanedd showed her thumb back, signifying that his suit functions were all green and he was ready to proceed.


    With that being said, TKE cracked his knuckles and activated the HUD on his RIG.


    Taking note of all the damage done to the structure, TKE found it more serious then he thought it would be. There were multiple hull breaches across the entire deck. Holes of varying sizes littered the surface of the hull. TKE pulled himself closer to the damage site and noted some minor plasma scorches.


    "This is no Earth bound weapon... EarthGov never developed energy weapons, only InterCon ever made laser weaponry, even so, they were of short range and incapable of blasting such a large area..."


    TKE thought to himself as he pulled out salvageable materiel out from the debris. Something flew above the station at this point of time. TKE looked up and the first thing he noticed was the large iconic ring shaped engine of an EarthGov destroyer. It was built to look something like an inverted ''7'', with the tip of the ''7'' pointing downwards. Ring at the back, weapon blocks mounted on its spine with a command section, the tip of the ''7'', at its head. The 90m long ship was cruising gracefully across the sky, chemical engines blazing, only to be shot down by a stray plasma bolt.


    TKE then noticed what seemed to be a black ship skim past the wreckage of the EarthGov ship which then proceed to fly off into the distance.


    The black aggressor was no larger then its human counterpart. Except the craft had what seemed to be a beak like protrusion as its upper hull and guns mounted on the lower hull.


    Red hot shrapnel was flying all over the place as the insides of the destroyer split open. The spine of the ship cracked due to the mechanical stress exerted onto it.


    "Tgh! There really are aliens here. Open comms link... Dr Claev? Can you hear me?"


    TKE opened the communications but static was all that filled it.


    "Must be the ion interference... come on, clear up!"


    TKE looked around and noted Clanedd still fiddling around with hull and glass plating within the observation deck, completely oblivious to the ordeal occurring outside. Better let her be. The head engineer thought to himself. Some things are best not known by others. All in good time.


    The line buzzed and after a few seconds, Claev''s muffled voice was heard over the link.


    "Yeah, I can hear you. Whats the matter?"


    TKE replied hastily, "There is a EarthGov warship here, it has been taken down by an unknown aggressor, requesting the mobilization of Repair and Salvage 03."


    A moments silence. "OK, permission granted. I will be there to supervise. Head engineer, stay right there."


    After what seemed like 15 minutes, Claev, in an EVA suit, together with his repair and salvage team, approached the engineer.


    "Whoa, that''s one hell of a ship! Never seen it before, must be newly commissioned. Come! Lets'' check it out. The repair work can wait."


    TKE remained silent, he was wondering what that mysterious attack craft was. What it''s origins were and more importantly, how to utilize its weapons for his people''s advantage.


    Dr Claev glided through the destroyed interior of the EarthGov ship. He approached the stern of the ship, and made a quick mental note of what seemed to be a missing component that was meant to be attached to the ringed engine of the ship.


    TKE began writing notes in his RIG. EarthGov ships designed with useless protrusions to make them look cool¡­


    "Dr Claev?" TKE said. "Why don''t we ''borrow'' this ring of power? I think it might help with our warp project."


    Claev almost choked due to a short spasm of violent coughing.


    "Are you telling me that you want to attach this piece of junk to the Daledalus probe?!" The doctor said, almost screaming. "It will make the probe look ugly! I designed the thing myself you know!"


    TKE, ring in tow, glided towards the probe construction site, that is after the persuasion and intervention of Saegen.


    Bringing the ring to the site, he informed the already present engineers working on the probe about the addition of the ring and change of plans. He sent a data file through the RIG to ensure success.


    Following that he proceeded to retreat back into the safety of SkyLab2. Gliding back to his designated repair site, TKE looked back once again to witness the flashes of gunfire beyond the horizon. Shrugging off his worries, he continued with his task.


    Meanwhile, Saegen was in the radio and operation''s sector. Looking over the shoulders of the radar operator, he let out a short sigh.


    "Still no response." He said to himself. "There has been some heavy ion interference with this dammed radar for the past hour or two...damn this stupid machine!"


    Saegen raised his right foot and gave the operating machine a kick to the side. Thunk! The radar man jumped up in shock.


    Saegen smiled, "There we go! Nothing like a good whack to get the machines running! Anyways, lets see who the EarthGov are fighting... Wow, I have never seen a ship like that!"


    The image of the black, beak shaped ship appeared onto the screen. Engaged in combat with the IXS Toemo Destroyer, the alien ship and the EarthGov ship circled around taking occasional port shots at each other.


    The EarthGov ship fired its gauss cannons and missiles, shells closing in onto the target with missile smoke trails in tow. Much to the dismay and surprise of Saegen, the shells and warheads deflected off the curved hull of the alien ship leaving nothing more then mere dents and scratches.


    Plasma cannon charged, the alien ship fired and the bright green bolt tore off the engine section of the destroyer, liquid metal was flying all over the place.


    "I am going to record this. I bet it is going to come in handy in the future."


    Saegen mumbled to himself.


    "In the meantime, we must get probe Daledalus ready for launch."


    TKE sat on his office chair reading the final reports and checks on Probe Daledalus. The fusion reactor was fueled and was ready for operation. Luckily the alien threat was dealt with by then, (With the destruction of almost the entire EarthGov fleet) otherwise the launch would not have been able to proceed.


    The engineer stood up silently. Five days had passed and TKE had not received any further defect reports about the probe. Good news, TKE thought to himself. At least his hard work paid off.


    The Head Engineer opened the sliding door and entered the operations site. Everyone was already there. Claev approached the engineer. "Hey there Head Engineer! Are you excited? Your creation is about to be put into proper operation!"


    TKE gave a silent nod. "What''s wrong son? You don''t look too good. Are you OK?"


    "Butterflies."


    "What?"


    Before Claev could continue, the communications channel blared Saegen''s voice.


    "All personnel, please vacate Deck B immediately, prepare for the launch of probe Daledalus!"


    Dr Claev shrugged his shoulders, "Ah, that''s our sign. Get ready! Man your position, and get your assistant too!"


    TKE replied with a brief "yes sir" and walked briskly to his station. At this moment, Clanedd entered the room of operations. For a brief moment she stared at TKE with slightly worried eyes. She took her position behind TKE and remained silent.


    "Butterflies?" TKE asked.


    Clanedd replied with a nod.


    Thought so. TKE said in his head.


    "Hey head engineer! You are supposed to ignite the fusion reactor!" Claev yelled across the room. The engineer was jerked back to reality. "Yes s...sir. Sorry. Got distracted." He stuttered.


    "OK... raise deuterium pressure, initiate solenoid rotation, and activate!"


    A loud and powerful explosion rippled throughout the entire operation site.


    "Oh no!" TKE gasped. The reactor hull integrity had failed, a design flaw! Super heated helium plasma was spilling all over the place, whatever the plasma touched was vaporized instantly.


    "Damn it! I never realized that." TKE cursed to himself, desperately searching for a solution to the problem.


    "*Warning! Reactor temperature rising above safety levels! Please initiate nitrogen injection sequences immediately!*"


    The in place warning system wailed. The crew in the operation deck were in a state of shock, all unable to say anything. The probe''s outer hull started glowing bright red, metal oxides steaming from the affected parts. The aura of panic grew stronger. Murmuring could be heard across the entire room.


    TKE suddenly turned. "I''m going to fix that problem." He said.


    Now turning towards Clanedd, he said quickly. "Stay here. Monitor the probe."


    "Wait!" She said, almost shouting. "What are you¡­"


    "Don''t worry." TKE replied as he pretended to put sunglasses over his eyes. "I''ll be back."


    He ran off instantly. He could hear Clanedd shouting after him. He ignored the pleas. Everything depended on him.


    The airlock opened with a dull clank. TKE, already in an EVA suit, stepped out into the vacuums of space and pushed himself hard towards the damaged probe. The distance between the engineer and the probe closed rapidly.


    Even though he was thoroughly protected by the EVA suit, TKE was sure he felt the heat of the leaking plasma radiating through. He drew in closer to the site of the leak.


    "A power overload?!" TKE said to himself. "That means the batteries are over capacity, the resulting sparking from them broke the magnetic seal holding the fusion plasma in."


    Perhaps, if one were to directly connect the reactor output into the warp engine, thereby bypassing the capacitors and allowing the warp engine to activate despite the leak...


    TKE''s RIG communications came online, Saegen''s almost frantic voice came through among heavy static.


    "Head Engineer! Stop! What are you doing?! It is too dangerous to try fixing the breach directly. Let us..."


    "Don''t give me your bullshit now!" TKE yelled back. Saegen was silenced.


    "There is no turning that thing off now! The magnetic link has been served and not to mention we almost have this in flight!"


    TKE closed the comms link immediately. With that, the engineer unscrewed the maintenance plating of the probe. Seizing two high voltage jump cables, he attached one to the reactor output port, and prepared to plug the second directly into the ringed structure.


    "Lets get this thing going, just as I have always done before!" The jump cable met the warp appliance and a shower of blue sparks flew. TKE''s entire body jerked as his eyes glazed over and every single one of his muscles tensed up.


    High voltage. TKE''s short spasm launched him away from the probe. Through his blurred vision, he could see the dimensional fluctuation appear. The warp bubble enveloped the Daledalus probe and with a high pitched whine, and the probe surged forward at many times the speed of light.


    The probe disappeared instantly, leaving a deadly space-time shockwave, sapping away what little consciousness remained in the head engineer.


    TKE opened his eyes wearily.


    Was I dreaming? Where am I? He thought to himself. His entire body was aching all over, especially in his abdominal area.


    TKE''s vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the teary eyed Clanedd.


    "You are awake! Thank goodness!"


    Clanedd spoke softly, tears dripping on TKE''s face, before procedding to hug him tightly.


    "This can''t be heaven is it?"


    "Of course not you¡­ you idiot!" Clanedd hugged him even tighter.


    "Heh¡­ Sorry."


    Claev suddenly entered the room with a smile as large as his ego. Clanedd immediately let the head engineer go, stood up and saluted.


    "At ease¡­ Well Head engineer, I see you are fine, goodness me, you had me worried when you pulled that stunt!"


    His eyes flicked towards Clanedd. "Miss assistant head, you can do your romantic reconciliations later. I have something to tell our patient here"


    Clanedd''s jaw dropped and TKE felt as though he was stabbed through his chest. Both of their faces turned beet red.


    "H-How long have I been out?" TKE asked shortly after shaking off the embarrassment.


    "Well..." Claev paused, "Nearly eleven days."


    TKE almost fainted again when he heard that.


    "Eleven days?! What has gone on in the meantime?"


    Claev cleared his throat and announced proudly. He opened up a report on his RIG and sent it to the head engineer''s.


    "I''m glad you asked. The Daledalus project was a great success!"


    "I really do not think you should be shouting in the medical sector..." TKE mumbled under his breath.


    Claev took no notice.


    "Although the probe crashed into the nearby star Sirius, eight light years away, (causing the star to go unstable for an estimated 23 years) we have managed to gather an exceptional amount of data on that warp engine."


    Claev cleared his throat. Oh boy. TKE thought to himself. This was going to be a long one.


    "The drive operates based on compressing and expanding space-time behind and in front of the craft respectively. No idea how you made it happen though. And apparently by adding the ring, the ''warp bubble'' was able to be distributed evenly and have increased our estimated warp speed by 300%, thereby reaching the star in eleven days. By the way, what should we name the warp drive and that fusion reactor?"


    Claev stared at TKE. "After all, you did create them, therefore earning the right to name them."


    TKE thought carefully to himself. After a long and awkward pause, TKE finally spoke up.


    "I think the fusion reactor... shall be called the Shangri-La Peacekeeper Fusion Reactor, with respect to how worry free, the making of the reactor was."


    He stared at Claev with sarcasm filled eyes.


    "And, for the warp engine, I would like to respect the original inventor of the theory. The drive shall be called the Alcubiere Drive! Or Warp Drive colloquially."


    Claev nodded, "A good choice! Your inventions will be remembered for centuries! I shall leave you be now, see ya!"


    He winked at Clanedd who was still red before closing the door behind him.


    "Umm, Clanedd..." TKE started.


    "Don''t say a thing!"


    Clanedd interrupted TKE.


    "I am just glad I have not lost you yet. Please don''t make me worry like that."


    Tears filled her eyes once more as she leaned forward and embraced the engineer.


    "OK, I promise." whispered TKE softly.


    To be continued.

 03: 2090: Windy Landscape

    The wind blew across the barren lands. The year was 2090 and still nothing grew out of the cracked earth. Radioactive isotopes from the previous nuclear runs were embedded within the ground. InterCon Overcast Mach-X Bombers streaked across the sky above a single man standing alone in the desert. The dry wind blew across the cape he wore over his lead shielded suit. Bearing the emblem of an ice cube on his back, he clutched his only dog-tag and stared longingly up into the sky.


    "The time has now come..." he said with a smile.


    TKE and Claev stood in the MAXIS containment chamber. Instruments of various purposes stood around the core.


    "My, my..." Claev commented. "This is one extraordinary artifact! I have never seen such abnormal readings before. This is really out of this world!"


    TKE spoke rather monotonously, "Well I highly doubt that MAXIS is from our universe, doc."


    MAXIS stood still in the middle of the room, plasma swirling around its blue mass. The radio readings on the RIG data-logger spiked, almost as if MAXIS was trying to communicate. It was at this moment the swirling mass of plasma drifted towards the only window in the room.


    Claev sighed. "I think MAXIS is tired of our analysis. Let us leave her be. We will continue another day."


    He headed towards the door with the closely trailing TKE.


    Now walking down the hallway back to the R&D sector, TKE looked out the station''s crystal clear glass windows. Staring back at him was the dusty brown ball that was once planet Earth. Little mushroom clouds sprouted from what used to be Central America. And from there, a smoke spiral stretching into the sky.


    "A rocket launch? Is EarthGov sending something up again? Not to mention all those explosions." TKE mumbled to himself.


    "Luckily I''m up here. I never want to go back down there again. All my friends are here too. Especially..."


    His thoughts were interrupted by the loud, rapid footsteps of Clanedd running towards him.


    "...Te... Sir, you are needed in the room of operations. Sorry for the late notice but Mr Saegen wants to speak to you." Clanedd said amidst rapid panting.


    "OK, thanks Clanedd. I guess I will see you around?"


    Clanedd nodded and ran off. Hyperactive as usual, TKE thought to himself as he briskly made his way to the Command Sector.


    Sitting at the Head Engineer''s seat, TKE waited for Saegen to begin his briefing. He was feeling a little nervous as Saegen never called for meetings over such short notice and the white walls of the meeting room did not help ease his anxiety. Claev sat at the Head Scientist''s seat fidgeting, almost sharing the same anxiety with TKE. There were some other people seated across him and beside him, obviously of rank as well. Some of them were deputy scientists, security and even a few geologists were present too.


    Saegen, in his white lab coat and highly unnecessary sunglasses walked into the brightly lit room. With a serious tone he began.


    "Gentlemen, I apologize for such an unexpected calling but I have some important news to share."


    Thank god it is not another emergency, TKE thought to himself.


    Saegen continued. "The R&D department have decided to put forward a new project regarding the Alcubierr''s Drive. This time, we are going to man a FTL capable starship!"


    That''s it? TKE thought to himself. That could have waited, instead of disrupting my work!


    "Head Engineer?"


    Saegen suddenly started. "Y-Yes sir?" the engineer replied.


    "I need you to stay for a while after this." said Mr Saegen quickly. TKE''s eyes widened. He sank back into his chair and let out a sigh.


    "OK, now what is it?" TKE asked impatiently.


    Here he was sitting alone in the meeting room directly opposite Saegen while he could be doing something else more fruitful.


    Saegen cleared his throat and spoke slowly, "Well, Head Engineer, I need you to go down to the surface of the Earth."


    TKE''s jaws dropped. Did I hear that right? He thought to himself.


    "B-Back to earth?" TKE stammered.


    "Yes Head Engineer. Of all the people on this station I have chosen you. You should feel honored."


    "Horrified." TKE muttered under his breath.


    Saegen continued, "Basically, you are going to negotiate some terms with that... how should I put it... obtuse ice company. ICY Products if I am not wrong."


    Saegen paused to make sure TKE was listening. The latter merely replied with a stare.


    "We need a cargo load of metals, polymers... You name it, for our new manned FTL ship, code named, Project TeraNova. This metal is going to come from ICY and we plan to give our nuclear fission tech to them in return. "


    TKE put his hand to his chin, thought about what Mr Saegen said and spoke, "Alright, who shall I introduce ourselves as? And why nuclear fission? Isn''t that like, 150 years outdated?"


    "Well, they lost it when one of their incompetent members dropped a 150MT HyperNuke when he was told to ''drop everything and come over here''."


    "Right... So, name?"


    Saegen looked up for a split second and rattled off the first thing that came to his mind.


    "Call ourselves NanoTech."


    "But that is such a clich¨¦ name!" TKE tried to argue.


    "Fine! NanoTec then." Saegen snapped.


    "Alright, alright. NanoTec it shall be." TKE said after he threw his hands into the air.


    "Now all I have to do is negotiate some terms right? Sounds like a piece of cake." TKE commented. "Just like a school trip to Florida."


    Saegen shook his head, "I don''t think so. Ever since we, or more specifically, I, cheated them of their MAG technology and strapped their weird android that I found along the hallways to Daledalus. I''d say they do not appreciate it. Just remember Head Engineer, do not ever let your guard down."


    The atmosphere reentry shuttle had been designed a good year or two ago by yours truly, TKE. The first was built within the next two days.


    It was about 20m long and was of a delta wing design, with the fuselage as long as the pair of broad wings. Ablative shielding was mounted along the undercarriage of the shuttle, making it suitable only for a single use before it has to be refurbished again.


    Regardless of specs, it would still do its job. TKE and his assistant, Clanedd prepared to depart. While TKE would have preferred Clanedd to stay behind, she would not stop whining about his ''safety and wellbeing'' until he obliged. The pilot and TKE''s escort were already on board.


    "Good morning sir! Welcome to the FasterthanLight Express! Are we ready to fly?"


    TKE gave a quick nod and sat himself down on the nearest seat and Clanedd next to him. I have a bad feeling about this... TKE thought to himself.


    The pilot yelled once again with a smirk on his face, "Alright then! Belt up! This is gonna be the ride of your life!"


    The doors and stairs of the shuttle folded and slid shut. The landing gears or skis, more specifically, retracted into the smooth body of the shuttle and it was then moved by a magnetic rail and slowly eased towards the airlock. The blast doors closed behind the shuttle with a dull clang.


    The computerized voice resounded through the shuttle "*Atmosphere pressure one, initiating depressurization. Venting atmosphere, 90%,80%...Vacuum achieved.*"


    The blast door opened, exposing the shuttle to silence of outer space. Slowly, the pilot eased the shuttle out of the airlock carefully using the RCS thrusters. The sun was rising above the horizon of the brown planet and the sunlight glinted off the beautiful white hull of the shuttle.


    The scenery was breathtaking, something that could not be seen from a mere observation deck. A full view, nearly 270 degrees with only a double layer of thin plexglass separating the cosmos from the interior of the shuttle.


    Suddenly the pilot flicked a switch and the shuttle lunged forward. TKE, Clanedd and his escort were buried in their seats. The pilot then placed his left hand on the throttle and pushed it all the way upwards.


    "Hold on tight guys! Here is where the fun begins!" The pilot yelled over the roaring combustion engines.


    He pulled the joystick and pushed the rudder fully to his left. The shuttle responded immediately, internal torque twisting the craft around before nose diving straight into the planetary atmosphere.


    TKE and Clanedd''s eyes widened. The Head Engineer noted from the corner of his eyes, his bodyguard closing his eyes and having his hands cupped in front of him. Apparently nobody was enjoying the flight.


    "*Altitude dropping.*" The computer said monotonously. "*Atmosphere contact in three... two... one...*"


    Sudden, loud screeching sounds immediately resonated throughout the shuttle''s fuselage and cockpit as the craft made contact with Earth''s skies. Showers of sparks flew from the hull, threatening to tear the entire craft open.


    Clinging onto TKE, Clanedd yelled at the top of her voice, "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to get us all killed?! Our angle of attack is too steep! Pull up now!"


    The pilot shrugged his shoulders. "Nah, relax young lady. I got this!"


    The altitude meter was dropping extremely rapidly. So rapidly that the shuttle calculated it would crash into the dusty ground in a mere ten seconds from 200 km up. The shuttle was enveloped by fire and plasma, leaving a burning trail while streaking across the sky.


    "*Hull Temperature critical!*"


    The computer seemingly shouted, almost pleading with the pilot.


    "Shut up!" The young pilot said almost casually as he continued his mad descent down to earth.


    The altimeter now read 25 kilometers. TKE closed his eyes in fright.


    "Its over" he thought to himself. Almost as if responding to his thoughts, the pilot smiled. He pulled the joystick towards himself and pushed the throttle into the overdrive.


    The craft flipped upwards onto its belly, parallel to the ground. The shuttle''s speed dropped sharply and white fluffy turbulence currents flowed from the wing tips and the undercarriage.


    The G-force exerted was excruciatingly painful as the shuttle decelerated and started climbing, mere inches off the ground, dust and soil blasting in all directions. The plasma that accompanied the shuttle on the way down scotched the ground, leaving a shockwave similar to that of a thermobaric bomb.


    Now cruising at nearly Mach 3, just a couple of meters off the ground, the pilot switched the throttle to idle and glided the creaking space plane to its destination in just five minutes.


    Flying over a derelict, crumbling city and wastelands over Central America, the pilot turned his head and shouted towards his passengers.


    "So, how was the flight?"


    Not a word. TKE, Clanedd and their escort were all knocked out due to the g-force. Complete blackout.


    "Aww sleeping during my flight." The pilot said rather disappointedly.


    "I think I wasn''t flying fast enough."


    The space plane''s landing gears deployed again as the pilot eased it down onto flat land in the desolate and abandoned city. The skis kicked up a good amount of radioactive dust in its wake before the shuttle finally came to a stop. The engine''s bright yellow glow cooled to a dull red and the whining of the turbines faded away.


    TKE, now recovering from his previous unconsciousness spoke wearily, "Oh my god, I''m alive."


    The pilot replied proudly and almost arrogantly. "I told you it would be the flight of your life! Right Sarge?"


    The escort was still out cold. No reply. I bet this guy was from InterCon, TKE thought to himself. No sane man would fly that way.


    He regained his composure and asked, "Young man, what is your name?"


    "I am Kuro. A pleasure." He replied still, grinning.


    "Exactly how old are you?" TKE pressed further.


    "Why, I am ripe 15 years old! And if you want to know, I was an ex-ICY products member."


    TKE groaned. No surprise there. TKE thought to himself. If I had known that we were flying with children then... TKE''s thoughts were interrupted by Kuro.


    "Oh yes, ICY Products would like to apologize for the Dalek probe thing, no hard feelings?"


    "Wait... How do you know about that?"


    "I have my ways."


    "Did ICY really apologize?"


    "Dunno. I just made that up sir. Ha ha."


    TKE, Clanedd and their escort suited up into their individual LongExposure TV2 EVA suits. Although the suits were designed for space use, they are still extremely effective at protecting its users on the ground.


    Kuro on the other hand was going to stay in the shuttle to await their return. Or so he says. While suiting up, Clanedd spoke in a rather disturbed tone to TKE.


    "I''m really worried about this pilot of ours. I have a really bad feeling that he is going to blow something up. "


    TKE cleared his throat and spoke in your typical scientist accent.


    "Let me put your doubts to rest." he leaned in closer and continued. "He probably will."


    That did not help at all, Clanedd thought to herself. Before she was able to say a thing, TKE and his escort were already disembarking from the shuttle. Clanedd tottered after them in the protective EVA suit and she was immediately greeted with the sight of a man bearing the insignia of an ice cube on his radiation suit.


    "Good morning sir." the man said a little over esthetically, obviously referring to TKE.


    "I am Robert, executive Head Marketing officer of ICY Products. On behalf of the founder, we welcome you to Earth."


    TKE stood with a rather disbelieving attitude. Are you sure this is an ''executive'' officer? He seems a lot dumber then his title sounds. We''re not aliens! TKE thought to himself.


    Sighing deeply, he replied. "A pleasure. I am the Head Engineer of, ahem, NanoTec. We are here to negotiate with your leaders about an exchange of material."


    Robert began laughing, "Ah! Of course!" he exclaimed.


    "We were informed... about five minutes ago?" TKE felt like screaming internally, was ''NanoTec'' really such a bad name?


    Clanedd almost instinctively pressed her palm to the visor of her suit. Their escort, as usual was indifferent about what he heard.


    "Yeah, I get that quite often." Robert replied rather nonchalantly.


    "Regardless, let us proceed. Our base of operations is stationed over there." Robert pointed at a glass dome easily 10 km wide, sitting over the horizon.


    TKE again began to question the intelligence of ICY''s head.


    "Mr Robert, if you don''t mind me asking, but why would you guys build such a dome over the wastelands? I mean, it is such an obvious target that I am surprised that nobody has bombed it yet."


    Robert tilted his head, seemingly in confusion. "Huh? Our founder did not build that. It was Green, our head Fishermen who suggested the idea. There are also dome shield lattices across the hull. Even InterCon''s missiles couldn''t put a dent on it"


    "A-Alright then... I guess I will not press further." TKE stumbled over his words, surprised by the advanced technology at use. I guess that would explain why I didn''t see it on the way down. TKE pondered, perception filters... or was it the pilot''s fault?


    Slowly, Robert ushered the visitors towards the dome. It was going to be a long walk. TKE stared at the scenery before him. The sun was a small yellow circle hanging in the orange-brown sky and the ground was awfully rocky. Damaged skyscrapers towered into the bleak sky almost seemingly screaming to have their broken days to end. The wind blew dust across dusty landscape and unlike an Oldie Western movie, there was no tumbleweed in sight.


    Clanedd tugged at TKE''s suit and spoke softly, "Teeke, I really wonder how it was like on this planet."


    TKE turned his head to face Clanedd. She continued, "Could there have been a day where we humans can inhabit the planet surface once again?"


    TKE replied, "Well, I certainly believe so. Earth is now like Mars. No ozone layer and almost no water on the surface. EarthGov has already terraformed Mars for human habitation even though they have no plans on sending anyone there in the near future. Somewhat. But I am sure that one day humans can wander the Earth without the need for suits as now."


    "Really?" Clanedd said again, eyes twinkling. "Then I await the time where we can do as you have described." TKE just smiled and gave Clanedd a quick nod.


    The engineers, ICY executive officer and escort stepped in front of the gigantic blast doors which was the entrance to the ICY Products headquarters. Their long walk had come to an end. Their trip to the dome would have taken about half an hour but Robert had taken the route suggested by his Satellite navigation system and had taken almost three times as long.


    The dome before the engineers and escort was even more massive than they had expected. It towered over them casting down a shadow as though they were ants. The hissing of steam was heard together with the dull grating of metal as the giant blast doors slid open slowly.


    "Follow me." Robert ushered them towards the dome.


    As they approached, Clanedd noted that the gigantic blast doors were merely for show and the real entrance was just a 2m tall double door.


    TKE was now the one to plant his hand onto his visor obviously taken aback by the ''fantastic'' design as can be seen by the entrance.


    The door led to a dark and gloomy hallway. The hall itself was small and cramped, not to mention that the walls were patched with black stains and the already present white paint was peeling off.


    Clanedd nudged TKE''s shoulder and he responded with a nod, already aware of the condition of the dome. Ahead lay yet another blast door, this one much smaller than the one at the entrance. Robert spoke through his communicator quickly, rattling off a bunch of numbers and individual letters. The blast door opened. This time revealing a pristine looking room, with glossy white walls filled with suit lockers on all sides.


    The installed AI spoke in a monotone, "*Welcome back Robert, executive marketing director 01*."


    Robert replied back cheerfully, "Why, thanks Sally. These people are here to speak with us. Have the turrets stand down."


    "*Understood sir.*" The AI replied in the same tone as before.


    TKE and the rest stepped into the airlock and began taking their protective suits off. Out of curiosity, TKE asked.


    "Executive officer, may I ask, why was the previous hallway so poorly maintained?"


    Robert chuckled and spoke, "That is to put people off trying to loot our base."


    TKE nodded. I think I can understand the logic behind this. Somewhat. Robert snapped his fingers and the blast door leading into the main structure opened.


    The first thing TKE saw was a lush deciduous forest behind the doors. Trees towering up into the sky, flowing rivers and he was sure he saw a mountain in the distance.


    ''Dalek'' shaped drones were rolling around almost leisurely. One drone approached TKE, "*Would you care for some tea?*"


    TKE was taken aback. He continued into the dome slowly.


    "*You do not require tea?!*" The drone began screaming.


    TKE ignored it. As he continued, TKE saw, sitting on a table between two oak trees were two other men bearing the same uniform and seemingly of the same rank.


    Robert pointed towards the table. "You shall sit there. I am going to make tea for us."


    Clanedd tried to open her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Robert.


    "I''m British. Of course I drink tea. Even in this time and age!" Robert stormed off, apparently feeling insulted over something.


    The escort was still as quiet as ever. The engineers walked over to the table.


    The man seated on their right spoke. "You must be the ambassadors from NanoTec if I am not wrong. I am Shanekaltulocifu, and this is *data redacted*. Sorry, he refuses to tell others his real name."


    The man seated next to Shanekaltulocifu waved. "Its a pleasure."


    Stunned slightly by the impressively long name, TKE stuttered, "Ah, yes. Of course."


    He pointed towards the plastic seats standing behind the wooden, elegantly built table, "May I?"


    "Of course! Take a seat." Shanekaltulocifu replied.


    As TKE sat down, Clanedd following closely. The escort took his stand behind them. Robert holding a platinum platter with tea cups and tea walked slowly, knees bent, back towards the table.


    After placing the platter down, he took his seat.


    "Alright then," Robert finally spoke, "The tea, help yourself."


    TKE poured himself a cup. The transparent brown liquid flowed easily into the highly oriental teacup. Little yellow-brown tea leaves danced along the corners of the cup, spinning and sliding. Clanedd on the other hand politely declined.


    "Jasmine tea?" TKE inquired.


    "Yup! My favorite!" Robert replied.


    "I thought the Brits drank Earl Grey?"


    "Hey! Tea''s tea you know?! You''re talking just like those stupid reds across the late Atlantic!"


    "You mean the New CCCP?"


    "Yeah! Those stupid savages drink nothing but vodka!"


    Shanekaltulocifu suddenly lifted up his hand and pointed to the bottles of alcohol by Robert''s side.


    "Hey! Whose side you on?!"


    Shanekaltulocifu replied with a short laugh. Robert stood up in a huff, grabbed the bottles of alcohol by his side and walked towards the entrance blast door. The doors closed and the sound of something being charged up could be heard before a loud explosion drowned out all the other sound in the dome.


    Nobody seemed to notice.


    TKE shrugged. Better get on with the treaty. He thought to himself.


    The blast door opened again and Robert reappeared with a smirk on his face, and the bottles of alcohol missing. *data redacted* shook his head and let out a sigh.


    Robert sat down threw his arms behind his head and exclaimed, "Ahhh... That felt good!"


    TKE raised an eyebrow. Another new day, another thing learnt. That day, he learnt why ICY Products have so many blast doors. He also learnt never to declare himself a communist in front of people like him.


    Robert then regained his composure, straightened his tie and sat up straight before opening his mouth to speak.


    "Oh yes, by any chance you guys have the Radiator?"


    "You mean that one?"


    "Yeah. The one I''ve never seen before. Apparently it was used by the Head and Founder in the good old days for their old endeavors."


    "How did it look like?"


    "Oh I don''t know. I just heard that it is big, clunky and others kept calling it a dual nitrogen radiator. God knows what that stands for."


    TKE paused for a moment. He considered his next question.


    "For how long has ICY Products been looking for it?"


    "Decades! Ever since 2016... Heck! I wasn''t even born yet!"


    "When was the last time you tried looking for it?"


    "Oh, back in 2079. Quite a while ago. I was observing the cargo and crew module of SkyLab2 being taken into space."


    The descriptions fit. The radiator the Head Engineer and his assistant attached to a failed reactor matched the description completely. Not to mention that the cargo was taken up last as well. It was on board.


    "Any special features of this radiator?" TKE pressed further. Clanedd nudged TKE on the shoulder and shook her head.


    TKE gestured back, telling her it would be fine. She nodded, but still looked unconvinced.


    Robert replied to the question. "I don''t think I should be telling you. It''s top secret."


    "You have to tell me if you want me to help you people find your toys."


    "OK, OK fine."


    That was easy. TKE thought to himself. Just like taking an iPhone from a kid or an idiot who bought the iPhone.


    "I just know it can create inventions when attached to something and has high voltage applied to it."


    That was the Radiator. TKE thought to himself. Robert''s descriptions matched the object perfectly. TKE opened his mouth to reply but held his tongue at the last minute. As he contemplated on how to phrase his words, Robert turned to Shanekaltulocifu and said.


    "Remember that day when the final module was launched into space?"


    "Yup." Shanekaltulocifu replied.


    "I really hoped the Radiator was not on board that rocket."


    It was. TKE thought to himself. He cleared his throat, and began speaking slowly.


    "Hmm... No... I don''t think we''ve ever seen it."


    "Is that so?" Robert pressed. "Then how were you guys able to create the whatdoyacallthat... Alcubierre Drive huh?"


    TKE was taken aback slightly but other than that, remained calm. He replied with a straight face.


    "Well, that''s because we''re smarter than you."


    "I get that a lot too..." Robert frowned.


    "And we can freeze water." TKE added with a wink.


    Clanedd nudged TKE again, this time seeming to be slightly annoyed. The Head Engineer replied with a smile and a slight laugh. Clanedd responded to that by nudging the Head Engineer again.


    Robert''s eyes lit up.


    "What?! You can freeze water?! How? Tell me!"


    TKE''s jaw dropped and he resisted the strong urge to bang his head on the table.


    "Umm..." TKE slurred his words before replying sarcastically, "I guess you put the water in a freezer at 273 K or 0 degrees Celsius. Maybe that would work."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Robert shook his head. "No, no, no. That is a ridiculous idea. The last person who mentioned it to the head was kicked into a pit of LEGOs. That idea will never work. I shall assume that freezing water is out of your grasp as well. Please speak no more of that idea."


    This is not your everyday stupid, TKE thought to himself.


    "I really would like to know what your head has been telling you guys! You can''t be this stupid!" TKE continued.


    *data redacted* who was quiet throughout the entire conversation suddenly spoke.


    "I am afraid that it is impossible to see the head. He went up into space yesterday evening. GMT 1345 if I am not wrong."


    TKE''s mind flashed back to the smoke trail rising out of Central America.


    *data redacted* continued, "Apparently, the boosters on that one failed so the head and Founder on board calculated an emergency quantum shift using the remaining energy produced from the combustion generators and ended up in successful orbit."


    TKE thought about what he heard for a while. They still use combustion generators in large scale payloads. Therefore they may not have nuclear fission... Maybe.


    Finally Clanedd could take it no longer and punched TKE in the arm. The Head Engineer grimaced, not from pain but from surprise. Her eyes almost glowing, she whispered into TKE''s ears menacingly.


    "You idiot! You have not introduced us yet!"


    "Oh! So that''s what you were trying to tell me!" TKE exclaimed. "Sorry... Right!"


    TKE stood up and said.


    "Oh, my apologies. Where are my manners. I am TKE, code initials, Head Engineer and this is Clanedd. The assistant or Deputy Head Engineer. Pleased to meet you."


    "We already know that." Robert and Shanekaltulocifu said simultaneously.


    "Right..." TKE smiled awkwardly. "So... We''ve wasted enough time. Let''s get on with it."


    "Oh well." *data redacted* said. "It cannot be helped. Let us begin yeah?"


    TKE nodded and said. "OK. That would be good. I am sure you are all aware that we are here to negotiate the transfer of material and technology, correct?"


    The three ICY Products officers nodded their heads.


    Hmm, this guy also has code initials for his name, just like our head... Robert thought to himself.


    TKE continued, "Let''s go straight to the point shall we?"


    He cleared his throat again before continuing. "NanoTec requires about 3000 tones of aluminum, 1000 tones of steel and about 100 tones of Plexiglass, silver, and carbon each. In exchange, NanoTec will offer up a piece of technological hardware."


    Robert remained seated and spoke calmly, "That sounds like a good deal. However, I am not so sure..."


    Robert then stood up and pointed his finger at TKE almost accusingly, "I still remember that you guys ripped us off our MAG technology!"


    "Well, you guys tried to conduct industrial espionage on our facilities!" TKE replied, trying his best to maintain a professional and straight face.


    Robert continued ranting, "Then you tossed it into an alien sun!"


    Almost in sync, Clanedd and Shanekaltulocifu tried to calm the two shouting officers down, "Guys, gentlemen please." they started, "We still have a transaction to carry out!"


    Robert sat down with a huff. Folding their arms, both of them let out a sigh.


    Robert spoke more calmly now, "Fine. That is the deal. Now the question is what is the tech you are offering. You can''t be giving us the tech to freeze water. Obviously you have no knowledge of it."


    The other two executive officers nodded their heads. TKE shrugged his shoulders. He was not going to push that matter any further. Never argue with an idiot. TKE thought to himself. For they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.


    TKE cleared his mind, coughed once before he began speaking again, "Yes... The tech we will exchange will be the Trans-Lightforce ''Fubuki'' Reactors or more specifically, nuclear fission."


    TKE''s eyes darted between the ICY Head Marketers. "Is there no objections? Because I think it is a good de..."


    Robert stood up, interrupted the engineer and exclaimed, "Perfect! It is a deal! For so long ICY Products have been looking for this tech on the market and finally found it. We have actually managed to research and secure this tech about 20 years ago. Then some idiotic bimbo dropped a 150MT hypernuke onto the floor." Robert then acted out a large mushroom cloud with his hands.


    "Well..." He continued, "The resulting outcome was pretty obvious."


    Now I have heard everything TKE thought to himself. He stood up and nudged at Clanedd''s side. She nodded in response.


    "Good. In that case, our job here is done."


    An official document materialized almost instantly and was placed on the wooden table.


    "Please sign this. The terms are all listed out here in bold letters. Read carefully and sign here."


    TKE pointed to a box at the bottom right hand corner of the document, adjacent to the box which held Saegen''s signature under the title of ''Chief Manager of Administration, NanoTec''.


    Robert took out a feather quill out of nowhere and signed in the box without hesitation. There was however, no mark.


    "Invisible ink!" Robert said proudly.


    TKE''s face collapsed into one without emotion.


    "Please sign it Head Marketer." He said nonchalantly.


    "Ugh. Fine." Robert replied disappointedly.


    Once the contract had been sealed, TKE left the document on the table.


    "Keep that one." He said. "I have the softcopy."


    Robert nodded in reply.


    TKE acknowledged that and saluted lazily to the ICY Products personnel.


    "Good. Glad we settled that quickly... Somewhat. Executive officers of ICY Products, we shall take our leave now."


    He turned towards his assistant. "Come Clanedd, let''s get going."


    TKE gestured towards their escort who was still standing at attention in his spot. He nodded and trailed after the leaving engineers. His back turned towards the waving officers, obviously bidding farewell, TKE muttered to himself.


    "Now let''s hope we don''t get bombed on the way back."


    Meanwhile back on SkyLab2, Claev was seated by his desk drawing out the plans for the NNT TeraNova.


    The ship was a magnificent, Dreadnaught size, 722 meter long colony ship. It was designed to hold nearly 130 thousand people in suspended animation to be taken to a whole new world on the rim of the galaxy... or Mars. That works too.


    Mounted on the rear of the ship, along with the Shangri-La Fusion was the iconic ring of the Alcubierre Drive, designed to propel the ship to speeds never heard of before.


    The design was half complete though, but it followed EarthGov designs almost to the letter, not because they looked cool but because they worked. At least better than any other design up to date.


    It did not, at that point in time, boast anything special, other than its FTL engine, in its design or specs. It was pretty average all things considered.


    Claev lifted his head from his work to the sound of two distinct and loud knocks on his door. Saegen entered the room.


    "So, any news yet?" Claev asked anxiously.


    "Nope, nothing of that sort yet. The Head Engineer still has not contacted us. I am assuming that ICY is giving them a hard time."


    Claev continued, "I also heard you told him to introduce himself as engineers from ''NanoTec''. Am I right?"


    "Umm, well..." Saegen stuttered, unsure of what to say and getting a little hot around the ears.


    "Don''t worry. Mr Saegen." Claev reassured him. "I like the name."


    "Oh..." Saegen breathed a sign of relief. "Thank goodness."


    "One thing..." Claev began.


    "Yes?"


    "The name sounds like ''NanoTech''. Could you be anymore creative than this?" Claev remarked sarcastically with a smirk on his face.


    Before Saegen could continue, one of the communications crew came running down the hallway, nearly tripping over two piles of documents as he burst into the office.


    "S-Sir, this is an emergency, the communications officer have gotten a new contact. He says it is urgent and that he would like to speak with one of the ''higher ups''."


    Saegen replied immediately, "Ok, I am on my way."


    "Count me in too!" Claev said shooting to his feet. "Let''s go!"


    Saegen entered the communications room briskly, nearly knocking over two other officers on the way. He ran over to the active channel with Claev and the crew member trailing closely behind.


    The radio operator handed him the microphone and head set. He put them on, linked them to his RIG and spoke through the link.


    "This is Saegen, Manager and Administrator of NanoTec. Also Head Scientist. May I know who I am conversing with?"


    The voice spoke through calmly but with a tiny tinge of excitement, "My name is not important, but I am the Head of ICY Products PTE. LTD... Hmm that did not sound quite right..."


    Saegen was taken slightly aback. ICY? What would they want from contacting SkyLab2 directly? He thought to himself.


    Before he could reply, the opposite party spoke again, "Never mind. There is a slight situation on Earth. The engineers you sent down to our base of operations? They are all going to die. I can detect InterCon bombers approaching at combat speed. I''d tell you to pull them out but... Where''s the fun in that?"


    Saegen stumbled over his sentences, "Wait, wait, hold up. Exactly what is going on? And why don''t you just call them at your base?"


    The Head of ICY spoke again, putting up a sadistic sounding voice, "Well, there are some people down there I want dead. Ha! Ha!"


    "Couldn''t you wait a little longer? And in any case, my scientists have nothing to do with your internal power struggles. It will be your responsibility."


    "No it isn''t."


    "What?"


    "When they die, there will be no evidence at the site. I''m sure you would know InterCon well by now."


    Saegen remained silent. He clenched his fist, ready to throw another threat or argument back through the link before the Head of ICY interrupted his thoughts and spoke again.


    "Anyways, your engineers are in danger. Adds a little fun to their lives I must say. I woul... Oh?"


    The ICY Head stopped to giggle, "EarthGov ships are approaching your location rapidly. Are those... Yep they are. Seems like you all are going to be boarded. Wish you best of luck... I mean the station. Hope they leave it in one piece."


    The communications were cut, leaving Saegen slightly dumbfounded and unsure of what to do.


    TKE was all ready to leave the dome when the internal lighting all turned to red and the sirens blared out loudly.


    "*All hands to combat stations! I repeat, all hands to combat stations!*" The AI shouted.


    Robert stood up and ran over to the NanoTec personnel.


    "Well... this is kind of awkward but this is a state of emergency, we need you t..."


    Robert was interrupted by the further shouting of the AI, "*New contacts, InterCon bomber formation. High speed, and closing. Long range, bearing 034 degrees, angle of elevation 20 degrees!*"


    Robert continued where he left off, "You need to come with us. It is unsafe here. Come on!"


    Shanekaltulocifu then proceeded to start yelling commands. "Code red! Raise the shields! Man the guns! Shoot them down! What are you doing?! Don''t load the guns with potatoes!"


    As Robert guided the NanoTec personnel towards the underground bunkers, the radar man shouted, "Oh my god, what the hell are those things?!"


    The radar screen showed the two red dots closing in onto the dome. They were the size of ancient B-17, but flying at Mach 10. It seemed like something straight out of a horrifying Sci-Fi story.


    The AI proceeded to yell out, "*Target acquired, opening all gun ports, VLS heating up... All weapons, FIRE!*"


    Many loud roars echoed through out the base. 88 ICY Anti-Air Missiles were all in flight, with their target locked with thermal tracking. The thundering of the many Flak cannons of a variety of calibers resonating through the base was deafening.


    "Radar scan report!" the radar man shouted once again, "Those bombers are not manned! They are drones!"


    Shanekaltulocifu shouted back, "It doesn''t matter! Blow them out of the sky!"


    The missiles and shells all converged onto a single InterCon bomber. A bright flash lit up the sky and a loud blast was heard even from the inside of the base. Pieces of burnt metal were seen falling from the sky.


    "We got him!" Shanekaltulocifu yelled in triumph.


    "*Not yet!*" The AI suddenly stated bursting the officer''s bubble. "*The target is still airborne!*"


    Upon hearing this TKE, Clanedd, Robert, and everyone else turned towards the screen displaying the fireworks. Much to the dismay of the ICY Products officer, the target was indeed still flying. What was even more surprising was the absence of even a single scratch on the aircraft fuselage.


    "Oh well... This is what happens when I don''t study history." Shanekaltulocifu said to himself with a shrug.


    Saegen still stood rooted to the spot. Almost immediately after he took off the head set was the sound of dull metallic thuds resonating from the outer hull of SkyLab2.


    Before he could say anything more, Claev immediately picked up the microphone and began barking orders through it.


    "Security Alert 02! All hands prepare for combat! Security team Alpha to Delta secure Sectors 1 to 13!"


    He turned towards Saegen. "Get the NightStalker. The prototype railgun."


    "Huh? That one?!"


    "Yeah! I want to field test it. I know you want to do it."


    A smile crept across Saegen''s face.


    "Alright. Where is it?"


    "Your work place. I left it there after nearly blowing a hole in the hull."


    "What?!"


    "Just go get it will you?!"


    Saegen nodded and made his way swiftly towards the R&D sector. His footsteps quickly receding down the white hallways of the space station.


    Claev threw down the microphone and ran off in the opposite direction towards the station security sector or more specifically, the armory.


    Putting on a bulletproof vest and a biological gas mask, Claev picked up his M-24 Assault Rifle and pulled back the bolt. The first bullet from the horizontally mounted magazine slipped into the chamber smoothly, ending with the bolt making a clang noise once the bullet had been chambered fully. Claev did a final check on his gear and proceeded to join the squad at SkyLab2''s CNC sector.


    As he entered, sparks were already flying from the internal hull plating. The EarthGov boarders was using thermite. Claev identified immediately. Outdated but effective, the boarders were trying to burn their way in through the outer hulls of the unarmored space station.


    Pushing down the steel tables onto its side, he ordered everyone to take cover, and await the inevitable. The sparks that were tracing a human sized rectangle onto the wall suddenly stopped after making a complete circuit.


    "Here they come..." Claev mumbled. Almost immediately after, there was a loud bang and that section of hull was blasted back with a great magnitude of force. So much so that Claev was able to feel the wind rushing past him.


    "Suppressive fire!" Claev yelled, left hand directing the shots, right hands gripping the assault rifle and pulling the trigger. All the guns began to blaze. Making sounds akin to that of heavy rainfall, round after round was flung forth at three times the speed of sound, leaving behind a faint but visible trail of gaseous metal. The smell of gunpowder and smoke filled the air, thickening with every shot.


    The bullet frenzy soon ceased almost after six seconds of fully automatic fire. The clanging of empty magazines were heard as the security team began to reload their weapons. This was when the enemy began to retaliate.


    Shanekaltulocifu stood rooted to the spot, shaking his head in disbelief. Of course the InterCon bombers would still be flying. They were made out of Titaniumite.


    The radar man yelled back, "Tar-Target is 120 km away and approaching rapidly, we sti... Oh my god..."


    The radar operator stared at more than a hundred blinking red lights diverging from both of the bombers.


    The AI shouted in response, "*Warning! Incoming missile!*"


    From where TKE was standing, he could already see the approaching missiles. Burning with a bright orange exhaust, and leaving trails of pure white smoke, the missiles closed onto the base in mere seconds.


    "Shields up! Shields up!" Shanekaltulocifu yelled. A pale blue barrier soon draped over the domed structure, stretching from the top of the dome, down to the dusty ground around it.


    Loud and closely packed bangs were heard as the missiles made contact the energy shield barrier. Sounds similar to the splashing of water was heard as the shields flared bright blue at the impact points, absorbing the heat and deflecting the shrapnel of the blasts.


    The ICY engineering teams yelled out, "Sir our shields are down to 32% and dropping. Rapidly! We cannot take much more of this!"


    The shields were flickering. Almost collapsing due to the energy it had absorbed. Seconds after the bombers were already above the base. Their passing was loud and glorious, the sheer speed creating massive ''booms'' in the atmosphere.


    Of the mere seconds the bombers spent above the base, TKE could easily see the turning of the bomber''s tail guns and releasing a mighty stream of projectiles that were easily 20mm shells or larger. The striking of the barrage came down like torrent, completely overwhelming the capacitors of the shields, and cracking the bubble like an egg down the center.


    The energy shields lit up in a beautiful shade of blue and was seen splitting open in many areas. The ions that comprised the shield began to diffuse away, riding the wind that the bombers brought with them.


    The remaining cannon shells struck multiple areas of the dome. The ground shook and the glass shattered. Everyone was thrown onto their backs. Electrical arcs flew across broken cabling and the red lights flickered on and off. Large steel shutters immediately came down over the hull breaches in a desperate attempt to prevent any atmosphere from leaving the dome and any radiation from entering.


    The radar man, now with blood pouring from his forehead gripped the side of his console and pulled himself to his feet. He stared back into the cracked screen of the radar only to find out the bombers made a full 180 degree turn mid-flight and was heading back towards the base, this time even faster than before.


    Two new blinking dots appeared on the radar. The radar man stood up to shout, but his words were lodged tight in his throat. The AI tried to speak. Now her voice was full of static, and her speech seemed very strained and very much forced. Her final words, "*Warning...##Nuclear... L...Launch Detec...ted!*"


    A loud metallic clang sound filled the air as one of the security personnel dropped to the ground. There was a gaping hole through his helmet and his RIG blared out a flat-line noise.


    Claev dropped his head back down behind cover instinctively. Bullets flew above his head, whining and spinning. He could hear the footsteps of fully armored EarthGov soldiers all around him. The sound of their footsteps told him that they were converging around onto the security positions from the sides of the room while the rest lay down a blanket of suppressive fire.


    Another security personnel peaked his head above cover. The bullets rained down onto his position and he immediately put himself back behind cover.


    He spoke over the comms, "The enemy has a heavy machine gun there! Orders?"


    Claev opened his mouth to speak but hesitated at the last moment. His communications link suddenly opened, "This is security unit 12. The enemy is advancing through the base, from multiple hull breaches on this side! We can''t seem to drop them! We need...!"


    His voice was cut short by a bloodcurdling scream of pain. A flat-line noise was heard through the comms network, following closely was the sound of a limp body hitting the ground and the clatter of a dropped radio apparatus.


    Behind Claev, the firing of the machine gun continued, drilling a multitude of holes in his cover and the wall behind it. He was out of options.


    One of his squad members suddenly spoke up, "I will hold them off sir! Get everyone else to retreat! We might have a chance sir!"


    Claev nodded. "I pray for your safety soldier. Get back alive." He got up and gave the retreat order. As his men fell back, Claev heard yet another clanging of metal against metal followed closely with the loud flat-line noise. "Rest in peace good man." Claev mumbled to himself as he ran.


    Running down the hallways, Claev heard the heavy boots of the EarthGov boarders closing in onto his squad. The CNC sector was about 40 meters away. Where is that Saegen of ours? Thought Claev. He was sent off almost fifteen minutes ago and yet he still had not returned.


    Out of the blue, from a corridor branching towards the right, came an EarthGov soldier. He charged at Claev and knocked him onto his side. It came so quickly, he could not have returned fire, even if he wanted to.


    The soldier stared directly into his eyes. The unearthly green glow reflected off the pupils of Claev''s eyes. Something was not right, the doctor thought. The soldier was not armed so he, or it began pulling onto his arms with a demon like strength. His men had run on ahead without him, completely oblivious to the ordeal that was unfolding.


    The soldier continued his assault. Claev''s eyes widened. A loud cracking noise was heard throughout the hall. Claev''s arm went numb and he bit his lower lip, holding back the scream that had built up inside of him.


    Claev tried to pull back, but to no avail. He had no strength left in that arm of his and what was left of the strength in his right arm was not enough to stop the vicious and violent attack of the soldier.


    Claev shut his eyes, in anticipation for what was to come. He let out a grueling scream as his flesh began to tear. The pain climaxed quickly but suddenly stopped as fast as it came. Claev opened his eyes and found a pale green fluid and plastic fragments lying scattered around him and on his face. The soldier collapsed, revealing a carcass not made of flesh and bone but rather that of a machine, made out of cold, hard steel.


    Saegen stood posed with an M2 Handgun still pointed at the disfigured head of the soldier. A large, black appliance hung on his back and he had another M2 by his right waist.


    "Sorry I''m late." He said with a grin.


    As the two nuclear payloads approached the dome at an astonishing rate, the structure''s stability began to falter. Steel scaffolding and pylons fell from the roof along with broken glass.


    "Watch out!" Clanned yelled.


    She ran and shoved TKE onto backwards onto the ground. A steel beam barely missed his side. Their escort was not so lucky. While standing at attention, attempting to formulate an escape route for his superiors, he was struck on his helmet by a glass sheet that shattered instantly upon impact. He dropped onto the ground, body limp.


    The InterCon bombers broke off their runs and began flying into the sunset towards the west. The dangerous situation was however, far from over.


    "Missiles at range, 90 km!" The injured radar operator shouted.


    The engineers and Robert were already above the bulkhead leading down into the emergency bomb shelter. Robert then shrugged his shoulders and kicked the dirt on the ground.


    "Bummer." He said. "I was hoping that I''d die in an amazing space battle."


    Almost as a response to this, a loud roaring of combustion engines were heard in the skies.


    Those engines, TKE thought to himself. I recognize that sound!


    The comms channel opened.


    "I knew it!" Kuro''s voice blared out, sounding very excited and ready for anything.


    "You guys were having fun without me! It is my turn now!" Kuro grinned as he pulled out an ancient M1 Garand rifle seemingly out of nowhere and placed the eight round magazine into the receiver. The magazine clicked, indicating a perfect loading.


    He brought the butt of the gun to the side glass panel sharply and the viewing port formed cracks like spider webs throughout its structure. Kuro slammed the butt of the rifle into it again and it shattered into a million fragments which danced in the sky like glitter.


    Flying at nearly the speed of sound, Kuro brought his head and rifle out of the aircraft and pulled the rifle bolt. The wind speed blew his hair and he felt his skin prickle from the effects of atmospheric and solar radiation.


    He braced the stock of the gun on his right shoulder and placed the first missile in between the sights mounted on the gun barrel. He squeezed the trigger. A spark shot off from the side of the first missile payload and its boosters shut off instantly.


    A transparent fluid with a slight yellow tinge spurted from the small breach. Apparent enough, that was rocket fuel. The round ruptured the fuel pipelines. The whole thing fell from the sky, locked in a free fall.


    The empty shell flew from the top of the gun and the bolt immediately chambered a new round. Aiming down the sights again, Kuro took a deep breath. Steadying his shoulder, he pulled the trigger again and like before, the second missile fell harmlessly to the earth. Both missiles hit the ground without so much as a peep from them. No explosion.


    Kuro smiled with satisfaction. He climbed back into the cockpit of the plane, put his rifle away and then put his EVA helmet on. Earth''s atmosphere was certainly not safe to breathe. He turned the plane around, and landed it back down onto the ground.


    Putting on the rest of his EVA suit, Kuro stepped out of the plane and onto the ground. The engineers'' escort was coming back to his senses and his walking was assisted by Clanedd.


    The NanoTec engineers walked out of the broken dome while donning their protective suits. Following closely were the three executive marketing officers of ICY Products.


    Kuro began speaking again, "There we go! Safe and sound. See? I did not blow anything up this time! Now ICY can keep those warheads as souvenirs!" he winked at Clanedd.


    She ignored him.


    Robert took one look at Kuro and spoke, "My, my! Look how big you have grown! How are you now? I hope you are no longer affiliated with EarthGov."


    Kuro brought his left hand behind his head and spoke, "Nah! I was actually, but our group went rogue. SkyLab2 is now our base of operations. We are now known as ''NanoTec''. Don''t laugh. On behalf of them, we would like thank you guys for the huge amount of assist into the SkyLab2 project." Kuro laughed.


    He really was from ICY, Clanedd thought to herself.


    Robert then spoke, "Well thank goodness. It was lucky you happened to come by, or we may well be sitting in a crater by now! And the assist wasn''t that much anyways! We only supplied boxes."


    He turned towards TKE and continued, "Ah yes, about SkyLab2, even though we did partially fund it behind the scenes, we would like to apologize for that ''Dalek'' drone incident. Not because I want to though. It seems that we owe you and I''m not repaying it."


    TKE sighed and said, "Fine, whatever."


    He was not in any mood to start another conversation with someone who nearly indirectly endangered his life.


    Robert shouted, "Great! Now we are even! Right guys?"


    Shanekaltulocifu and *data redacted* nodded.


    Kuro continued, "Well, it was great seeing you guys again! But I have to take my leave. Come on guys let''s go! Keep those suits on. I busted the window." He laughed as he ended his sentence.


    Clanedd dropped her head, "He really did break something after all!"


    Claev withered on the ground in agony. Short, sudden gasps of air escaped from his lips. Saegen looked at the EarthGov combat drone sprawled on the ground, the escaping fluid making a gleaming pool on the floor.


    Saegen felt something in his mind click. Why had he not thought about it before? Nobody in their right minds would send military personnel into a space station that mutinied. They would send... He paused to think.


    Drones... Of course they would. Saegen thought to himself. What else are any more efficient then them? Now, what do we need when we operate drones?


    Saegen reached his hand out to Claev.


    "Can you walk?"


    "Maybe..."


    "Good. Fall back quickly. Go!"


    Saegen pulled Claev to his feet. He grimaced as he held his broken left arm for support. Claev turned and half staggered, half ran off down the hallways.


    There were more EarthGov soldiers approaching. Their footsteps were already echoing down the corner. Saegen gritted his teeth, and ran for the nearest airlock. It was not far. Just turn right from where he was and there it was. A small cross junction and a firefight taking place in that junction separated Saegen from his destination.


    He paused for a moment. He reared back slightly before running and diving through the junction, avoiding EarthGov fire at the same time. Using his RIG, Saegen opened the blast door remotely as he slid into the airlock right under the drone''s noses.


    He closed the door and put the airlock to emergency decompression mode after taking the NightStalker off his back and throwing it onto the deck. Immediately, he pulled an EVA suit off from the wall and just as quickly pulled himself through the long baggy appendages of the apparatus.


    "*Opening blast doors in 10 seconds!*" the computer rang out.


    Fighting with the suit, he pulled the sleeves on and fastened on the helmet just as the blast doors opened, sucking all the air together with the scientist out into space.


    Saegen reached his hand out and grabbed the NightStalker just as it flew past his face. It was adapted from ICY Product''s ''$10'' MAG technology, and was never tested. Until that day.


    The first thing he saw was the rows of boarding pods lined up on the outer hull of the station as far as he could see. Hovering slightly towards his right, was a destroyer sized ''station''.


    It had spike like antenna mounted on the sides and top of it. This was definitely the drone uplink, designed for semi-autonomous operation of combat drones and a clear broadband for direct control.


    Directly in the center of the fifty meter diameter hull were blinking red lights and graphite radiators. Clearly indicating the rough location of the fission reactor.


    Saegen gritted his teeth, both in anticipation and anxiety. What if the railgun catastrophically malfunctioned during the firing process or what if it misfired? He shrugged those thoughts off. There was no time for that.


    He opened the firing chamber of the prototype gun and loaded the empty slot with a single soft iron slug encased with a tungsten carbide outer shell. He pushed the bolt back into the gun and it chambered with a dull, inaudible clang.


    Saegen flipped the switch for the power bridge between the inbuilt Shangri-La Fusion Reactor and the NightStalker charged with a low hum. The power levels rose steadily. 80%, 90% and eventually 100%.


    Saegen took a deep breath and looked through the scope of the rifle. Four diagonal red lines pointed to a single blue dot in the very center of the electronic targeting scope. The power levels rose into overcharge and electrical arcs flew across the barrel of the gun.


    The NightStalker, was producing a high pitched whine now and shaking violently in the scientist''s hand. Saegen held his breath, he braced himself and pulled the trigger.


    A flash of bright light erupted from the gun barrel. The electrical discharges began flying all over the place as the slug was spat forth at nearly fourteen times the speed of sound, grinding against the barrel of the railgun, producing a tremendous amount of sparks as the shell left the chamber.


    Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The butt of the NightStalker was pushed backwards sharply and it buried itself deep into Saegen''s shoulder.


    The pain was excruciating as he was thrown backwards nearly 30 meters by the sheer recoil of the gun. The metal slug arrived at its target almost instantly with pin point accuracy.


    The slug buried itself deep into the armor of the drone link, leaving the surrounding metal glowing orange from the heat of impact. The slug tumbled within its target and pierced through the other side. Uranium oxide gases spilled out of the gaping hole punched through the hull as the uplink''s lights flickered and eventually shut off entirely.


    The device fell into deep sleep. It was now at mercy of the hands of the NanoTec engineers.


    Saegen opened comms link, "How are things going on there? Everything OK?"


    Amongst static came the reply, "This is security squad 01, we don''t know what happened, but the soldie... I mean drones'' performance have seemed to have dropped."


    The soldier cleared his voice and spoke again.


    "They are malfunctioning sir! Their actions are so predictable now! Proceeding with the clear up sir!"


    Saegen smiled and replied, "Alright! Our job here is done! Clear up the rest. I expect a report."


    "Yes sir!"


    Saegen maneuvered himself back towards the airlock and prepared to board the station. He gave a sigh of relief, as he held his right shoulder. It began to feel cold and numb and he was sure the gun dislocated it.


    "So much for prototype weapons." Saegen mumbled to himself. "They never work well. Not like in those movies..."


    Saegen sighed again as he lazily grabbed onto the edge of the blast door before pulling himself back into the station. If he had paid a little more attention to his surroundings, he would have spotted a distinct ball of plasma headed towards SkyLab2...


    Clanedd was clinging on to TKE for dear life again.


    "Could you really do without flying this fast?! She yelled."


    Kuro shouted back, "I certainly can but that is for losers!"


    Clanned wailed, "Why did we ever hire this guy?!"


    The spaceplane was blazing through the upper atmosphere climbing steadily and quickly. The shuttle''s ablative heat shielding had completely peeled away and some of the plasma was leaking through the crack in the window.


    The altimeter read 90 km and climbing as the plane left the atmosphere. A loud screeching sound was suddenly heard as the final molecules of Earth''s atmosphere tore the left wing off the plane. The plane spun on it''s ''X-axis'' periodically before Kuro cut the right engine''s thrusters, bringing the plane back to stability.


    Clanned fainted due to fright and TKE held onto her tightly.


    "*Solar wind levels critical!*" The computer pleaded again, as though it were saying, "Please stop doing this to me! I have a limit too!"


    Kuro ignored it again. The large silhouette of SkyLab2 loomed closer and closer, completely eclipsing the afternoon sun that hung above.


    Kuro spoke quickly through the comms network for SkyLab2 to open their landing bay blast doors. The blast doors slid open slowly with some friction between the joints of the machinery, producing a small amount of sparks.


    Kuro aimed the nose of the spaceplane directly into it and stepped on the accelerator... Metaphorically. He drew nearer to the landing bay at a breakneck speed of more than 200 meters a second.


    As the grey of the blast doors drew nearer and nearer, Kuro casually mentioned, "By the way, the inertia and breaks control were mounted on the left wing you know."


    TKE groaned. He saw his life flash by his eyes.


    "You''re kidding." He said weakly.


    "Yup. There are no breaks... Yup. No breaks."


    "Well hallelujah." TKE said sarcastically as the spaceplane flew straight into the hangers.


    To be continued.

 04: 2095: Ancient Legends

    In times of crisis there are two kinds of people. There is the kind of people who would do whatever it takes within their power to win, to clamber to the top, taking whatever glory and honor it comes with it. Even if it means stepping all over one''s own comrades to do so. Then, there are those people who are righteous, wanting to uphold their morals even at the cost of the battle or even at the cost of their own lives. They care for nothing but to help those in need. On a broken world such as Earth, people are no longer fighting only for mere resources but for their own lives. From the death and destruction, rose people of moral stature. They long not for power, but for the prosperity of humankind as a whole. They are the salvation of the wastelands. They are the Ancient Legends.


    SkyLab2 was meant to be a science station and was built like one. There was no armor or any proper hard-points to install weapons, thus the installation of said weapons was particularly tedious.


    This time, Clanedd, the Head Engineer''s assistant, was given the opportunity to helm the given project.


    ''Just bolt the turret platforms on, how hard can that be?'' Or so Saegen said. Clanedd''s thoughts kept straying to what the scientist had said mere minutes ago.


    She floated around issuing orders to the engineers and answering the same questions on topics such as ''where to put that'' and ''how to install that''. Even though she was out only for 15 minutes, she was already exhausted.


    Moving around in EVA was not as easy as it looked, Clanedd thought to herself as she stared blankly at the holographic screen generated by her RIG.


    Her gaze wandered and settled onto Earth. The dusty brown ball sitting towards her right together with the sun just to the left of it. It was sunrise along the orbit path of SkyLab2 and the rising sun illuminated the planet''s thin atmosphere with a reddish blue hue. It certainly looked beautiful, Clanedd thought to herself, even in spite of the fact that the planet could no longer harbor life. If only that lifeless sphere of dust could become green again like that described in English literature...


    "Umm, ma''am? Are you alright?" spoke a voice through her comms. A fellow engineer floated up to her.


    Clanedd snapped out of her daydream, "...Yeah, I perfectly fine." She replied promptly with fresh instructions after which the engineer nodded and floated back to the construction site.


    Clanedd''s thoughts began to stray again but she put it back on track. She maneuvered herself over to the VLS platform mounted over Observatory Deck 12.


    Sitting within the deck was a lone man. He was wearing a white lab coat over a plain black shirt and on his lap was a cup of milk coffee. He took a sip and looked up towards Clanedd. She would have recognized that face anywhere.


    He raised his left hand and waved. Clanedd''s instinctively waved back, returning his smile. He put down his cup of coffee, stood up and pointed at Clanedd. Not at her directly but right over her left shoulder. He put his other hand to the side of his mouth and spoke. Clanedd could not hear him of course but the words formed upon his lips seemed to spell, ''spaceship''.


    Clanedd turned around immediately and was faced by the sight of a massive structure floating before her. It was surprising that she did not notice it before.


    The object was spherical and by estimation, it was probably about 1.2 km in diameter. Skylab2''s record of being the largest space station was smashed by the colossal complex not only in terms of mass, but in sheer size as well.


    In the center was a blue glass sphere and circling that were multiple silvery black pipes intertwining among themselves and around the main glass sphere. The sheer number of them almost completely obscured the inner glass sphere from view. It had no visible weapons mounted on its deck but it looked very dangerous.


    Clanedd was stunned by the fact that nobody had ever noticed it before. Perhaps it only ever crossed SkyLab2''s orbit path on that particular day or was recently built and sent up into orbit as a whole. Whatever it was, that was the first Clanedd ever saw it. She was even more so surprised when she saw the logo of the infamous ice cube painted on the outer hull of the structure.


    So even those idiots know what they are doing, Clanedd thought to herself. If those insane people can accomplish such feats, then what are we... Her thoughts were interrupted by what seemed to be a shadowy figure standing within the sphere. He lifted both of his hands slowly, seemingly getting ready to issue an order to attack. Clanedd held her breath in. What was he going to do? Her mind raced. Holding his hands in the air for about 7 seconds, he began waving. Oh... Clanedd thought to herself disbelieved and rather embarrassed. I think I have a rough idea on who that guy was...She continued thinking to herself.


    "I cannot believe it!" Clanedd heaved a sigh of exasperation while complaining to TKE.


    "After I spent hours out there in a little space blimp, we have only managed to construct a single VLS. Not even one of those newly developed MAG turrets!"


    TKE tried to calm the jumpy Clanedd down. "Relax. Relax. I know how you feel. However..."


    He was immediately interrupted, "That''s not the point!" TKE sighed.


    Every time he tried to calm his deputy engineer down, his words would be immediately be intertwined with that of said engineer.


    TKE sighed again. Sometimes, I really cannot understand women, he thought to himself. Quickly, he began speaking again.


    "Um, why don''t I take the project under my wings then? Perhaps that would make you feel better?"


    "Like I said earlier, that is not the point here..." she said again.


    Did she ever say that earlier? TKE''s mind wandered and was forcefully brought back with Clanedd''s whining.


    "For once I could have been of use to NanoTec but I did not do as well as sir would have expected! *Blah blah blah*"


    Clanedd continued. Ah, NanoTec. Ever since we went down to the planet to visit ICY, that name stuck...TKE thought to himself while keeping his mouth shut. No words would cool the furious assistant engineer down now. At best, would make her keep yelling for another five minutes. TKE sighed for the nth time. This is going to take a while, he thought to himself.


    The head engineer floated around in his EVA suit around the station, NightStalker MAG (Magnetic Acceleration Gun) slung across his back.


    Today was not going very well, thought TKE and for a good reason too. He had to sit, or rather stand through the worst three hours of his week listening to Clanedd complain and Saegen had come by just after Clanedd left and had him take care of his "toy" before going to take baryon radiation readings with Claev near the poles of the planet.


    This time, he replaced Clanedd as the overseer of the defense operation project as she was on break. The first MAG Cannon had already been built and the 2nd VLS was almost to full operational status.


    "I do not see what made it so difficult for her to do this..." TKE mumbled to himself while gesturing and making hand signs towards his engineers on where to go.


    He was about to maneuver himself towards the construction site when he noticed something pop up on the HUD of his RIG. Little red dots surrounded by grey partial circles denoted the unknown contacts.


    It was not space debris, but something approaching up from the horizon situated over what used to be Poland. He brought the NightStalker''sscope to his right eye and looked through. TKE''s eyes widened. He knew that sight anywhere.


    Through the electronic scope, the image of six EarthGov destroyers immediately appeared. Their famous or rather infamous ring-shaped rear portion was seen easily and their combustion engines were burning at full power. All but one of them had a hammerhead shaped front, and had their center/mission section decked out with many steel scaffolding and struts. Mounted on this scaffolding were four circular shaped pods tipped with what seemed to be laser drills. Boarding pods. The final ship had a standard "number 7" like front and had a single white disk spinning slowly mounted on the spine of the ship. The command ship, also known as the "Squadron CNC" among EarthGov personnel.


    The ships began spreading out into a horizontal line formation, similar to that of tanks besieging a fortified position.


    "Sir?!" one of his engineers called out worriedly.


    TKE gulped once. "Get all of the men back into SkyLab2!"


    The engineer remained silent, looking fazed.


    "What are you waiting for? Go!"


    The engineer snapped back to his senses, he nodded his head and he brought his left hand to his neck to initiate the communication sequence.


    TKE turned his head back towards the approaching destroyers.


    "Distance 240km... Relative velocity, 121 m/s and rising..."


    He flipped the switch on the MAG rifle in his hands to charge mode. The rifle inaudibility hummed to life. The ships closed in even faster onto the lone space station. Their distance shrank rapidly.


    TKE brought the NightStalkerto his shoulder and rested it there comfortably. The tip of the barrel shook with each breath taken by the head engineer. He took another breath and held it. Electrical arcs were flying across the surface of the gun as it went into overcharge.


    TKE''s brain raced. Calculations. Distance, relative velocity, solar wind, minute of angle, parabolic correction, etc... He smiled.


    "Gotcha!" and pulled the trigger.


    A dazzling flash and countless electric sparks erupted from the mouth of the barrel as the gun shot backwards deeply into TKE''s shoulder and he squeezed his eyes, grimacing with pain from the massive recoil.


    The metal slug of was hurled forth at many times the speed of sound, creating a semi-visible wake in its path. It closed the gap at a blinding speed and buried itself deep into the hull of one of the pod carriers.


    Within seconds, the spine of the 90m long destroyer cracked under the massive impact and hull plating were sent flying in all directions. All its precious oxygen rushed out into space taking a few men with it.


    A steel beam was blasted directly off the surface of the ship and struck the neighboring command ship on its spinning disk. The fibreglass disk shattered into a thousand pieces and was ripped clean off the mission section.


    Both ships were rendered inoperable and disabled. Double kill! TKE chuckled. He would have pumped his fist if he were not clutching his dislocated right shoulder.


    His RIG then made a ''ding'' noise, indicating that the station based defenses he was uplinked to were powering up, and ready to begin firing.


    The VLS modules were not loaded yet as missiles were difficult to produce and expensive, but the MAG cannon was already loaded and charging.


    Magnetic rails are not fussy weapons. Anything small enough and ferromagnetic would do the trick. Considering the many screws, fragments of previous launches, space junk in orbit, ammunition was abundant and plentiful.


    Using his free left hand, TKE began pressing the many buttons on his RIG holographic display, all while maneuvering himself into a small, sheltered corner of the space station where he could see clearly and be protected from shrapnel at the same time.


    "If a hand-held weapon could do that much damage, I really wonder what this thing can do..." TKE laughed to himself as he pressed the big red button on his RIG''s display.


    If TKE could hear through the vacuums of space, he would have heard the enormous thunder of the MAG cannon firing its very first shot.


    EarthGov ships were built out of ceramic to shield them from heat based weaponry ever since the first alien incursion. There was nothing a few layers of brittle clay could do against a speeding 20 centimeter diameter, railgun slug flying at 14 times the speed of sound.


    This time it''s target was another pod carrier destroyer. The shell hit its mark directly on the hammerhead section on the front and literally ploughed through the entire ship, exiting from an engine exhaust port slightly to the left of the initial entry point.


    Needless to say, the entire ship, ring and all were shredded, torn apart and looked nothing like its original form. Nobody could have survived that. All that remained was a new cloud of space debris. TKE silently prayed that the SkyLab2''s whipple shielding could take the damage from the stray debris heading for it.


    The MAG cannon fired again shaking the whole station with its recoil. TKE felt it behind him but kept himself steady. Another ship down, he thought to himself. If a single defensive turret could do so much, then what about twenty?


    TKE smiled with glee at the thought as he huddled behind a protrusion from the station. There was no time to reenter SkyLab2 at that rate. The vibrations of the single MAG cannon firing was jarring, even from where TKE was standing. That gave a very significant insight on the potential of the technology in use.


    Peaking out of cover, TKE noted that four of the EarthGov ships had been neutralized. The last remaining two pod carriers, without the command ship, began to break formation. Their maneuvering seemed panicked and highly uncoordinated. Much like if one allowed a rampant artificial intelligence pilot a ferris wheel.


    One of the ships suddenly began turning towards starboard, directly crossing the path of the second. Glints of sparks appeared as the two hulls made contact and exchanged paint.


    The MAG cannon fired again, rippling through the station like a wave. The shot was perfectly lined up, penetrating the armor of the first and second destroyer. The ceramic hull fragments were soon flying all over the place, adding two more destroyer broken in two.


    Despite the pain TKE unconsciously pumped his left hand, pleased with the performance. A computer''s voice resounded through TKE''s RIG.


    "*All intruding ships eliminated. Initiating defensive platform, power down...Restoring level of minimal alert levels*"


    TKE breathed a sigh of relief and satisfaction. Still clutching his injured right shoulder and NightStalker slung across his back, he slowly made his way to the airlock.


    "N-New contact!" the radar operator''s voice could be heard through the station''s universal channel. That being said, TKE could also hear it, despite still being outside in EVA.


    "Warship!" he continued in panic. "Corvette class, u-unknown! Bearing, 274 degrees, angle of depression 90 degrees! Closing in f-fast, distance 2 kilometers!"


    TKE was dumbstruck. What?! Another ship?! His thoughts were interrupted by the radar man''s frantic shouting.


    "I don''t know...The radar should have detected him..."


    The sirens within the base began blaring again.


    "Ah, damn it. Were those previous EarthGov ships just distractions?"


    TKE swore to himself, "Without Claev and Saegen, looks like I am going to have to take charge...again."


    TKE maneuvered himself to the underside of the station via magnetic boots. It was a difficult trek down as communications and infrastructure were scattered throughout the entire bottom half of the station.


    When he did get there however, TKE saw the red vessel in question. It was corvette sized, more like a glorified shuttle than a destroyer. It had attached itself to the moderator site of one of the station''s nuclear reactors obviously in preparation for boarding.


    A brief estimation led TKE to conclude that the shuttle was at least 200 meters away from him. He raised NightStalker on instinct but almost immediately dropped it as pain shot through his right arm. Gun recoil repercussions were no joke.


    There''s no way I''m going to be able to pull off a shot like this. TKE thought to himself. Damn it! TKE looked around in half desperation. He wouldn''t be able make it quickly to the airlock or to the shuttle to prevent an inevitable boarding of SkyLab2.


    "What should I do? What should I¡­" TKE stopped his mumbling, interrupting himself. Something clicked in his mind as he turned and spotted Observation Deck 02. It''s safety blast shutters had not been closed yet and the glass paneling was exposed. TKE smiled to himself.


    Clanedd heard the alarms come on a second time. What''s going on? She thought to herself. Weren''t all the hostiles shot down already? She pulled herself to her feet and looked around. SkyLab2''s lights had already flipped back to a crimson hue in anticipation for an engagement.


    "All hands on deck, this is the security officer of sector 02 speaking. An enemy ship has gotten within boarding range. Security Protocol 051 is active as of now. Security teams 01 to 12, arm yourselves and get ready for combat."


    The alert announcement came through shortly after. A dull metallic clang was heard from somewhere reverberating throughout the station.


    "The enemy has attached themselves to "Fubuki" Reactor Core 03. All hands vacate the local area immediately!"


    Clanedd''s mind raced. That is my area! She confirmed with herself. She rushed to the door immediately and left the maintenance room.


    Looking down both ends of the corridor, she noted that there was indeed the sound of thermite reacting coming from the reactor sectors. Quickly, Clanedd turned and ran down the corridor in the opposite direction.


    The frigid air whipped her face as blast shutters came down literally meters behind her as she ran, turning one last corner, Clanedd found herself face to face with the security officer of sector 02. She could immediately see as he wore the number ''02'' on his right arm.


    "Woah!" He backed away on instinct and reached for his sidearm which was not there. "Oh. It''s just an engineer. What are you doing here? Did you not here the order to evacuate?"


    "I did. That''s what I am doing now." Clanedd replied half panting and resting her hands on her knees.


    "You injured?" he reached his hand out. Clanedd shook her head.


    "No. Where is the armory?"


    "No Ma''am. That''s not where you are supposed to go. Right now¡­"


    "One cannot bear to sit around and do nothing while all his comrades are dying all around him. Correct?"


    The security officer was dumbfounded and silent.


    "I have to do something and after all, you need all the help you can get yes?"


    "But¡­" he tried to protest but conceded in the end. "Yes. Ma''am. I understand. Follow me."


    The security officer grabbed Clanedd''s hand without another word and dashed off, almost dragging the deputy head engineer behind him. They arrived at the armory within the next minute and they immediately got to work.


    The security officer pulled a M2 Combat handgun off the wall, and strapped on a combat vest over his uniform. An M24 Assault rifle was also taken by him and slung on his back.


    Flicking a few switches on his RIG, his HUD began to display his ammunition count, his allies'' vital signs and most importantly, his own health bar. The bar was blue and filled to the max. He was ready.


    The security officer pulled off another M24 Assault rifle from the racks and tossed it to Clanedd which she skillfully caught with her two hands.


    "You have basic gunnery training right?" Clanedd nodded, her cat hair clip bouncing up and down in agreement.


    "Good. Don''t die on me."


    "Of course not. Neither should you¡­ What''s your name?"


    "Elleno. It''s just Elleno. Now, we don''t have much time. Get a gas mask. It will protect you in case you get exposed to hard vacuum.


    Clanedd acknowledged his suggestion and put on a gas mask on the way out. With that, the two made their way swiftly to the reactor sector.


    Halfway there, something caught Clanedd''s eyes. I am sure I something big and red towards my left... she thought to herself.


    Stopping herself, she retraced her steps, looked towards her left and a big red button stared right back at her.


    Labeled above the button, engraved in the steel plating were cyan blue etchings that read, "ICY Products: Self-Destruct Button. Press for fireworks! ;D"


    Why didn''t anyone notice this before?! She wondered. Luckily nobody did, or we would be traversing the endless void by now!


    Elleno stopped and turned to see Clanedd idling. He tried to hurry her along but Clanedd held up her hand to tell him to keep quiet. The security officer obliged.


    Taking out a notebook, Clanedd hastily scribbled on it and stuck the piece of paper over the button.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Out of order" it read in rather untidy writing.


    Clanedd conducted a quick inspection of her handiwork and acknowledged its approval with a short nod.


    Suddenly a loud clang of what seemed like the outer hull section of SkyLab2 hitting the internal walls of the station, resounded through the corridors.


    "Oh no. Please don''t tell me that was the reactor shielding." Clanedd mumbled to herself as she put her right foot into the ground, kicking herself into full speed.


    "Sorry Elleno." Clanedd yelled as she ran past said security officer. "I had to do something about the button."


    Elleno turned behind him for a second before shrugging his shoulders and following Clanedd closely behind. There was a button? He thought to himself.


    Running side by side, Elleno and Clanedd both made haste and arrived at the reactor sector in a minute.


    The sound of gunfire and bullets deflecting off the walls filled the air, indicating that the fire fight had already begun.


    Feeling a bullet whiz past him, Elleno ducked down on instinct and put his back against the wall. Next to him were, his fellow security team members crouching behind cover, suppressed by the boarder''s continuous shooting. Clanedd followed suit


    "Sir! Glad you showed up!" The security team 04''s leader exclaimed.


    A projectile ricocheted off the metal panel above his head and he ducked instinctively.


    "There is one boarding craft, and from what we see, there are eleven men among them. They seem extremely well trained and armed. We advise caution."


    Elleno nodded. He turned his head and looked around the wall. Staring back at him ten meters away was the black gun barrel of an unknown rifle.


    The soldier holding the rifle was armored with a full life supported deep red battle suit chest piece and black gauntlets. His helmet was of similar red shade except for the polarized visor mounted on the front.


    He did not look like an EarthGov soldier who usually used light grey and green. Elleno immediately reared his head back behind cover and the projectile missed him by mere millimeters from his face. It bounced off the wall with a sharp cling and onto the floor. It was a needle, just like that used in tranquilizers.


    Elleno then pushed his rifle out of cover and fired blindly, letting the recoil of the rifle take his aim wherever it saw fit, pumping the entire corridor with lead.


    Suddenly one of the security team members suddenly collapsed, needle puncturing his left shoulder. He did not scream or yell. He just...collapsed.


    Firing his M24 from cover, the security team leader shouted.


    "Suppression fire! Now!" Everyone within his squad stood up from their cover, hands on the trigger, only to be instantly cut down by the enemy''s skilled marksmen.


    "Ah shit! Come on!" The security team leader shouted in dismay.


    "Everyone, fall bac.." His sentence was cut shot by a needle to his back.


    Elleno took a step back instinctively. This time his enemies were not mere androids. They were thinking human beings.


    "Fall back and regroup! We can''t fight this spread out!"


    Elleno shouted through the RIG communications as he backpedaled with his gun still facing the enemy, firing as he went.


    Dashing back through the hallway with Clanedd and two other security members, Elleno could see the men clad in red pouring down after him.


    Clanedd spun around on her heels, crouched down and emptied an entire magazine down the intruders'' general direction.


    One of them dropped immediately, clutching a hole through his pelvis and the rest of them rolled away and hunkered down behind an adjacent hallway.


    Elleno gave a thumbs up to Clanedd and she nodded with a smile in return. The enemy was now suppressed, noted Clanedd. Time to finish them off.


    Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a high-explosive fragmentation grenade.


    "Huh?! Where the hell did you get that from?!" Elleno and the two remaining security members gasped.


    "Armory. I told you I was taking a few right Elleno?" Clanned replied as she began tugging at the pin.


    "W-Wait! Don''t use high explosives in the station, especially here with the glass windows and all..." However the grenade was already flying through the air.


    The little device landed with a dull clang as it''s hammer separated from the explosive unit. Within seconds, it erupted into a massive fireball, enveloping everyone in a bright light and shrouding them with a tremendous roar.


    The large glass windows caught in the blast cracked and the internal air pressure of the station did the rest, fragmenting the window into glistering shards.


    Every molecule of oxygen was instantly sucked out into the lethal vacuums of space along with two of the red clad intruders while they desperately tried to, but failing to grab onto anything.


    The wind produced was so powerful, it threatened to tear everyone off their feet and into space.


    Yelling, Clanedd shouted into her RIG.


    "Emergency life support! Now!" Elleno and the other two security members did as instructed.


    A full helmet with an oxygen supply was ejected from the RIG''s collar and it folded itself onto the NanoTec personnel''s heads. Matching gloves and boots also folded over their hands and shoes respectively, forming a fully air-tight seal over their bodies.


    It was a new feature for the RIG that TKE developed himself about a week ago. Everyone, including Clanedd thought it would be useless. Who was laughing now?


    All the air soon emptied from the hallway and the winds stopped as well. The enemy re-positioned themselves immediately and like an insect, one of the security members dropped to the needle to his right hip.


    "Come on..." Elleno mumbled to himself as he fumbled with the control panel to the door which coincidentally led to the command section.


    Clanedd emptied yet another magazine down the hallway and the gun thundered inaudibly. The intruders did not even bother to evade this time as Clanedd could barely control her centrifugal rotation about her centre of mass.


    The door slid open and the air from inside, mixed with a few papers were blasted out immediately. Elleno pulled Clanedd by the shoulder and pushed her through.


    Elleno then grabbed the last security personnel by the collar and raised him as a meat shield, against the latter''s will before the aggressors.


    He tried to protest but his voice faded away as expected before he crumpled to his knees and fell. There was a needle embedded in his knee and chest.


    Elleno pushed the limp body of the guard away and maneuvered himself through the door. A needle glanced off his helmet with a cling and an unknown pale yellow fluid splattered over his visor. Whatever it was, Elleno was sure it was the unconsciousness inducing agent.


    After throwing his rifle at the red-clad invaders and missing completely, Elleno smashed the door control panel with the handle of his pistol and the door slid shut.


    Elleno heard the clanging of the needle projectiles striking the door. That was close. Elleno thought to himself as his helmet automatically folded back into his collar.


    "What is our status?" Elleno asked aloud.


    The personnel on the command deck, all of which were grabbing onto something in a successful attempt to prevent themselves from being vented out into space, responded immediately with panic stricken voices.


    There was a flurry of answers. One of them was particularly clearer and louder, and as a result, stood out.


    "Well¡­ Umm¡­ Damage wise, it is repairable. However..."


    He was interrupted by a loud blast that shook the air. The door that the security officer came through flew off its motor and landed with a clang on the ground.


    Seven of the intruders streamed into the room, guns ablaze. Elleno pulled Clanedd down and attempted to duck down behind one of the tables. Elleno suddenly felt a pain similar to that of molten metal being poured down his extremities course through his neck and based purely on instinct, he reached for the injury and pulled out a needle.


    By then, his eyes felt heavy. Elleno''s whole body went numb and colors of varying shades of red, blue and green swirled within his field of vision.


    Elleno fell to his knees and as his eyes glazed over, he collapsed to the ground, letting the last drop of consciousness fade from his body.


    Clanedd, having been pulled down under a table by Elleno, heard the desperate shouts and yells of what remained of the command staff as they were dropped systematically by the invaders.


    Finally, the shooting stopped and silence ensued. Clanedd''s face was flat on the cold and hard plastic floor and from the corner of her eye, she saw one of the red soldiers take off his helmet.


    What was under it was the face of an old man. He had wrinkles over below his eyes and looks like he had seen better days. To Clanedd, he was a tall but thin man with brown hair who looked a little anxious. He kneeled down by one of the downed staff and spoke with a polite yet spine chilling voice.


    "My, my. That was some resistance you guys put up."


    Clanedd bit her lips and remained silent as she trembled in fear.


    "We, Ancient Legends, usually do not lose more than one member during an assault. I want three extra hours on the schedules of those who survived."


    "Yes sir."


    Clanedd heard the soft echo of that old man walking too and fro. To put it simply, the experience was unnerving.


    "So¡­ What now Zeth?" Came a voice, a rather young one too.


    "Oh please Vernon." ''Zeth'' said. "You brought the ANEB? The Hand of God?"


    "Err¡­ Yeah. It''s right here. See."


    There was silence for a brief moment.


    "Good. Bring it here please."


    There was a sound of high pitched metallic clinking. Followed by the clatter of a glass tube on the floor.


    "Don''t drop it you idiot!" boomed a voice.


    "Sorry. Sorry." ''Vernon'' replied hastily.


    More sounds of footsteps echoed around the command room. Clanedd still remained hurdled up under the table. They probably won''t check. She reassured herself. They won''t know¡­


    "Caspar." ''Zeth'' spoke in fluent Mandarin, EarthGov''s official language. "Take this down to the shuttle bay. I''m sure this NanoTec has plenty around. You know what to do."


    "Yes sir."


    A set of footsteps began receding to the opposite end of the command room. The blast door at that end opened and suddenly, there was a yell and the flat thunk of someone''s face being punched in.


    Everyone present in the room who was not unconscious turned towards the scene. One individual in an engineering EVA suit stood obstructively in the door way.


    A multitude of needles flew towards him in an instant and all of them struck home, embedding themselves in his EVA suit, each one with a dull thud on impact. Unexpectedly, he just stood there and stared at the needles before staring back at the red clad invaders.


    "You know." He spoke in a very muffled voice. "They call this a T-296 RShield EVA Suit for a reason."


    Slowly, he lumbered into the room. Slung on his back was the NightStalker prototype railgun. Clanedd''s eyes widened. She knew immediately who that was.


    "Alright." He spoke. "What do you idiots want from us."


    "Want? Ha ha! Very funny but we don''t want anything from you guys... Oh I forget to introduce ourselves. My name is Zeth, founder of Ancient Legends Inc. A pleasure."


    The man in the EVA suit remained unfazed.


    "I have read about you lot." EVA suit continued. "I am genuinely surprised you didn''t just kill everyone there and then, so I guess I have to thank you for that."


    Zeth remained silent and raised an eyebrow. He gestured to his men to lower their weapons, which they complied immediately.


    "Now, explain."


    "Straight to the point eh?" Zeth nodded. "Alright. We want to drop this on Earth."


    Zeth held out a tubular metal and glass capsule that contained a green swirling concoction within it.


    "That doesn''t look very safe. Is that why you have to drop it from here?"


    "Yes... And indeed it isn''t¡­ At least if you break it on a habitable planet. However, if you break it on a barren planet¡­"


    A display screen in the command sector, obviously hacked, showed an image of the wrecked planet Earth.


    "It will restore it''s atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, sphere-sphere or what ever kind of sphere you wish to restore."


    "Really?" EVA suit seemed skeptical. "If so, why didn''t you goddamn ask us first damn it?!"


    Zeth scratched his cheek. "Well¡­ We were told by EarthGov that they lost contact with you lot and thus we thought that we won''t be able to contact you through radio¡­"


    "Goddamnit, and I thought Ancient Legends were smarter than that if not, at least smarter than ICY¡­ And yes Clanedd, I can see you trembling there. You can come out now."


    Clanedd cautiously peeked out from her hiding place under the desk. As soon as she emerged, she felt eight pairs of eyes settle upon her.


    "Oh, I missed one?!" Zeth seemed to be in shock. "Four hours."


    "Yes sir."


    EVA suit folded his arms and although muffled, Clanedd could hear him sigh deeply.


    "And thus, all the lives lost for nothing¡­ How long does the tranquilizer last?"


    "One hour, tops."


    "Good. Now finish what you want to do and get out."


    "Alright, alright." Zeth began. "Sorry¡­"


    A few minutes passed and Zeth received a message through his radio communicator.


    "ANEB is secure and ready to deploy sir."


    "Excellent." Zeth replied. "Sir. Would you have the honor?"


    He was obviously referring to EVA suit.


    "You knew I was of high status? Well, I''ll be damned and no. Go do it yourself."


    "I can''t force you after all and we don''t have much time. The temporary airlock we placed on the door over there will not last. We have to make it quick."


    "You mean you punctured the hull while you were at it?" EVA suit sighed again. "I''ll add it to your tab."


    Zeth ignored him. He then walked up to the command console and depressed a button. There was a sudden but dampened roar of a rocket engine from the shuttle bay and from the viewing console, EVA suit and Clanedd saw a NanoTec shuttle fly out from the bay at top speed and burned retrograde. Hard.


    "That''s another ten billion, Ancient Legend." EVA suit fumed.


    Zeth looked at his suit watch and after five minutes, began counting.


    "Three, two, one!" and with a blinding flash, the planet lit up like Christmas.


    Zeth began laughing, "Ha Ha! We did it! We have done it!"


    EVA suit and Clanedd looked up at the screen again and to their amazement, the Earth was now indeed turning green.


    Spreading out from ground zero, the planet changed color like a shockwave emanating from a thermonuclear bomb.


    The grass began to grow, and the oceans began filling with water again.


    Zeth''s face was plastered with a warm and friendly smile now. All traces of worry and anxiety vanished with the radiation on the planet.


    EVA suit folded his arms again. "Well, if that was all you were going to do, then you really should have just asked."


    Zeth nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I guess you''re right. Even though this mission was meant to be top secret, ICY''s deciphering technologies are not up to scratch after all."


    "I''m glad you understand." EVA suit nodded. "Now remember you owe me¡­ I mean NanoTec a good sum of money or an equivalent worth in materials."


    "Alright. Can do. Come on now, let''s go. We have done what we came to do."


    Zeth extended an hand to EVA suit, which he took hold of shook.


    Zeth spoke again. "Again, I am very sorry for our sudden intrusion. We will issue reparations as soon as we can."


    EVA suit opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Zeth.


    "Well, what''s done is done. We shall take our leave now. Oh, and don''t worry. The tranquilizers has no adverse side effects, we simply put your crew into deep sleep. There is nothing to worry about. Bye!"


    And with that, Zeth put his helmet back on and together with his six other men, he stepped out of the command section through the temporary airlock. The room was now empty but EVA suit standing with Clanedd among their unconscious colleagues and papers strewn all over the place.


    "Now that''s what I would call a spectacular show." Said a voice.


    EVA suit spun around, making sure that Clanedd was behind him before looking at the new adversary.


    An EarthGov soldier emerged from the shadow behind a door frame nearly a good 15 meters away from him. He clapped his hands, stretched and yawned.


    "Good. Now those crimson boots are gone, we now have control over your station. We should really have done this long ago"


    The soldier, clad in light grey and green raised his automatic pistol and pointed it at EVA suit.


    "Such a shame, I had friends on board those six "gunboats" you guys shot down. Luckily the higher ups had the sense to station me with the third class whinnies didn''t they."


    He pulled the slide of the pistol back. The click of a 50 caliber bullet cambering in the gun barrel was heard. EVA suit heard him mumble lazily.


    "Let''s get this over with. Stand down or I shoot you¡­ You know the usual drill."


    His grip tightened on the weapon. EVA suit did not budge.


    "Can you like¡­ Not. I just go out on one engineering trip and leave the station unattended and look what I come back to. Such a mess and we all know whose fault it is."


    "I warn you again. Stand down now or I shoot."


    "Yeah. Sure. Most evil villains never have the balls to shoot anyways." EVA suit sneered as he took a stride forwards.


    Bang! The sound echoed and a clatter of a shell casing followed shortly after. EVA suit flinched, a small entry hole in his right upper abdomen appeared.


    "Ooh¡­ That smarts." EVA suit stared at the puncture and dusted it off with his left hand. He grimaced slightly. "That suit was expensive you know."


    "What?" the EarthGov soldier seemed stunned. "But, how?!"


    EVA suit took bigger steps towards the soldier and swiftly un-slung NightStalker from his back.


    "Why do people keep disregarding the fact that¡­" he brought the NightStalker well above his head with his left hand. "The suit is called an EVA suit for a reason!"


    The prototype railgun made contact with the soldier''s head and he collapsed to the ground instantly with a dent in his helmet.


    "And before you ask how I managed to dent that reinforced helmet of yours¡­" EVA suit said. "It''s because EVA suit. That''s why!"


    The NightStalker clattered to the ground and EVA suit fell to his knees, clutching his right shoulder.


    "What a day¡­" He muttered. "I really ought to get a pay raise for this¡­ That is if I had a pay to begin with."


    Clanedd ran over to EVA suit and undid his helmet.


    "Saegen, sir. Are you OK? Can you walk?"


    "Saegen? Me?" EVA suit began as his helmet came undone and said helmet fell to the ground. Underneath it, was the face of the head engineer.


    "Hello Clanedd." TKE said gleefully.


    "Teek¡­ Sir?!" Clanedd gasped. "What are you doing here?"


    "Taking care of problems¡­ As usual." TKE laughed lightly.


    Clanedd remained silent. For all he knew, she might just be fuming under that cute expression she was making but, who was going to care?


    Suddenly, someone groaned from within the command room. A hand reached out from under a table and grabbed the table. He tried to pull himself up but ended up pulling the table onto himself, causing what was on the table to spill all over the place.


    "Ah, bollocks." He said amongst flying sheets of paper. Slowly but surely, that person pushed the table off himself and clambered to his feet, all the while stumbling around, regaining his balance.


    "Elleno?" Clanedd and TKE both said at the same time.


    "Ah, hello." He replied back. "Oh boy, that was one hell of a dream mate."


    "Hm?" TKE unconsciously said.


    "It felt weird, as though I was floating about in some blue hue thing. It was warm and nice but something was trying to talk to me and even after I told it to bugger off too. How rude!"


    "How long did it feel for you?" TKE asked, still clutching his right shoulder.


    "Half an hour? An hour? I don''t know really."


    "What did it talk to you about?"


    "Something about, only you can do it or some crap like that. If I must say so myself, that thing was late."


    "Did you get hit?"


    "Yeah¡­ I guess."


    "Strange. I have to do some further research in MAXIS."


    "In what?"


    "Never mind. Return to your station after you get some rest. The engineers will clear up the mess."


    "Alright then. Thank you sir."


    TKE then turned to Clanedd. "Well. That does it. We have a lot of work to do and boy do I hurt. And damn. I am feeling really tired now."


    TKE undid one of the outer fabric pieces of his EVA suit and noted some yellow fluid dripping out from the suit cavity.


    "Is that the¡­ tranquilizer?" TKE asked, his eyes getting heavier and heavier.


    "I-I''m afraid so¡­" Clanedd said.


    "Well¡­ shit." TKE swore. "So much for breathable under wicking."


    With that TKE collapsed to the floor and went out like a light.


    TKE opened his eyes and from the cold hard floor he was lying on previously, he was now out of his EVA suit and on a medical bed with his right arm in a cast.


    Claev walked up to his bed and with a wry smile he commented with a chuckle.


    "For goodness sake Head Engineer how many times do you intend on making a mess and having yourself hospitalized?"


    TKE could only just smile back and give a nervous chuckle.


    "Dear lord it took us over five hours to clear up the mess after that little ''party'' of yours."


    TKE glared at the doctor. He raised two hands in submission,


    "Alright, fine, fine, I was just joking. Anyways, get well soon. You have been sitting on that stack of mattresses for a day now."


    Claev opened up his RIG. "Goodness me. How much of that crap did they pump into you? Most of the crew awoke in an hour you know."


    "Yeah. I''m a lazy bugger, I know." TKE replied sarcastically.


    Claev ignored him. "The station defense system has already been set up completely, (no thanks to you), and we intend on building the TeraNova soon."


    "Already?"


    "Yup. Tell me, don''t you think it is an exciting endeavor?"


    TKE closed his eyes. "Sounds like a lot more paperwork for me."


    "Oh come on! You just don''t know when to stop now do you."


    TKE chuckled and said not another word.


    "Alright then. You better get well. Or I''ll have your head."


    With that, Claev left the room. TKE sighed, he turned to his right and to his surprise, was Clanedd standing by the corner of the room.


    She walked over to him and with a swift action, she slapped TKE''s face.


    "H-Hey! What was that for?"


    "For making us¡­ me worry. Geez. You do this too often."


    "Man got to do what man got to do after all!"


    "You''re hopeless."


    "I know. I know¡­"


    Clanedd''s frown slowly became a smile, as she sat down beside TKE.


    "You seem well enough to get up and do something."


    "No, I''m not. I am injured. Poor me. Boo hoo."


    Clanedd''s eye twitched slightly.


    "Alright then. Since everything has been solved and Ancient Legends had already paid their reparations, I''ll give you a break. I''ll just dismantle your coffee machine and bring it over to Claev''s office instead."


    Clanedd got up and made her way to the door with a chuckle.


    TKE shot up from bed. He eyed Clanedd as she opened the door and left the room. TKE climbed out of bed and set his feet onto the floor.


    After ensuring that his balance was suitable, he glared at the door.


    "Nobody threatens me with my coffee machine and gets away with it."


    TKE smiled slightly as he made his way to the door of the medical room and opened it.


    To be continued.

 05: 2096: Black Sky

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    ¡°Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


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    Saegen burst into the room. Black soot covered his face and lab coat.

 06: 2100: Flight to the Distant Star

    In the late 21st century, once again, humanity or rather, NanoTec escaped from Einstein''s cage. The ring shaped engine of the Alcubierre Drive gave them the power to leap to the nearest star at many, many times the speed of light.


    After years and years of dreaming, they were finally ready to leave the cradle of their homeworld. It was eleven years later that the first human interstellar colony ship was built.


    The NNT TeraNova was a symbol of mankind¡¯s innovation and honor. It was to be loaded with humanity''s best and brightest, ready to inherit a galaxy they long ago decided was devoid of life. The universe was all out there for their taking.


    That...was until the Spores arrived. They came in silence. No statement of intention. No declaration of war. Not even a demand for their surrender. They struck humanity so hard and fast, that within seconds all the precious hopes and dreams they clung so tightly to were all but burning meteors falling to Earth...


    The NNT TeraNova was well on its way to completion. Its aluminum scaffolding was laid down on November 2096 and after four years of construction, the whole ship was finally complete apart from a few sub-systems that had yet to be installed.


    It was lucky that the years of construction were smooth sailing with little to no complications or the process would have taken much longer.


    The ship was unique in its own sense, besides the fact that it looked exactly like an upsized EarthGov cruiser with boxes attached to its sides.


    The 700 meter long colony ship ran on a Shangri-La Fusion Reactor and was fueled by a deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction, unlike the fission powered EarthGov ships which ran on Thorium-232.


    Its main thrusters were also powerful fusion reactors of inline design, running on helium exhaust from the internal reactors.


    Having little to no armor at all, the TeraNova could not take too much damage before the pressure hull fails entirely. It was not a warship after all.


    What really made this ship special however, was that it was the first human built starship to ever equip a form of FTL engine.


    The Alcubierre Drive that resided in and on its stern was the specially built ring shaped warp field distributor. As NanoTec¡¯s warp field technology was still in its inkling stages and was not at all advanced enough, the power consumption of the drive was calculated to be astronomical and also needed an extremely large, and very obvious ring.


    Claev was conducting structural checks on the interior of the ship and TKE was examining the outer whipple shielding.


    The hull had a professional, silver shine on it, much to the extent that one could say that the job done was flawless. At least that was what TKE would have said about it.


    "Alright. Now all we have to do is get the last batch hydrogen fuel and we¡¯re done..." TKE mumbled to himself. ¡°Such a shame. Earth¡¯s climate had just been restored and we now have to depart in such an uncouth manner¡­ Well screw EarthGov anyways.¡±


    Using the RIG gyroscopic assistance, he gently eased himself away from the TeraNova and towards SkyLab2''s airlock.


    Today was pretty busy. He began thinking to himself. I had thought we were supposed to finish the ship by next month, but Saegen-sir had been driving for its completion in the next 48 hours. Some sort of slave driver he is!


    TKE¡¯s thoughts were interrupted when something struck the side of his EVA suit hard.


    At first TKE thought it was a random screw or bolt flying about at high speeds. He would have reprimanded his engineers for being careless if what struck him really was a piece of metal debris.


    TKE turned and identified what hit him. It was a piece of metal debris, but not quite what the Head Engineer had expected. Not a bolt, nor a screw but a metal capsule with an airtight lid that had already partially failed.


    "Strange... What would this be doing here?" TKE thought to himself as he opened the capsule.


    Inside was a roll of bundled up sheets of paper tied rather sloppily with a red string. TKE undid the string and unfolded the stack of paper. The first thing that greeted his eyes were the large bold letters of ''THE ICY TIMES'' printed on the front page of what presumably was ICY Product¡¯s own private newspaper.


    For some odd reason, the word ''ICY'' was cancelled out partially by a black marker and the words ''Watery'' was scribbled messily above it.


    The untidy edit made the front page read ''THE Watery TIMES'' but at least the actual content of the newspaper was unaltered¡­ Or as far as TKE could tell on first glance.


    Headlines such as ¡®MegaCannon test today!¡¯ and ¡®InterCon gone into hiding?¡¯ caught TKE¡¯s eyes as he skimmed through the paper.


    TKE continued to read it. One article seemed particularly interesting and the Head Engineer took a closer look.


    On that page, there was a picture of a dead person in a suit covered with bullet holes, crusted by the deep maroon color of dried blood, lying face down on a wooden floor, in a relatively large pool of his own blood. The first impression TKE got from the picture was that that poor man found himself on the wrong end of a Vulcan minigun.


    Its headline read ¡®EarthGov chairman of North America shot three times by InterCon assassin!¡¯ Below the first picture was a high resolution captured image from a security camera of the suspect shooting the EarthGov officer.


    The assassin wore a ninja cosplaying outfit with the logo of an ice cube plastered on the very front of the suit.


    TKE frowned. "Yeah, this guy was definitely only shot three times by a vicious InterCon agent..." He sarcastically remarked out loud. ¡°On that topic, I heard from somewhere illegal that all of InterCon¡¯s agents were lizards¡­ Oh well.¡±


    TKE¡¯s eyes soon gazed over the sub heading of the article.


    "We totally, most certainly, definitely did not shoot this guy. Like, at all!¡± - ICY Product''s Head, EOH. He stared at the article blankly before closing his eyes and sighing.


    TKE looked up, prepared to throw the newspaper away, when he saw the gigantic ICY Product''s space station pass by.


    There was now no doubt behind the origin of the paper. As TKE attempted to prevent a wry smile from annexing his face, he maneuvered himself to one of the station mounted MAG cannons. After stuffing the bundle of papers with a couple of screws and then stuffing the bundle of papers down the barrel of the MAG cannon, TKE stood back, yelled ¡®screw you!¡¯ to the bundle of papers before firing it back down into the Earth''s atmosphere.


    Now a smug grin sat proudly on TKE¡¯s face as he had just made a rather daft pun and got away with it.


    Clanedd sat alone in the pilot cockpit of the only spaceplane in the hanger. Her papers and reports were strewn all over her lap and a holographic textbook, "Flying Spaceplanes for Dummies" was open on her RIG.


    Saegen, despite the abundance of more qualified personnel on SkyLab2, had ordered her to fly down to a deuterium rich location in the middle of the Mediterranean just off the coast of Malta, probably to get another haul of deuterium for the TeraNova.


    There were two problems. One, Clanedd had no clue on how to even get the plane airborne and two, she had never ever heard of Malta before. At least prior to the designation.


    Clanedd scratched her head. She may have been a highly skilled and experienced engineer but she was no pilot, not withstanding the fact that she could simply program a computer to fly it for her but that would take too long and who even trusts computers anyways.


    Letting out a sigh of exasperation, she let her shoulders droop. It was at this moment Sir-Caller entered the hanger bay, walked over to the spaceplane and extended the flight of foldable stairs to find Clanedd sitting in the seat he intended to sit in.


    "Do you need help sir?"


    Sir-Caller said, facial expression a plain as usual and voice nonchalant.


    Clanedd nodded. ¡°Great timing. Fly this plane.¡±


    ¡°That was abrupt and rather rude don¡¯t you think sir?¡±


    Sir-Caller said, shaking his head.


    "No... not really.¡± Clanedd said. ¡°I was supposed to go down to the planet to look for deuterium deposits. I cannot fly. So you my friend, will fly it for me seeing as you are so free to be away from your sector¡­ Sir.¡± With great emphasis on that last ¡®sir¡¯.


    Sir-Caller replied monotonously.


    "I am not free. In fact, I am trying to get my job done right now.¡±


    Clanedd rolled her eyes and nodded. "Right¡­ Which is?"


    ¡°Helping you fly¡­ Sir.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Clanedd said in embarrassment.


    ¡°Now if you don¡¯t mind sir, I will be sitting in your seat. Please vacate before I sit on your lap.¡±


    Clanedd got up from the pilot seat without a word and hastily sat down at the co-pilot''s seat.


    "Lets get this over and done with." Sir-Caller said as he sat down at the pilot seat. ¡°I have a really cool anime I want to finish watching.¡±


    Sir-Caller flicked a few switches and the flight of steps folded up. He pressed a few other buttons by his side and two empty, red external fuel tanks noiselessly attached themselves along the fuselage of the plane. After doing through vacuum checks, Sir-Caller put his left hand on the throttle.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Clanedd asked.


    ¡°What is what?¡± Sir-Caller replied, seemingly as confused as Clanedd was.


    ¡°The anime you were talking about.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that sir?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°NanoTec: Distant Stars.¡±


    ¡°About us?¡±


    ¡°No. About NanoTec.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I meant¡­ Who made it?¡±


    ¡°Sir did.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Saegen.¡±


    ¡°He draws? Never took him as an artsy guy. What¡¯s the genre? Sci-Fi? Slice of Life? It better not be slice of life. I hold a particular disfavor towards them.¡±


    ¡°None of the above.¡±


    Before Clanedd could open her mouth to reply, Sir Caller opened the comms to flight control.


    "This is Trans-Orbital Shuttle-01, requesting permission for takeoff sir."


    The reply came shortly after. "This is FC, you are clear for takeoff. Disconnecting all station based power... Alright, ignite your engine. Copy?"


    Sir-Caller pressed the blue button above his head. The engine hummed to life.


    "Copy that. Engines online. All systems green and initiating take off sequence. Don¡¯t miss us too much, we¡¯ll (probably) bring the plane back in one piece."


    Silence filled the comms for a moment. ¡°Err¡­ Yeah, roger that. Good luck out there.¡±


    Sir-Caller nudged Clanedd''s shoulder.


    "By the way sir, I highly recommend you do not touch anything. I really don''t trust you with this."


    Clanedd nodded. Of course she was not going to touch anything. The thought never even crossed her mind. As the plane eased out into space, she nudged Sir-Caller.


    ¡°So what genre is it? You never answered me.¡±


    ¡°Of the anime?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Of course.¡±


    ¡°Propaganda.¡±


    ¡°That explains a lot¡­¡±


    Claev went through all the reports and data collected regarding the ''Spores'' that have trespassed into the ¡®Human territories¡¯. Unofficial space borders, yes but it¡¯s the thought that counts.


    Of all the information present, one question remained unanswered. Of all the aliens out there, if at all, why would they want to attack the humans.


    He stared out of the window and into the stars. A brief glint of light reflecting off the hull of departing spaceplane and the flare of its ion engines could be seen from where Claev was.


    He turned away from the window and sat back down on his office chair. Perhaps, some questions best remain unanswered.


    Conveniently at that moment, Saegen burst into Claev''s office.


    "Hey doc, you¡¯d better come see this! Quickly!"


    Claev followed got up from his seat. After a large yawn, he began following Saegen down the long corridors and hallways until they arrived at the CNC sector.


    The Head Scientist/Manager, (Saegen really never got to confirm his true role in the NanoTec hierarchy), shoved the radar man off his chair and sat in his place.


    "Look." Saegen pressed a few buttons on his RIG and had the radar display a 3D image of the local star cluster. He zoomed in onto Sol. On the holographic projection of Sol, there were countless red dots approaching from the apogee of Pluto''s highly eccentric orbit.


    Every single red dot represented an unknown/hostile contact. The screen was blanketed with them. It was like a red wall of death, or termites, threatening to swallow everything in its path.


    And this wall of death, was heading right for them. Earth. Claev looked at the projection wide eyed. He had no words. Simply speechless.


    Saegen continued, tinge of anxiety in his voice.


    "As you can see, there seems to be as many as¡­ I dunno, thousands of ships approaching. As we can tell, they are Spore ships. Radio signature gives them away. There is also one contact that is much larger than the rest and a couple that are slightly larger than the average destroyer. We can only assume that its their command and heavy vessels respectively. They are approaching at about 0.3c. (324000000km/h) and will be upon us in 23 hours."


    Claev clenched his fists.


    ¡°Damn it! Who made the mistake in their calculations?! I thought they are not destined to arrive in another four years??¡±


    Saegen tried his best to control his laughter. ¡°Pfft¡­ Err, sorry. You did.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, I forgot.¡±


    The situation was bleak once again. Before it was just a forward fleet of destroyers. Now it was an entire armada. A war fleet. There was only so much they could do against them. Everyone was at a loss.


    Not the radar man though. He had already lost his consciousness.


    Clanedd could thank her luck stars that Sir-Caller was not in the mood for stunt flying that day. He brought the plane down at a reasonable velocity, without any sudden change in vectors or epic stunts.


    The spaceplane glided downwards and pierced through the clouds. As they descended, the blue waters of the Dead Sea came into view.


    ¡°Looks like someone was not a geography student back in the days.¡± Clanedd muttered to herself.


    ¡°Speak for yourself sir. You knew nothing of Malta prior to this mission.¡±


    Sir-Caller pressed a few buttons on the flight board and flicked a few switches on the ceiling of the cockpit. The ion engines suddenly began humming even louder.


    ¡°And this slight miscalculation¡­ That can be easily fixed sir.¡± Sir-Caller said as he began pushing the throttle up to its maximum.


    ¡°Shoot.¡± Clanedd swore to herself for opening her mouth.


    A couple of minutes of turns and boosts, Sir-Caller finally brought the plane to the desired location off the coast of Malta and set the spaceplane down on the calm waters within visual range of the people playing on the beaches.


    Sir-Caller put the fusion reactors to standby mode, unfolded the stairs, opened cargo bays, turned on 80s Synthwave and began pushing even more buttons.


    Clanedd pressed a button on her side and depressurized the window adjacent to her. After it opened, she cleared her throat and began throwing up.


    "Alright sir, I assume this is a deuterium rich zone?" Sir-Caller asked.


    It is really unladylike¡­ Clanedd thought to herself. But¡­


    She put up her middle finger to Sir-Caller, while still throwing up.


    ¡°I take that as a yes, sir.¡± Sir-Caller said with a slight laugh as he stepped out of the plane began preparing the electrolysis equipment.


    "Putting the reactor to 89% output, and put these two carbon rods down into the water as so..." Sir-Caller mumbled to himself.


    Clanedd meanwhile, continued to throw up.


    "I see. So sir, you are throwing up into the water to create free ions to ease the electrolysis of the heavy water. Interesting sir.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, please.¡± Clanedd coughed. Sir-Caller¡¯s stunt flying was really uncalled for in her opinion. Sir-Caller on the other hand thought it was harmless fun.


    ¡°Perhaps, ICY could freeze water this way..." Sir-Caller said again, putting his finger on his chin.


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°As you wish¡­ Sir.¡±


    Sir-Caller climbed back into the cockpit and flicked more switches. The reactor hummed back to life and massive frothing of bubbles appeared at the carbon rods entry point.


    The gases collected in ducts and began filling the two external tanks slowly. As Clanedd climbed or rather dragged herself out of the plane¡¯s cockpit, she muttered something inaudible but very likely insulting to Sir-Caller before sitting on the plane¡¯s right wing.


    Sir-Caller remained in the cockpit, crossed both his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he scowled, folded the stairs back up before Clanedd heard the radiators hum a tad bit louder, signifying the activation of the air-conditioners.


    Perhaps he was trying to sleep? Clanedd thought to herself. She lay down on her back and looked up into the sky. There was nothing much for her to do but to wait for the tanks to fill up.


    Her mind drifted, finally to settle down on the times she spent with the Head Engineer, TKE. Why? She thought to herself. Maybe it was because of his sense of humor. Maybe because he had worked with her for so many years that there is nothing else to think about. Or maybe¡­


    Clanedd chuckled to herself. Or maybe not, she thought to herself. Smiling at her own thoughts, Clanedd did the clich¨¦ thing of closing her eyes and letting herself drift off under the partially cloudy skies of South Italy, or Malta. Whatever. Same thing.


    Clanned opened her eyes. She did not know how long she was asleep. One hour? Maybe two? She was not so sure. What she was absolutely certain of however, was that someone was shaking her quite violently.


    "You awake sir?¡± called a voice.


    Clanedd opened her eyes to see Sir-Caller standing directly over her.


    ¡°Yes you are. Good.¡± Sir-Caller said again. ¡°We have received new orders from SkyLab2. We are to return immediately. And, oh, coincidentally the tanks are full.¡±


    ¡°Wha-?¡± Clanedd mumbled, still half asleep.


    ¡°Come on what are you waiting for?!" Sir-Caller suddenly shouted. Shocking Clanedd to her feet.


    Sir-Caller had already climbed back into the spaceplane and was in the process of starting the engines.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± Sir-Caller shouted again.


    Clanedd, silent and still half asleep, climbed into the plane and toggled the foldable steps close.


    "What is going on?" Clanedd groggily asked Sir-Caller.


    He remained silent as he carried out the pre-launch checks, re-ignited the ion engines and took the plane out of the water, spraying steam everywhere and startling the sunbathers on the Malta beach.


    Clanedd repeated her question. This time in a little louder.


    "Well, why don''t you wait a little and find out sir." Clanedd¡¯s left eye twitched slightly in annoyance.


    The spaceplane cleared the stratosphere in a matter of minutes and the stars and the black voids of space were soon all that could be seen from the spaceplane windows. Sir-Caller then pointed at the shuttle''s RIG uplink.


    "Look." Was all he said.


    Displayed on the screen, was data coming directly from SkyLab2. It showed the image of hundreds, if not thousands of approaching objects from the general direction of Pluto. The Spore Armada.


    ¡°I thought the Spores were a couple of years out?¡± Clanned asked seemingly in shock.


    "Who ever told you that?¡± Sir-Caller replied with another question.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Clanedd said in confusion.


    ¡°As far as I know sir, this is the first I¡¯ve heard of the armada. Pretty last-minute now isn¡¯t he sir?¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡± Clanedd deadpanned. ¡°Carry on.¡±


    ¡°Right sir. So, they¡¯re now they are about 22 hours and 30 minutes off according to CNC. So much for ¡®at least two days notice to a change in schedule.¡¯"


    Carefully, Sir-Caller maneuvered the spaceplane towards the hanger airlock. He opened up the communication link with his RIG and spoke through it nonchalantly.


    "This is Trans-Orbital Shuttle-01, requesting permission to dock sir."


    The reply came almost immediately.


    "This is FC, glad to see the plane is still in one piece¡­OK, you are clear to dock."


    The hanger airlock opened silently. Sir-Caller flew the plane into the airlock chamber and waited for it to cycle. The docking assists then clamped down on the spaceplane and slowly eased it towards Pad 01. Sir-Caller jumped off the plane before it even docked and began running toward the CNC section, leaving Clanedd behind.


    "Oh bother¡­¡± She mumbled to herself. ¡°There goes my Christmas break.¡±


    Back in CNC, Saegen was tapping into EarthGov communications with the codes TKE and Clanedd retrieved from a bunker back during the Second Spore Assault in 2096.


    TKE and Claev were standing behind him with the former looking a little worried and the latter digging his nose. While a radio officer sat cross legged on the floor next to them having been pushed off his chair again.


    Adjusting the frequency of the radio broadband, Saegen twisted the holographic dials and soon managed to sharpen the incoming intercepted communications.


    He sat at the radio operator''s desk listening for a while. TKE looked over Saegen''s shoulders to try to listen in on the communications, apparently having forgotten that he could not see sounds while Claev began scratching his beard.


    Saegen suddenly turned around and TKE jumped away surprised.


    "You guys should hear this..." Saegen said as he switched the sound output to loudspeaker mode. The radio was full of static, and barely comprehensible.


    "...fleet... 0342, prep... "CU" IXS To...dai and ... S Phrombus...." Before finally ending with more static.


    Saegen turned the dials again, in an attempt to sharpen the radio interception.


    "Intercept...lunar orbi... 0320 INC... members, report... fleet bay immediately..." The transmission was cut. Radio static was the only thing that could be heard.


    Typical shoddy EarthGov radio transmission, TKE thought to himself.


    Saegen got up from his seated position and stretched his back.


    "From the looks of things..." He began. "It looks like EarthGov has got themselves new toys and plan to shoot the Spores down at the moon with those things."


    Saegen cleared his throat before speaking again.


    ¡°And knowing EarthGov sluggish, dirty combustion engines, they¡¯re getting nowhere near the moon in a day. The battle will happen just off the outer Van-Allen belt, and SkyLab2 will be well in targeting range.¡±


    Claev looked down towards the floor while scratching his beard.


    "Well¡­ Good luck for them, but what about the TeraNova? It is only half complete and its cooling and gyroscopic functions have not yet been properly integrated into the subsystem network. It can be done, albeit hish-hashly in about 15 hours, give or take. And also¡­¡±


    Before he could complete his sentence, Sir-Caller burst into the CNC room with the slowly trailing Clanedd.


    "Sir, I have gone through your most recent calculations and they appear correct on one thing.¡±


    The entire CNC fell silent.


    ¡°That your math bloody sucks!¡± Sir-Caller exclaimed.


    ¡°You mean you calculated everything while running here?!¡± Clanedd exclaimed in between pants. Sir-Caller ignored her. He continued.


    ¡°The Spores appear to be using Neptune''s gravitational field to slingshot their way over here. Their course pass near Jupiter and Saturn, so I am assuming that they are going to be here even faster than you have calculated, perhaps they may even be here in four hours! And just enough time for tea too!"


    The whole CNC burst into uncontrolled murmurs. The radio man who was sitting on the floor flopped down, back first. He fainted.


    If that were true then, NanoTec was in even deeper trouble than before. Saegen spoke up.


    "Are you sure Joe? We have calculated their course with NanoTec¡¯s best computers and with the assumption that such a course would endanger most if not all of their ships during transit. I ask again Joe, are you sure?"


    Sir-Caller replied with an answer almost as though he was expecting such a question.


    "You underestimate our enemy or shall I say, you simply are making mindless assumptions sir. That is what the Spores want you to think. With all due respect, you have not analyzed the Spores well enough.¡±


    Saegen raised an eyebrow. Sir-Caller continued.


    ¡°If you had, well actually nobody has so how would you know their bodies are as fragile as us humans? Furthermore, you should have also realized that the Spore ships are armored with a cobalt-osmium based alloy sir. My analysis of said material, also coincidentally with NanoTec¡¯s best computers, that that is built specifically to be highly kinetically stress resilient. Need I say more sir?¡±


    Saegen fell silent and his face nearly went pale. Cleav nearly fainted but he barely kept himself conscious by listening to the static from the radio station.


    Sir-Caller finally ended his speech.


    "Conclusion, they will be here in four hours, with an uncertainty of half an hour. I¡¯d say you should have done something earlier but I do realize, work is busy and all but hey, basic courtesy you know." With that he turned and left.


    Clanedd broke the silence.


    "Right. That gives us four hours to get ready. We will have to make do with what we have now. I suggest everyone drop everything and board the ship immediately. I just came back with the fuel so that¡¯s a start."


    TKE nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Indeed. I am sure everyone agrees with that.¡± TKE turned and shouted to the entire CNC. ¡°Any violent objections?¡±


    A resounding ¡®no sir¡¯ was received in return.


    ¡°Great! Now, you heard the lady. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    TKE turned to Saegen. ¡°I¡¯ve got the logs. I will take care of my things and so should you. Excuse me¡­ Come Clanedd, we¡¯ve got work to do.¡±


    TKE dashed off, out of the CNC with Clanedd in tow.


    Saegen, still slightly dazed by Sir-Caller¡¯s once in a lifetime, influential speech, went over to the communications equipment, flicked the high alert alarms on and began a voice broadcast across the station.


    "All hands on station, this is your¡­ Err, Head of Staff, Saegen. Please observe protocol. This is code ALEPH. This is not a drill and you know it. It¡¯s an emergency. Everyone is to board the NNT TeraNova now. I repeat, everyone is to board the NNT TeraNova now. Abandon everything unnecessary and proceed to your designated chamber immediately. Said information will be uploaded to your RIG in 30 seconds. I repeat¡­¡±


    Saegen repeated his announcement again before putting the microphone down. He turned to Claev.


    ¡°That means you too. Go on first. I have some things to take care of before I go.¡±


    Claev nodded as he watched Saegen dash off out of the CNC and to wherever he needed to go.


    TKE rushed down towards airlock 01, the one closest to the TeraNova. The whole of engineering team 1C was already there gearing up and preparing for EVA.


    "Everyone here?¡± TKE shouted above the sound of SkyLab2¡¯s ALEPH sirens. Nobody said anything. Instead, a manpower checklist was sent to TKE¡¯s RIG by one of the engineers.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Full strength. Good.¡±


    TKE cleared his voice. ¡°Our job is to ensure that what has already been installed on the TeraNova is in full working order. Zero defects. The heavy water fuel also needs to be loaded from the shuttle bay and remember to ensure that the blast shields deploy properly. Most importantly, do not forget ¡®Sector 5¡¯. I assume that it is already on board but you cannot be too sure. Clear?¡±


    A perfectly synchronized nod was observed throughout the ranks of fully geared up engineers.


    ¡°Fantastic. Once done, board the vessel... OK, you all should be in the ship by that time, but you get the idea. There will be cryo chambers in the ship for each and every single one of you with each respective person¡¯s names on them. Any questions?¡±


    The IC of engineer battalion 1C sent a text message to TKE indicating that there were no questions to be asked.


    TKE nodded. ¡°Good. We need to work fast or none of us are getting out of this alive. Let¡¯s go. And do a good job, just as you always have. Dismissed!¡±


    There was a resounding thud as all the engineers came to attention and saluted. They turned and somehow squeezed everyone into a single airlock using quantum physics and a little bit of perseverance.


    TKE nodded his head in preparation for what was to come. The airlock closed and began to cycle. TKE took this time to put on his EVA suit. Clanedd, after catching up with TKE, did likewise. Albeit panting throughout the entire procedure.


    The airlock finished cycling after a couple of minutes and engineering team 1C tumbled out of the airlock. Once they got their bearings, they began maneuvering towards the TeraNova.


    There was extremely heavy traffic between the airlocks of SkyLab2 and TeraNova. The sight of 120 thousand people trying to get on board one ship, was simply staggering. They were loading in valuables, necessities and the engineers even spotted a cargo container, labeled ¡®Jet Ski¡¯ that was overflowing with rubber ducks.


    It soon became evident that there was simply no space for the engineers to get in normally. Perhaps they could try the same trick again with airlock 01 but the IC had already decided that with a five minute cycle time, that was not going to happen.


    By the time that the engineers remembered that they were engineers and that they could simply enter via the maintenance vents, TKE and Clanedd were already out in space and floating towards them.


    The ICY Product''s space station so happened to be in visual range from SkyLab2 at that point of time, passing slowly in a highly eccentric orbit, while adjusting its course with cartoon-huge rockets.


    TKE would have ignored it unless for the fact that it had an absurdly gigantic gun mounted on the very top of the structure.


    Thinking back, he remembered reading or at least seeing an article in that ICY newspaper about a MegaCannon test. He shook his head. He was not going to let that distract him. Right now, he had a job to do.


    Clanedd called out to him through the private broadband. She was already in the maintenance vent and was waving her hands, urging TKE to hurry up. He nodded his head, gave her the thumbs up and followed her.


    TKE pulled on the handles by the sides of the vent and finally, was able to enter the ship. It was a slow crawl through the dimly lit, tight little vents. It made TKE feel like a certain engineer in a horror game.


    Finally after about a minute, TKE floated himself into a currently depressurized engine section of the TeraNova.


    Internally, the NNT TeraNova looked very much like an EarthGov military ship. Silver, metallic walls, narrow hallways lit by florescent lighting, minus the exposed cabling and open maintenance vents.


    Deciding that the reactor was the most important part of the vessel, TKE decided to personally inspect it first. He tugged Clanedd''s shoulder and she followed him. The ship had no artificial gravity as it was too small to house a centrifuge. Using his EVA jet packs on compressed air mode, TKE slowly eased himself through the long cooling arrays of the Tandem Mirror Fusion Engines and to the magnetic monorail system mounted at the starboard side of the vessel.


    As the ship was about 700 meters in length, nearly as long as the new EarthGov dreadnought classes, it required a monorail system as TKE had checked, nobody likes to run to work every morning.


    He and Clanedd boarded it and zipped quickly towards the engineering sector of the ship, which coincidentally was a short 30-40 meter walk from the engine room.


    Why don''t we have this kind of things on board SkyLab2, TKE thought to himself. Nobody likes to run to work every morning. Yes, he did think of that to himself twice. Not because he liked to repeat things but because he very well knew it was true.


    Not long after, the monorail slowed down and ground to a halt, reaching only a fraction of its top speed during the ten second long journey. Despite that, TKE still marked the monorail off his checklist as working and fully operational.


    TKE motioned once again to Clanedd to follow him as he entered the reactor room. Where head room was lacking, the room made up for it by its sheer breadth to encompass all the necessary equipment, fuel storage and coolant to run a technological marvel.


    The Shangri-La Fusion reactor was most certainly ahead of its time and very expensive. It was a toroidal reactor, whose designs originated from the old Tokamak arrangements in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century. Its fusion ring spun around a central solenoid where deuterium-deuterium fusion took place, powering the ship with the very process that kept the sun alive for the last five million years.


    It was about 60 meters in diameter and 10 meters in height. The upper portion was located on a upper deck. Its deuterium fuel was already being loaded into the reactor by the engineers and after seeing the head engineer, gave him a thumbs up. Everything was going as planned¡­ Or at least as far as TKE could tell.


    TKE distinctively remembered that he was indeed the one who built the first operating fusion reactor in 2084, but he could not really remember how he even came up with the design to begin with. He ought to remember though he thought, especially with its initial plasma leaking design flaws. It must have been that electrical shock incident he recalled.


    After circling the reactor twice, for both the upper and lower deck, TKE was then able to confirm that there were no cracks or damage to the magnetic housing.


    "Good... Reactor down... Touch wood." TKE mumbled to himself with a smile as he ticked another check box on his RIG notebook.


    He turned and began to make his way to the blast shield operating sector.


    "Hey Clanned, could you go to the cryosleep sectors and ensure that the build is flawless? Meaning no cracks and all?"


    Clanedd nodded. She pat TKE on the shoulder, gave him a thumbs up and left the room. TKE stood there for a while, wondering why so many people were giving him thumbs up and why Clanedd would do such a thing when she usually did not.


    His heart rate increased a little before violently shaking his head. Shouldn''t be letting things distract me, he thought to himself. Plenty of time after they make it away from Earth.


    Saegen, still in the CNC sector on the pretext of deleting all data from SkyLab2¡¯s computers was not actually deleting data from SkyLab2¡¯s computers but instead was being useless looking out of the windows through a pair of binoculars, observing the departing EarthGov fleet.


    EarthGov had already reinforced their ranks to thousands of new ships over the past four years. They as a communist new world order having had managed to put so many ships so quickly up into space, even Stalin would have been proud.


    Of course, knowing communism, the ships were visibly of poor quality; complete with frayed wiring, missing ceramic plating and to top it all off, some of the ships even had no bridge. However fortunately for EarthGov, all the ships were in operational service nonetheless.


    "Cruiser, IXS Tokidai and Dreadnought, IXS Phrombus." Saegen mumbled to himself. ¡°They look like Chinese consumer goods gone wrong.¡±


    The ships were indeed formidable for ships built in their time but as intimidating as a fly in a summer afternoon to the Spores¡­ Probably.


    In accordance to NanoTec¡¯s unofficial prejudice towards EarthGov engineering, they had, unsurprisingly made yet another critical error.


    All the visible mounted weaponry were either ballistic or missile based. Saegen saw a 30 inch gun mounted rather sloppily on one of the few 800 meter long dreadnoughts, a SuperConductor Gauss Battery on a 200 meter long cruiser but not a single laser or plasma array on any one of them.


    The biggest consolation factor was that the dreadnoughts also carried two or more 50 MT fusion boosted nuclear payloads along the sides of the hull but how many exactly, Saegen did not know. And what kind of effect would they even have against the Spores? And who is to say that they cannot shoot them down?


    Twelve years after the EarthGov fleet had been decimated by the Spore scouting fleet, they were able to pump out nearly as much as 3000 vessels. Granted that they are cruisers and dreadnoughts, the Spore destroyers still outclassed them by quite a margin¡­ Or at least that was what NanoTec¡¯s simulations said.


    If two were able to take down an entire EarthGov fleet of 50, what would 200 do? Not to mention that single extremely large contact that nobody was able to explain nor rationalize.


    Saegen made some brief calculations in his head.


    "EarthGov definitely stands a chance this time and has a small but respectable probability for victory, but we do not know much about our enemy and their ships fly like moldy blocks of cheese¡­"


    He turned towards the window again. The Armada CNC Super Dreadnaught of EarthGov, Negarima, had just risen above the atmosphere and was beginning to join up with the rest of the fleet.


    It was easily identifiable even amongst the dotted skies by the giant glass fiber, disk like structure mounted on the top of the backbone of the ship. Saegen sighed, cleared his throat and muttered the clich¨¦ monologue to himself again.


    "EarthGov... you may think that this is going to be a battle of victory, to bring humankind back great glory and triumph. But however, little do your men know, that they are being sent to their graves¡­"


    Claev burst into the office.


    ¡°Saegen! Where the *expletive * were you? Everyone is getting on board already!¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ Nothing, I mean I was here all this while.¡±


    ¡°Doing what? Messaging your nonexistent girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°That hurt and you know it Claev, although you¡¯re probably right in everyway.¡± Saegen said as he locked Claev¡¯s neck in a death grip.


    ¡°Agh! Fine! Fine!¡± Claev yelped. Saegen complied and let him go. ¡°So, what were you doing? People are worried you know.¡±


    ¡°Deleting crucial information from SkyLab2¡¯s central databanks, transferring as much useful data and programs as I can to the TeraNova. It¡¯ll be a shame to waste them.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Claev said with a sigh. ¡°Get it done quickly. NanoTec cannot afford to lose you¡­ Friend.¡±


    Saegen smiled. ¡°Will do¡­ Retard.¡±


    Claev laughed lightly, gave Saegen the finger while smiling innocently and left briskly.


    Three hours and a half plus a bit passed. TKE, Clanedd and the rest of engineering team 1C met at the cryosleep sector.


    Every single one of the systems and sub-systems had been thoroughly checked and were ready for operation¡­ At least the ones that were already built were. TKE was still slightly disappointed that the Mr. Coffee subsystem and the disco ballroom were cut off schedule due to time constraints.


    Acknowledging their progress, TKE ordered everyone to get into their cryo chambers. About then, Claev had just boarded and entered the cryosleep sector.


    "Head engineer! Is everything done?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. Did your forget your Kakadu?¡±


    ¡°Crap, I did¡­¡± Claev words trailed off.


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Err, everything checked and operational right? Good. The Spore fleet is upon us. We need to go. Now."


    TKE reassured him. "Relax, everything is done. (Except the coffee brewers.) Now we just have to fire up the reactors and get out of here¡­ Oi! You there in the engine room, fire up the reactors!¡±


    The response came in as the ship shuddered slightly and the dull chime of the solenoids spinning up resounded throughout the cryosleep sector.


    ¡°Great. Where are we going?" TKE inquired, tuning back to Claev.


    Maneuvering himself into his own cryo chamber, Claev replied.


    "Vega. There is a planet within the goldilocks zone there, at least according to Saegen. Water, oxygen maybe flora, fauna and maybe nubile women on the beaches. Who knows. We will land there and set up base. There, we will decide what to do next from there."


    TKE nodded. As he was about to move himself to his own cryo chamber, a plasma bolt streaked meters above the freshly painted upper deck. The Spores have arrived and first thing they did was vandalize sovereign human property.


    About 300 000 kilometers away from the Earth is Luna, Earth''s only moon. The EarthGov fleet, having begun their maneuvers early, managed to intercept the Spore fleet there, forcing them to slow down with a suppressive hail of metal slugs beginning a fierce battle in the orbit between the moon and Earth, in a final desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.


    The EarthGov fleet had the element of surprise and thus had the jump on the Spores. The aliens were not prepared for such a resistive force and had their weapons stowed away for sub-light travel.


    Facing the impending danger, the Spores turned their ships around and violently burnt retrograde to face their enemies.


    From the Armada CNC, Negarima Commander Lydia of EarthGov observed the opening phase of the battle with great detail.


    To NanoTec, Commander Lydia was not exactly a significant figure worthy of recognition. Her personal data was highly classified for unknown reasons, with one of the only things known about her was that her father personally wet himself during the battle of Capital Bay during the InterCon/CMT war and having seen little to no actual combat, her medals of honor were rather limited. The only reason foreseeable as to why she was put in charge of such an influential battle was one, she was the youngest and two, all her superiors were already dead.


    "All ships! Engage at close range!" Lydia¡¯s deputy gave the order with her approval.


    The EarthGov ships¡¯ engines began firing, closing the distance rapidly into the ranks of the Spore destroyers. The Phrombus class dreadnaughts were brought to face broadside, angling slightly towards the enemy while still managing to bring all their guns to bear.


    The Tokidai class cruisers began to break formation and flank the Spore formations, firing at the same time with the aim to encircle and crush. They mounted even larger caliber Gauss Batteries than their destroyer counterparts, resulting in a significantly higher muzzle velocity, shell mass and even had the ability dent Spore armor enough to count as ¡®damage¡¯. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The shells flung forth at supersonic velocities struck their mark on the Spore hull, beating down on the jet black plating like water from Atlantic ocean through a sieve. Comparatively, NanoTec MAG technology was far superior to the EarthGov Gauss version, packing a much greater punch in a smaller package but they made up for that with sheer volume of attack, having many, many ships firing at the same target at the same time.


    The shells bounced off the armor of the ships like a foam dart would a wooden floor. The bow of a Spore destroyer was armored with what one could describe as a turtleback layout. No matter what angle it was shot at from, it would provide a sufficient angle to bounce even the most powerful shell producible in theory by EarthGov. That was exactly what was happening.


    "Keep shooting! Keep shooting!". The deputy commanded yet again in the hopes that the ships would fire their guns faster.


    Commander Lydia stood in front of her analogue, paper planned battle plan. Dumbfounded, she found that the current EarthGov space doctrine was being rendered ineffective by the massive difference in quality of vessels. She was not about to lose to a bunch of aliens. She couldn''t.


    Cruiser Tokidai-0922 then fired its coilgun again, this time the spherical slug managed to lodge itself into the aft hull of a Spore destroyer, knocking its stern into the flight path of another one of the destroyers. Both of the ships smashed into each other, hull plating flying all over. Backbones broken, both ships crippled.


    "Good shot!" Lydia could not help but exclaim to herself. ¡°Give me the data on that weapon discharge CA-0922.¡±


    The reply came in shortly, although muddled slightly by EarthGov¡¯s passive ECM.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am! Data transfer complete!¡±


    Lydia brought the information on screen. Quickly she wrote all relevant data down on a rough piece of paper in front of her. The potential conclusions that could be derived from that piece of calculations were very obvious.


    ¡°Deputy.¡± Lydia began. ¡°Tell the fleets to level off. We need to sacrifice our 3D envelopment to even deal damage to the enemy.¡±


    ¡°But ma¡¯am¡­¡± The deputy began. ¡°That would make our ranks even more vulnerable! Our advantage lies in the Spores inability to fire in so many directions. We cannot just¡­¡±


    ¡°I did not ask for your opinions Commodore.¡± Lydia snapped. ¡°Do as I say.¡±


    The deputy swallowed his saliva with an audible gulp. Clenching his fists and looking down slightly, he replied.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    The Deadnought Phrombus-03''s report came in just as Lydia¡¯s deputy finished relaying the order to the fleet. Her captain was on the emergency bandwidth.


    "Ma''am! The large unidentified object is coming into visual range!... Oh my god. It¡­Its huge!"


    Commander Lydia instinctively turned to the dusty view port.


    "What is it? Put it on the screen now!"


    And so it was. What met the commander''s eyes probably could not even be classified as a ship by EarthGov¡¯s standards. It was a giant sphere or according to Phrombus-03, a mobile battle platform, nearly 8 to 13 kilometers in radius.


    Its visible hull was vantablack in color except for a few glowing orange neon streaks vertically across the ship. It was ominous, like a giant black hole waiting to suck everything it sees into oblivion.


    One could only imagine what sort of weapons were mounted on that thing and no, that did not include ice-cream dispensers. The Spores hated ice-cream.


    Commander Lydia was undoubtedly shocked. Regaining her composure quickly, she grabbed her deputy by the collar and yelled into his face.


    "Get the Dreadnoughts 01 to 22, to f-fire their nukes! Do it!"


    The sharp yelp of the deputy came immediately.


    "Yes¡­ Yes ma¡¯am!"


    22 Fusion boosted warheads were out of their silos and in hypersonic flight. They began crossing the one megameter gap with their solid rocket boosters.


    So much for combustion rockets. Lydia thought to herself. As far as she could tell, the Spores packed no point defense whatsoever as nothing was stopping the missiles in flight. But by that time, EarthGov¡¯s surprise ambush had exhausted their element of, well, surprise. Coincidentally, that was also when the Spore fleet retaliated. All of their guns had deployed out of each and every respective hardpoint, missile bays were open and the EarthGov ships were already painted bright red by the Spores¡¯ targeting computers.


    Clanedd watched the battle unfold from the command section of the ship. Flashes of orange, green and the occasional purple could be seen like a movie with the silvery grey surface of the moon acting as the canvas of which the blood of humans and Spores alike were being painted on.


    One could even say it looked beautiful, like a muted orchestral performance, despite the notion that thousands of lives may be passing on for every minute she had been watching for.


    The fusion reactors on board the TeraNova were still heating up and the deuterium critical point had not been reached yet. The whining of the massive solenoids and the buzzing of the coolant pumps echoed throughout the empty hallways of the massive ship as the magnetic confinement chambers became even more and more saturated with hot, energetic plasma.


    "Core temperature, 1000 kilo kelvins¡­ Magnetic field at 20 %...¡± Saegen read off his RIG. The bridge was soundproofed and isolated from the rest of the working sections of the ship. Nobody said a word and that made the silence even more so deafening.


    ¡°Our sensors are coming online... Reactor is almost ready, 40 %..." Saegen continued, his voice disappearing off into the soundproofing in the rather small and compact bridge.


    TKE, along with Clanedd who was standing next to him, were also in the command section, monitored the engines and life support systems.


    "Our engines are ready to accept the helium exhaust.¡± TKE reported.


    ¡°Life support is all green. Photo-oxidizers and reverse osmosis systems are all running well sir!"


    More stray bolts and laser pulses from the site of battle glanced off the hull of the TeraNova, dealing superficial damage. At such astronomical ranges between the weapons¡¯ sources and the ship¡¯s hull, the energy weapons were rendered near ineffective.


    "Sir!" TKE shouted in apprehension. "Everything is online and system checks are complete! Permission to ignite the engines?"


    Saegen, who was just as excited replied loudly over the deathly silence.


    "Go ahead! Quickly!"


    TKE nodded and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t need to tell me twice! Ignition is ready, injectors are ready. Activating the Tandem Mirror in three¡­ two¡­ one!¡±


    The TeraNova shook and shuddered, as the fusion plasma jolted the ship to life. All non essential systems onboard the ship began flickering to life. The bathroom lights, floor heating and the music player on the bridge activated as quickly as Saegen shut the music player off as it began playing ¡®Baaby¡¯ composed by Bustin Jieber, an infamous pop musician of the early 21<sup>st</sup> century. Someone had a sense of humor. TKE thought to himself while Clanedd, stifled down a snicker despite the dire circumstances.


    ¡°Sir, permission to report to my cryo chamber?¡±


    ¡°Go! We need you alive.¡± Saegen said after some hesitation. TKE not noticing this slight delay, saluted and departed immediately.


    Clanedd, surprisingly remained on the bridge.


    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to him?¡± Clanedd suddenly asked Saegen. This time, instead of sounding cheerful, she sounded gloomy and even frightened. Apparently she took notice of Saegen¡¯s different tone of speech.


    ¡°You noticed?¡± Saegen said with an expressionless face and a sad monotone.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°TKE¡­ How should I put this¡­¡± Saegen began. ¡°He isn¡¯t human.¡±


    Clanedd remained silent.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t conceived like you and I. You knew from the start that he was special. I mean for example, nobody else would have been able to invent a fusion reactor on his own despite the world¡¯s best scientists trying and failing for more than a hundred years right?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Clanedd stammered, her eyes and nose turning slightly red. ¡°What is he? And where does this come into the greater scheme of things?¡±


    Clanedd nearly lost her footing and grabbed onto the captain¡¯s chair for support. She continued.


    ¡°This is so sudden¡­ I can¡¯t take this¡­¡±


    Saegen began walking over to Clanedd.


    ¡°I am sorry I did not tell you any earlier. But I had to keep it a secret. EarthGov protocol.¡±


    Clanedd swatted away Saegen¡¯s had as he was about to place it on her shoulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I am unhappy about.¡± Clanedd said. ¡°I am more concerned about his safety¡­ Can he make the journey?¡±


    Saegen stood there and remained silent. Finally, he shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid both you and I know the answer.¡±


    A single drop of tears flowed from Clanedd¡¯s right eye.


    ¡°You see, the EarthGov medical science and development program on eugenics and genetic engineering was flawed and still is. TKE was the second successful subject. The problem with it was that the gene for superior intellect had undesirable side effects. One of which was a highly eccentric personality and an intolerance to sub-zero temperatures.¡±


    Saegen coughed before continuing. ¡°And you know how our cryo chambers operate¡­ I am sorry Clanedd. But I and the team were trying our very best to¡­¡±


    ¡°Permission¡­ Permission to report to my cryo chamber¡­ Sir.¡± Clanedd mumbled, interrupting Saegen.


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­ Permission granted.¡± Saegen relented. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Clanedd, with her head hanging, saluted and left the bridge without another word.


    The Battle for Luna was well underway and the EarthGov fleet was in complete panic and disarray. Ships were on fire and exploding left and right, ships launching nuclear weapons without warning and without the permission to do so.


    It was most certainly an unfair fight in both strategic organization and technological superiority in the Spore¡¯s favor. The EarthGov defenders were being beaten back by thousands of kilometers with every attack to its ranks.


    "Ma''am! This is Cruiser-0009! Our ring drives are broken! We cannot...¡± An explosion was heard in the background and contact was lost.


    ¡°Ah... shit! The ship¡¯s ablaze! What are you doing? Put that damn fire out¡­Ma''am! No!!" That channel too was filled with static.


    The Crusier Tokidai-0009 drifted past the starboard viewing port of the Negarima. It¡¯s outer hull was burnt to a crisp and its coilgun hardpoints were spewing fire and sparks. Suddenly, many chained explosions erupted from the cracks in its hull which eventually split the whole ship into countless pieces.


    Commander Lydia tried to consolidate her losses. Mentally she counted.


    "We¡¯ve lost nearly 50 ships, they have lost no more that 13 ships. If we are to win..."


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a plasma bolt striking the port side armor of her Armada CNC, Negaima.


    The lights flickered on and off. Fluorescent tubes shattered and countless electronic consoles fired and erupted into a shower of sparks and flames, killing or mortally wounding whomever were operating them. Globules of blood, shards of glass and smoke hung in the air, floating in the gravity-less ship environment.


    That bolt must have torn through the cabling. Commander Lydia thought to herself.


    "Re-route all emergency power! Watch out for any cyanide leaks!¡±


    Her engineers were screaming in the background. Commander Lydia looked out of his window and saw the source of the attack.


    Two destroyers were flanking her ship. Not the best position to be in. That ceramic armor should have blocked or if not, dampened the attack, but the plasma burned straight through. Lydia recounted. Not good either.


    One of the Spore destroyer turned broadside and fired a volley of lasers into the port side of the ship. They tore through the already scorched sections like butter and burned the ceramic armor to a blackened slag.


    "*Warning! Sections 32, 16 and 2 have been compromised! Closing blast doors now!*"


    The computer programs yelled out in a monotonous tone. One of the massive 30 inch cannons on the flagship took a port shot in return fire towards the broadside destroyer.


    The shell, surprisingly with the cannon¡¯s analogue target acquisition systems, nailed the destroyer dead center. The massive shell exploded upon contact and sent the still intact hull of the destroyer flying off into the depths of space and into the bow section of a friendly cruiser, destroying both ships in the process.


    The second Spore destroyer continued on with the assault, shaking the ship violently with every impact the ship took.


    Another transmission came in.


    "Dreadnought 67 here! Our nuclear payloads are jammed! We are under attack by five destroyers here! Our reactors are overheating! We require backup! I repeat we...¡±


    Silence filled the comms. A gigantic explosion was seen off the bow of the Negaima, 10 degrees to the left. Two Tokidai Cruisers were caught too close to the blast and both ships were annihilated.


    Commander Lydia swore to herself. The attacking destroyer dodged another shell fired at it before letting loose yet another bolt of plasma and volleys of lasers that were all pinpoint accurate.


    The highly energized blasts struck the hull fiercely, tearing apart cabling and disabling gyroscopes, causing critical instability issues on board the ship which in turn, threw the commander across the bridge.


    The Spore¡¯s targeting computers were way more advanced than the analogue ones used commonly by EarthGov. So, it really should not have come as a surprise when a carefully calculated plasma shot on the part of the Spores elegantly blasted the command disk spinning on the axis of the ship into a thousand beads of burning sludge.


    Fragments of the bronze plated black fiber glass alloys could be seen flung off in all directions by its centrifugal force. The Negarima was not going to be communicating with the rest of the fleet now.


    All the compromised sections were sealed off by the blast doors as programmed, unfortunately trapping the unfortunate few who were sucked out into the inky blackness.


    "Ma''am! Our targeting computers have gone haywire! We cannot target the enemy! Switching to optical range finding!"


    That instigated another round of silent swearing from the commander as she grabbed the closest chair to rotate herself back upright.


    The command deck''s plexglass windows were fractured, with countless networks of cracks running all across the panel.


    "Turn our ship around! Starboard 80 degrees! Deputy!"


    Her deputy did as instructed and the Negaima began firing its RCS thrusters and the whole dreadnought turned began spinning. It was painfully slow, but just in time for the ship to meet the new barrages of attacks.


    The energy bolts and beams struck hard against the fresh layers of ceramic plating. The ship shook and shuddered, this time not as violently and with the power grids still barely functioning.


    ¡°Deputy! I said 80 degrees! Why are we spinning??¡±


    ¡°No good ma¡¯am! The RCS on the opposite end are shot. We cannot¡­¡±


    ¡°Do as I say! I don¡¯t care how you do it!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­ Yes ma¡¯am!¡±


    The order to begin stopping the ship was issued and the pressure in the port RCS thrusters began increasing. Having been struck multiple times by highly potent thermal weaponry, the nozzles of said thrusters had been sealed shut. A great pressure of monopropellant was going to be necessary to unclog them.


    Suddenly, Commander Lydia found herself bouncing off the walls of the room as a massive explosion in the monopropellant fuel storage threw the gyroscopes into disarray and the ship into a terrible vertical roll.


    The scorched port side armor belt of the Negarima was propelled away at an extremely high speed from the resulting explosion, leaving large swaths of vital internal compartments and their crew exposed to hard vacuum.


    Pieces of the shrapnel were blasted into the firing path of the attacking Spore destroyer. It fired its plasma cannon again, not expecting a sizable aluminum structural beam to be right in front of the barrel. The bolt exploded point blank from the destroyer, literally vaporizing the cannon from its hardpoint and sending a chain of catastrophic explosions down the length of the destroyer, successfully crippling it and rendering it unable to fight.


    The twisted wreck of the destroyer then proceeded to drift off into the distance, fading away with the blackness of space. That was another destroyer but yet, another destroyer too few. There were hundreds more in the fight.


    ¡°Damage report!¡± Commander Lydia demanded, holding in the blood from a serious abrasion across her left temple.


    Silence hung over the command deck.


    ¡°Damage report!!¡± Commander Lydia shouted this time.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Serious damage ma¡¯am¡­¡± The chief engineer on the bridge moaned.


    ¡°What?¡±


    The chief engineer held a steel strut that had impaled him through the stomach and groaned in pain. He attempted to pull it out, shrieked in pain before giving up and continuing his report.


    ¡°N-No good ma¡¯am. Our life support tanks have been blown out. Our RCS fuel has detonated and all the crew in the bow and aft sections have been killed by our rotation¡­¡±


    The chief engineer coughed out a bucketful of blood before continuing.


    ¡°Our radiators have sublimated¡­ We are about to come into full view of the sun soon and¡­ The guns are still functional, if that¡¯s what you want to know.¡±


    The chief yelled again. The red patch on his uniform grew larger.


    ¡°Engines?¡± The commander asked.


    But she did not get a reply. The chief engineer slumped back to the ground, unconscious.


    ¡°Damn it all!¡± The commander exclaimed, resisting the urge to slam her fist into the already cracked viewing ports. ¡°Bloody useless crew.¡±


    The site of the battle continued its orbit around Earth. Soon the sun rose over the horizon and all the ships on site were bathed with Sol¡¯s daily dose of light, heat and radiation.


    The Negarima, having had most of her vital functions blown into stardust, could not cope with this sudden change in environment. The internal temperatures within the vessel began rising uncontrollably and Lydia soon found her uniform drenched with sweat and her forehead wetter than a person in a sauna.


    Picking up a mouth piece, Lydia almost literally shouted into it.


    "All hands on deck, environment suits! Now!"


    The commander then did as she ordered. Under her captain¡¯s chair was a simple EVA gel suit that came in two parts. Wasting no time, she put on the first half and called for her subordinates.


    ¡°Deputy!¡±


    ¡°R-Right here ma¡¯am!¡± The deputy saluted with one hand. His other arm was twisted badly out of shape and was bleeding profusely from a bone that was pushed out of his skin.


    "Issue the order to get a makeshift radio array up. And check on the engines¡­ And also, get your suit on. Now!"


    ¡°Yes m-ma¡¯am.¡± The deputy said, wincing with every word.


    ¡°Get the engineers to stop our rotation. I don¡¯t care how they do it.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    The deputy picked up the mouth piece and began issuing the orders through it. With every sentence he spoke, he coughed out significant amounts of blood.


    ¡°Is anyone else alive on this bridge?¡±


    Commander Lydia shouted above the blaring alarms.


    At this moment, an entire platoon of engineers in EVA suits tumbled through the blast doors that connected the rest of the ship to the bridge.


    ¡°Yes commander! I am alive! Immortalized!...¡±


    That engineer was knocked about his head by a clipboard.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Said the second engineer. ¡°We are all and well. The radio is up and ready for use ma¡¯am¡­ Also, the bridge bulkhead was welded shut, so we cut our way through.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡± Commander Lydia said. ¡°Establish the comms link with the next ship in line.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± Said the second engineer. ¡°The next in line ship, The Unsinkable has been destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­?¡± Said the first engineer after being slapped and awoken rudely.


    ¡°Whatever! Just establish the connection with any ship¡­ You there. Go!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Mumbled the first engineer.


    ¡°Yes you.¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ Roger that!¡±


    Commander Lydia turned to her deputy.


    ¡°Has our rotation stopped?¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Engines one to three are leaking fuel and engine four is fully operational. However, they cannot fire for too long or we will burn up.¡±


    ¡°Noted¡­ Comms link?¡±


    ¡°No good ma¡¯am.¡± Sighed the first engineer. ¡°The console is trashed!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the wrong console idiot!¡± A third engineer exclaimed. ¡°The comms console is covered with dried blood. I can¡¯t read a damn thing!¡±


    ¡°Then wipe the blood off damn it! I don¡¯t have to tell you how to¡­¡± Commander Lydia began yelling before she was interrupted by the second engineer.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Roger that¡­ Done. I am establishing the connection¡­ And¡­ Done!¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Commander Lydia said. ¡°Patch me in.¡±


    TKE climbed into his cryo chamber. Clanedd, coming into the room shortly after maneuvered herself towards him. TKE imputed the codes to begin the cryo sleep.


    ¡°Teeke¡­¡± Clanedd began. ¡°Have¡­ You remembered everything?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± TKE said. ¡°Everything from my underwear to my non existent Kakadu¡­ Oh, and I¡¯ve brought you along too, so that¡¯s everything I guess.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Clanedd said with a bitter smile.


    ¡°Mmhm¡­¡± TKE acknowledged without actually noticing Clanedd¡¯s distress. ¡°Oi! The engines are online. Can we go yet??¡± TKE yelled through the RIG to Saegen.


    The only reply was a sudden impact that shook the whole of SkyLab2 and the TeraNova. A stray missile from the battle near the moon had gone wild and struck the outer rings of SkyLab2, causing some damage to the station¡¯s artificial gravity system.


    The voice of Saegen could be heard over the loudspeaker.


    "Ah, damn it! The docking clamps! They have lost power! I cannot disengage! Is anyone still there?"


    TKE clicked his tongue. "Welp. I¡¯m not sure if that could have been helped. We are stuck. From the looks of it, the clamps have to be released manually using SkyLab2''s analog motors, but that will be time consuming. However, cutting it would do too¡­¡±


    Clanedd gasped.


    "That means...¡±


    TKE''s reply came immediately.


    "Yeah, yeah. No need to state the obvious. Someone has to fix it and I am going to."


    Clanedd shook her head. "No, Teeke. Stay put! I shall do it."


    ¡°Huh? Err¡­ Are you sure?¡±


    TKE opened his mouth to say something but closed it again having nothing intelligent or helpful to craft into words. Thus, he remained silent, half bewildered and half dismayed.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I can do this, just as I always have.¡± Clanedd said softly. Then she leaned forward kissed his forehead.


    ¡°For luck.¡± Clanedd said with teary eyes and a smile. ¡°I will be back, I promise.¡±


    "That sounded so clich¨¦.¡± TKE closed his eyes and chuckled. ¡°Not that I mind though.¡± TKE leaned back on the gel backing of the cryo chamber.


    ¡°Freeze me¡­ Oh boy, this is going to suck so bad¡­¡± TKE mumbled.


    Clanedd nodded and typed in the remaining codes into the cryo chamber. With that, the chamber''s door closed and little shards of frost and ice crystals formed over the Head Engineer¡¯s body. His vital functions and breathing slowed before stopping entirely.


    TKE''s consciousness ebbed away. Never come back again for thousands of years to come. The head engineer was now asleep. Deep sleep. The cold and harsh cryo chamber he was housed in is now his home. Etched into the metal of the chamber below was TKE''s title.


    "Head Engineer of EarthGov Aerospace, Founder of NanoTec."


    The Head Engineer would never be the same again¡­ Or would he? Time will tell, but that would be another story, for another time.


    Wiping a tear from her eyes, Clanedd took a step back and watched as TKE surrendered to the cold. That was it, she though to herself. Nothing more she could have done for him... A sandwich was not going to be of any use anyways.


    She saluted, mumbled a short prayer and ran off to complete her final order.


    ¡°EarthGov fleet? Do you read?¡± Commander Lydia said through the reestablished comms line.


    Static.


    ¡°EarthGov fleet, respond!¡±


    There was another few seconds of static. The commander was about to shout through the mouth piece again before the reply came through.


    ¡°Commander! Thank god, we thought you were dead!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the status of the fleet?¡±


    ¡°Not good to say the least.¡± The voice came through above the noise of fire alarms in the background. ¡°We have lost an effective 20% of our fleet. Hundreds of destroyers sunk and critically damaged. Four of our dreadnaughts have suffered major damage but are still operational¡­ What are you doing?? Put out that fire! No, don¡¯t roast marshmallows there¡­ Sorry, will call back ma¡¯am.¡±


    The link was cut.


    Slamming a nearby panel for good measure, Commander Lydia walked over to the engineers who had just fixed the comms.


    ¡°Get back to your stations. Go!¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Right away!¡±


    The engineers headed out of the bridge.


    The call from the rest of the fleet came back.


    ¡°Sorry ma¡¯am. Damage control.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Lydia lied. She was furious. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°20% of our effective fleet power has been taken out.¡±


    ¡°I know that already. What else?¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ Our captain has taken command after your ship was knocked out and has successfully established a defensive line against the Spores. We are holding out¡­ Somewhat with a dense flak and reverse ion field but I am not sure how long it will last.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Commander Lydia said while bottling up the anger she felt for being unable to command the fleets properly to stabilize the battle as her subordinates had.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± The commander asked.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Your ship is drifting and spinning. Do you need assistance?¡±


    ¡°No. Have all the ships retain formation. This ship is no longer battle worthy. RTB.¡±


    ¡°Roger that. Good luck out there.¡±


    She turned to the deputy and grabbed him by the rim of his EVA helmet. He screamed in pain as the suit began tearing his broken arm even further apart.


    ¡°You! Look what you have done. If you were more efficient in relaying my orders¡­ We¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am!¡± He yelled, unable to control his voice. ¡°I will have the ship moved back to the planet ma¡¯am!¡±


    ¡°Do so!¡± The commander huffed. ¡°You have plenty of explanation to do.¡±


    Commander Lydia threw him off, letting him bounce around the zero-g environment of the ship, letting it take him where it saw fit.


    The ship was still in the sun¡¯s full view and now consoles and metal hand rails were glowing a dull red. The commander could feel the heat seeping through the thick insulating layers of her suit. It was a surprise that the ship¡¯s primary functions had not failed yet.


    ¡°Damage report!¡± The Commander Lydia yelled. ¡°I want a full list of malfunctions on board this ship now!¡±


    Her deputy, whom was barely conscious and drifting around the room in cloud of his own blood began speaking.


    ¡°Everything on board this ship is broken except for our main cannons, engine four and the ¡®Fubuki¡¯¡­ Ma¡¯am.¡± He gasped.


    ¡°Noted. You have the controls.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    Clanedd put on her EVA suit just as she was about to step out of the airlock. She did not wait for the airlock to cycle. There was simply no time. The sheer force of the air rushing out of the airlock carried her out of the ship with a significant jolt of acceleration.


    EVA maneuvering jets began firing as Clanedd leaned herself forwards and boosted herself towards SkyLab2, covering the couple hundred meters of distance in mere seconds.


    She reached her hand out and grabbed the bars attached to the sides of the station airlock. The sudden change in velocity threatened to rip Clanedd''s arm right out of its sockets, but she did not have the time to think about it.


    Climbing into the airlock, she opened up her RIG and pressed a few buttons. The airlock closed its door and after a minute of cycling, it opened up the bulkhead that led into the white hallways of SkyLab2.


    By that time, Clanedd had already torn off her suit and began running down the hallway towards the engineering sector. As she ran down the hallways, she could see the brief flashes of light at lunar orbit and the glints of light from the reflective sliver hull plating of the NNT TeraNova.


    120 000 lives depended on if she succeeded or failed. Clanedd knew the latter was not an option. Otherwise the stories of those on board the ship and of their offspring would be rendered forfeit.


    Strangely enough, that was a single spot in through the flashing glimpses Clanedd had through SkyLab2¡¯s corridor windows that blocked out the flashes of light and the rising sun above the horizon.


    Clanedd gulped. The shadow grew larger and larger steadily, until it nearly obscured the moon itself. An unknown Spore ship? I seriously hope not! Clanedd thought to herself as she arrived and forcefully opened the door leading to the engineering sector. As she stepped in, a violent explosion resounded throughout the station.


    The lights flickered and fluorescent tubes burst, scattering shards of glass and mercury powder all over the floors of engineering.


    By the sheer force of whatever hit the station, Clanedd was lifted off her feet and slammed into the nearest wall by inertia before tumbling to the ground. Dazed by the sudden shock, Clanedd attempted to stand up only to fall down again. Her head was spinning and she briefly lost consciousness.


    ¡°Deputy!¡± Commander Lydia yelled. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?? What has happened to the ship??¡±


    There was no answer above the wailing alarms.


    ¡°Deputy!!¡±


    Commander Lydia righted herself in the zero-g environment and turned to face her deputy, only to find that he had drowned in his own blood and mucus within his EVA suit.


    Commander Lydia was about to pound yet another panel in rage before she calmed herself down. No point in getting angry anymore. What happened?


    The commander looked out of the front windows of the bridge only to see pitch blackness staring back at her. Then, she walked over to her captain¡¯s chair and pulled out a tablet from under the seat. She then began tapping the cracked screen and managed to bring up live footage from the camera mounted on the scorched starboard aft deck of the Negarima.


    The only thing that could be seen by the camera was the white surface of an unknown structure with the inky black space bordering it to the right. On the surface of the structure was the etched name of it. SkyLab2.


    ¡°Damn it, damn it, damn it!¡±


    The commander yelled before calming down yet again. What were the chances anyways? Commander Lydia thought to herself. Never mind that.


    One problem led to another. What happened to the rest of the crew on board the Negarima? Commander Lydia thought to herself before dismissing the thought entirely. Their lives did not matter to her.


    What she was concerned about however, was actually getting back to Earth. There were not that many options but perhaps there may be a shuttle somewhere on board the station. I can use that to return to Earth. Commander Lydia thought to herself.


    Clanedd¡¯s eyes regained focus and when it did, the scene of structural beams, lights and other miscellaneous articles were strewn all over the dusty floor of engineering which after having most of its main lights blown, was shrouded in an eerie shadow with a single red light flickering above an exit bulkhead.


    Clanedd dragged herself to her feet only to find that her right hand that was supposed to be supporting her up was entirely numb. She fell onto the ground again.


    Turning her head, Clanedd was horrified to see a rather large, twisted piece of aluminum sheet metal embedded in her shoulder. Every time she touched that piece of metal sent sensations akin to having molten lead poured down her arm all over her body. Clanedd decided it would be the most healthy option not to touch it from then on.


    This time, using her left hand, Clanedd pulled herself to her feet and after doing so, opened her RIG. Checking the damage control panel on her RIG, Clanedd found that the whole station was displayed in a bright shade of yellow, signifying minor damage, except for two areas.


    The docking clamps area was flashing dark red, inoperable and the entire upper wing of the station to be shaded black as though something rammed the station and went straight through. That meant that weapons and long range communications were gone.


    Numbed by the pain, Clanedd began acting based on instinct and figuring that the best thing to do for everyone was to simply break the clamps right off their hinges¡­ But the question was¡­ How?


    ¡°Self-destruct¡­¡± Clanedd mumbled to her self. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it!¡±


    Stumbling to the nearest bulkhead which coincidentally had the flashing red light above it, Clanedd used her authorization to simply override the damage induced lockdown and sprinted down the plain white corridors. Her body was being pumped so full with adrenaline, having a very specific goal in mind. She was so focused, nothing would break it. Not even a suspicious gel suit marked with the EarthGov insignia standing in an adjacent corridor broke it.


    What the¡­ Commander Lydia thought to herself as she saw a shadow dash past her from an adjacent corridor. At first, the commander was confused as to why SkyLab2 was so empty. Maybe everyone had evacuated into that weird, seemingly stolen EarthGov ship parked suspiciously by the side of the station she eventually concluded. Now with what seemed to be a person with an injured shoulder running past her, Commander Lydia was now not so sure anymore. Maybe she was seeing things and thus, she left it as that.


    Now, if I were this rogue terrorist organization, where would I put my shuttle bay? Commander Lydia thought to herself as she found a convenient control panel to hack into.


    ¡°What kind of software is this?¡± Lydia mumbled to herself. ¡°I can¡¯t even access it without¡­ What¡¯s this? A RIG? Oh, that invention. Too bad EarthGov would not give such a valuable piece of equipment to a low rank like me¡­¡±


    Commander Lydia took a step back from the panel and sighed. That was not going to work, and even if it did, she could not read Latin.


    Thinking back, the commander did recall seeing that shadow coming from a particular direction. Perhaps that might be the way to the shuttle bay.


    ¡°Yup. Probably is.¡± Lydia reaffirmed herself before turning to go down the corridor.


    As she turned, she caught a glimpse of a Spore destroyer just a couple hundred meters away from SkyLab2. Or was it? The commander looked again. It was too large to be a destroyer and the external mounts were unlike whatever she had seen before. It was comparable to a heavy cruiser class by EarthGov definitions, although it was much, much bigger. And EarthGov cruisers could not deploy two absurdly huge wing mounted cannons like what that ship was doing.


    Commander Lydia began running down the corridors instead of walking like she did before. That thing, whatever it was, did not seem like it was just there to say hi.


    Clanedd continued running through the empty corridors of SkyLab2 until a loud alarm began going off on her RIG. While still running, she opened up the RIG¡¯s notice. Discarding all the text messages from Saegen asking how bloody long was she going to take, Clanedd opened up the big red notice that had popped up on her screen.


    Warning. Enemy weapon lock detected. It read.


    ¡°Painted?¡± Clanedd mumbled to herself, stopping before bending over, resting her hands on her knees and gasping for breath.


    ¡°By what?¡±


    Her question was immediately answered as the corridor in front was blasted away by a hot green plasma bolt, leaving molten metal, burning plastic and a giant hole in its wake.


    Clanedd immediately jumped into an adjacent hallway and curled up into a fetal position until the emergency shutters came down, stopping the escape of air.


    More attacks were going to come soon. There was no doubt about that. Clanedd picked herself up again and after catching her breath, she bolted down the hallways again.


    Having ended up in the first office block, Clanedd knew that she was going to pass by the armory soon. After all, NanoTec¡¯s futile battles against Ancient Legends were fought in those very corridors.


    Another plasma bolt hit the station, causing mild rumbling and all the electronic panels that Clanedd could see blow a cloud of thick white smoke into the air. Clanedd winced at the smell produced. Every breath she took caused violent burning sensations to course down her throat.


    Instinctively, she ripped off her applets and part of her sleeves, fell to the ground and put said applets and sleeves over her mouth and nose. There was no water to be found so a dry filter would have to do.


    With that, Clanedd began crawling below the billowing clouds of toxic gas. It still stung her eyes and irritated her skin but that was still, after all, the fastest way to the button.


    Commander Lydia tripped over a metal scaffolding in the darkened engineering sector and fell on her face. She groaned as she pushed herself up again with her hands.


    ¡°Wherever this is, it seems poorly maintained.¡± The commander mumbled to herself as she pulled off the emergency lights mounted on the EVA suit and began shining them around the room.


    Suddenly, the whole station shook like thunder, throwing Commander Lydia across the room and having her back take the brunt of the impact on a solid bulkhead. Luckily for her, the EVA suit took most of the shock but it broke its on board oxygen tanks in the process.


    ¡°Ah shit¡­¡± Lydia swore to herself as she looked upwards in exasperation. Above her was the sign that read shuttle bay 03.


    The commander sighed to herself in relief. How lucky she thought to herself as she smashed the door control panel right next to the bulkhead, causing it to open in a shower of sparks and a piercing screech.


    Commander Lydia then ran down the dimly lit walkway that led right to the third shuttle bay of SkyLab2. That was a little anti-climatic if I may say so myself. Commander Lydia thought to herself. I¡¯d thought I would have had to go through aliens and more exploding hallways.


    Clanedd cleared the corridor and sealed the door to the armory right behind her. Another hit rocked the station and what remaining guns that were on their shelves were thrown off before clattering on the ground and landing on Clanedd.


    Jolts of pain shot through Clanedd as one of the rifles slammed the piece of shrapnel even further into her arm. Tears filled her eyes and she nearly blacked out.


    The only thing that stopped her from losing consciousness all together was the constant buzzing of her RIG, telling her that Saegen was sending about ten messages per minute asking her to hurry up.


    She tried to flip herself over but the pain was so immense that she could not even move without feeling as though her arm was about to fall off.


    Another bolt of plasma hit the station tearing holes through the power grids and coolant pumps of reactor four. The impact threw everything in the armory to the right and Clanedd along with it. This time, from her laid down position, the force allowed her to push all the weapons off her back and land flat on her back with assault rifles and grenades as a cushion.


    Clanedd got up again. As she was about to leave the armory, a stray missile from the battle in the general direction of the moon scored a nice hit in the area where Clanedd was currently in.


    The missile breached the hull in multiple sectors, including a small gash to the armory. The atmosphere began rushing out of the tiny crack, whose resultant push outwards was forcing the crack to pry open even larger.


    Clanedd felt as though she was standing in a vacuum cleaner and to be honest, she was right in retrospect. The door leading out of the armory was just a few meters in front of Clanedd by that point.


    She reached her hand out and tapped the required buttons on her RIG only to find out that the door had locked the entire room down.


    ¡°Open damn it!¡± Clanedd screamed at the door with futility. Atmospheric pressure was dropping rapidly within the room and soon, Clanedd could not even hear herself scream.


    She felt as though her eyes were trying to squeeze out of their sockets and her skin stretched to the limit. Her blood literally started to boil. All the air was forced out of her lungs making her feel as though she was imploding and yet exploding at the same time.


    Clanedd reached out to the door control panel. Little streams of blood flowed out of her nose, mouth, ears and eye sockets. Override¡­ She mumbled to herself inaudibly. There was no air left for her to hear anything or say anything for that matter.


    The bulkhead opened and with that, Clanedd was met with the most powerful draft ever created on board a space station. She would have submitted that as a world record but EarthGov was a communist society and thus recorded no such childish things and not to mention, Clanedd had people to save.


    With all her might, Clanedd pulled on the edges of the bulkhead and against the force of the draft, somehow managed to get herself back into the other corridor.


    The override time span elapsed and the bulkhead slammed shut. Something pulled or rather, tugged violently at her completely numb right arm. She did not feel anything or worry for that matter¡­ At least until Clanedd turned and saw that her right hand had become a bloody stump that ended right at where the bulkhead had shut. She had just lost her right hand but that was a problem to worry about later.


    Standing up, Clanedd trudged towards the self-destruct button she so clearly remembered seeing on the way to the armory back in 2095. The blood in her eyes, nose and other extremities played with her bodily sensors but after being completely doused in a world of pain, she did not care anymore.


    A bloody red line led from the armory¡¯s bulkhead right up to the self-destruct button, neatly tucked away at an obscure corner of SkyLab2. It still was even covered by the piece of scrap paper that read ¡®Out of Order¡¯ in the messy handwriting that Clanedd remembered writing with.


    A smile crept onto her face, although it looked more like a smirk as muscles across her body were numb and unresponsive. This sure brings back memories. Clanedd thought to herself. And I¡­ Clanedd prepared an epic monologue.


    Shall be the one to preserve those memories, and push them into the stars¡­ That sounded cringy now didn¡¯t it?


    Clanedd laughed to herself as tears displaced the blood in her eyes. Lifting away her supporting left hand from her right arm, Clanedd ripped the piece of scrap paper off and hesitated.


    It has to be this way. Clanedd began another monologue to herself. The rest of humanity is counting on me¡­ Or at least the part that would survive this war but still counts right?


    Clanedd, despite her injuries, breathed in deeply, held her breath and then let it out slowly. Now, she was ready and Clanedd, with all her strength, slammed the big red button right down into its pedestal, breaking her left wrist with a sickening snap and initiating a warning from the central computer.


    ¡°*Warning. Reactor coolant ejected from core. Uncontrolled nuclear reaction detected. Wildcat failure imminent in 90 seconds. All personnel to evacuate immediately!*¡±


    SkyLab2¡¯s all too familiar computer voice blared out throughout the entire station. Clanedd, despite her new injury, looked upwards and sighed.


    ¡°You hear that sir?¡± Clanedd whispered through her now open RIG communication uplink to TeraNova.


    There was no reply. Of course there would not be. It was a one-way link after all. Clanedd collapsed into the pool of blood from where her right hand used to be and sighed.


    ¡°Now listen carefully.¡± Clanedd began. ¡°Fire the engines towards the station as though you are dragging it. When the reactor explodes, the ship is likely to suffer damage from the blast but you would be well on your way to the stars.¡±


    Clanedd coughed violently, spraying blood all over her uniform.


    ¡°And do correct the spin resulting from the blast. I trust you know how to do that. And also, you might want to be wary of the giant Spore ship outside the station. Nothing any smaller has the capacity to cause so much damage within such a short period of time.¡±


    The hallway Clanedd was in suddenly began exploding in multiple areas. Pipes burst, lights popped, plexglass cracked and fires sprung up all around Clanedd.


    ¡°*Core temperatures over safety levels by 200%. Reactor failure in¡­*¡± The computer¡¯s voice stopped abruptly. Even the central computer was not invulnerable to fire.


    ¡°Oh and one more thing.¡± Clanedd wheezed as she breathed in one last breath of air. ¡°Tell T¡­Teeke for me. Tell him I love him¡­ That was too clich¨¦ and cringe now wasn¡¯t it...¡±


    Clanedd smiled and leaned her head back on the pedestal of the self-destruct button and closed her eyes.


    ¡°I might need to work on my one liners¡­ But that might be a bit too late. Save humanity for me¡­ sir. And one last thing¡­ About the snacks, screw you.¡±


    Nobody heard the RIG flatline that resounded like a chime throughout the empty hallways of SkyLab2. Like a swansong, it rang loud and clear even in the midst of the explosions before dying away as though nothing had even happened. Clanedd now with her eyes closed and with a smile on her face, the RIG comms link was served and she did not say another word.


    ¡°What?? You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Commander Lydia swore to herself as she began activating the combustion engines of a mothballed shuttle in the corner of the empty shuttle bay.


    The alert of imminent reactor failure rang crisp and clear even in the cockpit of the shuttle. That gave her a minute? Two minutes?


    Flicking switches almost at random, Commander Lydia frantically searched for the ignition key before finding it in the area that separated the pilot from the co-pilot.


    She turned the red knob and flicked the two switches next to it before the roar of the rockets could be heard. It was music to the commander¡¯s ears.


    As surprising as it may sound, the ship was not ID locked by the RIG functions. That, Commander Lydia could thank her creator for. Now the other problem was to actually leave the station.


    Initiate launch sequence. Read the text in big bold, orange letters on the HUD of the shuttle. As the shuttle was designed with a RIG interface in mind, the commander was unable to manipulate the screen as conveniently as a NanoTec pilot could.


    The commander pushed the lever to her left to its maximum on impulse. The combustion engines behind her blazed fiercely, exhaust torching the plastic walls of the shuttle bay, burning straight through it like a flamethrower against a block of butter.


    The little magnetic clamps that held the shuttle down began to audibly crack. The engine noise grew louder and louder and the engine port began glowing even brighter.


    Tiny cracks began appearing in the walls of the shuttle bay as the heat from the engines ablated layer after layer of protective shielding.


    ¡°Come on¡­ Come on¡­¡± Commander Lydia began mumbling to herself as the shuttle shook violently.


    Suddenly, the commander felt a sudden force yank her backwards as the white of the shuttle bay walls began receding and spinning, with the black of space displacing the light from SkyLab2.


    Commander Lydia immediately slid the lever on her left that she now knew was the throttle back to its original position and began pressing buttons at random yet again.


    Whether it was pure luck or simple intuition, Commander Lydia found the auto stabilize or SAS toggle and pressed it. The engines were now deactivated and the spinning had come to a halt.


    The commander, now in full view of SkyLab2, simply gazed at the once was magnificent, pinnacle of human scientific advancement. It was glowing red and orange in multiple sections. Bits and pieces of hull were cut off and floating around the station or had simply been vaporized. Air could be seen leaking from multiple areas and the black¡­ thing was still circling the structure pounding it into a hulk of molten metal and burnt plastic.


    Commander Lydia sighed. Was the battle over yet? She thought to herself. No, can¡¯t be. She could still see brilliant flashes of lasers and sparks lighting up the Luna eclipse.


    She closed her eyes and despite EarthGov¡¯s atheistic agenda, muttered a prayer. For the deceased and those still gallantly fighting for their home. It was not much, but at least it made the commander feel somewhat at ease. And then, SkyLab2¡¯s reactor exploded, enshrouding everything Commander Lydia could see in a dazzling white flare.


    The ion stream from the blast slammed into the shuttle, taking out all of its electronic equipment. Flight control, communications, life support. The little craft then tumbled helplessly into the atmosphere of Earth. From space, it was a little meteor and then, it disappeared beyond the clouds below.


    Saegen, at the helm of the ship was sweating profusely. He had sent more than a dozen messages to Clanedd but had gotten no reply. Not to mention that there was a hideous monstrosity that was most certainly not a Spore destroyer circling SkyLab2 blasting it to bits. He could already thank his lucky stars that it had not yet registered the TeraNova as a threat¡­ Yet. Whatever was going on, he felt extremely anxious and nervous.


    Saegen looked up from his RIG and out into the outer reaches of the moon, Luna. The battle still raged on. From what Saegen could see, the EarthGov fleet had just managed to set up a defensive line and was holding it reasonably well against the Spores but they were being pushed back slightly every time a Spore plasma barrage came in.


    Their command ship was regrettably, taken out almost immediately after the battle began and after a period of drifting, slammed nose first into the upper decks of SkyLab2, somewhere near the engineering sectors.


    It would have been more impressive to watch on television. Saegen contemplated to himself. Because since now he had to worry about getting thousands of people away from Earth alive, the keyword being ¡®alive¡¯, he could not sit tight and watch a once in a lifetime spectacle of a massive capital ship ramming a space station.


    A few more minutes passed and Saegen got more and more restless with each passing minute. He was about to bulk send another hundred messages to Clanedd, his RIG communicators started to buzz.


    ¡°*Warning. Reactor coolant ejected from core. Uncontrolled nuclear reaction detected. Wildcat failure imminent in 90 seconds. All personnel to evacuate immediately!*¡±


    Saegen heard loud and clear through his RIG. He opened his mouth to reply, but the next set of words came through shortly after.


    ¡°You hear that sir?¡± Came Clanedd¡¯s soft and raspy voice.


    ¡°Clanedd? Deputy Head Engineer, do you read me?¡± Saegen half shouted through his RIG before realizing that the TeraNova was not even built with a communication array. Why would they need one anyways? Saegen kept his mouth shut subsequently.


    ¡°Now listen carefully.¡± Clanedd could be heard again. ¡°Fire the engines towards the station as though you are dragging it. When the reactor explodes, the ship is likely to suffer damage from the blast but you would be well on your way to the stars.¡±


    The sound of violent coughing and the tell tale sounds of splattering blood could be heard through the RIG.


    ¡°And do correct the spin resulting from the blast. I trust you know how to do that. And also, you might want to be wary of the giant Spore ship outside the station. Nothing any smaller has the capacity to cause so much damage within such a short period of time.¡±


    ¡°*Core temperatures over safety levels by 200%. Reactor failure in¡­*¡± The central computer¡¯s voice resonated through the RIG before stopping abruptly. No surprise there, really.


    ¡°Oh and one more thing.¡± A deep wheezing sound could be heard. ¡°Tell T¡­Teeke for me. Tell him I¡­¡±


    A plasma bolt from that Spore cruiser thingy hit a communication dish, cutting the transmission abruptly and without warning.


    Saegen lowered his head and sighed deeply before raising his head once again and saluting. There was no doubt in what Clanedd was going to say. Saegen thought to himself. Therefore¡­


    With that, Saegen swung his saluting arm forwards and like a firecracker, the Tandem Mirror engines lit up as bright as the sun just as the ¡®Fubuki¡¯ fission reactors of SkyLab2 went super critical and annihilated itself like Trinity.


    Saegen was bathed in a sea of light before being plunged into darkness as most if not all the electronic equipment on board the ship was disabled temporarily by the resulting ion stream.


    Grabbing onto the captain¡¯s chair for dear life, the TeraNova engaged into a mild flat spin as the navigation systems, life support and reactor control all began flickering back to life.


    SkyLab2 was no more but Saegen could not afford to look back. His objective was right in front of him, past the raging battle at Luna.


    Vega was the star he was aiming for stood out of the many flashes of plasma and nuclear discharge before it. It was the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra after all.


    With a precisely calculated maneuver, Saegen translated all his rotational velocity into that of transitional, swinging the ship into a mad charge to swing out of the gravitational sphere of influence of Earth. Only then could an accurate jump be plotted.


    "*Warning!*¡± The on board ship computer, a copy of the original program from SkyLab2 said. ¡°*Entering a high risk zone. Please make course corr..."


    Saegen turned the speaker off. Even on board the NNT TeraNova, he still found that voice just as annoying.


    ¡°There it is. Voice command¡­ Punch it!¡±


    There was no reply because Saegen had turned the speakers off. The fusion engines began screaming figuratively as it was geared into a full overdrive, kicking the ship forwards in a huge burst of speed, nearly throwing Saegen against the bulkhead that led out of the bridge.


    "*Orbital velocity, 0.01 c... Drive charge, 10%*"


    The TeraNova began shaking, as it slowly eased itself into sub-light, relativistic conditions which caused it to straining terribly under the stress.


    The fact that the starboard whipple shielding and aerogel layers had been evaporated by the nuclear blast did not help matters at all.


    "*Drive charge, 40%..." The inaudible sound of the whining Alcubierre Drive slowly became audible and more distinct.


    Saegen gritted his teeth. The Spore Armada had not already noticed him yet and even if they did, probably did not even consider him a threat. However, he was caught in the crossfire between them and the EarthGov ships.


    The TeraNova was literally stuck between a wall of lead and a wall of highly energized light and ions. Laser and plasma fire glanced off the starboard sides of the ship while cannon slugs bounced off the other side.


    The TeraNova shook under the numerous impacts and Saegen, whom was well aware of the fact that the TeraNova was armored like a fishing boat, almost felt that his ship was resembling a block of Swiss cheese more and more with each passing second.


    Thankfully for him, even if any shell had already hit the ship, it was still operating just fine and had probably not hit any vital citadel compartments of the ship.


    Suddenly the proximity scanners beeped. Not a simple beep but a loud rapid-fire chain of alarm beeps.


    Saegen, just by hearing the sound and pattern of the beeping already knew what it was trying to tell him.


    His eyes widened. A projectile? Shell?? He immediately put the impending danger on the main screen. It was the ICY Products station. The giant cannon mounted on the very top of it was pointing right at the TeraNova.


    "Shit! Evade!¡±


    Saegen unconsciously yelled to himself as he swung his left hand so hard, it felt as though he almost dislocated it. The ship lunged towards the port side, and somewhat successfully dodged the massive shell.


    Although the shell would have hit the TeraNova dead on had Saegen not reacted fast enough, it unfortunately scored a glancing hit on the ship, crushing all the starboard external gyroscopes by the sheer mass of the projectile.


    The shell then proceeded to burrow itself into the giant Spore sphere that had sat idle out of the battle from the moment it entered Earth¡¯s gravitational field to now. The shell caused a massive eruption of green and purple flames from the sphere. How much damage it actually caused, Saegen was not sure.


    But what Saegen did know however, was that the shell hit the ship with loud bang on its starboard side, causing it to list towards port and causing its warp navigation consoles to fail entirely.


    Saegen swore to himself. The navigation computer was showing a terrifying blue screen and was beeping like crazy. There was no doubt that the TeraNova was thrown completely off course but there was no time to think about it.


    "I don''t care!¡± Saegen shouted. ¡°Do it! Warp! Warp now! Go!"


    The computer stopped beeping instantly and produced a satisfying ding noise. The capacitor grids were instantaneously hooked up to that of the Alcubierre Drive and its ring began glowing bright yellow, and then bright white. Electrical arcs jumped between sections on the ring as the space behind the ring began converging and the space in front of the ship began dilating.


    The TeraNova then, from an observer¡¯s stand point, was crushed by the fabrics of space and time itself before it finally disappeared from the night sky.


    The NNT TeraNova, with her 120 000 people on board was now in interstellar space, traveling even faster than any human could have ever dreamed of in the past, to an entire galaxy whose inhabitants would be waiting just for them to shake their hands or perhaps, to finish the Spore¡¯s job, annihilate them and the human race all together. Only time will tell what happens to the young pioneers but that is a story for another day.


    The ICY Products station came around back to the side of the Earth facing the moon. A week and a bit had passed and there was finally, no more weapon exchange. The battle was over. The Spores had backed off from Earth temporarily and the EarthGov fleets, although crippled in many lances, still existed and retreated back to the surface to fight another day.


    Looking around, a massive debris field existed in the inter-space between the moon and Earth and the area where SkyLab2 should have been. It seemed like it had just vanished completely, even though everyone who was looking up into the sky that very day would have known very well that that was not the case.


    EOH, the ICY Products'' head looked at the field and sighed.


    "So NanoTec has escaped too huh? I guess I could not have expected much more. I never saw them as much of fighters anyways..."


    A knock was heard on his office door and Robert kicked the door down before EOH had even given him the permission to enter.


    "Sir, err¡­ The interns have done as you asked. They have gone to look through the field for anything useful."


    EOH looked at him suspiciously.


    "But I never asked them to..."


    Robert interrupted him.


    "We have concluded that the station was destroyed by a reactor overheating. They must have¡­"


    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± EOH cut Robert¡¯s sentence in half.


    ¡°Err¡­ Right, of course¡­ So what now?¡± EOH turned around and faced the window.


    "Forget it Robert."


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Go take a break. New Guinea, west coast at 1 pm tomorrow afternoon. I totally am not trying to assassinate you.¡±


    ¡°Really?? Sweet! Thanks sir!¡± Robert said with glee, conveniently ignoring the last part of EOH¡¯s sentence before galloping out of his office.


    EOH sighed again and mumbled to himself in a rather spiteful tone.


    "And thus, the pieces have fallen... No that didn¡¯t sound right¡­ Ahem, now the pieces are in place. What will happen in the future has yet to be determined and I shall watch it unfold before my eyes. Whatever shall be, was. Whatever was, shall be."


    Feeling rather smug about himself, EOH put the script he was reading off down on his office table, yawned and went to bed.


    Story Arc 1: Flight to a Distant Star


    The End.

 Timeline, Story Arc 1

    Story Arc 1: Flight to a Distant Star


    2034: ICY Products experiments on plenty of new things and help contribute to SkyLab2''s construction.


    2035: Plans for SkyLab2 completed. CNC module sent up into low earth orbit. "Radiator" in possession of InterCon mysteriously disappears.


    2045: 4 reactor modules, life support, R&D, Engineering sectors sent up into low earth orbit. Project temporarily halted due to monetary issues. Due to monetary issues, ICY Products goes into a short period of dormancy. (Thanks InterCon)


    2054: Unknown Bio weapon exits InterCon''s stargate. ICY Products is one of the companies assisting the Coalition and InterCon fight off the zombie threat, but refuses to directly kill people.


    2060: ICY Products begins developing the ''Hyper Nuke''.


    2062: ICY products reveals their second superweapon, the Killer of Men!. They forget to license it again and is sued by EarthGov for almost $9000.


    2063: The third in command of ICY Products breaks out of the company and forms deadliest rivals Superweapon Co.


    2069: Construction of the Biparte Tank begins, ICY.


    2070: SkyLab2 project continued. ICY provides boxes for the Skylab2 project. Sent up cargo pods and equipment.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    2072: ICY Products finally move out of underground bunkers and set up base in a dome.


    2073: Forcefields invented by ICY


    2079: Artificial Gravity and Crew Pods sent up into the orbital construction site. SkyLab2 pushed into high earth orbit. Construction completed.


    2083: BioRIG invented. EarthGov adopts use of new tech, although they lacked funding to do so completely. Reduces laboratory and engineering accidents by 65%


    2085: Alcubiere Drive developed by SkyLab2 Personnel. EarthGov loses contact with SkyLab2. EarthGov supply runs halted.


    2086: NNT Daledalus makes first FTL flight. ICY''s Dalek-like Drone is discovered. they watch the Daledalus take off. Warp ripples detected across the planet.


    2090: SkyLab2 Personnel officially named themselves NanoTec after going rogue from EarthGov. EarthGov sends boarding parties into SkyLab2 but fails to regain control. ICY is tasked by the Coalition to monitor space. They quantum-shift there the same year. NanoTec officials meet up with ICY Executive Board Marketeers, but they are attacked. Mysterious rocket payload delivered to SkyLab2.


    2091: InterCon halts all bombing runs. EarthGov begins terraforming the wastelands of Earth.


    2095: The World Moves back to the surface after Ancient Legend''s ANEB. Icy discovers extraterrestrial life.


    2096: NanoTec begins construction on a dreadnought class colonizer NNT TeraNova


    2097: ICY assassin tries to kill an EarthGov official. The attempt fails, but EarthGov blame InterCon anyway.


    2098: EarthGov radar detects massive alien fleet. Alien dubbed "The Spores" for easy reference. EarthGov puts IXS Tokidai (CU) and highly experimental IXS Phrombus (DN) into service.


    2099: ICY Products developed "MegaCannon" Test fire in one year they say.


    2100: Spore Fleets arrive at Earth. 1 Spore Mothership, 2000++ Destroyer class, 1 Buster ship. EarthGov sends their fleets to engage the enemy behind the moon. The fleets face each other in May. NanoTec sensing the danger, departs on the half built NNT TeraNova. NNT TeraNova leaves earth orbit while charging the warp drive, nearly shot down by MegaCannon test. SkyLab2 was destroyed by the Spores, although there was evidence of a self-destruct.

 2 - 01: 2110: Brave New World

    Ten years had passed since their departure and they have been drifting through the void at speeds unheard of since then. The war at Earth had come to pass and their homeworld as they knew it was no more. NNT TeraNova. That was the ship in question, the very first FTL capable starship of humanity. By compressing space-time behind the ship, and expanding the aforementioned in front of it, it was able to ride the "wave" at faster than light speeds, effectively bypassing Einstein''s theory of relativity. Nobody knew how it was possible or how it works. It just did. The year is 2110 and after the decade long voyage, NanoTec, her ship, and her crew had arrived. Finally after running out of nuclear fuel, The TeraNova dropped out of its warp bubble and out into uncharted space. A new frontier, a brave new world.


    Story Arc 2: Brave New World


    Elleno woke up. Cold and hungry. Those were the only two feelings he was feeling. He opened his eyes slowly and the ice crystals that had formed over his eyelids and eyelashes flaked off and dropped to his feet with a soft twinkle. Opening his eyes wider, he could see a curved glass panel enclosing him within his cryo chamber. There was a flashing red LED/button on the left corner of the chamber, lighting up the written text below it, "Emergency Eject". His limbs were stiff and almost unmovable. It was painful with every movement. The cold had frazzled his mind a little, but not much. He recollected his memories, as he muttered to himself,


    "My name is Elleno, 180 cm tall, security officer of SkyLab2 sector 02, now member of... EarthGov, no NanoTec. I am on board NNT Nova? Or was it something else...never mind, I''ll find out later..."


    His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden shaking of his cryo chamber. Through the thick glass cover of the chamber he could vaguely hear the dull rumble of the ship hull. Are we under attack? He thought to himself. The ice coating covering his body had mostly turned back into water and melted away. With all his strength, he hit the flashing red button and the glass cover of the chamber was flung outwards with tremendous force and a cloud of mist. Elleno fell out of the chamber, expecting to hit the floor but instead, was flung towards the opposite wall of cryo chambers and then he hit the floor. As he hit one of the chambers, he instinctively grabbed onto its control panel for support. An external impact. Looking around, the interior lighting was red, power saving mode and the internal temperature was searing. He tried to get to his feet but his muscles were still stiff and warming up. Suddenly, the cryo chamber he was clinging onto flung open in another cloud of mist and he was thrown off balance, landing onto the opposite wall. As soon as all that happened, the occupant of the chamber stepped out. He was younger than Elleno, or at least looked younger by at least 13 years. What was most surprising was that he was not wearing any protective cryosleep gear and was not affected by the cryo at all. It was as though he had just gotten out of bed.


    "Good morning sir." That person spoke out.


    Elleno was taken aback. He was in no position to be called sir. Before he had time to reply, that person spoke again.


    "Sir, what is going on? Why is it so hot sir, and you know where the bridge is ? Oh wait, I was a scientist working on this ship, silly me. Pardon me sir."


    With that, he stretched and began maneuvering towards the bridge. Elleno was dumbfounded, but there really was no time for that. He began following him.


    "By the way sir, call me Joe." He spoke over his shoulder.


    The security officer nodded. By that time, Joe had already opened the door to the bridge and sat himself in front of the piloting seat. As Elleno entered, he shielded his eyes instinctively due to the huge difference in light level. Out of the glass windows of the bridge, right before his eyes was a large, G-Type main sequence star. Joe pushed a button on his RIG and the bridge''s glass windows immediately polarized. Elleno frowned. Joe wore his RIG to cryosleep? He moved over to Joe and looked over his shoulder.


    "Others also call me Sir-Caller. A really silly nickname if I might say." Sir-Caller said over his shoulder again. He pointed to one of the holodecks in front of him. "You see that sir? We are in for a close one near this star. And we could slingshot around this planet." He said as he pointed to a different spot on the holodeck.


    Elleno nodded again as he went over to the main command deck of the bridge. Sweat was already accumulating on his forehead just from hearing the ship was going to pass really close to a star. Once there, he pressed some buttons on the deck, hoping to get some information.


    "...Ha! Got it!"


    Elleno muttered to himself in triumph. His hacking skills finally paid off. He was greeted by a wall of text and partially encrypted code. Scanning through, he began reading to himself.


    "...Automatic system update, date: 2110 Jan 1st, Shangri-La fusion reactors out of fuel...Switching to emergency Trans-Lightforce "Fubuki" Fission... Ship dropped out of warp, approaching a solar system in the... Small Magellanic Cloud?!"


    As Elleno read this, the ship suddenly listed towards the left and he was neatly thrown off onto his side. Apparently Sir-Caller had been fiddling with the controls. He suddenly spoke up


    "Sir, If I may interrupt, we are approaching the perigee of this orbit trajectory, hold your horses sir."


    It was at this moment, the ship began creaking. It was either the temperature of the stress taken by the hull. Sir-Caller pressed another button on his RIG and the ship jerked towards the right, flinging Elleno onto the wall. Joe apologised.


    "Sorry sir, some minor course corrections, at this rate..."


    He could not finish his sentence before the ship alarm began blaring. *Warning! Incoming solar flare detected. Warning! Incoming...* The alert repeated. Elleno looked up and confirmed it. In front of the ship''s flight path was a fiery trail of hot plasma leaping up from the star''s photosphere into the vacuum around. Elleno immediately sprung into action.


    "Joe! You take the wheel, trim vector, 300 m/s of delta v onto the orbit axis, the ship hull will do the rest. I will manage the power, keep things from overheating. Got it? Quickly!"


    Sir-Caller nodded and replied.


    "You are not as dumb as you look sir. Understood."


    Elleno ignored the last remark and scrambled to the engineering console. He sat himself down and hacked the terminal open. A whole string of binary code materialized in his face. Scanning the text and typing into his RIG, it was certainly not easy. Not to mention reading binary to begin with. The TeraNova''s engines began firing, barely maintaining the exhaust plasma. With that, the ship began listing towards starboard side. The solar flare was huge, both of the men could hear the creaking from the port side of the ship as hull plating was torn off from it.


    "Sir, port armor overheating." Sir-Caller commented.


    Elleno gritted his teeth. Typing more strings of code, the liquid coolant began flowing into the port hull buffer zones. Another solar flare sprung out just behind the ship. There was no time to alter course. Mercilessly, it struck the ship hard on its engine sector and part of the already damaged starboard cryo sector. Cabling broke and sparks flew from the broken ends. The internal red lighting flickered and Elleno was sure he could hear major ship sections venting air into space.


    "Well... there goes our warp engine." Elleno muttered. "Hey Joe! Get us out of the star''s danger zone. Quickly! Burn prograde!"


    "Yes sir. I am trying my best." He replied.


    The TeraNova listed towards port side this time. Barely missing another flare that poped up from port side. The ship accelerated, nearly throwing Elleno off his feet... again. Sir-Caller flicked the buttons again and the ship suddenly changed direction again. The solar flare frequency began to die down. The ship had left the flare zone near the star. Elleno sank down into the chair and wiped sweat off his forehead. Sighing once, he got up and looked back at the raging star. Almost completing its slingshot around the it, the ship''s relative distance from it began increasing. A good sign. Sir-Caller glided over to the exhausted Elleno.


    "Good job there sir. I expected less honestly but I am impressed."


    Elleno gave a thumbs up sign and smiled rather weakly as he collapsed to the ground.


    "By the way sir... If I may inquire, where did you learn hacking and orbital mechanics?"


    Elleno replied slowly, "From... the Internet."


    Sir-Caller nodded as he moved towards the captain''s console. He opened up the holodeck and began pointing and speaking.


    "Ok sir, the dangerous part is over. Now due to the rapid adjustments of our flight path, we are now headed straight for the fourth planet in this system. As it stands, we are going to dip into its atmosphere and most likely lose all our orbital speed and crash. That is, if we don''t burn up in the atmosphere sir."


    Elleno inquired, "Before that, could you carry out a long range scan on the planet?"


    "I have already done that dumbass sir. If not, then how would I already know there''s an atmosphere?"


    "Ok, ok. Fine. Do you suggest we land there?"


    Sir-Caller pulled a thumb drive out of his pocket and tossed it to Elleno. He had apparently done all the scanning quite a while ago.


    "Here sir. Take a look at the data. I will tell you my opinions once you are done. We have 86 hours."


    Elleno plugged the thumb drive into his RIG and opened the data file. The fourth planet in the star system. Earth-like, within the star''s habitable zone and could possibly support life. 1.2 G on the surface and average temperature is around 2-10 degrees Celsius. There was also a dense asteroid belt orbiting around the planet in a geostationary orbit but that was a problem for another time. To him, it was a great place to land but it was unconfirmed if there was even oxygen on it''s surface. Thinking about it for a while. Elleno finally relayed his opinions to Sir-Caller.


    "Joe. We land there."


    "Good. Glad we share the same opinion. Now if you would excuse me..."


    With that, Sir-Caller pushed off the glass paneling and proceeded out of the bridge. His maneuvering air jets echoed off the hull of the silent spacecraft as he eased back into the cryo sector. It was almost as though everybody did not just nearly die from the nearby star a few moments ago. Sir-Caller swiftly climbed back into his cryo pod and closed the hatch. Elleno tried to stop him but the hissing of nitrogen could already be heard. The cryo process restarted. He was dumbfounded. Why would anyone cryo freeze themselves, merely over the course of 86 hours. Especially considering the after effects of the sleep. Now there was nobody he could talk to and keep himself occupied with.


    "Well...this is going to be a very long four days..." he thought to himself.


    On a spaceship hurtling towards a planet at sub-luminal speeds, there really is nothing much to be done. He could not go back to cryo sleep as it hurt very much after defrosting and therefore, his time was mainly spent repairing internal damage, staring into space, literally, and nearly starving to death. He had apparently forgotten that there were combat rations in the cargo bay. Indeed, he was a security officer and therefore knew how not to starve to death, but the boredom was of a whole different level.


    Almost four days soon passed and that fourth planet of the star system came into view. From a distance, it looked like a bright blue ball, capped with white at the poles. This meant that there was a large amount of light being reflected back into space from the surface and thus the planet was almost certainly full of water or had many thick blue clouds. It was however, still nearly 5 hours remained between that present time, to the perigee of the TeraNova''s hyperbolic orbit which so happened to lie within the planet''s atmosphere. The vague hissing sound of nitrogen could then be heard by Elleno from the bridge. Not long after, Sir-Caller casually floated in.


    "Hello again sir. That was quick. It felt as though we have only just conversed a mere 5 minutes ago...Say sir, you don''t look too good now do you?"


    Elleno remained silent. His eyelids were drooping and he was sure he felt much lighter at the feet. Completely ignoring Sir-Caller, he moved over to the captain''s seat, sat down and slowly, raised his right middle finger at him. Sir-Caller shrugged his shoulders and continued.


    "Well sir, jokes aside, we are almost at the planet as you can see. We should dip into the atmosphere in about, lets see... four hours and forty-five minutes. I think I will go back to sleep."


    Elleno raised his left middle finger. Sir-Caller shrugged again.


    "Ok fine. I shall wait out here. Sir."


    With every passing moment, the bright blue ball grew larger and ever so closer, and Elleno ever so nervous and hungry. Not long after, details of the planet surface could be seen more clearly. The entire planet looked nearly five times as large as that of Earth and its surface was about 90% water and the only land was a continent the size of both Americas and Europe combined. There were not many geological formations on the land, except for a few hills and rivers. What was most strange for a planet of that size was the fact that its gravitational field strength was only 1.2 times that of Earth and the dull greyish brown asteroid belt circulating around it. Indeed a strange world.


    "Sir, we are about to enter the planet''s atmosphere soon. Get to the engineering station again sir."


    Elleno nodded weakly and slid over to the seat. He opened up his RIG and prepared for the inevitable. Sir-Caller veered the ship about 2 degrees starboard and upwards, (with respect to the ship) to avoid the ring of rocks before plunging into the planet''s atmosphere.


    "Re-entry in 3, 2, 1... and..."


    As Sir-Caller reached "1", the NNT TeraNova began shaking. First a slight tremor, to a full on earthquake like effect. A thick layer of plasma enveloped the ship as it plunged further into the atmosphere. Elleno was working as fast as he could, trying his best to prevent the whole ship from overheating. Sir-Caller was just doing what he did best. Terrifying rattling sounds could be heard from within the ship and the ferocious creaking of the hull threatened to tear the whole construct apart.


    "Altitude 50 kilometers sir... Our speed is dropping nice and slow." Sir-Caller spoke above the noises.


    Elleno nodded his head again. He was really focused on the job at that point, where a single mistake could mean death. The creaking became even louder and the bridge glass windows began cracking under the stress. Fragments from the inner glass panes began spilling onto the deck.


    "30 kilometers, ambient heat dropping sir. Looking good."


    Elleno barely heard Sir-Caller say that. He was staring at the starboard section shown on the holodeck. That section was overheating rapidly, internally as well as externally. There was only one explanation. The hull has been breached and the hot air was entering.


    "Joe! There''s a breach in the starboard cryo sector! We need to..."


    Before Elleno was able to finish his sentence, a loud screech was heard as that cryo sector was wrenched from the ship in a shower of molten steel and glass, leaving a gaping hole in the starboard midsection. Plasma began spilling in, heating the superstructure even further.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Ah, shit, there goes twenty thousand of us... Joe switch to rocket-jet hybrid vertical engines! Slow our decent, I cannot keep the ship cool, our coolant is leaking!"


    "Yes sir. Prepare for the acceleration G-force."


    Sir-Caller punched a few buttons onto his RIG and the TeraNova''s emergency combustion engines flickered to life. The deceleration effect was crushing, threatening to drain Elleno''s blood to his feet.


    "Sir, our speed is dropping rapidly, this is looking good... Current altitude, 10 kilometers and speed 60 meters per second and dropping. If all goes well... wait, whats this? Windows crashed, press any key to reboot... awww goddammit."


    It was at this moment the chemical engines cut off completely and the whole ship powered down. This was when the NNT TeraNova began spiraling to the ground in a horizontal, uncontrollable flatspin.


    "Joe! I thought you were supposed to upgrade the Operating System?"


    "I did sir! I upgraded it from Windows 8 to 10."


    "No wonder the bloody thing crashed!"


    Elleno and Sir-Caller began yelling at each other for the final 10000 meters to the ground, all while clinging for their lives. The free fall felt like it lasted for an eternity. Or at least, nobody could remember exactly how long it was. Elleno merely found himself falling within the ship one moment, blacking out another and finally finding himself waking up with a throbbing head among broken electronics.


    "Ah, crap..." Elleno muttered to himself.


    He had no idea for how long he was out. What he did know was that he was lucky to still be in one piece. The crash seemed to have broken the ship''s spine from what he could see and from where he was (the bridge), the whole deck had listed about 20 degrees to starboard. The glass paneling had completely shattered and streams of sunlight entered through those holes. It gave the feeling of being within something ancient. The hallways leading to the main cryo sectors from the bridge had collapsed and thus Elleno climbed out of the bridge, through the broken windows to go around. The sunlight was really bright and it made him feel a little dizzy. After all, he had not been exposed to it while on a planet''s surface for nearly 10 years. Scanning his surroundings, Elleno found that the ship had landed in the water, about a kilometer or two away from the continent. The ship had dug a small trench about 5 meters deep and nearly 500 meters long during the crash and seeing that the water surrounding the ship was bubbling and emitting steam, he had not been out for long.


    "Now, where is that Joe? I am pretty sure he was in the bridge just now..." he thought to himself as he maneuvered his way to the main port side entrance airlock.


    Elleno tore open the external covers of the control panels and opened both of the airlocks. The blast doors were half jammed and could not open fully. Elleno crawled under them, carefully making sure he did not knock his head on the broken metal, all while hoping they do not seal shut on top of him. After making his way through the dark and dusty hallways, he was able to get through the wreckage to the main cryo sector without too much trouble. Standing in the very center was a dark shadow like creature. Elleno recoiled backwards, half shocked and surprised at what he saw. The lighting was minimal, and thus was very difficult to make out what its features were. That figure turned towards Elleno''s direction and began walking towards him slowly. Each step echoing within the ship. It stopped a mere 2 meters away from him and it began to open its mouth.


    "Sir." It spoke. "Jet fuel really can melt steel beams!"


    About 5 minutes later, Elleno had begun the thawing process for the rest of the crew. That way, their bodies would not hurt so badly once they come out if done properly. He re-routed what remained of the electrical power to lighting and heating before sitting down next to Sir-Caller who was by the entrance.


    "You know sir, you really did not have to slap me so hard."


    "Well, you could have called out to me earlier."


    Elleno remained silent to hide his embarrassment from being scared so easily. The collective hissing and evaporation of nitrogen filled the room as the rest of the crew came back to life. The first one soon pushed open the glass lid of his cryo chamber and collapsed to the ground. He was alive definitely but his body did not take the effects of cryo sleep too well. Coughing a few times, he slowly put his foot onto the ground and then his hands on his knees. The cracking of the ice flaking off his body was somewhat audible.


    "Sir?" Elleno and Sir-Caller spoke simultaneously.


    Sir-Caller pushed Elleno away and spoke again,


    "Sir, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," He took a sidelong glance at Elleno before continuing,


    "The ship has landed on an unknown planet and we require you to make a surface analysis. We need to know exactly what we are standing on...Did you hear me? Mr Saegen sir?"


    Saegen, the director and chief scientist of Project Daledalus and NNT TeraNova. Nearly 46 years old and still kicking. He coughed a few more times and tried to get up. Stumbling once, and after being supported by Elleno, he got onto his two feet although he had to support himself with both hands on his knees. He nodded at Sir-Caller''s first request and before he could begin walking, Sir-Caller began talking again.


    "By the way sir, where is my brother?"


    Saegen looked dumbfounded. Probably after effects of cryosleep.


    "I meant, whats his name again...yeah Kuro. Kuro of the Black Skies. Where is he?"


    By that time Saegen''s cryo fatigue was dissipating and he could almost stand properly already. He pointed towards the group of men and women by the corner who were puking their guts out.


    "One more thing sir..."


    Saegen faced Sir-Caller looking slightly irritated.


    "Where is...Clanedd sir? The engineer I worked with on the planet?"


    Saegen remained quiet and began looking slightly downcast, "Well, she was one of our most skilled and Elite personnel you could ever find on Earth. Intelligent, innovative and courageous. It is...a disappointment that we lost her. She...did not make it."


    Sir-Caller nodded. And folded his arms. "Then sir, the artifact? What do you call it..."


    Saegen leaned in and whispered to Sir-Caller, "You mean MAXIS? Yeah, its still here, that is if it survived the crash."


    "One last thing sir, how about TKE? Our head engineer? Is he around? Dead sir?"


    "Well..." Saegen''s eye pupils moved to the left and right in quick darts. He breathed in deeply once and answered softly, yet quickly, "He also did not make it...He perished with Clanedd...Yeah he did."


    Sir-Caller raised his eyebrows in suspicion, "Are you sure sir? I am pretty sure I saw him board the ship. Even through cryo, my eyes, mind you sir, do not deceive me."


    "Yes-s I am sure, now if you would excuse me, I have a atmosphere analysis to do."


    "You mean surface analysis sir?"


    "Y-Yeah! That''s right. A surface analysis. Thanks. I''ll see you later."


    Elleno watched from the sidelines and picked up every single line of speech exchange between Sir-Caller and Saegen. "Joe, what the hell was that all about? Artifacts, head engineer? What''s going on?"


    "Sir, I will explain later. There are more pressing matters at the current moment."


    "Seriously? I have a right to know. As Chief/Security Officer of SkyLab2 Sector 2, I must be informed of all happenings! And please stop calling me ''sir''!"


    "Yes ma''am." Came the reply.


    Sir-Caller ushered Elleno, who was chewing on some combat rations, to follow him as he made his way to the stern of the crashed ship.


    "You know sir, you really did not have to slap me again." Sir-Caller mentioned casually, although sounding a little irritated.


    "Well you could start by calling me by my proper name first." Elleno snapped back.


    "Alright fine sir... what''s your name again?"


    "Oh forget it."


    Sir-Caller soon passed the non-functional reactor sector and finally reached the back of the stern. Elleno stopped short behind him and immediately saw a high density, composite blast door. The kind designed to survive a direct nuclear hit. On it was painted, though slightly scratched, in bright white paint, the numbers "05". Sir-Caller stepped forward, opened his RIG and punched a few buttons, entered a string of codes and the blast door''s motor began to hum. Pieces of concrete flaked from it as it was accompanied with a high pitched screeching sound from the concrete rubbing against polysilicate backings. Red-orange sparks flew from the edges of the door. However due to the damage sustained, the blast door could only open just large enough for the two men to walk through.


    Inside was the only chamber in the ship that did not have hull breaches and plasma scorches along the walls, completely opposite on what the rest of the ship looked like. Within it was an air-tight glass chamber placed in an anti-shock setup, with many high-tension springs to keep it from swaying or shattering, even in an event of a crash. However the latter was only just proven. The glass chamber itself was about 3/3/2 meters in length, breadth and height respectively. The walls were built out of a thick plexiglass/plastoid hybrid and the only entrance into the chamber was a mechanically locked security door. And, within the chamber was a glowing, cyan blue orb that had multiple graphiene-like rods orbiting around it on many planes. The orb pulsated in such a way it was mesmerizing and somewhat seducing to the mind. It''s pulsing was of irregular intervals and of varying brightness, such that it seemed very much sentient in its own sense. Sir-Caller pointed to the orb and announced, rather proudly to Elleno.


    "The MAXIS core."


    Elleno watched it in awe. The pulsing was even in sync with Sir-Caller''s voice and even to his own heartbeat. Elleno unconsciously mumbled to himself,


    "Wow...Its beautiful."


    "Yes sir, I know. Rumor has it that it can suck your life out if you stare at it for too long. Come lets go. I have confirmed its survival, and I don''t want a dead body on my hands sir."


    Elleno did not react. He did not even hear Sir-Caller at all. A little voice of unknown origin spoke in his head. The voice was masculine and yet feminine in speech. It spoke in a monotone but sounded lively. Elleno was not able to make the words out clearly and before he could question what he was listening to, Sir-Caller had already grabbed the back of his shirt collar and dragged him out of the room.


    "Ok sir, I think that is quite enough. Stoning and phasing out like that. Not very good for a ''security officer'' you know."


    Before he knew it, Elleno was sitting upright against the closed blast door which contained the MAXIS chamber. Sir-Caller spoke first, interrupting Elleno''s questions.


    "Ok sir, that''s the artifact we were talking about. Satisfied? Good. Now you were also asking about the head engineer. Regarding that, I would also like to remind you that you were fighting alongside him when the intruders came on board in 2095. Don''t tell me you have already forgotten."


    "Hmm... I really don''t recall. Unless you were talking about security officer of sector 4, then maybe he did."


    "Alright sir, it doesn''t matter really. Cryosleep does tend to cause minor amnesia from time to time anyways."


    With that, Sir-Caller gestured for Elleno to follow and began climbing through one of the larger breaches. Elleno followed him through the hole. The breach was a tear-open, therefore having many sharp or uneven protrusions of metal and cabling, making it difficult and even dangerous to climb through.


    "Sir, I would advice you to be a little careful, there is a little gap over there so if you don''t mind..."


    Before Sir-Caller was able to finish his sentence, Elleno plunged head first into the steaming, boiling water.


    "...! Ah crap! W... Help! F*data_repunged*!"


    Sir-Caller brought his left palm to his face and sighed.


    "You know sir, you could use more caution. I was about to warn you about the gap before you decided to go swimming."


    Elleno quickly swam about 30 meters away from the crash site. Before yelling back to Sir-Caller.


    "Holy crap! The water is freaking boiling!"


    Sir-Caller shouted back. "I know that sir. By the way, shouldn''t we get a boat or something before going out?"


    "No point! The water here is shallow, about 1.5 meters. I really mean it! Jump in!"


    "No sir. The water is still boiling."


    "Alright fine! Don''t come whining to me that I was the first man to step onto alien soil!"


    Sir-Caller nodded and with that, climbed back into the ship. Strange... If Joe did not want to go anywhere, why did he even climb out to begin with. Elleno thought to himself as he swam towards the continent. The sun was still out and there was probably still some time left to look around.


    Saegen sat on one of the broken engine pods with a laptop on his lap. He had all his instrument deployed and his readings were almost finalized. A man in a white, dusty lab coat, wearing a brown shirt and standing a full 190 cm approached Saegen from behind.


    "Need help with that?"


    Saegen turned around and examined that man. After which he smiled and stood up.


    "Hey! Claev! Good to see you are ok. Sleep well?"


    Claev, or formally known as Doctor Claev. He was just about as old as Saegen and were good friends. Coincidentally, they were even classmates back on Earth and unsurprisingly, he worked as Saegen''s most trusted assistant and peer.


    "Yeah" replied Claev. "Feeling better than ever now."


    "Glad to hear it. You could help me with this though..." Saegen said as he passed an atmospheric sample kit to Claev.


    "Our warp navigation failed. We are not at Vega, but some random system in the Small Magellanic Cloud. At the same time, we lost 20 000 people. You know that right."Saegen commented


    Claev nodded. "They were some of our best too... Well, there is no point worrying about them. We just need a brief moment of silence for the fallen." he said as he opened the casing while seated cross-legged behind Saegen.


    Saegen acknowledged Claev as he pulled the pH probe out of the water. It was going to be a long day.


    Kuro stumbled out of the cryo sector and out into the open airlock. He was clutching his stomach, grabbing the handrails to his left and trying his very best not to throw up. He was known to be able to endure 100s of gees, fly 3 meters off the ground at mach 4, take out multiple Spore destroyers without weapons and beat the third level of Battletoads. Indeed, he was the greatest pilot in the galaxy but he simply could not cryosleep. Sir-Caller approached him from behind.


    "So sir, are you feeling better now?"


    Kuro shook his head, gagged and put his left hand over his mouth.


    "Sir it has been 6 hours... 6 hours. Take a look, I have personally set-up all the inflatable habitation, power module, hydroponics and reverse osmosis system already."


    Sir-Caller pointed outside towards the water. The sun was setting and a warm orange, light reflecting off the water surface beautifully. About 10 meters away from the crashed NNT TeraNova and stretching into the horizon were many white, dome like modules. Some of them had a transparent plastic roof, some cylindrical and made partially out of heavy metal elements and the rest were still in the process of inflating and deploying. He was not exaggerating.


    Kuro suddenly turned away, brought his head over the deck and spewed stomach acid into the water. He coughed a few times before attempting to speak.


    "Ughh... I really need an antacid...Oh god..Umgh!"


    Kuro vomited over the side of the deck again. Sir-Caller sighed. As he thought of what he could do for the poor fellow, Saegen approached Sir-Caller.


    "Ok Joe, I have done the atmosphere analysis..."


    "You mean surface analysis sir?" Sir-Caller interrupted him.


    "Yes, yes. That too. Now..."


    As Saegen said this, he opened a holo window on his RIG and sent it to Sir-Caller. He began pointing to the different graphs and pie charts as he explained them each in detail.


    "Ok, let us begin with my surface analysis."


    Sir-Caller remained silent and ushered for Saegen to continue.


    "The planet, using the footage from the cameras on the NNT TeraNova in space, during re-entry and from current observation, I can confirm previous assumptions that the planet is indeed five to six times as large as Earth diameter wise. One abnormality is that despite its size, the planet''s gravitational field strength is only about 1.2 times that of Earth. After doing spectrometer analysis on the surface and sub-surface elements, I can conclude that the surface is 14% Silicon and nearly 77% Carbon in mass. The other 9% are elements are things like Oxygen, Hydrogen and metals such as Iron, Nickle and Copper. There are also trace amounts of Iridium and Aluminium."


    "Well, that explains the low gravity sir... Ok carry on." Sir-Caller commented casually.


    Saegen nodded. "Yes... Moving on, 90% of the planet surface is water. The 10% of land we are standing on is in fact, a giant floating island the size of North and South America combined, on a single tectonic plate. The sea level is constant at about 1.5 meters deep for about 5 kilometers from the land. Beyond that, the water depth dips rapidly to up to about 300 meters deep 100 meters away from that 5 kilometer line. It is like a cliff edge flooded with water. The oceans however, seem to be rich in deuterium and there are many hydrogen gas pockets around. See, there is one right there as well."


    Saegen said as he pointed to a cyan blue patch amidst the deep navy blue ocean.


    "Now, that finishes up the surface analysis results. Time for the atmospheric analysis."


    Sir-Caller began grinning and began speaking sarcastically, "Heh! I did not know you were this hard working sir, or your lazy attitude did not surface this time! Get it?... No?... I''ll show myself out."


    Saegen sighed and shook his head. "You did want the readings and results didn''t you? I highly doubt your friend here will remember."


    Kuro tried to say something but threw up again. Sir-Caller nodded.


    "All right sir. As you wish."


    Saegen cleared his throat once, coughed and continued.


    "Right, so the atmosphere of this planet is very similar to that of Earth. About 75% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, 1% Carbon Dioxide and the rest are noble gases. The strange thing is the high concentration of noble gases. I would have thought that such a thing would be extremely uncommon, but if my readings are not wrong, then there would be many lightning storms and auroras on this planet."


    Sir-Caller nodded. "What about the weather? Surely an atmosphere scan would come out with some clues on it sir."


    "Ah yes, the weather. Here on the planet, the weather includes but is not limited to, bright sunny days, cool cloudy evenings (like now), tornadoes, typhoons/hurricanes, monsoon storm seasons and not to mention, the ever so often solar flare... Aww crap. Another just hit. My RIG is down... Gimmie a moment Joe, I''ll be right back."


    Sir-Caller, as Saegen said that, tried to open up his RIG holo windows. As expected, all he got was static and an unresponsive interface. Sir-Caller began to inquire.


    "Sir, you say that ''another'' just hit. How many hit before?"


    "Two. One during the surface analysis and another during the atmosphere analysis. Both times my equipment were completely fried. I bet there is a hole in the ozone layer somewhere around..."


    Saegen''s voice trailed off. Sir-Caller nodded again and spoke.


    "Well, if that''s it, then I shall be going now sir. And Kuro-sir, please take care of yourself."


    With that, Sir-Caller turned and walked away. Slowly, from there he made his way to the TeraNova''s cargo bay. He opened up a maintenance panel and after some fiddling, he managed to get one of the un-opened cargo bays and out came 400 352 rubber duckies. The ones that are put into children''s baths. Among them was a fully functional silver red jet ski. Sir-Caller smiled at himself. One can never be too prepared, he thought to himself as he mounted the jet ski and turned the ignition key. The fuel cell battery whined and hummed to life as he stepped on the accelerator and sailed off to the mainland.


    Elleno was lying sideways on the alien grass patch a few 100 meters from the shore. His breathing was heavy and rapid, and there was saliva dripping from the sides of his mouth which was locked in a half-scream. His left hand grasped his bloody right hand and wrist. They were red and swollen and had many scratches on them. It was at this point Sir-Caller pulled up at the shore with his jet ski.


    "Sir, what happened to you?"


    Sir-Caller asked. Elleno did not reply. He looked around and noticed that in front of Elleno, there was a patch of grass that had been pulled out and the blades were all over the place. Sir-Caller immediately got his answer and sighed.


    "You have been trying to get plant samples haven''t you sir? Next time bring gloves like I have."


    Sir-Caller pulled out a pair of thick leather gloves and picked up the blades of grass Elleno had tried to collect.


    "Since you left, until now... I guess I could say it has been at least 5 hours?"


    As expected, Elleno remained silent. Sir-Caller shrugged his shoulders as he began dragging Elleno back towards the shore and towards the jet ski.


    "Sir, please mind the grass next time. I told you so anyways. Come lets go. Saegen sir has a lot to tell us, and there are many things to do. It is a new planet sir! A new world! God knows what might happen to you next time. If this carries on sir...If I may say so myself, this is gonna be a really long year."


    To be continued.

 2 - 02: 2112: Blue Horizon

    This isn''t Earth anymore. NanoTec is now where no man has ever been before. The first successful manned interstellar flight. Two years have passed since their fateful landing on the unknown world and so far, like the European colonists in North America, have only explored the coastline and the area around it in a rough 10 kilometer radius. This is where and when they push further. Extend their reaches and go beyond the blue horizon.


    Elleno sat at the foot of his habitation module. The water levels had receded and left the sand on the continental "plateau" slightly damp. It was low tide, probably something to do with the planetary geothermal or tectonic activity which Saegen had not quite pinned down yet. The habitation module on the other hand had been reinforced with collapsible aluminium frames and silvery sheets as protection against solar flares. Sir-Caller walked up to Elleno.


    "Sir."


    Elleno looked up and nodded. "Done your research?"


    "Yes sir. My project on the native flora and fauna is going well. Heck, the big trees taste like bacon."


    "What?!"


    "Ah, never mind sir."


    Sir-Caller sat down next to Elleno. He stretched and yawned.


    "Remember how it was like when we first got here Joe?"


    "Of course sir. I mean that was only just over a year or two ago..." Sir-Caller''s voice trailed off.


    Year 2110: The first few months of NanoTec''s landing were really hectic. The planet''s weather fluctuated a lot and everyone found it difficult adapt every time it did. One day it can be sunny and a hurricane could sweep by the next. The ever so frequent solar flares every fortnight or so would knock out all unsaved data, documents and communications networks for hours. Much effort and hard work was lost, not to mention the few computers thrown out of the window lost due to raging scientists. That was when the inflatable habitations were given their aluminium and silver upgrades. It gave respite to the scientists and engineers, raised morale even though they did not even work at all.


    On launch, there was about 120 thousand young men and women on board. A handful of not more than 200 people were unable to board the ship in time and was left behind. They most likely perished in the coming fire. During atmospheric re-entry, a cryostasis sector broke off and fell out of the skies. Another 20 thousand lost. Among those 20 thousand were important crew such as geologists, pilots and maintenance officers the rest had to make do without. Someone had to do their job, be it well or not. Progress was trudgingly slow.


    A day on the planet was about 26.2 Earth hours long and a year was about 488 Earth days long. Every hour was pretty much the same. The engineers would be busy constructing more permanent structures in the place of the inflatable ones, looking at graphs, spreadsheets, blueprints and listening to Saegen''s rubbish. The scientists on the other hand would be looking at more graphs, more spreadsheets, taking more precise readings on the geology of the planet, failing to develop new technology and this time not listening to Saegen nagging but Claev on his behalf. It was that boring and repetitive.


    Elleno sighed and got up. "I guess you are right Joe. Days were tough then... Too bad that old friend of mine didn''t make it."


    "Which one?"


    "The security officer of sector 4. His name escapes me."


    Sir-Caller nodded silently.


    "By the way, have Saegen and his rows of clowns come up with a name for this planet yet?"


    "No sir. But Claev seems to have an idea. ''Serra'' in Latin means ''saw'' in English as in, I saw something. We saw this planet first... So the name may pivot around that."


    Elleno nodded and replied, "Well, I have things to do now, my shift has started again. See you around."


    Sir-Caller waved, "Likewise sir."


    Sir-Caller was walking by storage facility-01 when he heard some rustling and scuttling coming from within. Sir-Caller stopped and turned his head towards the source. Standing there for a few moments listening, he finally approached the blast doors and toggled them to open slowly and silently. Inside was dark and dusty, clearly poorly maintained. The rustling grew louder and as Sir-Caller stepped in, his footsteps echoed within the structure and the rustling sound suddenly stopped. At the very back of the storage facility, was not a rat infestation, or the alien planet''s version of it, but Claev poking his head through the pile of scrap only to be interrupted by Sir-Caller. Claev stared at Sir-Caller dumbfounded, and pretending to look innocent.


    "Sir, may I ask what are you doing?"


    "Urrr...Looking for something..." Claev replied slowly.


    "For what may I ask sir?"


    "Nothing much...Um, don''t you have something to do Joe?"


    "Ah yes of course. See you in a bit sir."


    With that, Sir-Caller turned and left, after closing the blast doors again. Claev heaved a sigh of relief. From the pile, he pulled out a nuclear powered coffee machine. God knows how that wound up on the alien planet. Claev picked it up and smiled.


    "Welcome back." he mumbled to himself.


    Elleno made his way up to the refurbished "wreck" of the TeraNova. Although it could not exactly be called a "wreck" as the NanoTec engineers had already scrapped most of it and the only thing that remained was the bridge, which Saegen had turned into his office. Elleno wondered to himself what exactly had Saegen called him for. It was out of the blue and without prior notice. Elenno shrugged his shoulders and sighed. Saegen was always like that. Looks like he had to deal with that for a while.


    Elleno continued up the ever so familiar flight of steps up towards the bridge and walked down the familiar hallway towards Saegen''s office. He was certainly surprised to see Sir-Caller there too.


    "Ah, good. You guys are all here." Saegen spoke first.


    Elleno jumped backwards slightly. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.


    Saegen continued, "As I was telling Joe here, you guys are going to be assigned to Geosurvey Vessels (GEV). Your objective is pretty much obvious, but since you look like an idiot, I will tell you that you have to go out and survey the planet''s oceans. Simple."


    Elleno''s face went blank. "...Did you really just say that sir?" he blankly inquired.


    "Yes I did." said Saegen nonchalantly. "Now moving on..."


    Elleno''s expression did not change. This time his mind nearly went blank and would have if it was not for Sir-Caller nudging him with his elbow.


    "...your departure will be in a week''s time. Your crew on the other hand will be handpicked within this time period. You will be briefed further on the day itself. Dismissed."


    Sir-Caller and Elleno nodded and saluted. Just as they turned to leave, Claev walked in, apparently holding a pile of scrap metal which looked much like a coffee machine. Sir-Caller narrowed his eyes and stared at Claev.


    "O-Oops, wrong room!" Claev ratted out and dashed off. Elleno glanced at Sir-Caller and shrugged.


    "He seems really dashing today..." Sir-Caller mumbled.


    "Now don''t you start on that." Came Elleno''s reply.


    The next two days passed relatively quickly and without incident. (That is if solar flares were not considered ''incidents''). The crew for Elleno''s GEV had been selected and were on standby at the newly built docks by the edge of the plateau. Elleno walked onto the wooden walkway leading out to the sea. There stood the his Corvette sized GEV, tall and elegant. It was painted a light grey, had a reddish-orange keel and had its name,''Rockmage'' painted in bold white paint along its side. It mounted a primitive, bulky and yet effective medium range photon cannon (laser cannon) on its prow and had a two rows of mini-rocket silos aligned along the port and starboard deck. At first glance, they seemed to utilize either stealth anti-ship missiles or anti-missile missiles (Interceptor rockets). The ship''s bridge was within the hull, so it was not visible at all. There was what looked like an observation deck mounted next to what seemed to be a funnel or smoke stack.


    Elleno shrugged his shoulders. Was combustion not already outdated? He thought to himself as he climbed the gangway onto the vessel. The ship had a wooden deck, planked with the hard native wood. It had the look of an ancient WW2 battleship deck. Elleno walked over to one of the hatches at the base of the bridge and toggled it to open. The door slid open silently, revealing a short and dim hallway. It branched towards the left and right, both which led down into the ship''s hull. Down the front was a ladder which presumably led to the ''observation deck''. Elleno went down the path to the left and opened a second door at the bottom.


    "Not a bad ship I must say..." Elleno mumbled to himself. "The ship really reminds me of those in the early 21st century... Eh?"


    The door Elleno opened led to the crew quarters, or at least the ''living room'' and that phrase used loosely. Standing in the middle was a young woman with black hair, clad in a Lab RIG with a pair of myopia glasses hanging from her pocket. At that point in time, she was staring into her RIG holodeck doing final checks on the ship. She jumped backwards upon seeing Elleno. Blushing slightly, she saluted and began speaking, although tripping over her own voice quite a bit.


    "Um! S-Sir! I am this ship''s S-Science Officer. P-Pleased to meet you!"


    Elleno found himself dumbfounded. "At ease. Relax with the formalities." He reached his hand out towards her. "My name is Elleno. Likewise."


    She reached her hand out and shook his. "My name is Kagaku Ota. I am really looking forwards to working with you." and she smiled nervously.


    Elleno left Kagaku to carry on with what ever she was doing and he proceeded deeper within the ship. Opening a door from the crew sector, Elleno ended up in yet another hallway. There was a blast door in front of him and there was two corridors branching to his left and right. Elleno slid a finger across his RIG and that blast door opened up with a faint sound of scraping metal. The door revealed the ship''s CIC section. There were 3 control stations on the walls facing away from the entrance and in the middle was the captain''s chair. Elleno walked up to it and stroked the arm rest. It was made of plastic but felt smooth and slightly spongy, much like synthetic leather. On its left arm rest was a holo panel to be directly uplinked to his RIG. Elleno was about to make another clich¨¦d one-liner to himself, before hearing footsteps coming in from behind him.


    "Ah, captain!"


    Elleno turned around and surprisingly found himself face to face with two other young women. One was nearly as tall as him, had black hair with its ends dyed red and wore a leather jacket over an official NanoTec Engineering RIG. The other, like Kagaku, also wore a Lab RIG, and had long blonde hair.


    "Welcome aboard sir. I am Ana Litke, this ship''s engineer." The one in the jacket began speaking. "This here is Maria Maybach. She is our ship navigator and First Officer. Pleased to meet you." she extended out her hand as she said this.


    Elleno nodded and shook her hand awkwardly. I have an entire crew of females... He thought to himself. Hell yeah!


    "Umm... Yeah... Likewise." Elleno half mumbled.


    I kinda feel like a male protagonist in a Japanese ''ero'' cartoon right now... Elleno continued to think. His thoughts were soon interrupted by Maria.


    "Sir here is our full ship status and report. Please acknowledge." she said nonchalantly with an unwavering blank facial expression.


    Elleno took the data chip and put it into his RIG. The information panel materialized in his face and he began scanning through it, and reading to himself.


    "Ship Data: AGOS/R ''Rockmage'' (GEV), 50 meters length, 7 meters beam, 5 meters draft. Crewed by 4 men. ''Reactors'' are high pressure steam turbines fueled by coal... ok... and has a fuel time of 36 months when running at standard cruise speed of 31 knots. Armaments include a Prow-Lance ''Mid-R'' Photon Beam and AMM Interceptor Rockets. Both of which are of sub-military standards and should be handled with care. Status and Report: All systems have been tested and checked for faults. Survey has shown that the vessel is of up to acceptable standards and is fit for Navel operations as of today, (March 4, 2112)."


    Elleno nodded. "Alright then... I guess I will be seeing you all? I think in about a week''s time? Yeah?"


    Ana laughed and smacked Elleno across the back, "Of course! You''ve met Kagaku yes?"


    Maria took no notice of the two. She bowed slightly and silently excused herself. Elleno tried to speak.


    "Y-Yes. Yes I have..."


    "Good! Then I guess I will see you around?"


    "Of course... Same to you."


    A few hours later, Sir-Caller set foot on the docks. Apparently his crew had been chosen right after Elleno''s crew. Sir-Caller stretched and yawned. Taking a peek behind him, he ensured that his cryo chamber was still present before walking over to his ship, dragging the cryo chamber behind him. Sir-Caller has a kind of insomnia problem. With so much prior cryo sleep and reliance on the chamber, he absolutely could not sleep without it. Literally. He walked up to his ship, half exhausted from the weight of his chamber. After wiping sweat off his forehead, he looked up at his vessel.


    It was almost exactly the same as Elleno''s GEV, same color and size. Except for the words ''Petramale'' painted in bold white paint and its weaponry. This ship, instead of a energy based weapon, it mounted a VLS-10 Cruise Missile System on the aft deck and multiple Pulse CIWS Laser systems arranged along the port and starboard deck. Sir-Caller also noted someone walking along the ship deck.


    "Hey! Sir!" that person called out.


    Sir-Caller was already facing her by that time. "Yeah Sir?" he called back.


    "Oh, umm, I don''t think I should be called... You know what never mind."


    Sir-Caller shrugged his shoulders.


    That person nervously continued, "Well, I am this ship''s Security and Weapons Officer. You are Joe, sir... Right?"


    Sir-Caller nodded. "Yes, that is correct sir."


    "Right... My name is Aria, Aria West, but my friends call me Ace. Welcome on board Joe...um I mean sir."


    Sir-Caller boarded the ship and followed Aria down the ship''s corridors. He was reluctant to leave his cryo chamber behind but the Security officer assured him that it would be fine and nobody would steal such a bulky thing. Aria was of American descent, despite being of average height, having black hair and black eyes. One could say she looked half-Asian.


    "Our ship navigator is kinda ill right now so he is not around. His name is Dimitri Kolvok by the way. You would probably like him."


    Sir-Caller remained silent but nodded to acknowledge. His mind was spent staring at the interior walls of the ship, briefly carrying out his own inspections of the standard of the craft. Just scientists'' things. Judging from his previous visit to the Rockmage, even the interior of the ship was exactly the same as Elleno''s. It was like the construction engineer''s version of copy and paste.


    Not long after, after visiting the CIC section, Aria brought Sir-Caller to the engineering deck and engine/''reactor'' sector. The engines were inactive and cold at the moment. Sir-Caller imagined how hot the room would get when all four boilers were active. He shuddered at the thought. Each one of the boilers had automatic feeders which used coal dust as fuel. The steam created from the boiling of water would create significant pressures to run turbines with sufficient torque to move the ship and run dynamos. There was one holo deck station fit to the side of the coal dust storage and in front of it stood a man in the NanoTec engineering uniform. Almost as if sensing Sir-Caller''s presence, he turned around and spoke almost immediately.


    "Sir! Ace! Welcome on board!"


    Sir-Caller replied, "Thank you sir."


    Aria just rolled her eyes.


    "I am the ship''s engineer. Name''s Dallas Bor. Pleased to meet you."


    "Likewise sir. Say... Don''t we have nuclear technology? Why are the ships using coal?"


    Dallas'' reply came immediately. "Well, you see, this planet has no lead. Zero. To build a fission or fusion reactor, we would need it to build neutron shielding for the two. The fusion reactors we have on hand are limited in supply. The fission ones have no fuel to run on. So... yeah. Even the copper used to build these are in short supply."


    Sir-Caller nodded his head. "I knew that..." Came his embarrassed reply.


    "Oh yes, one more thing." Sir-Caller suddenly spoke again. The two crew members turned towards him. "I have something I want to put into the ship."


    Sir-Caller brought the two puzzled crew members to the ship deck closest to where he left his cryosleep chamber. He certainly did not expect the cryo chamber to be in the hands of another man trying to drag it away. Ace was the first to shout.


    "Hey! Dimitri! You dirty Russian drunkard! Put that down right now. That is Joe''s, not your fridge! Your vodka can survive without it. Come on, drop it!"


    "Ill indeed..." Sir-Caller mumbled. "More like drunk and hungover."


    Dallas laughed. "Ha ha! They are always like that Joe. Ace and Dimitri are good friends."


    Sir-Caller watched as the drama unfolded. He sighed to himself and muttered. "This really is gonna be a long year."


    Time flew. Literally. Sir-Caller spent the next four days test flying and fine tuning his VTOL Observation and Survey Drones (VOSD), which were loaded with clocks and watches, around Saegen''s office. That drove him mad and the last straw was that Sir-Caller''s rubber duckies were also riding on the black fuselage of the drone. Sir-Caller recorded his experimental drones to be a success as it took nearly three direct hits from a 20mm Anti-Armor Cannon chambered with high density composite slugs to bring it down, and even so, three of the propellers and all of its electronics were still operational after falling onto one of the habitats, rolling off into the ocean and being mauled by the native carnivorous fish. Bad news was that the rubber duckies did not fare too well from the ordeal. The clocks and watches were also nowhere to be found.


    On the day before departure, Sir-Caller began testing his Submersible Sonar and Seismic Probes (SSSP) by doing deep dives off the edge of the plateau. There were no issues with the probe except for the poor connection through the seawater that was saturated with hydrogen and the same species of carnivorous fish trying to swallow the sub. He made mental notes to add fish repellent to the sub later. (Just like in the old Batman movies) He could not do much about the poor connection. While Sir-Caller thought of putting an extended antenna onto the probe but knowing the fish on the planet, he thought otherwise. He just had to make sure he did not dive too deep and pray. About an hour before putting the probe away, the sonar pulse picked up signals of artificially made objects lying on the ocean floor. On closer inspection, they were the clocks and watches he had lost a day ago. Lucky... he thought to himself. However, his probe was not equipped with sample gathering arms at the moment so he left them there for somebody else to find at a later date.


    Elleno on the other hand was, as usual, sitting in his habitat updating the security logistics, having his data deleted due to solar flares, re-doing the logistics, nearly having his data lost again when Sir-Caller''s VTOL Drone crashed onto his habitat and on occasion, reluctantly going out on patrol. Elleno also had to deal with problems such as some of the scientists complaining that his watches and clocks had gone missing and he was the one who had to look for them. But alas, the day for departure had finally rolled around the corner. Elleno and Sir-Caller woke at the break of dawn and immediately headed out for the docks.


    "You know Joe..." Elleno spoke sleepily. "I really wonder where in the world you got those drones from... And those rubber ducks."


    Sir-Caller merely shrugged his shoulders.


    "Its like, you are over-prepared for everything."


    Sir-Caller then whipped out a boy scout uniform seemingly from thin air and proudly said, "Be prepared!"This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "My god..."


    Soon enough, the two were walking along the wooden deck towards their respective ships. The dock had space for up to nine cruiser sized vessels. At that current moment, only two corvette sized ships were stationed there and one destroyer sized ship under construction at the far end of the dock. Sir-Caller waved at Elleno and began walking off to his ship. Elleno nodded and did the same.


    The crew of the ship was nowhere to be found. "Well, we set sail at 9 am relative time and it is currently a quarter to 7... I guess it is understandable." Elleno mumbled to himself.


    Goodness knows what Sir-Caller was doing so Elleno decided to go and explore the ship a little more. He made his way around the red-lit corridors of the ship from the crew sector to the engineering sector and finally stopping at the CIC. Feeling a little drowsy, he sat down onto the captain''s chair, or in this case, his chair. The ship was hooked up to the colony''s maintenance power grid so he was able to link his RIG to the ship''s interface.


    "*Welcome aboard captain.*" The ship''s computer spoke in a monotone. "*Initiating Windows 10.1 OS...success.*"


    All the computers in the CIC lit up. All of them displayed the NanoTec symbol with color spinning on its vertical axix slowly accompanied by a loading bar at the bottom of the screen. The computers finished loading at different rates. The first to finish was the navigation interface, followed by the sensors/science array and then Elleno''s Heads up Display. It was a screen about 60 cm away form his face which showed camera footage from the prow, stern, port and starboard, time, date, coordinates, a real time damage report of the ship, which was all blue at the moment, and the range-finding and targeting scope. Elleno felt like he was playing a game. On the screen was also a line of text which read in English, Chinese and Latin, "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, Y/N"


    Elleno checked the time according to his HUD. It read ''8:43 am''.


    "Huh that was quick." Elleno spoke aloud as he pressed ''Y'' on the screen.


    "*Request acknowledged. Reactor...online!*"


    The whole vessel rumbled with the sound of a distant whine. The shaking soon stopped as the whining became inaudible.


    "*Disconnecting maintenance power supply...complete!*"


    A dull clank could be heard from the CIC.


    "*Sensors...online!*"


    The sensor/science array''s blue screen which read, ''Apparatus not detected'', changed into a full color screen showing radar, sonar and hydrophone feedback with 3D graphical displays to the right of that.


    "*Weapons...online!*


    The weapons management screen on Elleno''s HUD begun showing the heat and operational status of the Prow-Lance ''Mid-R'' Photon Beam and the ammunition count and condition of the AMM Anti-Missile missile silos.


    "*All systems...nominal. Good luck captain.*


    And the computer ended the sentence with a satisfying ''beep'' noise.


    That was when the rest of Elleno''s crew stepped into the bridge.


    "A-Ah, Captain... You''re pretty early..." Kagaku spoke first.


    Elleno nodded his head. "Where''s Ana?"


    Maria replied to his question, "She is in the engineering sector. Her station is there."


    Elleno nodded his head again as his crew took to their stations. Sir-Caller called over the intercom.


    "Sir, you ready for departure?"


    Elleno opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Sir-Caller.


    "Good. Saegan sir says that you head the fleet. I await your command."


    "Ok then... Wait me? Lead the fleet? Couldn''t you do it?"


    "Yes sir. I can but I don''t want to."


    "Ughh... Fine. Follow me."


    "Yes sir."


    Elleno flipped a few switches on his RIG. The engines hummed louder. Elleno called Sir-Caller through the intercom.


    "Engines are go, maintain speed. Ahead standard."


    "Yes sir."


    The Petramale began accelerating and and zigzagging at flank speed. It matched speed with the Rockmage shortly after, but not without exchanging a few flakes of grey paint.


    "Hey! Watch it!"


    "Sir, this is Dallas, sorry about that, but apparently Joe went into cryosleep."


    "Oh..."


    The NanoTec colony grew smaller and smaller as the ships sailed away until it eventually went beyond the horizon. As Elleno sat on the captain''s chair he began to wonder exactly what they were looking for on the mission. As he stared out into thin air, Sir-Caller opened up a comms link.


    "Sir, your ship is sinking."


    "W-What?!"


    So it was. As Elleno was daydreaming, he did not pay attention to the large Protium (Hydrogen-1) field in his course. The cyan blue water was significantly less dense then the regular sea water on the planet. As a result, the Rockmage was now two meters deeper into the water and still sinking. The Petramale had apparently stopped a few meters away from the field and Sir-Caller only decided to tell Elleno about his sinking after he began to.


    "Ah crap... Ana! Hard starboard!"


    "Aye sir!" came the reply through the communications link.


    Elleno was nearly thrown off his seat by the sudden shift in course. Both Kaguya and Maria seemed to have been equally affected as he was. A thought of what might have happened if he were really in a Japanese ''ero'' anime slipped into his mind, but he quickly brushed it aside. The Rockmage nearly capsized if it were not for Ana''s skill at ship piloting. The ship rolled back to its upright position and Elleno sighed a sigh of relief.


    "Phew... That was close."


    "You''re welcome sir." Sir-Caller interjected and cut communications.


    Elleno sighed and looked out through the ship''s cameras, it was dusk, sun almost set beyond the horizon. The cyan blue patch was receding into the distance and the light reflected beautifully off the surface.


    "I guess I better watch myself..." Elleno muttered to himself.


    He got up from his seat and stretched.


    "Alright, everyone, go and get some rest, it has been a busy day." Elleno announced to his crew.


    They replied with a resounding ''yes sir'' and made their way back to their quarters. Elleno did likewise.


    The days went by quickly and without incident. Everyday was the same thing. Being a ship captain is not all fun and games. It was more like a ''sitting down and doing nothing'' simulator. Elleno would just give directions to follow and occasionally, Sir-Caller would drop a submersible probe and do some scans, recovering readings no different from that gathered at base. Elleno thought he was going to die of boredom. His crew were a little reserved around him, except Ana, she was an exception. One could say she was a little too over energetic.


    About 20 days into their voyage, Elleno was staring out of the ship through the cameras when Sir-Caller called him.


    "Sir! Sir!"


    "What is it? Stop jumping, what''s with you?"


    Sir-Caller was so excited that he literally was bounding up and down like a child on a Christmas morning.


    "There''s a ship! A ship out in the middle of the ocean!"


    "R-Really? Where?"


    "020 degrees, long range."


    "Holy shit! Lets go!"


    Elleno ordered a full-speed ahead towards the unknown target. The Rockmage managed nearly 39 knots and the hull creaked under the strain of acceleration. The Petramale followed suit but was unable to quite match the speed of Elleno''s ship. (Due to Sir-Callers cryochamber)


    "S-Sir" Kagaku turned around and spoke.


    "Yeah?"


    "T-That ship does not seem to be one of ours... It... does not have the NanoTec symbol on its hull..."


    "Nor is it registered under the NanoTec ship database." Maria interjected.


    Elleno replied immediately, "Our job is to explore the planet. This is all part of it. Maintain curent heading."


    The two women nodded their heads and Elleno was pretty sure he heard Kagaku gulp and swallow saliva.


    The distance closed rapidly, and the ship''s scanners began picking up the details of the contact. It was a navel vessel no doubt, about 60 meters long and unarmed.


    "Joe..." Elleno called over the intercom.


    "What do you make of this?"


    Sir-Caller took a while to respond.


    "Well sir, I don''t know. Robert would probably say it might be a breakthrough to freeze water."


    "Who''s Robert?"


    "Someone smarter than you sir."


    "Thanks..."


    The tiny mast of the vessel poked through the horizon and was brought into visual range. The ship looked very similar to that of the two survey vessels. Grey hull and had smoke funnels. Except that that ship had no smoke coming out of its funnels and what seemed to be a lack of weapons was in fact, its weapons'' magazines/ capacitors had overheated and catastrophically failed.


    "Wonder what happened here?" Elleno muttered to himself.


    "I am working on that sir." Maria spoke without turning her head.


    Aria was eagerly pulling on the bulkhead doors which Sir-Caller had quickly sealed.


    "Awww, come on Joe! Let me out!"


    "No sir, its dangerous. We have to wai..."


    "But I really want out!"


    Sir-Caller sighed. Aria was literally rocking the ship with her jumping, Dallas was no where to be found and Dimitri had collapsed in a drunken heap at his station. Sir-Caller then heard his RIG notify him that Elleno was calling. He sighed again and the moment he tapped the accept call button, the ship bulkheads immediately unlocked and Aria went racing out, fully geared and ready.


    "Joe, I need your security officer combat ready, we are going to... Oh she is here already... Well never mind then."


    Elleno cut the communications link. Sir-Caller sighed yet again before proceeding back to his station. As he sat down, he noticed a red flashing light at the top right hand corner of his screen. It was the apparent high concentration of oxygen in the area. Nearly more than 13 percent of the norm.


    "I have to monitor this for a while..." Sir-Caller mumbled to himself.


    Elleno and Aria boarded the unknown vessel separately. Elleno from the bow, Aria from aft. The prow mounted some sort of a cannon, or what was left of it. There was a gaping hole in the center of the turret with smoke bleaching from it. Apparently the ship had not been out for long. From aft, Aria saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a grey ship deck with a entry bulkhead to its mast at the back. Aria approached the bulkhead and attempted to open it. It rejected her RIG input.


    "Elleno...umm... sir. The bulkheads are locked, may I pry them open?"


    "...Yeah. Go for it Ace."


    Aria nodded and smiled. She unstrapped the crowbar that was hanging on her back and jammed it in between the bulkhead hinges and pulled the crowbar to the left. The bulkhead strained as flakes of paint fell to the ground. Aria grunted as she heaved with all her might, resulting in the bulkhead to burst open in a shower of paint and orange sparks.


    "Sir! I got it! But something is bugging me."


    "Go on, I''m listening."


    "It seems that the bulkheads were welded shut. It is as though someone wanted people like us out!"


    "Or something kept in... Never mind. Keep going. I am entering through the blast hole on the main gun."


    "Copy. Catch ya later."


    Aria carefully stepped over the broken door frame as she proceeded into the wreck. The interiors were similar to that of the Petramale but not quite so at the same time. To her, it felt as though the ship was designed by someone of the same caliber. The hallway design and placement were eerily similar too. She went even deeper into the ship, down the stairs leading to its CIC bridge. The blast door sealing the room was, thankfully not sealed. Elleno came down from the hallway opposite to the one Aria came down.


    "Find anything Ace?"


    "Nope. You?"


    "Yeah, I can piece together some evidence on how the ship was disabled. Not sure about the crew though. Maybe they evacuated."


    "Go on Elle...Sir."


    "Right. So, we can see that the magazine blew and the bulkheads seemed to be wielded together. I suspect a high powered microwave beam was targeted at this ship and thus caused the damage we can see now."


    Elleno jacked the control panel of the blast door to his RIG and hacked it to open as he continued.


    "But the problem is that the exterior hull has been electroplated with Aluminium which reflects most, if not all microwaves directed at it unless..."


    The blast doors jammed once it was about 40% open, just large enough for Aria to slip through and enter the CIC. All the system computers were offline and, like the rest of the ship, was in pristine condition. There was not a speck of dust on anything, but that was not what caught her eyes. At her feet lay a corpse.


    "Come on! Work dammit!"


    Sir-Caller shouted at his RIG communicator. He was desperately trying to contact Aria and Elleno for the past ten minutes, but there was too many charged particles in the air. He swore to himself. There was not much time left. He smacked Dimitri across the face and shoved a piece of paper in his face.


    "Sir! Go to the engineering sector and hand this to our engineer. Now!"


    Dimitri blinked twice and nodded lazily. He got up sluggishly and trotted off. Sir-Caller immediately turned and got the high powered lamp sitting in the corner of the bridge next to his cryo chamber. He dragged it by his side up to the ship deck. He mounted it onto the side of the deck and pressed the on button.


    "Come on... Why won''t you work?! Goddammit!"


    Sir-Caller was out of options. With all his strength, he lifted the lamp off the side and he rammed it straight into the side of the mast multiple times. ''Bang-Bang! Bang-Bang! Bang!...Bang!...Bang-Bang!''


    Maria saw everything unfold from the ship''s cameras.


    "You heard the man. Get this ship moving! Flank speed!"


    Kagaku instinctively nodded and ran towards the engineering sector. The Petramale was already doing a full 180 degrees turn and running it''s turbines as fast as it could. Within seconds, the Rockmage did the same, leaving behind the wrecked ship.


    Aria stood rooted to the spot in shock and fear. Elleno continuously called out to her but to no avail. Elleno immediately squeezed through the blast door. It was too small a fit, but he managed it somehow, not without having to leave his vest and M24 A-Rifle behind though.


    "Get a hold of yourself would you?" He shook Aria back and forth.


    "But..."


    "You are a soldier. Now come on! We don''t have time."


    Elleno threw back her rifle and went to the offline consoles next. He attached his RIG to it and initiated an emergency reboot. With his RIG attached, he was able to access all the computer''s data the moment it came online.


    "Large amounts of ions in the air... high concentration of oxygen..."


    Elleno mumbled to himself. Aria, who regained her composure, approached Elleno from behind and looked over his shoulder. Elleno continued to mumble to himself.


    "The last things the ship detected were these... Ah, sensors online now... and reading the exact same readings... Oh no."


    Aria''s face went pale again. She unconsciously said out loud.


    "Now I know how they died..."


    The Petramale''s turbines were spinning so rapidly, the whining noises they were making seemed to hint at an imminent destruction of the vessel. Sir-Caller was thrown onto the railing of the deck as the ship turned about a dime and afterwards, on his side as the ship accelerated. The lamp was thrown off the deck and would have landed in the ocean if it were not for its large strap hooking onto an antenna. Sir-Caller noted that the Rockmage had also begun moving before crawling back into the ship and shutting the bulkhead behind him.


    "I''ll come back for you later."


    He mumbled as he staggered to his feet and made for the engineering sector. Dallas was working as fast as he could, his fingers moving quickly across his holo keyboard. Dimitri was half-asleep by his side with a bottle of vodka in his hands.


    "Sir! We need to go faster!"


    Dallas wiped sweat off his forehead and spoke half-panting.


    "We can''t! Our ship is barely breaking 50 knots now and the engine might blow any moment."


    "I don''t care sir. Just do it."


    "R-Right. Increasing temperature. Are you sure about this??"


    "Yes! The ship can take it."


    I sure hope it can... Sir-Caller thought silently.


    A bright flash suddenly illuminated the whole of the skyline. There was no sound but the wind blew violently opposite to the direction the ships were running to. Sir-Caller immediately shielded his eyes instinctively whereas Dallas ducked down and covered his head. Dimitri stirred and began to inquire what had happened.


    "Status report?" Sir-Caller shouted out.


    "No good... Our engines are offline. Everything has gone down, I''m working on it." Dallas replied.


    "I... well... I think it was an E.M Pulse." Dimitri mumbled slowly. "I could hear my freezer shut off from a mile away."


    Sir-Caller nodded and went to Dallas'' engineering system. Taking out a portable high temperature mercury thermometer, he removed the electric thermocouple from the engine and stuck his replacement into the cavity.


    "¦È>1000 degrees Celsius. That does not look too good... Oh wait."


    Sir-Caller pulled out four half-melted bag of ice and threw one into each of the boilers the temperature of the engine began to drop.


    "I nearly forgot this wasn''t ICY Products, just have to remember to get the plastic out of there though..."


    Dallas turned his head around and yelled to Sir-Caller. "Sir, got it. Systems booting up... Holy crap!"


    Sir-Caller walked up to Dallas'' side and looked over his shoulder. The electronic damage report screen displayed the entire ship in a shade of yellow, moderate damage. All the electronic systems almost fried and nearly every hull plating was overheating by an average of 12% over safety limits. No exterior damage to the ship though. No hull breaches, nothing. The only thing was that the aft deck had caught fire but was immediately put out by the on board Fire Protection System (FPS).


    "The exact same damage as that derelict ship..." Sir-Caller mumbled. "Everyone, come with me to the bridge." He snapped as he began dragging Dimitri with him.


    Elleno got up from the ground slowly and in a daze. He blinked a few times and realized he was lying in a pool of his own sweat. Aria had also collapsed and although still unconscious, her face was flushed and her breathing was rapid. A sign of hyperthermia, not good. The computers in the ship had shut down again and it felt as though he were put in an oven. He looked around, the metal edges of the CIC blast door seemed somewhat gooey and shiny. He had not been out for long. He thanked his lucky stars for his quick recovery. He staggered to his feet, gripped onto the control panel for support only realizing it was burning hot in the last second and collapsing back to the floor with his hand red and painful.


    "Ah crap... I should have known..."


    Elleno shook his head to regain balance before slowly standing up. His shirt was drenched and felt very uncomfortable. He bent down and picked Aria up and carried her in his arms. She was light, so it was not much of an issue for Elleno to lift her but her body was hot, as though she were having a serious fever.


    "I should have paid more attention in chemistry class... I would have been able to see something was terribly wrong at first glance."


    He carefully lifted her through the blast door and begun squeezing through himself. The edges of the doors were akin to molten metal, terribly burning Elleno''s arms and neck. They left deep red marks in his skin and hurt horribly.


    "Oww!... that hurt!" Elleno swore to himself. He should have seen the problem, he kept telling himself. He should have.


    "Let''s get out of here first... I can ask Joe or Kagaku about this later..."


    The hallways of the derelict vessel were unnaturally hot now. Safe to touch but uncomfortable. Elleno limped up the stairs back to the upper decks of the vessel via the route Aria took to get in. The bulkhead was still open but strings of molten metal trailed from the sides of the bulkhead and dripped onto the floor in tiny puddles and blobs.


    "Let''s hope that our pals are here to pick us up." Elleno whispered to Aria as he stepped out of the ship and onto the deck.


    Sir-Caller sat on his Captain''s chair as his crew gathered around him. They looked at him with puzzled eyes.


    "Well sirs... I found out what''s going on. There is a CFC leak."


    His crew looked even more confused than before.


    "Well, hear me out... Before that, let''s move this ship back towards the derelict and pick our dear friends up, 1/3 forwards... If they are still alive that is." Sir-Caller said as he directed his gaze towards Dallas.


    "Sorry for calling you here sir. I will explain everything to you later."


    Dallas nodded warily and headed off.


    "So where was I? Right... So, as you all know, CFCs break down ozone to get you Oxygen gas and Oxy-Chloride or whatever it was. There is a huge abundance of oxygen in this area and oxygen, being denser than air, sinks and gathers at sea-level..."


    Dallas strolled back into the CIC after Sir-Caller was done with that sentence.


    "I am back sir. The Rockmage is following us as well." Dallas said.


    "Good. Shall I repeat what I just said?"


    "No need. I got the intercom working again. I could hear you. By the way, why is the engine bleaching black smoke instead of the usual white? Did you do something to it? "


    "Ummm, no... I didn''t..."


    Sir-Caller recalled the plastic bags of ice he threw into the boilers. He quickly changed the topic.


    "Anyways, that''s not of great concern. So... judging by the unnaturally high concentrations of oxygen here, I can conclude that there is indeed a hole in the Ozone layer here."


    Sir-Caller''s crew remained silent. Good, Sir-Caller thought. Dallas isn''t pursuing the matter. He continued normally and calmly.


    "And that is where the solar flares come in sirs. It funnels through the hole and...boom! A mini-death ray."


    Dallas put his hand on his chin and Dimitri suddenly spoke up. "And thus the charged particles are the forbearing of the flare eh?"


    "That''s right." Sir-Caller replied.


    "We are approaching the derelict now..." Dallas reported. "Standby..."


    Sir-Caller opened up the camera footage from the prow of the vessel with a swipe of his finger. The camera took a while to open and when it did it showed only static for the first five seconds or so. The static cleared, revealing a slightly distorted image of the derelict vessel in the distance. Elleno was standing on the half burnt and slightly blackened deck with the injured Aria in his hands. He tried to wave with one hand but failed as he nearly dropped Aria.


    "Ah, good he survived..." Sir-Caller muttered as he sighed. "Rockmage, do you read?"


    "Loud and clear." Maria replied through the comms link.


    "Sir, you are free to pick your crew up. Copy?"


    Sir-Caller heard Maria sigh and smack her forehead with her palm. "...Yes sir. On our way."


    The Rockmage began maneuvering and it pulled alongside the derelict ship. Sir-Caller saw Elleno board his vessel.


    With another flick of his finger across his RIG he sent a report file over to the Rockmage as he turned to face Dallas. "Sir, I am going to need you to prepare my submersible drone. Have it fully operational in 6 minutes... Oh! And get my lamp from the aft deck too. Thanks sir."


    Dallas nodded and saluted. "Yes...sir... Right away!"


    Elleno limped to the crew quarters and lay Aria on an emergency inflatable ''bed''. Kagaku immediately ran over from CIC.


    "S-Sir! You are hurt! Let me help you!"


    "I''m OK." Elleno panted. "Take care of Ace first. She is overheating, risk of brain damage."


    "R-Right. On it!"


    Aria''s condition had stabilized but was not quite out of danger yet. Her body temperature was a shocking 41 degrees Celsius and showed no sign of dropping. At least for the time being. Thankfully, Kagaku Ota, being a scientist, was also trained in first-aid. Sir-Caller called over the comms link.


    "Sir, I think we found what we are looking for. Something weird at the bottom of the sea here, right below the derelict ship. It is shallow enough for the drone, about 5000 meters but it is something... well, never thought I would use this word sir but... This looks very alien... Tell you what, get your crew to CIC. Everyone. We don''t have much time."


    "Ok Joe. I am on my way." Elleno closed the comms link.


    As Elleno tried to get up, Kagaku tried to stop him. "S-Sir! Please. You are injured..."


    "Relax Kaga, I am fine. Tis'' but a scratch!" Elleno laughed nervously.


    "S-Sir!"


    Elleno patted Kagaku''s head, whose face flushed bright red. "Nothing I can''t handle. Now, I think Aria should be OK now, her temperature is dropping. Come on, lets go."


    Kagaku nodded and Elleno pulled her to her feet. Elleno gestured for her to follow. She did so.


    Ana and Maria were already in CIC. "You''re really early captain..." Maria sarcastically said.


    "Sorry..."


    "Yeah captain!" Ana said as she nudged him on his shoulder. His burn wounds hurt from that and Elleno successfully contained his cry of pain. "Nothing like a few injuries for our good''ol security officer!"


    "Sorry, sorry. I am here now." Elleno replied rather timidly. "Let''s see what Joe has to tell us..."


    After sending his report data of the expedition into the derelict ship into his ship''s main CPU, Elleno opened the comms link to the Petramale. Sir-Caller answered immediately.


    "Sir, connect your RIG to mine. I have the submersible probe running."


    Elleno did as he was told. Sir-Caller directed his gaze at Kagaku.


    "Did you receive the file sir?"


    Kagaku nodded.


    "Good. Sir, you seeing this?"


    "What the hell is that??"


    "Told you... what do you think?"


    Elleno''s crew also looked equally surprised and shocked. Displaying on the CIC''s main interface was the submersible''s live feed. What it saw was a kind of cylindrical shaped green wreckage with broken ''engine pods'' lying by its sides. Bubbles were coming out from a crack in what seemed to be the aft of the wreck. The hull was also lined with large yellow circles in regular intervals. Sir-Caller maneuvered the drone to enter the wreck through a gaping hull breach.


    The crew of both GEVs watched in silence as the drone maneuvered the algae covered white hallways of the wreck, however the wreckage was in such a bad shape, almost all the rooms were inaccessible or had caved into itself.


    "One problem after another eh? First an unknown vessel then this... Alien ship?" Ana said out loud unconciously.


    The drone then maneuvered into another room, this one intact. It was a large room with what seemed to be a large pylon at the very center of it with many black circles surrounding the pylon. Numbering nearly up to about 100 or more. Within the pylon, there was a little rod contained in an equally tiny chamber that was glowing a dull yellow. Bubbles were coming out of the chamber.


    "That''s it." Dallas'' voice could be heard in the background. "That''s the source of the gas."


    "I agree. Let''s patch it up shall we?" Elleno nodded in agreement.


    "S-Same here." Kagaku said.


    Ana nodded and inquired. "Joe sir, I don''t suppose your little sub has duct tape with it does it?''


    "It does." Sir-Caller replied nonchalantly. "Watch."


    Indeed the probe did. The probe''s robotic arms swiftly pulled waterproof duct tape from it''s cargo bay and successfully sealed the gas leak with multiple layers of the tape. That should hold... At least for the time being. Sir-Caller thought to himself.


    "And thus no more Ozone hole eh..." Ana commented.


    "Yes sir. No more, at least until it repairs itself." Sir-Caller replied.


    After the submersible probe had collected whatever seemed useful from the wreckage, it ascended back to the surface where Sir-Caller hauled it back on board the Petramale. He sent all the scrap over to the Rockmage for Kagaku to analyse as it had the necessary equipment and she had the neccessary skill to analyse them. Or Sir-Caller was just being lazy again. As the two ships sailed away from the derelict into the sunset, Elleno, who was standing at the aft deck staring at the receding vessel, called Sir-Caller over the comms link.


    "So... Joe. Great haul, don''t you think?"


    "Yes sir. Indeed it was. No bacon though. That''s a shame..."


    "Oh you and your bacon."


    Sir-Caller snorted.


    "So, Joe... What now? I have an idea if you wanna hear it."


    "No sir. Your ideas are rubbish and you are an idiot."


    "Oh come on! Don''t tell me you have already forgotten TeraNova."


    Sir-Caller remained silent.


    "Well, never mind that. Anyways, since we literally have infinite supplies and our ship is still in relatively good shape, I would suggest we travel up to one of the poles of the planet and circle around. Maybe we can find something up or down there. Maybe some common sense for you Joe... are you even listing to me?"


    "Nope. Not a word. Could you repeat sir?"


    "Oh forget it... Had fun?"


    "Sure did sir."


    Elleno smiled to himself. He felt rejuvenated. Never had so much excitement before ever since Ancient Legends captured SkyLab2.


    "Well sir, I am sleepy and I am feeling hot. I''m gonna go sleep, OK?"


    Elleno recalled that Sir-Caller had some metabolic problems as well. His body has adapted such that it gains and loses heat very slowly as compared to others. Especially for the losing heat part. Sir-Caller would gain heat after leaving the chamber and if he stays out for too long, his body would overheat and he would die. Or so he said then. Maybe it was an excuse for him to avoid work. Who knows?


    Elleno replied. "Yeah sure. When will you be awake again?"


    "In a year''s time sir." He jokingly said.


    "...Right... I guess, until we meet again?"


    "Yes sir. Until we meet again."


    And Sir-Caller cut the comms link.


    To be continued.

 2 - 03: 2112: Fire Above the Alien Seas

    Elleno and Sir-Caller, captain of the Rockmage and the Petramale respectively were all the hype of the local media. Their recent discovery had solved some mysteries, especially that of the intensity of the solar flares, but their discovery had revealed many more mysteries in the process. Where did this ship come from? What happened to it''s crew? And, are they still observing? Another big question was where did the derelict ship come from. If NanoTec were the only humans on the planet, then... Why should there be another human ship, not registered with NanoTec be there? Nobody knows why. Nobody. And that is what the GEV fleet is for and will have to find out.


    Saegen stood by his office windows staring out into the endless blue. Sir-Caller and Elleno had been out at sea for nearly a quarter of a native year already and so much news was already coming in. Already two ''alien'' wreckages had already been discovered within the given period of time. Sir-Caller had analyzed the material composition of the hull of the wrecks and had sent the data back to NanoTec main base and outpost, Ellenove, named after Elleno for being the first person to plunge head first into the planet''s water, set foot and nearly die on the planet''s land. It was an honor reserved for him alone.


    Saegen walked back to his desk and picked up Sir-Caller''s full report. The hull of the alien vessel was a slightly radioactive, highly temperature resistant metal assumed to be armor against energy weapons. It''s chemical composition by mole was about 2% Uranium-238, 30% Iridium, 10% Tungsten, 5% Rhodium, 3% Oxygen and the rest was Copper with traces of Iron and Carbon. There was also an unidentified element within the sample that did not match with any spectrometer measurement of any previously known substance or element. Sir-Caller however, was able to extract about 0.5 grams of this unknown element out of the 6 kilogram sample of armor. It took the form of white ''string'' or ''fiber''. By estimation, Sir-Caller concluded that this element was about as pliable as steel and would be able to be made into plates like carbon fiber. What was interesting however, was that this substance could withstand any temperature Sir-Caller subjected it to. Well into 10k degrees Kelvin with a Plasma-Vacuum furnace. It was officially named Aestus-343 and affectionately called Neo-Steel or White Steel by the scientists.


    Claev burst into Saegen''s office. "Hey! Saegen! The scientists did it! We have graphene!"


    "Really? Don''t pull my leg."


    "I swear by my private parts and dignity, I am not joking here. Take a look at this!"


    Claev pulled out a mini coffee machine out of his lab coat. It looked greyish-black and by looking at how Claev held it, it was probably very light, less than 400 grams.


    "Graphene coffee machine!" Claev proudly announced.


    Saegen stepped forwards and grabbed it out of Claev''s hands. He resisted slightly but the machine eventually left his hands. It had a smooth texture to it and was indeed very light. In fact, it was lighter than what Saegen had expected. When shaken, Saegen could hear the rattling sounds of planet grown coffee beans and the sloshing of water within the machine.


    "Not bad... I am skeptical to call it graphene but..."


    With that, Saegen threw the coffee machine down onto the ground with all his might. Claev stared wide eyed at Saegen, ready to scream at him until he noticed the coffee machine recoil off the ground and land at his feet. There was not a single scratch or dent. In fact, it looked just as it did before. Claev picked it up, slowly, wiped the few specks of dust off it and stood it upright on Saegen''s desk. Saegen on the other hand observed silently, looking half surprised while doing so. Claev pushed a button on the machine and after 10 seconds and a dull hum, out came a shot of espresso in a foldable paper cup.


    "Want one?" Claev timidly asked.


    "Take me to the labs." Saegen replied.


    Elleno had taken the fleet up north and had already long left the equator. They traveled for about two and a half native months and the fleet was already in the lower to mid temperate zone. Indeed, the planet was huge, diameter five times as long as Earth''s and as a result, progress across the oceans was ''slow''.


    Sir-Caller sat on the bow of the Petramale, alone and with a cup of cold tea in his hands. Snow began to fall from the skies and the light white powder settled on everything it could land on. A pile of snow already accumulated on Sir-Caller''s head and his tea was beginning to freeze. He looked out into the sea. A flat blue surface all around, excluding the occasional small islands (no more than 100 kilometer square). No ice caps though. Probably was not cold enough to freeze the salt water.


    Elleno opened a comms link to Sir-Caller.


    "Joe, you... gonna come back in?"


    "No sir."


    "Ok... May I speak to you for a moment?"


    "Go ahead."


    "Alright... How''s everything over there? Good?"


    "Yes sir."


    "Scanners picking up anything?"


    "No sir."


    "Ok then, but aren''t you freezing out there?"


    "No sir. Who do you think I am?"


    "Right... I nearly forgot."


    Elleno poked his head out of the ship''s bulkhead and the chilly wind immediately whipped his face and blew his hair. He saw Sir-Caller, still in his scientific RIG, sitting at the ship bow. Elleno went to the aft of his ship and rested his arms on the railing. They were freezing.


    "Sir. I think I see something." Sir-Caller suddenly called out.


    "What is it? Bearing?"


    "10 degrees port."


    Elleno ran back into the ship hastily and up into the mast or observatory deck. He grabbed a pair of binoculars from the equipment rack and looked far into the horizon. All he saw was the vast ocean. Sweeping his field of view left and right, he finally spotted the target in question, 9 degrees port instead of 10 as specified by Sir-Caller. Elleno squinted his eyes, observing the unknown contact.


    "Joe..."


    "Yes sir?"


    "That''s an island you dumbass." Elleno exclaimed exasperatedly.


    "Ha! April fools! Sir."


    "It is July, stupid..."


    Claev raced through Ellenove, the NanoTec colony, with a panting Saegen behind him towards the materials lab. The moment Saegen entered, wheezing and exhausted, Claev was already refiling his graphene coffee machine with more coffee beans and water. He pushed it''s button and out came another espresso shot.


    "Here Saegen. This one''s for you."


    Saegen took it immediately and downed it in one gulp.


    "So... Graphene?"


    "Yes Sae... Sir. Here."


    One of the scientists walked forward and in her hands, she held a sheet of the greyish-black substance. Saegen took it, spun it around, all while carefully observing it. The sheet had jagged edges but the plate itself was smooth to the touch. It felt like a plate of metal, while being significantly lighter. The scientist began speaking to Saegen.


    "Sir, this is our newly created graphene composite. It is made entirely out of Carbon-12 nanoweaves. In small amounts, it tends to coil onto itself, so this is actually a ''sandwich'' of epoxy and graphene, to put in layman''s terms." Top and bottom layers are pure 100% graphene though. Go ahead. Test it!"


    The scientist began to bounce up and down on her toes all the while suppressing her sequels of excitement. Saegen looked at the sheet of graphene again as he began speaking.


    "Well, I am gonna borrow this for a sec... Be right back. Claev, wanna come along?"


    "You''re gonna shoot it aren''t you?" Claev nonchalantly replied.


    "Damn right I am! You can read me like a book!"


    Down by the beaches next to the inflatable habitation, Saegen set up a makeshift target with the graphene composite in the center of it. Claev went up to Saegen''s office and brought his 20mm cannon down to the range. It was low tide and the water had receded away from the plateu. Saegen lay on his stomach with the cannon, mounted on a bipod, in front of him. He braced the stock against his right shoulder and aligned the iron sights onto the sheet. It was a small target, being 50 meters away. The wind was blowing and kept changing direction. Saegen stared at the graphene sheet. A little black square against the blue sky and ocean. Saegen put on his ear plugs. It was going to be loud. Holding his breath, he steadied his heart rate and pulled the trigger.


    The cannon recoiled fiercely into Saegen''s shoulder despite the spring assisted barrel and recoil absorbents. It did not break his shoulders but it caused some aching in his arm. The report was just as loud, the explosion of the propellant and the sonic boom of the projectile echoed throughout the colony, followed by the clang of metal against carbon as the shell made its mark and struck the sheet of graphene, knocking it clear into the air for a solid two seconds before it fell into the sand and made a satisfying ''splat''.


    "Woohoo! Did you see that? Eh... Where are you Claev?"


    Claev disappeared. Saegen did not see him leave. He just vanished. Looking around, there was nothing but the sand of the beach and the NanoTec colony in the distance.


    "Claev?!... Ah well... I guess I will go now..." Saegen mumbled to himself as he walked over to the sheet of graphene and picked it up.


    He put the sheet of graphene back onto the target stand to line up for another shot. As he lay down behind his 20mm cannon, he heard footsteps behind him. Saegen turned around and came face to face with Claev. In his left hand was the prototype railgun, NightStalker.


    "What? Forgot about me? I went to go get MY gun."


    "Oh, er... Hey! Where..."


    "You didn''t wait for me. How could you. I heard that bang from a mile away!"


    "Sorry..."


    "Now move it! My turn! And lend me that bipod."


    Claev pushed Saegen aside as he took his place. He replaced Saegen''s 20mm cannon with the NightStalker and activated its Shangri-La "Peacekeeper" Fusion Reactors. The railgun began to hum. The scope displayed a "booting up Windows 10.2 OS" message before showing the scope HUD.


    "I updated the scope you know." Claev commented.


    "It now self-calibrates."


    Claev, as he said this shifted into a comfortable position. Staring at the graphene sheet through the blue targeting dot, Claev could see the dot shifting in accordance to wind speed and distance. Humidity and planet rotation were also factored in. Suddenly Claev stood up.


    "You know what, shooting like that is gonna be boring. Let me try something... You might want to duck."


    Saegen immediately obliged. Claev being Claev, goodness knows what kind of stunt he would pull. Claev picked the NightStalker off the ground and tested its weight one more time. It was somewhat heavy, about five kilograms but it was going to be upgraded with graphene in a day or two, theoretically making it a mere 1.5 kilograms only. Claev grinned and snickered. He was going to enjoy it. With that, he began spinning himself around in a clockwise direction. Fast.


    "360... No-scope!!"


    Boom! The railgun fired, flinging it out of Claev''s hands and embedding itself into the sand. Claev was knocked over by the recoil and fell flat onto his face. The sound produced was so loud, even with ear plugs Saegen thought he was going to go deaf. The shot looked solid, but to Claev''s surprise, he missed.


    "How could you miss?!" Saegen sarcastically mocked Claev.


    Claev pushed himself up from the ground and wiped the sand off his mouth before replying.


    "Well, umm... It moved sir!"


    "Hahaha, yeah right."


    "I''m serious Saegen! Look!"


    The graphene plate was nowhere to be seen. The stand had also toppled over and the sand around Claev in a four meter radius had been blown away in such a way that it looked as though Claev was standing in a bolide impact crater.


    Saegen whistled. Amazing piece of technology. Claev collapsed to the ground again, gripping his right shoulder. From prior experience, Saegen could guess extremely accurately what happened to him. He opened a comms link back to the laboratories.


    "The graphene plate was great. It stopped a... 20mm cannon shell easily."


    "Nice! How about the railgun... wait a minute, where is it?"


    "Relax, its here with Claev."


    "Ok, phew. Got me worried there for a second. So... how did the graphene fare against that?"


    "I am gonna tell you very frankly. Claev missed. And I have no idea where the plate is now."


    "Aww, come on! That was my best one too... by the way sir, a report just came in."


    "Go on."


    "Something just struck a habitat. From the top at an angle of about 87 degrees. It deflated like a balloon! The annoying scientist, Joe''s habitat I think. Was it you? I think it might have been a meteorite from the orbital belt."


    "Not me. You can bill Claev for that."


    As Elleno was about to leave the observatory deck, he saw a shadow streak across the sky. It was brief and out of the blue. Elleno was sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him.


    "Joe..."


    "Yes sir?"


    "Did you see that?"


    "Yup."


    Elleno, upon hearing this immediately ran down to the CIC. Ana was in the engineering sector and Maria was asleep with her head in her arms. Kagaku was the only one around and staring into the scanner interface.


    "S-Sir, you might want to see this!" Kagaku exclaimed.


    "Something in the sky? An abnormally huge flying thing?"


    "Y-Yeah! Something like it."


    Elleno looked over Kagaku''s shoulders and at the scanners. One contact, extreme range, nearly 500 kilometers away. The large, unknown contact, ''¦Á'', was nowhere on the scanners. Kagaku managed to get an image of ''¦Á'' through the ship cameras though. It looked like a giant shadow. That was all to it. No distinguishing features, nothing.


    "You figure they may be the aliens?"


    "I-I hope not..."


    Sir-Caller suddenly called using the RIG''s comms link.


    "Sir, a second unknown contact. You aware?"


    "Yeah, that takes priority at the moment. What do suggest. Shall we wait for them or take the initiative?"


    "I would kick them into a Lego pit sir."


    "Yeah, maybe you in with them."


    The second contact was heading straight for the Rockmage and Petramale. Or it was headed in the direction of the giant brief shadow. Elleno shook Maria''s shoulders. She lifted her head slightly and stared at Elleno with her menacing blue eyes.


    "All hands, we have an unknown contact. Assume hostile. Battle stations everyone!"


    The lights within the Rockmage dimmed into a red hue. The lighting would allow the crew to see their station and RIG interface better. The target did not deviate from its course.


    "I think we should wait. Maintain current heading." Elleno commanded.


    Maria nodded without a word before putting her head down in her arms and falling asleep again.


    Elleno sighed. "Looks like we have to play the waiting game."


    Saegen stood in the main engineering structure before the graphene fabricator. It was a large machine made out of aluminium, standing about four meters tall and five wide with hoppers for raw carbon input at the top. Many gigantic protruding electromagnetic coils were mounted along the sides of the fabricator and in the center of these coils, were large cylinders, obviously precision centrifuges. These centrifuges were partially made of steel and iron to accurately divert the magnetic fields of the magnets to where they were needed to properly heat the cylinder through induction. There were some tubing attached to the fabricator, connected to silicon pre-heaters, to create the mesh necessary for the carbon to adhere to. It took hours of research, tears, fine tuning and even the blood of some careless scientists who forgot that high temperatures were serious business. The fabricator was, in the eyes of the scientists and engineers, a marvel to behold.


    "So this is the result of humanity''s best and brightest..." Saegen mumbled aloud in satisfaction as he circled the fabricator.


    "Excellent work don''t you think?" Claev beamed.


    "Indeed. But one question, why, if you were so sure that the coffee machine was made of graphene, were you so afraid when I threw it to the ground?"


    "Well Saegen, its because I wasn''t"


    "Huh?"


    "I was only told by this scientist here when she was done with it." Claev acknowledged the female scientist standing by his side.


    "I see... What''s your name young lady?"


    She replied with a smile on her face. "My name is Aquila. Named after a constellation in the northern sky."


    "That''s a good name for someone like you... Eagle." Saegen chuckled as he said this.


    Aquila puffed her reddened cheeks slightly. Saegen couldn''t help but smile back. She really reminds me of Clanedd... He thought to himself.


    Claev interrupted Saegen''s thoughts. "Well then, why don''t we show Saegen what a fantastic machine we put together."


    Aquila nodded as she walked towards the fabricator. Claev on the other hand opened his RIG and began tapping a few buttons. The hoppers began making clanging sounds and the sifting sounds of carbon/coal dust could be heard from the fabricator. Aquila pulled a few levers and buttons on the fabricator, manually operating the machine for accuracy and precision. The fabricator began humming. Coulomb after coulomb of electrical charges raced through the electromagnetic coils which began to glow a dim red. The centrifuges began spinning rapidly. It started slow, and it gradually accelerated to a such a high speed that, the cylinder began shaking and vibrating violently.


    "Here''s the fun bit Saegen..."


    Saegen stared at Claev with large, excited looking eyes.


    "We wait."


    Saegen''s enthusiastic face and expression was immediately replaced with a dark and unimpressed look.


    Elleno sat on his chair in apprehension, all the while staring at the scanner interface. Three hours had passed and the unknown vessel was now 101 kilometers away. Sir-Caller called Elleno through RIG comms.


    "My SSMs are in range sir."


    "OK. I''ll tell you when we need them."


    "Yes sir."


    Elleno continued to sit in silence. About ten seconds later, Kagaku broke the silence.


    "S-Sir, contact, slipping from long range to medium range. Scanning target details now."


    The information began materializing on Elleno''s interface. Destroyer sized, 60 meters in length. About the same height as the Rockmage-Class corvettes. The ship has no visible weapons on its deck other than simple laser flak systems, similar to the Petramale''s Pulse CIWS. Radio waves were also detected coming from the vessel. They were either broadcasting a message, or scanning Elleno''s fleet. Most likely the latter. Elleno prepared to open a communication channel.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "This is NNT Rockmage. Flagship of GEV Fleet I. Please identify."


    The channel was filled with static. The solar flares were still affecting communications, although to a lesser extent due to the fixing of one ozone hole. Finally, almost unexpectedly, the reply came through.


    "This...NTW Blue Whale... keep... distance. You are tre... territory. Change... immediately!"


    Elleno was puzzled. Who were these ''people'', if at all. And why, would they have ships and weapon systems designed so similarly it seemed as though they were made by the same individual. Elleno spoke through the channel again.


    His voice sounds familiar... Elleno thought to himself before continuing, "We are a peaceful exploration fleet. We mean no harm. Are you the lost NanoTec personnel. Repeat, are you the lost NNT personnel?"


    The answer came through, with a generous amount of static mixed in with it, shortly after.


    "That is irrelevant... Our orders... nobody not afili... to pass. Divert co... or we open fire."


    The neutral contact on Elleno''s RIG interface turned form yellow to deep red. Contact registered to be hostile. On radar, the contact began to turn 45 degrees to port, most likely to expose all its guns, ready to fire. Elleno tried to respond back, almost desperately.


    "I repeat, we are not hostile! We are a peaceful exploration fleet..."


    "Then why... carry weapons?"


    Elleno was speechless.


    "That was... warning. I pray... merciful end... you."


    The communications was cut. Elleno sat there wide eyed and dumbfounded. Many thoughts swirled in his head. He tried to collate all his thoughts but was interrupted by Kagaku.


    "S-Sir! Sir! Incoming! We are being shelled from a distance!"


    Indeed they were. Kagaku reported high speed, supersonic contacts approaching from the enemy vessel. They closed the 100 kilometer gap within minutes and exploded around the Rockmage. The water splashed nearly as high as the observation deck and the shockwave shook the ship with each ripple. Calibration shots.


    Sir-Caller, on board the Petramale , had already begun rough calculations.


    "Judging from shell explosion force and water  displacement...Sir! Hard starboard, we have a second volley incoming soon!"


    "Alright, turning!" Dallas yelled through the local comms link.


    Sir-Caller took the opportunity to contact Elleno.


    "Sir! The enemy is using high-explosives. I cannot determine caliber size but don''t get hit. If you do its over, even if you get clipped."


    "OK. Noted... Ana! Hard port!"


    The Rockmage and Petramale began to branch off in different directions. The turning force was so great that the ships slid sideways and would have thrown their respective crew members off their feet if it were not for the fact they were used to it.


    "Sir. My VLS is ready. Fire?"


    Elleno shouted back, "Do it!"


    A roar of a rocket engine resounded as an anti-ship missile erupted from the Petramale''s VLS and into the air. The missile tilted towards the general direction of the enemy and the solid rocket boosters, after accelerating the missile to nearly Mach 2, the boosters were decoupled and the missile''s scramjet took over. It released a bright, translucent blue exhaust as it blasted off into the distance.


    "Sir. missile away! Eta, 1 minute, 3 seconds."


    Elleno acknowledged Sir-Caller. He could see the missile on his interface as well, a little blue dot on the scanners, marked ''ASM-01''. Kagaku shouted again.


    "S-Sir! Second volley! Incoming!"


    "Starboard! Starboard!"


    The ship swung to the opposite direction. Elleno gritted his teeth. Maria, still half-asleep, reported.


    "Sir, we need to close range. We cannot use our main batteries at this distance."


    "Oh! Maria! You''re awake. Take control of the ship maneuvering will you? Gimme a moment!"


    Maria sighed and nodded.


    "I have control."


    "Good. Let''s go. Closing of range!"


    Sir-Caller carefully watched his scanners. All was looking good.


    Dimitri was drinking from a bottle of vodka. He burped and reported.


    "Second volley hit the water sir... No damage... This is gonna be fun..."


    The Petramale shook under the impact again. Sir-Caller ignored both Dimitri and the shaking. The missile was locked and armed, headed straight for the enemy''s vessel until it suddenly diverted from it''s course and crashed into the water, 20 meters off target before subsequently exploding.


    Sir-Caller cursed and swore to himself in German.


    "Schei*e! Sir! Watch out. The enemy has ECM."


    "Noted!" Elleno replied. "I am moving in to engage at close range. Cover me!"


    "Yes sir." Came the reply.


    Elleno sat down in his chair and smiled slightly. He looked at Maria and nodded. She stared backed and nodded in response.


    "Full speed ahead! Turbines to max!"


    "Aye sir!" Ana responded through the comms as the Rockmage surged forwards in a burst of acceleration.


    The ship swerved towards port again, barely avoiding the shells that exploded where they would have been mere seconds ago.


    "Our adversary is good..." Maria mumbled to herself.


    "All the more satisfying when we win right?" Elleno finished Maria''s sentence.


    She nodded, seemingly in agreement, this time without sighing.


    The Rockmage soon receded from the Petramale''s visual range. Sir-Caller called out again.


    "How much ammunition have we got left sir?"


    "19 missiles Jo...Sir!" Aria responded immediately.


    "Right! Let''s see how you do one-twenty... Fire three ASMs! Have them circle the target!"


    "Roger! Fire!"


    The missiles were soon in the air, scramjets burning. Sir-Caller noticed that the enemy had, instead of firing at the closing Rockmage, instead chose to fire at the Petramale. The vessel was already in mid-maneuver and could not change course. The shells were dead on mark. Sir-Caller gritted his teeth and ordered, almost sarcastically.


    "Well then sir... Let''s see how good these flak systems claim to be... Let''s hold a light show! Open all secondary gun ports!"


    "Alrighty then! Let the party begin!" Aria enthusiastically yelled back.


    With a clang, all the flak ports opened with the guns ready and hot. The flak system was silent, except for the humming of water coolant streaming through the laser projectors.


    Shell range five kilometers... Sir-Caller mumbled to himself as he watched the scanners carefully. Four kilometers...


    The Rockmage charged towards the enemy ship, closing the distance rapidly. Three ASMs streaked over the ship roaring with greyish-white smoke trailing behind. They carried off into the horizon, the same direction the Rockmage was heading.


    "Range 90 kilometers sir." Maria noted. "If we fire the Mid-R at microwave frequency, we can reflect it off the magnetically saturated ionosphere layer at about and onto the enemy from here."


    "Great idea. Let''s put it into action. Photon cannon, 65.7723 degrees up, adjust horizontal axis 1.1 degrees. Microwave frequency?"


    "300 GHz, 0.1 cm ¦Ë, sir."


    "Great... Now, aim carefully. Fire!"


    Humming of the water coolant resonated through the CIC as the barrel of the cannon began to glow a dim red.


    "G-Good effect on target sir! It''s hull temperature is rising!" Kagaku reported


    "Keep it going... Ah the gun overheated, initiating cooling sequence."


    Elleno clicked his tongue. If only they had better cooling systems...


    Sir-Caller began to break out in a cold sweat.


    "Shell one kilometer... Impact in 3 seconds... Someone shoot it down!"


    Aria immediately assumed manual control and directed all the flak towards the first shell of the volley.


    "Two seconds... Brace for impact!"


    An extremely loud blast filled the air, echoing through the Petramale as it nearly capsized. The Petramale''s warning program began to yell.


    "*Warning. Fire in engineering sector! Init...*"


    "Fire! Fire in the engine room!" Dallas interrupted the program''s speech pattern.


    "Sir! Status report?" Sir-Caller demanded.


    Aria turned and responded in a quick and shrill voice. "I shot them down! One was intercepted and the blast blew up the second! Hell yeah!"


    "That was not my question. Damage?!"


    "Moderate damage to engines, two of our boilers are leaking water and burning coal power is spilling all over the place. Minor damage to communications relay but they are still operational..."


    Aria was interrupted by a panting Dallas.


    "Sir! That was close. Engine fire dealt with. Two of our boilers are down. Beginning repairs now."


    Sir-Caller nodded.


    "Maintain current course... You were saying sir?"


    Aria acknowledged Sir-Caller and continued speaking


    "Right, damage was mostly due to shrapnel. If only we had more armor..."


    Sir-Caller nodded again.


    "Now comes our revenge... Missiles?"


    "J...Sir, ASMs flying as intended, oh, the one on the left is deviating... Confirmed, ECM is an active sweep system."


    The remaining two missiles closed into the enemy ship. The second missile began spinning but did not deviate. It''s scramjet began spluttering before it eventually cut out completely. It embedded itself into the enemy ship''s mid section in a shower of sparks and a sudden but short screeching of metal. There was however, no explosion.


    "Shit! A dud!" Aria screamed.


    Sir-Caller remained silent, gritting his teeth. His eyes remained fixated on the last cyan blue dot on his scanners, ''ASM-04''. The contact began to flicker. The ECM had it in it''s scope. It sped towards the target, closer and closer. As it did, a smile crept onto Sir-Caller''s face.


    Elleno jumped from his seat and pumped his fist in the air.


    "We got them!"


    His crew began to cheer.


    "Right on! Take that you! Cyka Blyat!" Ana yelled out from the engineering sector."


    Maria sighed and placed her hand on her forehead, while Kagaku tilted her head in confusion.


    Ana continued and inquired.


    "So... What''s the damage eh?"


    "Can''t tell" Elleno replied. "Seems to be a hit to one of it''s main guns on the bow. Still has it''s aft cannon though."


    "Alright! Let''s go finish them off eh? Shall we?"


    Elleno acknowledged her.


    "Alright then! Maintain speed! Let''s go!"


    80 kilometers... 70 kilometers, the distance continued to drop. The enemy ship was not firing anymore, at least for the time being. Elleno suspected that all of their crew were on damage control, or they simply only had one gun and misjudged their armaments. While the Rockmage held a constant speed throughout her charge, all the time firing her main batteries, the range began to close even faster than before.


    "S-Sir!" Kagaku exclaimed. "T-The enemy is beginning a suicide charge!"


    "OK... Joe!"


    "Yes sir?" Sir-Caller immediately replied.


    "How many more missiles can you fire?"


    "16 more ASMs sir. But I rather not waste them."


    "Why?"


    "They have to be made somewhere you know sir."


    "Right... Then I shall take the honor of finishing him off then!"


    "Be my guest sir."


    Elleno smiled, bearing his incisors. "Let''s make this quick shall we?"


    The girls responded with a resounding ''yes sir!''


    Soon enough, after nearly half an hour, the Rockmage closed sufficiently to see the grey exhaust of the enemy ship and black damage smoke towering into the air. At that range, it would be impossible to reflect lasers off the ionosphere to hit the target as the angle of a beam hitting the ionosphere would be larger than it''s critical angle.


    "Distance now 13 kilometers sir, enemy in visual range. Patching camera footage through your RIG now."


    "Receiving the data, hold on Maria... Got it!"


    Tipping just over the horizon, was a little black dot. That little black dot was the enemy ship, NTW Blue Whale. It had a black smoke trail pluming from a gaping hole its bow, on which a single barreled cannon''s tortured remains lay. Small amounts of sparks flew from the broken cabling hanging out of the breach like blood would out of someone''s disemboweled entrails.


    Upon closer inspection, apparently that section of the enemy ship was storage for high explosive ammunition. They could thank their lucky stars for their engineers had used an inert compound for the shells'' warheads which would only explode under certain circumstances. One example of such a substance would be ''Compound-4'', used by the old US military up to about 2022 when World War 3 broke out. In short, the shells did not explode when the missile hit and now they are out of HE Ammunition.


    "I was right..." Elleno mumbled to himself. "The whole enemy crew was on fire control... Everyone, careful! They still have another gun!"


    "Yes sir." Maria replied as she swung the ship to face the enemy at a 20 degree angle to port.


    "T-They... Sir! The enemy isn''t stopping!" Kagaku shouted.


    "Doesn''t matter. All power to weapons, sink that SOB!" Elleno ordered, which was closely followed by the rhythmic humming of the laser battery. The laser beam, set at visible light frequency, streaked across the distance between the Rockmage and her opponent reflecting off the dust particles in the air resulting in a blue line linking the two ships together, where the tip of the blue line cut fiercely into the hull of the enemy. Where the beam hit, converted the armor of the enemy into a glowing streak of molten alloys.


    The distance closed to boarding range where the two ships were mere hundred or so meters apart. The Rockmage''s Photon cannon mercilessly cut up the outer hull of the NTW Blue Whale and had set it ablaze. However, it showed no sign of stopping, with its bow pointed towards the Rockmage.


    "Maria! What are you doing!" Elleno shouted, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Evasive maneuvers!"


    "Yes sir... We won''t make it."


    The Rockmage began swinging starboard. It was a maneuverable ship, but not maneuverable enough. The enemy ship was on a collision course.


    "Crap... All hands on deck, brace!"


    The entire crew of the Rockmage cupped their hands around their ears as the Blue Whale collided with the Rockmage, bow against bow at a 20 degrees angle. And did the enemy ship live up to it''s name. The inertia of the impact carried itself through the Rockmage as the ships traded paint and the Elleno and his crew were knocked off their seats and onto the deck by the sheer amount of force. Cracking of structural struts and the grinding sound of metal with metal filled the air. The Blue Whale collided in such a way that one could call it a ''near miss''. It continued parallel alongside the Rockmage as more paint and was exchanged, just until the cannon mounted on the stern of the enemy ship aligned with the Rockmage...


    Elleno had no idea what hit them.


    A loud blast resounded from the exterior and the ship shook like a canoe of the high seas. Sparks flew from the CIC''s roof and all the red lights went out instantly together with some of the less crucial RIG interfaces. The steam turbines could be heard winding down as the high pitched humming of the engines receded into nothing. The ship''s warning computer program began speaking.


    "*Warning. Major damage to engine sector, compartments 04 to 06 flooding, rerouting power from flywheels... Success!*"


    The red lights flickered back on. Kagaku had been knocked out and was lying unconscious on the deck. Maria was kneeling and rubbing her head. Elleno on the other hand, was bleeding from his upper left shoulder and he was sure there were glass shards stuck in his wounds. Ana called immediately through the ship''s local comms.


    "Hey captain! You OK? What about the rest? They''re fine right?"


    "Yeah... Nothing serious, the rest are fine but power is out here, the interfaces are down and those that are still up are not accepting commands."


    Ana tried to speak again but Elleno interrupted her.


    "Listen, you are in engineering right? Go to the bow and find the manual turret control. You can reach it faster than us stuck in the CIC. It would take us too long to get these blast doors open manually. Once you get there, well, you know what to do."


    "...Aye sir!"


    And the comm link was cut.


    Ana ran through the engineering sector and almost blew down the door as she ran through it and down the hallway. She noted two huge, gaping hole in the engine room, each one opposite the other. She did not have much time to examine it but she was sure that the dynamo had been shredded by the attack. Door after door, hallway to hallway, Ana arrived at the manual turret control in 20 seconds flat.


    The manual turret control. It had three handles, together with their respective dials and needles for ''X'', ''Y'' and ''Z'' axis manipulation. There was also the periscope, analog range finder and targeting device. Not to forget the big red button on the center of the machine, obviously to fire the weapon. The button was lit up by LEDs under it, signifying the cannon was cooled and ready to fire. Ana sat down on the only chair in the little, cramped room. It was a little cluttered for a woman of Ana''s stature but she could manage, somehow.


    The Rockmage had already listed 3 degrees to starboard due to flooding and the photon cannon was at an awkward angle. The enemy ship was already drifting away, still on fire and with it''s cannon still aimed at the Rockmage.


    They are still reloading... Ana thought to herself as she quickly turned the handles of the turret all the while staring into the periscope. The handles were surprisingly easy to manage, so Ana did not have much trouble aligning the cannon with the enemy ship, which was dead in the water, it''s scorched port side exposed.


    There was not much time left. At that rate, the NTW Blue Whale and the NNT Rockmage would drift in such a way that the Photon cannon would exceed it''s angle of gimbal and would not be able to hit them, whereas they could still them.


    "Now, what am I supposed to hit eh..." Ana mumbled to herself. "He said I would know... Hmm... Ah!"


    That was when she saw the ''dud'' missile embedded in the side of the Blue Whale. Her mouth formed into the shape of a grin.


    "Now I know." Ana said out loud as she aligned the Photon cannon to the unexploded missile and depressed the red button.


    Nobody could have missed the explosion that followed. In a pillar of fire and a with a violent sound and gust of wind, the entire command deck of the enemy ship was sent flying nearly 50 meters into the air along with her crew. The sea water surrounding the detonation point was displaced, forming snowy white foam in its wake. The backbone of the Blue Whale arched downwards as it''s spine cracked under the pressure and the remaining shells within the magazines of the ship spilled out like blood and into the water before sinking.


    The Petramale could be seen sailing up from behind just at the edge of the horizon. Elleno''s half destroyed interface began buzzing as Sir-Caller attempted to contact him. The distance was not far, so the communications network remained stable. At least for the time being.


    "Woah! I saw that man! That wa..." A female''s voice blared through the comms.


    "Go away sir. I am trying to contact him."


    "OK... Sorry."


    "Right..." Sir-Caller cleared his throat. "Good job sir."


    Elleno had already dusted off his sleeves and returned to his seat. Kagaku had been given first aid and Maria was told to lie down until her head got better. Elleno proudly replied.


    "No problem. All in a day''s work."


    "So sir, should I assume you get your face blown in like that on an average day."


    "You just had to ruin it didn''t you?"


    Sir-Caller snickered a little before replying.


    "Yes sir... By the way, how is your ship? Is everything OK?"


    "Well does it look OK?" Elleno sarcastically remarked.


    "No sir. It looks like your face."


    Elleno sighed. Sir-Caller continued.


    "Well then, let''s call for reinforcements... I mean supplies. You can thank your creator that your ship had no armor. Later."


    Sir-Caller cut the comm link.


    Elleno heaved a sigh of relief. Glad it was over. He thought. Ana called Elleno through the local comms.


    "Captain, I''ve investigated the damaged site. It is a bore hole. The shell went straight through! I mean..."


    Maria interrupted Ana while still lying down.


    "You mean over-penetration."


    "Yeah! That''s right!"


    Elleno fell back on his chair''s back rest.


    "Any more flooding?"


    "Nay captain. Bulkheads sealed."


    "Good."


    At the same time, the Petramale had already sailed over to the sinking enemy ship. Sir-Caller stood on the deck looking over the railings.


    "Aim carefully sir... Fire!"


    A heavy duty harpoon sped out from somewhere within the Petramale and into the sinking ship. It embedded itself into the torn up hull of the bow of the ship and prevented it from sinking any further. Sir-Caller immediately contacted Elleno after the harpoon had hit.


    "Sir. It''s time to go on another expedition!"


    "What? Already?"


    "Yes sir."


    "But I need a break! How would you like to get shot in the ass and have to run a marathon after that?!"


    "Stop exaggerating sir..."


    "That''s not the point! Have you phoned for supplies yet?"


    "Yeah I have. Sir says he is on his way already. Eta 5 minutes."


    "Which one? Is it Black... I mean Kuro?"


    "I think so sir."


    "Well that explains his prompt arrival."


    "You know sir... That may well be him over there..."


    By then, Elleno had opened the CIC blast doors just enough to squeeze through and run up to the observatory deck. He picked up his pair of binoculars and stared at the horizon.


    "Joe, where is he?"


    "Over there sir."


    "Where''s over there?!"


    "There. 30 degrees respect to stern."


    Elleno ran to the opposite end of the observatory deck and looked up into the sky. There was a bright spot in the sky, a reflection of light. Around it was what seemed to be a cone of white ''mist''. Elleno put down his binoculars. It really was Kuro. Nobody else flew like that.


    Elleno immediately contacted the crazy pilot.


    "Contact, are you our..."


    "Of course I am!" Kuro interrupted him. "Why do you think I am flying so fast?"


    "Is that a new plane? I''ve never seen it before sir" Sir-Caller inquired.


    "Yeah it is... Bombs away!" Kuro unlatched the cargo he somehow strapped to the tiny fuselage of the plane. The whole 10-20 tonnes of cargo came splashing down into the ocean at the speed of sound. A loud sickening crack could be heard as the crate touched the water, even through the intercom.


    "Oh geez..." Kuro sighed. "I hope that was the boxes."


    The wooden boxes, a total of seven of them, skipped across the ocean surface and eventually came to a stop on board the Rockmage, apparently all busted and nearly falling to pieces. Elleno pulled one of the boxes'' broken flaps off and within it, was part of a replacement boiler made of a greyish-black material that felt quite smooth.


    "Is this the... Graphene that Saegen had been talking about?" Elleno inquired.


    "I think so..." Kuro answered immediately. "Is it broken?"


    "No..."


    "Then it should be. It is indestructible ya know?" Kuro replied. "This new plane, the F16X, has its engine made of that stuff. Injects fuel like nobody''s business."


    "So that''s how you got here so fast..." Elleno murmured.


    "Yup, well gotta go now! Catch you guys in a bit... Oh yeah one more thing. That Claev dude and his cronies? Yeah, he named this planet ''Sirrea''."


    ''Sirrea'', not a bad name Sir-Caller and Elleno thought. It was a name that sounded as if it would survive an entire alien attack, or maybe even an entire galaxy blowing up before them. Only time would tell...


    As Kuro banked the plane a full 360 degrees back the way he came, Sir-Caller asked him one more question.


    "By the way sir..."


    "Spit it out."


    "Did you happen to see a giant black shadow across the sky an hour or two ago?"


    "Shadow? What are you talking about? Been raiding that Russian guy''s stash?"


    Dimitri began to shout and swear in Russian. Sir-Caller ignored him.


    "No sir, I am dead serious. You saw it right sir?" Sir-Caller was referring to Elleno.


    "What me? What are you talking about? There was no shadow. I just remember seeing the enemy ship and calling for battle stations. Right guys?" Elleno asked his crew. They nodded in unison.


    "Yeah Joe, you must be going crazy. Go and sleep... ''Sir''" Kuro mockingly said before eventually flying off into the setting sun, beyond comms range.


    "Go to sleep Joe. I''ll wake you up when the time comes." Elleno said. "Ace, you ready?"


    "Yeah El...Sir. As ready as you are!"


    "OK, good. Let''s go investigate the wreck shall we?"


    "Yup! Lets go!" She said in her usual enthusiastic voice before cutting communications.


    Sir-Caller sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He couldn''t have been seeing things could he? He thought to himself as he walked back to his quarters and climbed into his cryo chamber before subsequently putting himself to sleep again.


    In scuba exploration vests, Elleno and Aria surveyed the wreck. The water was cold. Very cold. Elleno entered through the giant hull breach on the side and was immediately greeted with the sight of two severely mutilated human corpses, either blasted to pieces or having their bodies burnt so badly they were unrecognizable as humans. Again, the questions flowed through Elleno''s head. Where were these people from? And what were they doing on this planet?


    Elleno made a beeline towards the CIC while Aria went to explore the rest of the ship. Elleno maneuvered himself around the broken, flooded hallways of the ship before reaching the blast door of the CIC. The door was already half open, just large enough for Elleno to squeeze through. Inside, was two corpses, one was missing his arm and half of his face, the other was missing a leg. Elleno immediately recognized the broken face before him.


    "What the hell..."


    Elleno''s old friend on board SkyLab2, Security Officer of Sector 4. Why was he here? Elleno had no words to express himself. Sir-Caller suddenly contacted him through the RIG network apparently he had already woken up.


    "Sir... Something wrong? Your heart rate just increased."


    "Yeah... Something very wrong. Patching feed through now."


    "I see... Get back here. Grab whatever you can and get back here."


    "...OK."


    Elleno cut the link. He turned towards his friend''s body, pulled his pistol out of his pocket and closed his eyes.


    "Anap¨¢fsou en eir¨ªn. Goodbye old friend."


    Elleno grabbed the black box from under the captain''s chair, turned and left.


    Elleno climbed onto the Petramale, with Aria trailing behind. He pulled her back onto the deck and he nearly collapsed into a pile on the ship deck. The icy cold winds blasted Elleno''s sides and small ice crystals began forming on his sleeves. Sir-Caller walked towards the freezing Elleno and Aria.


    "Sir, what did you find?"


    "This black box. The kind of thing found in ancient Earth airliners. Ace got some parts from the sweep ECM device."


    "Good work sirs. Now, I have a suspicion... No, I know the people from the TeraNova disaster are still alive, landed somewhere on this planet. Remember the starboard cryo sector? Yes sir. That thing was built like a Nokia Lumia. These islands you see here may well be their landing place. It involves a hell a lot of luck but is possible."


    Elleno nodded. His head was spinning from everything he had gone through.


    "Sir." Sir-Caller stared at Aria. "You look like a breakthrough for ICY Products. Please go back inside."


    Aria shakily stood up, saluted and limped back into the ship.


    "So sir, what now?"


    "W-Well..." His teeth would not stop chattering. "I suggest t-that we head back to base after we cut through the arctic. We are only three to four months away from the poles and w-we will have enough fuel to make it back. May as well not make this trip a waste."


    "OK sir. I will have the others know that. Go back to your ''home'' sir." Sir-Caller jokingly said as he pointed to the Petramale''s waste disposal unit. A resounding smack soon followed.


    Elleno returned back to his crew quarters. He sat alone on his bed, twirling and the retrieved pistol around his right index finger. It was a modified M2 handgun, made to look like the Russian Makrov, with a wooden grip and chrome barrel, and on that wooden grip was etched a beautiful ''4'' in cursive. There was a knock on the door.


    "Come in."


    Kagaku Ota entered the room.


    "Umm sir? W-We have finished analyzing the ECM system... There seems to be some strange technological pieces we similar to what we found in the alien wrecks."


    "May I see the report?"


    Kagaku tapped a few buttons on her RIG and sent the file over.


    "OK... Stop standing there looking so nervous. Sit down would you?"


    "B-But..."


    "It''s fine. Here." Elleno shifted his desk chair over. Kagaku hesitated for a while before blushing slightly and bowing. She took her seat, all the while fidgeting, even after sitting down.


    The same element, Aestus, was present in the device as a heat sink which overclocks the performance of the ECM. A new property of Aestus had been discovered. Its amazing heat conductivity, despite it being white.


    Elleno closed the report, leaned back and sighed. Kagaku began to speak.


    "S-So... Umm, sorry about your... friend."


    Elleno kept silent, all the while holding back his tears.


    "I-I share your sorrow sir..."


    "It''s OK Kaga. Thank''s for your concern."


    Kagaku swallowed her saliva and nodded in response.


    "N-No worries sir."


    Elleno got up from his laid back position and stood up.


    "The boilers have been repaired and the hull patched?"


    "I-I guess... Yes sir. They are."


    "Alright. That''s great. You know where we are going now right?"


    "T-The poles?"


    "Yeah. You read my mind."


    "W-Well, actually Joe-sir let us know before hand..."


    "Oh. Right."


    Elleno walked over to the room door and ushered Kagaku to follow.


    "You should go get some rest. It is late."


    "T-Then what about you sir?"


    "I have something to do. You can find me in the CIC if need be."


    "OK... sir?"


    "Huh?"


    Kagaku walked forwards to Elleno and grabbed his hand. Her face was flushed and warm.


    "Kaga?"


    She held tight for a few seconds, before eventually letting go, all while starring down at the ground.


    "N-Nothing sir... I...guess... I will see you later. Bye!" Kagaku quickly said and swiftly walked off, with her hands placed on her chest.


    To be Continued.

 2 - (2)04: 2113: Five Year Plan

    Now as apparent as it is, NanoTec is no longer alone on the alien world, now officially named ''Sirrea''. A detachment of them, survivors of the TeraNova disaster, has emerged as the New Terran World and has officially set the foundations for a bitter war. Nobody likes wars, but nobody likes losing either. The first shots have been exchanged. That will be followed with even more to come.


    Saegen was the first to hear of the attack on the GEV vessels. Sir-Caller had contacted him in the middle of the night when he was trying to sleep.


    "Let me get this clear..." Saegen moaned, "You guys were assaulted and you sank the attacker?"


    "Yes sir." Sir-Caller''s voice came through, monotonous as usual.


    "Huh, it is either our... whats his name... Elleno is really good or the enemy was as incompetent as him."


    Sir-Caller snickered under his breath.


    "Any thing else?"


    "Yes sir, just one more thing."


    "I''m listening."


    "Whose bright idea was it to line the graphene boilers with silicon?"


    Saegen remained silent. He looked up and thought for a second before being interrupted by Sir-Caller.


    "It was yours wasn''t it sir? Or was it Claev''s? Either way, it melted and clogged the coal ducts with translucent white sticky stuff so suggestively that one of my crew collapsed in a fluster induced nose bleed."


    "Thanks... I really didn''t need to know that..."


    "Sir, it is a good thing sir was on board you know. He had to remove the molten silicon with a stick and the graphene fibers of the boiler nearly frayed, which he patched with copper scraps from the previous one."


    "Sorry... I... well, the scientists are working on replacing the silicon with something else. Because without it, the graphene will just clump up and be useless."


    "Maybe you could try diamonds or something sir. Good night."


    "Yeah... Good night."


    Saegen cut the long range communications uplink via communications network and lay back on his bed.


    "Diamonds huh? That seems like a great idea." Saegen thought to himself.


    The next day began earlier than usual for Saegen. He was up at roughly 5am, Sirrea time. He pressed the button on his personal portable graphene coffee machine and was out of his habitat in 10 minutes with a cup of espresso in his hands.


    Saegen stepped into the empty material engineering lab. Nothing stirred and it was dead quiet. Papers and reports were strewn on the floor, some of the material samples lay in a mess on the table but thankfully, the equipment were all kept in their respective places. Perhaps it was overwork? Saegen thought to himself as he walked over to the ''Aestus'' experimenting area and put on a pair of Sirrea made rubber gloves. He could thank those working in the Biology/Society/Xenotech for the quick research into the Sirrean native flora.


    The plants on Sirrea have been more or less, classified into tree, I mean three main categories. Arbor, Bush and Shrubbery. ''Arbor'' or tree in Latin, refers to the wood bearing tall plants one would call a tree. It''s wood is very flaky due to the excess carbon in the soil and its leaves are rather large and the coastal ones secret salt. The bark of many of these trees contain unknown medicinal properties, yet to be further studied after Sir-Caller, against advice of his superiors went and chewed on the bark of a coastal tree and commented it tasted like cured meat, or bacon. The Bushes, or ''Nine-Eleven'' as referred to affectionately by many NanoTec staff, are soft wood, low growing plants that typically bear very sweet fruit, a few of which are poisonous. Some also exhibit ''medicinal'' properties, especially those related to physiological illnesses. Lastly, the Shrubberies of Sirrea. They are the smaller variant of the bushes but many also come as inflorescent flowers, much like roses. Some NanoTec members like to refer to them as ''Ni Plants'' for unknown reason. They seem to find it funny, much to Saegen''s and many others'' confusion.


    As Saegen was thinking about Sirrean trees, Aquila strolled into the lab.


    "Ah, good morning sir. You are up early today." Aquila saluted.


    "At ease, relax with the formalities. I couldn''t sleep."


    "I see... Sorry about the mess. Everyone left for a party last night... For... a belated celebration on their discovery of graphene."


    Saegen''s facial expressions twitched slightly, but he was able to retain his air of formality.


    "I see... Please remember to clear up your mess OK? You are humanities best and brightest, not those pricks from InterCon yeah?"


    Aquila frowns slightly. "Yeah... Noted sir."


    "Oh yes, one more thing Aquila..." Saegen changed the subject. "I had a dream last night that Joe called me and told me that you could back graphene with diamond nano-threads. Also made of carbon. We might want to give it a try."


    "OK. I will get the scientists working on it soon. And also, I would like you to take a look at this. A new report of Aestus. Came in just yesterday. Wanna take a look?"


    Aqulia sent the file over to Saegen over the lab''s RIG link without even waiting for his acknowledgement. She had always been overly enthusiastic in showing off her scientific progress.


    "Right..." Saegen nodded. "Aestus-343, a metallic element, beside its extremely high melting point and high latent heat capacity, which have yet to be determined, Aestus fibers have been made into sheets and has been found to be slightly stronger and flexible than average carbon steel. Very basic principals and hypothesizes have already been put into place as to how this characteristics comes about, beginning with tetrahedral arrangements of atoms within the atomic structure..."


    Aquila interrupted Saegen''s thoughts.


    "Oh yes, sir. Remember the graphene fabricator yesterday? The one Claev-sir told you to wait for? It''s ready."


    "Is it? Alright. Show me."


    Aquila turned around immediately and began walking briskly towards the main engineering structure. Saegen followed closely behind, all the while attempting some small talk.


    "So... graphene. Are you all in the labs working on how to produce the materials faster?"


    "Yup. It works well if we overclock the original setup but..."


    "I''m listening."


    "Well, it nearly blew out the power grid and the engineers would be really pissed if we actually did so yeah..."


    "I see."


    The two scientists were soon in the engineering facility. On the floor lay a flat sheet of warm graphene, approximately about 20 meters square in area and its surface had a brilliant shine. Saegen walked up to it and ran his hand across it''s surface. It was a little hot to the touch but very smooth, like the surface of polished glass.


    "Amazing." Saegen mumbled to himself. "With this kind of backing, I assume we would be able to heat seal this to any surface?"


    "Yes that''s right sir. The silicon epoxy will melt upon heating and adhere strongly to any surface. Therefore, the graphene is, regrettably, difficult to use alone but makes very good reinforcing material."


    "Ever tried using a mould? I figure if you, say, made something out of compacted dirt and lay the graphene over it and heat treat it, it should take the shape of the desired object right?"


    "Hmm... I might give that a go."


    "Good. Now, we have managed to make use of the graphene in jet engines, boilers... I know!"


    Aquila tilted her head slightly in confusion.


    Saegen grinned. He gestured for Aquila to come closer. Saegen chuckled as he whispered into her ear.


    A few hour later, Saegen was back in his office, looking through the new documents and reports with a smile on his face. There was a knock on his door.


    "Come in."


    Claev walked into the room with his RIG open, and his hand busy fiddling the data on it. He had sweat running down his flushed face and looked extremely frustrated.


    "Saegen!" Claev yelled. "Are you out of your mind?!"


    "... No..."


    "Explain this!"


    Claev opened an image of a dirt wall being erected in the middle of the colony. He cast the holographic projection onto a nearby wall, pointed at it and yelled.


    "What the f-*expletive* is this?!"


    Saegen sighed. He stood up and open his RIG''s communications and began to establish a link with Aquila and her team of scientists.


    "They took my instructions too literally."


    Saegen said, half exasperated. Claev sighed and sat down on one of the chairs present in the office.


    "You know Saegen, somehow I am not surprised..."


    Claev let out a deep breath as he wiped a drop of sweat off his forehead a few moments before Saegen''s RIG beeped. A connection was established.


    "You know Aquila, when I said ''dirt mould'' I was just using a figure of speech. You could have done something similar to..."


    Saegen went on. Claev placed his right palm on his face and shook his head as he waited as Saegen explained slowly to the silly scientist on what she was actually supposed to do. Finally, after Saegen had finished and had cut the link, Claev began to speak, this time more seriously.


    "Alright, with that out of the way, what about this?"


    Claev opened another folder on his RIG and closed the previous. He cast it upon the wall and began pointing and gesturing.


    "You obviously know of the presence of these people yes? This... New Terran Worlds?"


    "Yes I do."


    "They are refusing our communications, and when they do pick up, they are very dismissive. They believe in a democratic, free market capitalist system, which is in direct contradiction with our EarthGov ideology, Maoist communism."


    Saegen rested his head on his left hand.


    "That means war right? After all, they did assault our exploration fleet."


    "Yes. I should assume so." Claev replied. "Now moving on, in preparation for this, we have to build a navy. As we can see, they already have one, through unknown means through which it was built. How shall we do this, or put it, how do you want to do this?"A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Saegen remained silent. His eyes shifted upwards, obviously deep in thought. Claev stood there, impatiently tapping his foot.


    "Well now, you used to play all those strategy games when you were younger right? Stalleris V, Sivilization X and Stars of the Sword Reboot, you were really good at them. Don''t tell me you are going to have a difficult time deciding here."


    Claev teased Saegen. It did not help at all. Saegen snorted but other than that, did not respond to Claev''s remark. Finally after nearly 15 minutes of waiting, Saegen finally snapped his fingers and began speaking rather quickly.


    "I got it. I have kinda formulated what to do."


    "Finally!" Claev gasped.


    "I have factored in what the NTW might do and what we should do if they had factored in what we are going to do. I have also factored in what we should do if they had factored in that we had factored in what they are going to do and..."


    "Get on with it!"


    "Ugh. Fine."


    Claev sighed for what seemed to be the forth time that day. Saegen cleared his throat before continuing.


    "Well, my plan really balances around getting an industrial and technological advantage against them first. Graphene is one thing I suspect they haven''t gotten around producing yet. A major advantage in technology."


    Claev nodded his head and ushered Saegen to go on.


    "But what we really need to take note of is industry. I want a decisive victory and this is how we do it."


    Claev clapped softly and spoke, "Right, so one part Stalin, two parts Carl Sagan?"


    "Yup."


    "Shall I assume I am the first one you are going to purge?" Cleav sarcastically said.


    "No, no. Of course not. I need your expertises and not only that, your pet coffee machine would miss you too."


    The smirk on Claev''s face immediately disappeared.


    Once Claev had left the office, Saegen withdrew the window blinds. He stretched and yawned before calling Aquila on the RIG.


    "Have you brought the wall down yet?"


    "Yup. I thought you said..."


    "It was just a figure of speech."


    "Oh...Right."


    Saegen got up and stared out of the window. The first thing he noticed was, in the place of the dirt monolith, was aluminium struts and bracing.


    "By the way Aquila..." Saegen paused for a second. "What are you even intending to construct?"


    "A spaceport sir!"


    "So far ahead? ...Alright fine, I would have ordered for that to be constructed sooner or later."


    "Great minds think alike huh sir?"


    "Don''t flatter yourself, it''s more like fools rarely differ..."


    Saegen cut his sentence short. Damn! I insulted myself! He cursed at his own speech. Quickly, he changed the topic.


    "Um... OK, the spaceport is not your priority now. What needs to be done is more naval dockyards. At the same time, graphene fabricators. I know they are still a prototype, but we can upgrade them in the near future."


    "Come again?"


    "You weren''t even listening were you Aquila?"


    A soft giggle came through the RIG.


    A few hours later, Saegen was down by the comms sector, built within the still standing bridge section of the TeraNova. Claev stood behind Saegen as they awaited the daily report from Elleno. From where they were, the sun was just setting. But due to the issue of time zones, the GEV fleet was nearly six hours ahead. Saegen nudged Claev''s arm.


    "Claev, how far should we let them go?"


    "The poles? It seems decent but they would only be back in plus-minus, a year."


    "There is still a lot of uncharted seas to our south and west, we might need them back earlier you know."


    Before Claev could continue, the comms receiver began to make noise.


    "Ah, here comes the report."


    Saegen ushered the radio operator to step aside. He did as instructed. Saegen put on the radio headset and spoke through.


    "This is GEV Petramale, report sir."


    "I hear you. Any news?"


    "Yes sir. We are curr... *static*"


    "Report? Report!?"


    The doors to the comms center opened immediately and a group of engineers on standby streamed into the room. About 20 minute passed but the static did not clear. Claev began speaking.


    "Must be another solar flare. Damn this sun is really blazing annoying!"


    Saegen got off the radio operator''s seat and kicked the seismic/sonar operator off his. Watching the sonar receiver, he noticed that there was, although faint, more than just background noise. He narrowed down on that frequency and, sure enough, it was communication.


    "Sir? Can you hear me now? Hello? Hello?"


    Saegen sent a infra-sound pulse back.


    "Yes I read you. Solar flare?"


    There was a distinct lag time of nearly 20 seconds.


    "Yes sir. I am currently at the planet''s North pole. Again, probably would be extremely beneficial discovery for the late ICY Products."


    Claev, who was standing behind Saegen, nudged him and whispered into his ear. Saegen nodded.


    "By the way Joe, how the hell are your sound pulses reaching here so quickly? You are at the North Pole correct?"


    "Correct sir."


    "But by calculations, the sound waves would only arrive in two hours..."


    "You forget I deploy sonar probes wherever I go sir. There is one in relative close proximity to, ahem, Ellenove. I relay the messages through radio and the probe pulses the information."


    "I thought there was a solar flare in your region, you shouldn''t..."


    "Your area sir. It is clear out here. Sir and the others are having a party out on the Rockmage''s forward deck."


    "Right... So, going back to the point what news do you have, Joe? And also, where''s Elleno?"


    "Yes, disregarding the fact that it is what you would deem as ''cold'' out here, the poles are just ice caps to a ball of water... And sir is... well, in a situation. He is ''busy''."


    "As expected... Right... Also, I need you to be more specific. What exac..."


    "If I told you carbon dioxide freezes here and falls as snow, what do you think?"


    Saegen remained silent for a few seconds, nodded subconsciously and replied.


    "OK then... anything else?"


    "No sir. But I would like to casually mention that our ships are stuck in ice."


    "What?!"


    "Well then sir, I will contact you again soon."


    The seismic detector got no further artificial readings.


    Saegen got up from his seat and but his hand on his chin.


    "I need to give this data some thought. Things are getting really interesting now."


    With that, Saegen turned and left the room.


    About twelve weeks passed without incident, back at Ellenove and the GEV fleet. However, by this time, multiple naval dock yards had become operational and vessels, exploration and military alike could be constructed at a much faster rate. A second GEV fleet, this time unarmed, was sent in the opposite direction of the first. Knowing that the area behind was clear and therefore they did not need assault weapons.


    A front line was also created about 500 kilometers off the coast of the colony, defended by seven of the most recently built Omaha-class destroyers, named after a city of the late USA. The destroyer classes had minuscule amounts of silicon-graphene armor, instead, they focused on superior speed and evasion. Perfect against NTW''s high caliber long range artillery. Their armaments included, but was not limited to close range 60mm auto cannons and high speed Peroxide Tim-Torpedoes.


    Thanks to decentralized construction, where each newly built factory was tasked with the construction of specific parts, the parts could be brought over to a single naval dockyard where a new vessel could be assembled in an extremely short amount of time. As a result, the aforementioned seven Omaha classes could have been assembled as well as a single cruiser class which has been, as of yet, not assigned to any task group at the moment.


    This cruiser, the Mirai-class, whose name literally translates to ''The Future'' , had one unnamed railgun mounted at the bow, followed by an ''Iron curtain'' arrangement of laser and shell flak system along the port and starboard side of the hull. There was a VLS at the aft section of the ship, right above it''s extremely powerful ''Powder'' engines. The VLS was designed to house tactical 2 kT nuclear warheads, but so far, the only thing that had ever filled those vast silos was air, space and nothing else. Conventional and nuclear missiles of that scale had yet to kick into production. Again, the silicon-graphene armor was not present in large quantities, this time not because of ''speed and dexterity'' but due to an issue of the silicon failing to adhere to the hull if there was too much mass.


    Meanwhile the engineers and scientists were working on a massive collaborative project headed by Aqulia, the previous head of the graphene project. Saegen was worried that what was planned might not even be possible by current means and therefore, had not revealed it to the general populous. It was a new warship, designed to "trump over everything thrown at it, including the wall intended to be built at the late border of the USA and Mexico." There was a problem of design, specifically weight to thrust ratio. The ship was plusable yes, but the mass of the ship would make it extremely slow, travelling at only 15 knots or 7.72 m/s. The ship would also be extremely vulnerable to flooding and eventual sinking. The idea of replacing the ''Powder'' engines with Shangri-La Fusion reactors had already been put forwards and has been accepted as a possible solution but again, boils down to the problem from the very beginning. The material composition and density on Sirrea is rubbish.


    Saegen looked over the colony of Ellenove. Ever since the landing on Earth date 2110, up until late 2113, the colony had grown extremely quickly. Many new buildings had sprung up and countless power plants lined the coast of the colony, spewing grey smoke high into the atmosphere. If only there was more lead in the soil, he would not have to have ordered the construction of so many barbaric and primitive generation methods. As Saegen thought.


    Claev burst into Saegen''s office. Before he could even begin speaking, Saegen interrupted him.


    "Stop."


    "Wha...?!"


    "You are going to tell me something related to graphene yes?"


    "But, how did you know?"


    "Don''t worry, I always do. So what about it?"


    Claev regained his composure and gestured to Saegen to follow him.


    "We have managed to stabilize graphene, by which I mean that we are able to construct independent structures entirely out of graphene. Come, you need to see it."


    Saegen sprung from his seat before following Claev. That was exactly what he had hoped to hear.


    "You need to see for yourself Saegen," Claev said, "I can''t quite explain in detail but it involves something to do with meshing graphene with carbon nano diamonds."


    Saegen nodded but remained silent. It worked, he thought to himself. And it was all thanks to a dream I had one night, or was it?


    The two soon arrived at the lab, just like they had a few months ago. Except this time, the air hung slightly heavier with mild amounts of soot and un-combustive material. After passing through the blast doors, they were immediately greeted by Aquila.


    "Good afternoon sir. Now I don''t have much time so I will make this quick."


    "Carry on."


    Aquila nodded, cleared her throat and continued.


    "OK, right. I have put your suggestion to the test and by Sol it works. Making nano diamonds is difficult, requiring much energy, time and precision, not ideal for mass production. Therefore we could not plate it with graphene as originally intended. Instead, we embedded small nano diamond shards in key stress points in the graphene which has finally prevented it from curling onto itself."


    Saegen smiled at himself.


    "What''s the catch?"


    Aquila appeared dumbfounded for a split second before continuing.


    "U-Um, the catch is that it is still difficult to produce. The production rate of Graphene Mk2 is 5.65% of the original Silicon-Graphene mesh and I highly doubt it can be mass produced anytime soon. But it has exhibited some improved strength and hardness over the previous one despite it''s more, how should I put it, ''viscous'' than Mk1."


    "So Saegen, we still have a problem." Claev commented. "I can reprogram the machine operation and update Windows to 10.3 to make it more accurate. Power however, is going to be an issue. Say, is that spaceport operational yet?"


    Aquila did a quick check on her RIG before replying.


    "Almost. It is not our priority after all."


    "Well, then make it so. I have an idea... What do you say Saegen?"


    Saegen shrugged his shoulders before replying.


    "I don''t know. Why not. Somehow I know what you are thinking."


    "Which is?" Claev tested him.


    "An orbital power network."


    "Damn this man can read me like a book!"


    Saegen snickered and said, "Well Aquila, you heard him. Ever heard of a microwave power relay?"


    Aquila nodded.


    "Good. Then I will see you soon enough. If you would excuse me."


    Saegen turned and left, leaving Claev and Aquila standing there.


    "Well, Saegen is really busy these days and so am I. I have to go too. You have your project to work on after all."


    Aquila nodded and after bidding farewell, she turned and dashed off.


    About another three months passed before Saegen got news from Elleno again. The GEV fleet was on its way back to Ellenove as he had decided that it was to risky to stay around enemy waters for too long. Elleno also reported that Sir-Caller had discovered the cause behind the tidal activities of the planet despite there being no moon. Apparently, Sirrea shrinks and expands at a nearly constant rate which displaces water out of the cracks in the crust of the planet. One hypothesis of this phenomena is that the heating and cooling of Sirrea''s oceans due to the regular solar flares that hit the surface. But in reality, nobody actually knows. However, the tidal effects of the planet also bring about strong ocean currents, nearly ten times as strong as those found on Earth. Sir-Caller made full use of a recently discovered stream and was, last checked on by Saegen, riding the currents south back towards Ellenove at nearly 90 knots. Therefore the armed GEV fleet should be back in only four months, or they were about to arrive just as they called.


    Saegen long decided beforehand that when the GEV fleets get back, the graphene refits should be ready to be mounted on the returning vessels. Not only that, he also intends to re-purpose the NNT Rockmage into a front line corvette class due to it''s excellent performance in combat. A magnificent piece of engineering Claev once commented.


    Saegen threw down the stack of papers in his hands onto his desk. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Maybe it was a good idea to take a break after all he thought to himself as he got up and left the office. The air was even heavier than the last time he checked. Black soot lined the pathways and there was a distinct ''fog'' of smog hanging over the colony which irritated his throat and eyes. Saegen stopped by the engineering sector to check on how things were going and also as an excuse to get out of the haze. Standing right before the new graphene fabricator was Aquila. She turned and immediately greeted Saegen.


    "Good afternoon sir. Do you need something?"


    "No, no. I''m just taking a walk."


    "I see..."


    Aquila stared up into space blankly, seemingly deep in thought. Saegen broke the silence.


    "How''s the machine going? These few months allowed you to fine tune it?"


    Aquila seemed a little startled.


    "Oh, forgive me sir, I was just... um thinking of something."


    "Right."


    "So, about it, well we can produce graphene Mk2 a lot faster now thanks to the recent Windows 10.3 update and it would probably be faster so after the 10.4. What I have done over the last few months however was that I was able to tweak the voltage input semiconductors with dual strand graphene cables to allow for more current to flow through without melting the cables and I also..."


    Aquila was interrupted by a loud metallic clank mixed with the sound of snapping wooden boards. It resonated rather loudly and disturbingly in the direction of the port. Aquila screamed and unconsciously ducked down with her eyes shut and covered her head with both of her hands.


    Saegen however, remained unfazed.


    "Oh, that must be Elleno. Silly guy, forgot the docking bays were too small for anchors. Come on, shall we go and greet him?"


    Aquila tucked her head and stared at Saegen.


    "Well, don''t just sit there we have someone to welcome back!"


    Aquila puffed out her cheeks and sighed after that.


    "I hope that the damage done was not to severe. My team is gonna have a hard time trying to clear up!"


    "Sorry. I will inform him."


    Aquila sighed again.


    "I hope this is the end to all the damage and the nonsense that happens around here. Please tell me it''s over sir."


    "Nope, I''m afraid not. I think we are just getting started."


    To be Continued.