The world changed. A man with an indifferent face stood before a window. His body was clad in a tight, modern uniform, stars sparkling on his shoulders.
He looked outside, staring at a seemingly blurry world, only five obscure towers could vaguely be made out, reaching towards the sky.
The man leaned against a console, with multiple screens showing all kinds of confusing data. Behind him multiple people formed small groups, discussing something.
One of them, his face a blurry silhouette, suddenly turned towards the man, addressing him:
“Colonel Seright, we implore you to overthink your decision.”
“L§i&ra$, you know my take on the matter. I won’t leave.”
“But colonel! The empire needs you! The house needs you! You are a colonel at such a young age, everyone among the troops trusts you! Your potential is immeasurable, you…”
“Enough! My decision is final! How can I escape and leave my men behind?! They are bravely defending the front out there until their last breath. It is only right for me to join them in the trip to the eternal beyond.”
Listening to the conversation, a few others couldn’t help but chime in as well. Someone else spoke to the colonel. Surprisingly a scar could be seen on their neck despite their indistinct figure.
“Colonel, this is a meaningless sacrifice. This planet is not habitable anymore. Your most respected men are buying time, so humanity has a future. They would want you to live!”
“How would you know…”
“At least enter a cryochamber, colonel! We will wake you up when we return. Then you can unite with…”
Suddenly the colonel let out a deep chuckle.
“Return… right. Will you return though?”
“Colonel, you… don’t joke about such things. The council has clearly stated that…”
“Yes. Yes, they have. Strangely this doesn’t coincide with my orders…”
“What do you mean colonel?”
The man spoke in an uncertain tone, slowly backing off. The colonel’s eyes fell on the scar on the man’s neck. He let out a deep sigh, swiping his eyes over the crowd.
Suddenly his expression hardened as he let out a fateful shout:
“Men! Take them all away!”
The door to the command center opened with a hiss. More blurry figures entered. Their uniform resembling the Colone’s could barely be made out.
The newly arrived figures swarmed the room, grabbing all the others by their arms. Those who tried to struggle were brutally pushed to the floor. Some were knocked unconscious, others shackled.
The man with a scar shouted his heart out:
“G%&r$!, you bastard tricked me! I will never let you off! Even as a ghost I will be your eternal nightmare!
Colonel! Colonel! You know it, right? I shouldn’t be here! I exchanged places with G%&r$!!”
Colonel Seright’s eyes shook slightly. He turned around and stared out of the window.
“Colonel, you can’t do this! At least promise me not to let G%&r$! off! Or I… mhhhm!”
Finally, someone couldn’t endure it anymore and shut the man’s mouth. A few seconds later all the figures were dragged out, leaving only the colonel behind.
“G%&r$!. Are you gambling? Or do you want to die on your own terms?
Whatever. This is all I can do. Consider it me repaying your years of service, taking care of our security.
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It is indeed a pity for so many intelligent men to die this way. Is this the council’s way of cutting off earth? Leave no one behind who knows how to leave this world? Taking no one with them who would be able to come back?
I can only trust that the decision is correct. Or else the sacrifice of my brothers would be worthless.”
The colonel’s eyes betrayed his troubled emotions. But his impressive discipline forced him to follow orders. Only when given the decision between boarding a rocket or remaining behind did he allow himself to be willful.
Showing an uncertain smile colonel Seright lowered his head, staring at the console before him.
“Star?”
“Yes, sir.”, answered an electronical voice.
“What is the situation at the front like?”
“Our soldiers are guarding the last gate. No suspicious activities have been reported for 4,5 years.”
“Nothing? That’s good, that’s good. How many of my men are still alive?”
“102, sir.”
“102…”
The colonel closed his eyes, feeling a stabbing pain in his heart.
“Our time is running out. Your service might be forgotten in the future, but the fruits of your efforts will allow humanity to bloom in this endless space.”
Raising his head Seright stared out of the window as if he could see his brave brothers.
“Soon, we will all reunite…
Star!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Initiate protocol Omega.”
“Yes, sir.”
After speaking these words, the colonel appeared to have lost all his strength. His eyes turned lifeless, and his body froze in this posture.
The whole world slowly turned blurry. Before it disappeared, one could see the consoles producing chaotic messages before turning off completely.
“Ha!”
With a start Delphi’s head jolted upwards. He scrunched his face massaging his temples.
“Welcome back, doctor.”
“Leo? Everyone is here? Can’t go on without me, heh?”
“Safe it doctor. Tell us what you saw.”
“Sure, sure.”
Delphi sounded exhausted but he didn’t test the major’s patience, retelling his vision as detailed as possible.
The soldiers listened silently, waiting for Delphi to finish before discussing the information.
Leo’s face below his helmet was incredibly solemn.
“They talked about a front? What could the ancient humans have been fighting against? What threat could there be on earth?”
“This ‘council’ wanted to make sure that earth gets cut off. The threat must’ve been serious.”
“I almost feel like we shouldn’t have come here…”, whispered Aquarius uneasily.
“It has been thousands of years, and our scanners didn’t detect anything! Whatever it was must have died long ago!”, proclaimed Scorpio confidently.
“I hope you are right…”
Delphi listened anxiously. He took a deep breath, his eyes twinkling.
“Ok, ok. Discussing here is useless! Let’s find the frontline! I need to see it!”
“Doctor, you should rest. We aren’t in a hurry.”
“You! Aren’t in a hurry, Leo. But I can’t wait to explore everything this planet has to offer.”
Leo stared at the doctor silently, sending a shiver down the man’s spine.
“Well, I accept your good intentions. I will sit down here while you go and clear that command room. We should take a look at that console.”
“That’s more like it. Gemini, you watch the doctor, the rest comes with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Leo turned around and brought his soldiers back in front of the command center. He had Sagittarius eliminate the defensive turrets from the outside.
Laser beams passed through the hole in the window before drawing curves and shattering the gun turrets one by one.
A couple minutes later Taurus was the first to fly upwards, his solid shield at the ready.
He carefully entered the command center. A red light swiped over his body. The movement of a few metallic components could be heard. Taurus’s tense body stood still for a few seconds before relaxing.
“Area clear!”
“Good. Everyone, enter! Gemini, you can bring the doctor.”
The soldiers complied, driving their power armors to follow Leo into the command center.
Waiting for Leo they had a look around. The command center looked highly technological, containing one main console and multiple smaller ones. All the consoles were silent, but without damage. Just like the bodies they found, these consoles looked like they might come back to life any second.
“Aquarius, take a look at the door.”
The scout nodded, pressing her hand on the single door in the room. An invisible ripple spread, projecting the layout into her helmet.
“Same hallway as before. One door to the right and one to the front.”
“Ok.”
At this moment a low bang sounded out. The soldiers immediately shot around, pointing their weapons at the window.
“Stop, stop! It’s me!”
Delphi’s distressed voice reached everyone’s ears. The doctor’s body froze, standing before the window.
“Delphi! Can you take this seriously?!”
“Calm down, Leo! I bumped into the glass. I’m not as nimble as you guys.”
“Fuck! You did it on purpose!”, cursed Scorpio angrily.
“Are you stupid? Why would I risk getting turned into a sieve by you?!”
“What do I know?! Maybe…”
“SHUT UP! I don’t want to hear a single word more!”
Leo shouted angrily, giving of an immense pressure. No one dared to move a single finger.
“Rember, we are on a mission! Delphi, do your fucking job!”
The doctor didn’t dare to answer. He moved his body stiffly, investigating the main console. A few drones appeared, scanning the console thoroughly, sending their findings to Delphi.
The doctor fell into deep thought. From the surface there was no apparent method to interact with the console.
“Star? Star, are you here?”
Delphi’s attempt of communication was met with silence. He glanced at Leo, asking carefully:
“Are we sure this room is clear?”
“Yes.”
“Ok. I will open the console.”
Delphi flipped his wrist, pulling out another specialized drone. It settled next to the console, probing its walls before producing a condensed, red laser of a fixed length.
