Red Nova

Remnants

Zoris, observing information on a terminal relayed to him via the Hacker, grinned with a contorted expression. “So, Bisel’s dead,” he said. “It’s about time Vreffith made a move.”

Not a minute later, Marl, another henchman sitting in the lower level of the command deck, called out, “Zoris, the Hacker has finally disrupted Goliath’s deflector shield. Shall we attack?”

“Of course not, you idiot,” snapped Zoris. “Vreffith’s still aboard Goliath. We won’t touch it until he’s here.” He thought about what to do next and then looked at his vel’pheasian gunner. “Jargen, get a regiment to board Goliath and bring him back. You can kill anyone else you see.”

Jargen stood up and hissed as he replied, “With pleasure.” He stormed out of the deck to gather his elite soldiers.

Meanwhile, back on Goliath, Sergeant Keith Wernn continuously tried to hack into the ship’s security system despite a lack of power. The hatch’s door finally started to unseal from Keith’s end, yet it kept getting jammed and reprogrammed.

“Man, you’ve always hacked quicker than me,” said Jolus.

Keith shrugged. “I would’ve had it by now but something’s preventing me,” he said. “It’s as if someone’s countering my hack.”

“Can’t be,” said Jolus.

Glancing at the inactive elevator portal, Keith raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?” he said skeptically. “You’ve never had a problem hacking into an EP before.”

“Whatever,” said Jolus. “Let’s just follow our orders and get into the prison bay.”

Keith fiddled with the console’s data pad a bit more and finally got the hatch to open all the way. They both stepped into the silent prison bay and could hardly believe what they saw. Not only was there no gravity or oxygen, but half of the bridges were blown off and floating around with metal particles in the air.

The duo felt that the chamber looked like a film being played in slow motion. Most alarming to them, however, was the giant shutter—it had a monstrous gash in the center, as though someone had physically ripped it open from inside to escape. Nothing was being sucked out either.

This was the strangest thing Keith had ever seen in his life. No ordinary human could rip the wall apart like that, he conceded. And why were so many bridges in the chamber destroyed? Keith wasn’t frightened like how he’d felt on Vindor; he was simply startled. And he was quite lucky—as was Jolus—for porting out his armor, which had its own gravity and oxygen system built in, or else he would’ve been sucked right out of the chamber, only to suffocate and die for the sake of following orders. He hated Bisel even more.

“What the hell happened in here?” said Keith.

Jolus pointed at the empty prison pods. “We’ve got worse problems.”

Keith didn’t believe in hell, but he looked as though he saw it manifest before his eyes. Now this was frightening. Myriad prisoners had been freed. There were only two possibilities, thought Keith: they were either on Goliath somewhere, or they’d ejected onto the planet. Even though it would still be bad, he hoped, out of the two possibilities, that it was the ladder of his reasoning.

“This is serious,” said Keith. “Where the fuck is Bisel?”

“He’s probably stuck somewhere like we were,” said Jolus.

“Bullshit,” said Keith. “He has EP access.”

Jolus shrugged. “Yeah? Well, why don’t you tell me where he is because there ain’t anyone else in here but us, Einstein.”

“Wrong again, jackass,” said Keith, aiming his rifle at a nearby bridge.

Bubbles of what appeared to be blood floated near the halved platform. Upon seeing this, Jolus launched himself toward the fractured bridge and used his UND to scan for G-DNA. Keith also propelled himself to the bridge.

“It’s the admiral’s DNA,” said Jolus.

“Time to get the fuck off this ship,” said Keith.

“And go where?” asked Jolus.

“Where else?” said Keith, frowning. “The fucking planet, man. Bisel brought us here for a reason. I don’t care if we’re in the Gamut. Something’s down there and we’re going to find out what it is.”

“Well, you’re the genius who hacks into everything,” said Jolus. “Lead the way.”

In the meantime, Heidegger’s shuttle flew toward Goliath. The craft turned sideways as it approached, connecting its hatch to Goliath’s cargo bay. When linked together, the crew inside the shuttle loaded their weapons and moved out.

“Kill everyone you see,” ordered Jargen, the vel’pheasian gunner. “No survivors, or I’ll kill you myself.”

Jargen snorted, walking through the hatchway of his transport vessel with ten henchmen who were human. They were clad in heavy armor and wielded MP-99 rifles. The group stopped when they reached Goliath’s entrance since it was sealed. The henchmen watched Jargen attach K-1000—a cube-shaped explosive composed of khlium and diethylhexyl—onto the access door. He then backed away, followed by his regiment. The tiny piece of plastic that Jargen smudged against the door beeped repeatedly until it detonated.

The squad entered Goliath’s cargo bay and spread out while aiming their weapons in multiple directions, not seeing any military soldiers. Jargen reached the UEC shuttle that Bisel had used to capture Vreffith and hacked it. Entering the vehicle, he planted another piece of K-1000 inside and exited the shuttle. Jargen then headed to an access door, signaling his regiment to follow him. Upon leaving, the shuttle exploded.

In the meantime, Keith and Jolus were stuck in yet another corridor, trying to reach the cargo bay. Keith attempted to hack his way past a sealed door when every system on Goliath suddenly came back online. The personnel on board were finally able to move freely through the vessel. The duo glanced at each other, surprised, and then ran forward. While they sprinted ahead, a comlink turned on.

“This is your captain speaking,” said Heims. “You’re to abandon ship immediately. I repeat: abandon ship!”

“He read my mind,” said Keith.

Jolus pulled up his UND interface again. “Shiva,” he began, “can you activate the shuttle for us?” There was still no answer from her. “Shiva?”

“Forget that bitch,” said Keith. “We need to—” Goliath abruptly vibrated as if a deadly quake occurred, making him lose his balance. He grumbled as other crew members frantically ran by him. “What the fuck is happening now?”

Jolus hesitated. “I don’t know,” he said. “But do you still want to go this way?”

“Or what?” answered Keith. “Ditch the shuttle and use those pods that everyone else is using? You know they’re not reliable. We’ve got clearance to use the shuttle, which is the best chance we’ve got at surviving.”

An explosion ignited before Jolus could respond; the door leading to the cargo bay had just been blown into pieces. The passageway in front of them lit up like a furnace as Adams jolted toward the corner in flames. They could also hear Carey screaming while bullets pierced her flesh. In the blink of an eye, she became as silent as the outer void.

Keith immediately ducked and clicked his UND, creating a translucent force field. Jolus rolled to the opposite side and activated his own shield. In a matter of seconds, the Black Moon syndicate—led by Jargen—was upon them, opening fire. However, the energy fields that Keith and Jolus had activated were protecting them. Keith used his MP-98 rifle, shooting at them with incendiary bullets. He shot one of Jargen’s henchmen with ease. The crippled man screamed as parts of his legs burned, killing him. Jolus switched to his MP-98 rifle’s secondary firepower, launching a thermal charge that blasted the nearest enemy; his whole upper body flared and disintegrated.

“They’ve got heavy artillery!” exclaimed one of the henchmen.

Jargen growled ferociously. “There are only two soldiers!” he barked. “Activate your shields and eradicate them!”

He stepped out from his corner with a PT-80, launching a plasma torpedo at Keith whose force field flickered from light blue to dark red after the impact. The wall beside Keith crumbled apart due to the torpedo’s explosion. “For the Yak-Shur!” shouted Jargen, roaring.

“Fall back!” said Jolus. “They have a freakin’ vel with them!”

Keith ignored Jolus. He used the crumbled wall beside him to take cover while clicking his UND, porting a V-71 grenade. After it materialized, Keith threw it toward Jargen. It slowly rolled forward as its sides unsealed, and then it sprayed a radiation that waved back and forth. It looked like a tiny black hole. Jargen launched another plasma torpedo at Keith, but it went into the fissure-like hole and disappeared. More of Jargen’s henchmen advanced, shooting Keith and Jolus. Yet every bullet vanished when reaching the fissure-like hole that had been created by the V-71 grenade.

“By the Yak-Shur,” said Jargen, “he’s got a void grenade! Get out of here!”

The wavy hole soon disappeared. Just then, the grenade blew up and created black sparks that severely dented the walls and floor via a surge of gravity. It also pulled and consumed two henchmen into the collapsing void.

“Nice one,” said Jolus.

Keith smirked, reloading his rifle with another incendiary clip. Jolus clicked a button on his MP-98 rifle, switching from thermal charges to incendiary bullets, and fired at the syndicate. After reloading, Keith assisted Jolus. The duo shot down another two enemies, the flammable bullets piercing their armor and burning right into their frail skin. The remaining four henchmen activated force fields, returning fire. There was simply too much firepower for Keith and Jolus to handle; they knew they’d have no choice but to fall back what with their shields failing.

This did not hamper Keith’s morale. On the contrary, the intense gunfire made him all the more excited. Though the situation seemed bleak to him, battles like this nevertheless enthralled him. He was confident and composed as long as he had some control of the situation. That was what made him an elite soldier, and it was also why he didn’t flee after seeing a vel’pheasian, even though being in the presence with one usually made him feel uneasy.

The duo’s UNDs beeped loudly. Not a minute later, their force fields shut down. Before they were vaporized, an elevator portal activated behind the syndicate. Its beam glimmered, and Admiral Bisel appeared. He instantly ported an AW-54 grenade and tossed it at the syndicate. It not only disabled their guns for several seconds upon its explosion, but it also deactivated their force fields due to its pulse charge, which was an anti-ward disruption. Bisel pulled out two MP-94 pistols and gunned down Jargen’s remaining men. Standing by the access door, Jargen hissed and blasted Bisel with a plasma torpedo using his PT-80.

The impact knocked Bisel against the wall, causing him to drop his weapons. Fortunately for him, his force field didn’t malfunction. Bisel withdrew while throwing another grenade, but it wasn’t an anti-ward grenade; instead it was an HG-88, also known as a hell grenade. When the HG-88 grenade exploded, it turned Jargen’s side of the corridor into a raging inferno, which destroyed his shield. As the deadly blaze approached him, he pounced toward the hatch. He quickly slithered through it and sealed the access door from behind.

A voice within Keith urged him to go after the vel’pheasian, yet seeing the admiral alive made him maintain his position. Strangely, he didn’t feel any kind of hatred toward Bisel; he was merely surprised.

Bisel walked over to Keith and Jolus and bowed while he said, “Do not bother with formalities.”

Keith, dumbfounded, didn’t utter a word.

“We,” began Jolus, stammering, “we thought you were dead.”

“Not today, Lieutenant Bako,” said the admiral. “Follow me.”

“This is the only way to the shuttle,” Keith finally said.

“Unfortunately they have destroyed the shuttle,” said Bisel. “In fact, the entire cargo bay is in ruins. That vel’pheasian destroyed it using K-1000. However, we can still use an escape pod to reach Aydis.”

Keith rolled his eyes at Bisel. “It’s practically impossible to reach an escape pod from here,” he said.

“Not if I grant both of you access to elevator portals,” said Bisel, returning to the elevator portal he’d just used.

“It’s about damn time,” said Keith.

He watched Bisel hack the console next to the elevator portal, astonished. In a matter of seconds Bisel sliced into Goliath’s terminal as though it were second nature. Keith felt awkward since the admiral was finally doing him a favor, but he was still furious with him.

“Are there more of those assholes?” he asked.

“It is most probable,” said Bisel.

“Most probable?” repeated Keith, irritated by the admiral’s robotic response. “Any clue why they’re probably here?”

“Relax, man,” said Jolus. “They’re probably trying to rescue Vreffith.”

Keith looked suspicious. “What happened to you in the prison bay? You told us to meet you there, but by the time we got there the entire chamber was turned to shit. All we found was your blood.”

“There was a minor setback,” said Bisel. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Bisel continued hacking the elevator portal’s console until it glimmered from red to blue. “It is complete,” he added plainly. “The two of you have access to elevator portals. Now we must be swift. There are only a few unused pods remaining. Meet me in sector E.”

Bisel stepped into the elevator portal and teleported.

“How is he alive?” asked Keith, dismayed.

“I don’t know,” replied Jolus. “But now is not the time to wonder about it. He’s alive, and that’s all that matters. You go first.”

Keith complied, using the portal.

Similar looking to the prison bay, sector E was a titanium chamber filled with bridges and escape pods. Several people hovered there in spacesuits; they were trying to find empty capsules. Bisel stood at the bottom of the chamber, already opening a pod. Just then, Keith teleported on the opposite side of the bridge where the elevator portal was located. Not more than a minute later, Jolus teleported to the chamber. Keith waited for him, and then they ran across the bridge.

“Please enter in single file,” said Bisel courteously. Jolus entered the pod right away, but Keith hesitated. “Step inside,” commanded Bisel.

“What about Vreffith?” asked Keith.

“He is out of our hands,” said Bisel. “And this ship cannot withstand the firepower of the Black Moon starship: Heidegger. I am, however, positive that we will have a second chance on planet Aydis. Trust me.”

Keith snorted, entering the capsule. At that point, Bisel joined his entourage and sealed the hatch. He immediately connected his UND to the escape pod’s mainframe and ejected it from Goliath. The pod’s corner rockets flickered as it launched toward Aydis. Keith sat still, spotting Heidegger from a windowpane beside him. Heidegger was closing in on Goliath.

“This is crazy,” said Keith. “Did we even try attacking that ship?”

“It would have been futile,” responded Bisel, typing into the mainframe.

“Four ships to one would have been futile?” scowled Keith.

“I initialized a thorough scan of their deflector shield,” said Bisel. “It is beyond anything we have.”

“Well, at least we’re alive,” said Jolus.

“Yeah,” began Keith, “maybe for just a few more seconds.”

Jolus sighed. “Admiral, do you know anything about this planet?” he asked.

“I just completed the planetary scan,” said Bisel. “According to my diagnostics, Aydis is a fluid planet. It has a thick atmosphere, which is composed of the following: carbon monoxide, helium, deuterium, and hydrochloride.”

Keith was ready to strangle Bisel. He thought to himself, there was definitely something different about the admiral. He glanced at Jolus and noticed, for the first time, that Jolus looked at Bisel suspiciously. No one used the term fluid planet before. Since regrouping, the admiral’s decorum had changed. It wasn’t the usual disrespectful love-hate bond he’d developed with his crew. Rather, his decorum became rigid. Or was this another one of Bisel’s condescending acts? That by speaking in such a technical manner, he would be proving how intelligent he was, and just how stupid, pathetic, and imperfect others were. Yes, conceded Keith, this was how Bisel thought. The only reason why Keith didn’t attack the admiral was because he felt nauseous in the escape pod. He still, however, had enough energy to speak his mind.

“I’m sorry, Professor, but I never took chemistry,” said Keith. “So, can you please explain to us what the hell that means in basic terms?”

“It means Aydis is not only a gas giant but the most poisonous one that humans have ever encountered,” answered Bisel. “Even the clouds are deadly—they are composed of sulfuric acid. We will be fortunate enough to survive if we reach halfway what with the acid eating the hull. Though most gas giants do not have a surface, Aydis has sufficient landmass. However, even if we survive the drop and reach land, there is a ninety-six percent chance you will die. If you are wondering why,” he added, as Keith opened his mouth, “it is because the surface is composed of the following: methane-ammonia and severe amounts of chlorine. Not to mention hydrochloric acid if it rains. All of these elements are deadly to the human species.”

“Oh, well that’s just great,” said Keith. “I guess I might as well have just stayed on the ship because either way I’m a fucking dead man!”

Jolus shook his head. “Relax,” he said. “Admiral Bisel put his life on the line for us. He didn’t have to save us. Let’s just handle this like Vindor: one step at a time.”

“Right,” said Keith, giving him a faint nod. “One step at a time.” He breathed heavily, whispering that phrase again to himself. But that phrase soon died away when the escape pod violently shook. Soon another phrase resurfaced from his subconscious: There is no atheist in a foxhole. He hated his fear because he felt it made him too irrational. Keith tried to suppress his fear and accept the fact that there was nothing in the universe that could save him or his fellow combatants from certain death. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to suppress his irrational thoughts.

He felt that fear was like a parasite, taking control of his mind. And the parasite he called “fear” fed on what little hope he had left within him to survive. He couldn’t help but gaze out of the tiny window while sweating. My life is completely out of my hands, he thought as his heart pounded. He then concluded to himself, I have no control over anything in this useless shithole. Keith could only hope, praying for the first time in his life to whatever may be out there, that he would not die.

Meanwhile, Jargen tried to make his way back to Goliath’s cargo bay. He was outraged, hardly able to believe that his entire unit had been wiped out by three UEC soldiers. However, he needed to find Vreffith and bring him back to Heidegger. He’d worry about killing the UEC soldiers later. Upon reaching the cargo bay’s hatch, Jargen opened it, instantly flying up in the air.

Jargen quickly activated the gravity system on his armor, landing back on the floor. He noticed a monstrous gash on the ceiling, perplexed. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw what looked like a creature go into the hatchway of the Black Moon shuttle. Turning to look, Jargen didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He scuttled to the hatchway, entering his shuttle. It was silent inside. Yet he somehow sensed a presence that made him feel uneasy.

“I’m pleased to see that Zoris came for me,” said Vreffith.

Seated in the pilot chamber, Vreffith turned his chair around to face Jargen who looked utterly bewildered. Vreffith had already regressed back to his human form, wearing a UEC jumpsuit.

“I thought you killed Bisel,” said Jargen, hissing.

“I did,” said Vreffith, glaring at the vel’pheasian. “In fact, I showed him how beautiful Gamut can be without looking through a window.”

Jargen grumbled. “Well, I think he enjoyed it a little too much because he and two of his soldiers just killed my regiment in seconds,” he said crossly.

“That’s impossible!” shouted Vreffith. “I blasted him until there was nothing but dust!”

Jargen sat in his chair and activated the shuttle. “Doesn’t matter to me anymore,” he said, grunting. “My mission was to bring you back to our ship, not see Bisel kill my men. You’re here, and that’s what matters to Zoris.”

Vreffith squinted at Jargen. “I don’t like your attitude.”

Using an MP-94 pistol, he blew a hole right through Jargen’s reptilian head. Purple blood squirted over the ship’s interface. Vreffith held the throttle and detached the shuttle from Goliath. He then maneuvered the vessel toward Heidegger.

“There’s no way that Bisel could still be alive,” muttered Vreffith. “It’s impossible.” He wiped the control panels in front of him, removing Jargen’s dripping blood. “I don’t know why Zoris hires such pests.”

He eventually flew inside Heidegger’s shuttle bay. Upon arriving, Vreffith landed in the center of the chamber, shut the vehicle off, and exited it.

“Vreffith!” said Zoris hospitably, approaching with a few henchmen behind him. “It’s good to see you in one piece.” He patted Vreffith who pulled away, walking in a hurry.

“I want Goliath obliterated and every trace of us gone,” commanded Vreffith. “But more importantly, I want every single file that exists on Admiral Niralus Bisel—his family, his friends. I want every file related to him. Now!”

“Of course,” said Zoris. “I’ll send a Hacker into the GT and have everything in less than an hour.” They were approaching the residential wing while Zoris went on, “By the way, where’s Jargen and his men?”

“They decided to go on a field trip with Bisel,” replied Vreffith. “And do me a favor,” he added, entering his private quarters, “don’t hire anymore of those vels. They make me sick to my stomach.”

The access door to Vreffith’s private quarters closed in front of Zoris’ face. He stared at the sealed door for a second; then he glanced at his subordinates with a furious expression.

“You heard the man!” said Zoris, looking as though he was about to shoot them. “Get to your positions and destroy Goliath!”

Meanwhile, the UEC escape pod that Bisel and his soldiers sat in was wrecked. Yet it managed to remain intact as it entered Aydis’ atmosphere. Its hull endured severe burns while zooming down the hazy planet’s emerald-colored sky. The pod eventually submerged into an acidic lagoon. Their safety restraints nearly broke off due to the abrupt collision.

“What the hell just happened?” asked Keith.

Jolus, feeling queasy, shrugged. To him, it was a miracle they were even alive. Keith felt the same way; though he was still agitated.

“I am analyzing the situation,” said Bisel. “You may release your constraints.”

The pod started to depressurize. Keith and Jolus listened to Bisel, releasing their safety constraints. Upon looking at a windowpane, the duo realized they were sinking into the acidic lagoon. They were even able to hear the hull sizzling.

“I don’t believe this,” said Keith. “You said there was land, not an ocean of acid!”

“Unfortunately my coordinates were incorrect; they have caused us to land in what appears to be a toxic tarn of chlorophyll,” said Bisel. “No, that is not valid. My sensors are showing that ninety-three percent of Aydis’ environment is composed of chlorophyll.”

“Chlorophyll?” said Keith. He looked at Jolus with an expression that suggested Bisel had lost his mind. “I don’t care about what this piece of shit is composed of,” he added, even more upset. “What we need to do is get the hell out of here, sir.”

“Admiral, are the rockets still functional?” asked Jolus. “Perhaps we can use them to boost us back to the surface.”

“They seem to have been disabled after reaching Aydis’ troposphere because every attempt to activate them has been ineffective,” said Bisel.

“I’ll handle this,” said Keith, grunting. He moved to a monitor opposite Bisel and hacked into it with his UND. The console, however, didn’t work. Keith banged on the screen. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“At ease, Sergeant Wernn,” said Bisel. “I assure you that I am operating this pod with maximum efficiency. I shall have the rockets active in due time.”

Jolus decided to look through the tiny windowpane to see their situation. Upon doing so, he witnessed a gargantuan fin sway out of sight. He winced, backing away in fear; though, the way his eyes bulged was enough to incite fear.

“What is it?” asked Keith in a panicky tone. He moved toward the windowpane but saw nothing except the greenish water. “Did you see something?”

Jolus swallowed heavily. “Admiral, you’d better hurry,” he said.

“Rest assured, Lieutenant Bako,” began Bisel, “I am utilizing one hundred percent of my faculties.”

After a few seconds, two of the four corner rockets abruptly ignited and launched the pod up. The trio heard a monstrous screech from the acidic water—it cried out in what appeared to be pain. No doubt, thought Keith, it was coming from the beast Jolus had seen. The blazing rockets had apparently harmed the atrocious sea creature. Keith looked even more terrified than Jolus when he heard the screech. Bisel, however, didn’t flinch. To Keith, the admiral seemed like an emotionless husk.

Finally, the escape pod resurfaced and halted against a shoreline of myrtle-tinged sand. When the hatch opened, a swelling of gas entered the capsule. Neither Keith nor Jolus could see anything ahead when the gas engulfed them. It then waned and receded to the fog outside. Keith was the first one to get out of the pod. He aimed his gun in multiple directions, slowly stepping away from the capsule. Jolus copied Keith’s precaution. Bisel, on the other hand, focused on his UND’s scanner while walking toward the hazy swamp ahead.

Bisel pointed north. “There appears to be a clearing beyond the swamp, but stay away from the trees. Readings indicate internal packets of toxic gas.”

The swamp was filled with sounds of unknown wildlife, as well as trees that had tawny-colored sacks for trunks. And like an African savanna, they were spread apart from one another. This gave the survivors a chance to walk through the gassy swamp without getting too close to the trees. Once in a while the trees in the region sucked inward as though inhaling the gas; then, after a few seconds, they returned to their original bloated state. The closer Keith advanced to the trees, the more violent they reacted, forcing him to walk slower as opposed to his usual quick pace. Jolus appeared calm and stayed near Bisel.

When the trio traveled halfway through the murky swamp, Jolus aimed his MP-98 rifle ahead.

“I see something,” he said.

“I can’t see a damn thing,” said Keith, squinting.

“It looks like a crater,” said Jolus.

“Think that’s the cause of this fog?” asked Keith.

“Negative,” said Bisel. “This is the planet’s natural ecology.”

After traveling deeper into the hazy swamp, they saw a depression and the outline of something rectangular in the crater.

Keith raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what the object below could be. “Is that a capsule?”

“It must be,” said Jolus.

“I am ninety-nine percent positive that it is an escape pod,” said Bisel. “In fact, my sensors are detecting Captain Heim’s G-DNA inside it.”

They moved forward and quickly reached the crater. Bisel stayed while Keith and Jolus descended. Upon traveling downhill, the duo spotted a puncture between the capsule’s hull and access door. Gas filled the interior of Heim’s pod. Keith went inside first.

“Captain Heims?” he called out. “It’s Sergeant—”

Heims was still strapped to his seat. His face started decomposing, sizzling in a cryptic meltdown as the planet’s gas embraced him.

“We’d better keep moving,” said Jolus, who also saw what had become of Heims.

Keith stepped back, accidently bumping into his comrade. “Yeah,” he muttered, nodding with a disheartened expression. He saluted Captain Heims and then followed Jolus outside.

There was a sudden outburst above them, which sounded like a human shrieking. Keith and Jolus rushed uphill and saw that one of the trees had blown up. Deadly gas released from the trunk, spreading over the swampy region. Bisel stood on the opposite side, aiming his FG-400 in the direction of the dead woman who had apparently walked too close to the gassy tree.

“Relinquish yours weapons immediately and surrender, or I shall be forced to destroy you,” ordered Bisel.

From within the deep haze of gas came three people. Bisel realized that one of them was Commander Rena Mar’kett. She was with two soldiers who had landed with her: Private Bryan McKenzie and Sergeant Debra Lomax. Private McKenzie looked like a pretty boy who had blue eyes and smooth auburn hair. Sergeant Lomax, on the other hand, was a coarse-looking woman.

“You son of a bitch!” exclaimed Rena Mar’kett.

Keith and Jolus regrouped with Bisel, but not before Mar’kett reached out to punch the admiral. Bisel’s reflexes seemed clairvoyant because he caught her hand perfectly.

“Commander Mar’kett,” said Bisel, holding her fist, “I do not recall human formalities to be in this behavior. But it is good to see you alive.”

Mar’kett pulled her hand away and shuddered. “How dare you!” she shouted, tears in her eyes. “You…you murderer!”

“If you are referring to the Black Moon syndicate, then you are correct,” said Bisel. “I have indeed terminated four of them.”

“I thought we were friends,” said Mar’kett, almost lamenting. “I trusted you! Thousands of innocent people are dead because of you!”

“The mission comes first, Commander,” said Bisel. “Stand down.”

“What mission?” she asked in a tone of scorn. “None of us know anything! You’ve changed, Niralus. No wonder why Nesha doesn’t speak to you anymore!”

“Commander,” began Bisel, “do not let your subjective perspective take control of the mission.”

Mar’kett looked even more upset. She had had it with Bisel. In all the years she’d known him, she had never expected him to be so indifferent. She was the only one who ever gave Bisel a chance despite his patronizing attitude. She was the only one who felt that there was some form of humanity deep beneath the surface of his arrogance. But she finally realized that it was long gone, if it was ever within him in the first place. She now hated Bisel as much as Keith hated him.

“You’re not getting away with this, Niralus,” said Mar’kett. “And don’t you dare expect me to follow you again until I get some answers!”

Not a moment later, Bisel activated his UND’s interface and selected its sensory-scanner database. It displayed Aydis’ landmass for the others to see. It showed them what appeared to be a pulse in the northern quadrant of the planet.

“There is a UEC research facility underneath Aydis’ surface,” said Bisel. “We need to find it and ensnare Mr. Larser inside when he arrives.”

“Vreffith?” said Mar’kett.

Bisel nodded and said, “I anticipate Mr. Larser to arrive short—” He suddenly heard an explosion from the sky. Each of the survivors gazed up to see what had caused the thunderous sound: fiery bolts ignited beyond the sulfuric clouds, which instantaneously spread apart. Bisel deduced that Goliath had just been destroyed. “And when he does arrive,” continued Bisel, “we will need to contain him in the facility, or else the fleet’s demise will be the least of your concerns.”