Futuristic Operation Prometheus

[animalartist]

Operation Prometheus
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Closed to squidneytoot101 and AskAboutMyBooks
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​

The year is 3068. Humans have just now figured out a reliable, efficient, and safe way to explore out of their solar system. They send out a team of astronauts, pilots, and scientists on the first mission, Operation Prometheus. Two days into the mission, earth receives a message.

“FOUND LIFE. UALLEX. ATTEMPTING TO LAND.”

Earth goes into a frenzy. There are people saying that this entire mission is a hoax, people saying that we should simply eradicate the aliens. One day later. Another message comes through.

“LIFE IS INTELLIGENT. TAKEN 17 UALLEX FOR RESEARCH. RETURNING TO LAB.”

There is an outrage at this. The first alien species humans have ever encountered and we are cutting them open? Protests break out it the streets for and against this research. The president, Erika Coop, orders that the experiments continue. There are many laws and bills proposed to Congress, but the congress can’t get anything done before new legislature is made concerning alien life.

Suddenly, the Laboratory for Intelligent, Extraterrestrial Life (LIEL) goes offline. Messages stop coming through. Except for one.

“YOU KILLED OUR PEOPLE. WE WILL KILL YOU ALL.”

Most humans now believe in aliens, but there is a group that strongly believes that aliens don’t exist. The government continues exploration, avoiding Uccaro and the Uallex. They come across four new planets with their existing species. They start a trade route with the Snesan and become strong allies. The Szurkie are initially suspicious of the humans, but they find comfort in their shared passion for science. The Elgok refused to let the humans’ ship land and met them up in their ship. The humans tried to initiate diplomacy between the two species, but the Elgok denied. The Kist Ra’om made a peace treaty between the humans and them. Finally, the Bareus promised military might if they build a space station for the humans and the Bareus.
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Character Bio

Name:

Age:

Species:

Gender (if any?):

Occupation:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Fears:

Hobbies:

Residence:

Living family members:

Pet(s):

Appearance?:

Backstory: (You don’t have to put this in publically, just have an idea)

 

[animalartist]

[[For the sake of the readers' comprehension, all dialogue will be translated into English. Some items and objects will also be translated to a human equivalent to decrease confusion.]]

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“Get on the ground,” I ordered, pointing the pistol at him. “Now.” The man gaped at me, dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees. He put his shaking hands on his neck and lowered his head.

“Please, please don’t hurt me, please, please,” The man sniveled, grappling my cape. I grabbed the blue fabric and ripped it out of his grip.

“Just get on the ship.” I sneered. The nerve of him. Running away from any responsibility, then acting like he’s the victim once he gets caught.

He stood up, still hysterical, and stumbled into the entry ramp. I yanked his arms behind his and connected them with handcuffs. The cuffs hissed as they shut.

I strolled into the cockpit, shutting the door before the man could escape. I sat down and flipped a switch. The ship rumbled and slowly rose. I pressed two buttons to seal the airlocks and lock down the engines. Once we were high enough, I flipped the switch to prepare for flight and sped away.

Asteroids and debris flew past as I maneuvered through the asteroid belt. I could hear the man in the storage wing yelping when one got particularly close.

After about 10 minutes, I could see the Elgokian Space Center, next to the City of Trade. Hunj was approaching. I turned off the primary engines and fell into a gentle orbit. I lowered down into the atmosphere, turned on the primary engines, and turned off the secondary engines.

We sped along the dusty, red landing expanse. Dust flew around, blinding me to the surroundings, but I knew this area like the back of my hand. I engaged the landing thrusters and turned off all engines. We lowered to the ground and hit it with a soft jolt. I got up and opened the door to the storage wing.

The man was in the corner, tears making lines in the dirt on his face. I grabbed his cuffs and pulled him to his feet. He stumbled a bit, but he got up. I strutted off of the entry ramp, the fugitive walking behind me, head down. I looked about the muttering crowd and spotted the white paint of the police. I strolled over to them, yanking the man along with me.

I nodded to the man as he identified the fugitive, the handed me my money. I walked back to my ship and parked it in my sector.

I walked into the city, tall buildings towering over me. I rented a briyu and rode to my office. Tying up the briyu, I walked inside. There was a man waiting outside my door. He had a dark red skin tone, with blue tinted tentacles. He was wearing many wooden bracelets, with intricate designs painted on them. He looked well-built as if he was a hunter or a blacksmith. He had blue and yellow paint mixing and twirling in mesmerizing patterns on his back

He turned around.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was waiting for you.”

I nodded. “Obviously.” I went to my door and unlocked it as I spoke. “Who do you need me to find?”

“Well,” The man started. “It’s more about who you need to find.”

I narrowed my eyes and furrowed my brow.

Could he be talking about…

“Come in,” I said more curtly than I meant to. I opened the door and he walked in after me. I entered the kitchen and gestured for him to sit down.

“Drink?” I asked, making a purple bruiser. He shook his head. I shrugged, downing the drink and revealing the burning sensation traveling down my throat.

“Um,” The man cleared his throat. “My name is Arius. I am a ground worker for the Elgokian Space Center. During the last file check-through, I noticed that one file was locked. I worked at it for a couple days, but eventually, I was able to hack into it.”

“I found a bunch of maps from places I’ve never heard of, studies I never knew about, and missions I couldn’t make any sense of. But one of the maps I recognized. It was from the Uccaro system.”

“Okay. And what does any of this have to do with me?”

“The file was named The M’raz Disappearance."

I breathed shallowly. I stared at the ground. Rage suddenly gripped me and I suddenly gripped Arius’s collar. He leaned away from me, taken aback by this act.

“Don’t mess with me,” I growled. “I know that my parents are dead, or at least not coming back.”

“No, no I wasn’t trying to do that.” Arius spluttered. “I just thought that you deserved to know, please. I was going to offer you my services.”

I sneered at him, letting go of his collar. “Why should I believe you?”

“Here, here I can prove it. I took pictures of the files.” He scrabbled for his camera. He showed me the photos he took. There were 3D maps of solar systems I didn’t recognize, and everything else he told me checked out.

“I just thought you deserved to know.” He said quietly. “I also thought you could maybe use my help.”

I frowned. “Why would I need your help?” I asked him.

“Well, you are going to be flying straight into one of the most violent species' solar systems, and I majored in Uallexian Studies in college. So…” He trailed off.

He was right. I barely knew anything about the Uallex. I didn’t need to know anything about other species, I just hunted them down when asked. I bit my lip. I didn’t like this. This whole thing could be a trick. But it is too good to pass up. I’ll be prepared. I’ll expect something at every turn. I’ll stay safe.

“We leave tomorrow night,” I said, walking into my room. “Be ready.”

----------------------​

 

[AskAboutMyBooks]

I see you, Faterman. You cant hide forever.

My gun was aimed right at his heart. He was on his balcony, talking to some lady. I waited patiently as he flirted with her, and finally, she left. I quickly pulled the trigger, and ran. The roof wasn't that big, so I was easily able to jump onto the ladder on the side of the building. I peered over the flat roof, and saw a panicked crowd of people on the balcony. I hit my target. Perfect.

I jumped off the ladder, and snuck through a series of alley-ways towards my hideout. As I finally settled in, as much as you can when your constantly running from the law, my tablet buzzed.

I checked it, and saw an incoming message.

I have a mission for you. Meet me at the Bernarius center at 23:00 hours tomorrow. -A

Arius better have a super dangerous misson, to be contacting me. Now to wait till tomorrow.

 

[lonely.squid]

I opened my eyes and felt the breeze run across my face. I stood up and started to walk down to the village.



“You there. What’s your name?” One of the guards said. She was carrying a pistol on her right hand and a device in her left. Hm, I’ve never seen that thing before, I thought.



“My name is Azura May.” I said as the women typed it into the device. It scanned my face and then beeped green.



“Okay you’re all set.” She said. The gates opened and I walked through. I looked at the stores and tents around me. I sighed. Our village was the smallest in all of Uccaro. The other villages had sturdy, well-built houses. We just have tents set up with rope and nails.



When I got to my tent, I pulled back the doors and set down my bag. Suddenly I heard noises outside and froze. I carefully and quietly pulled my pistol out of my bag and snuck outside. The person was still there. I turned the corner and immediately pointed my gun at them.



“Who are you?”



They gasped and turned around, putting there hands up. I recognized them at once.



“Zuth, seriously? You scared me. I thought you were someone else.” I said putting my pistol down.



“Oh, sorry. I got off of work early and I was just looking for some more rope. The doors of my tent broke off again.” He said, turning around and rummaging in the bags again.



I walked over and helped him look.



“Why did you get off of work early?” I asked him.



“There was a new guy and my boss had to show him around, so he let all of the workers off about an hour early and closed the shop.”



“Oh, I found some.” I said pulling out rope and handing it to him.



“Oh thanks,” he said, “Do you mind making dinner tonight? I bought some things at the market today.”



“Sure.” I said walking back into my tent. I started dinner and turned on our radio. It crackled then said, “The dictator has once again raised the amount of military in each village and added a new device so the guards can identify the Uallex going out and coming in each village.”



So that was what those were, I thought.



About half an hour later, dinner was ready. We finished our food and we’re cleaning out plates and utensils when we heard a scream. We ran outside just in time to see a bomb blow up three tents. There were more screams while everyone was running from the fire.



Zuth ran back inside and grabbed a bucket and filled it with water. I did the same and ran after the tents, hoping that this would be enough to stop the water.

 

[pippyengine123]

I sat inside of the cockpit of my Grigora 28 and took a sip of my jasmine Phantom while crossing my legs and putting them on my control panel. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard screams. not of fear but of agony.

I grabbed my pistol from my equipment rack and raced down to the commotion. right down below me was two men.

one was strangling the other with extremely strong force. I aimed my pistol at him and fired, missed, fired again and hit him in the upper left shoulder.
he winced in pain as he stumbled away from his opponent. He acknowledged me and bolted for cover behind a nearby metal storage crate.

I looked over to where the other man was laying but he was gone. I heard running footsteps behind me. I quickly rolled out of the way, tripped him and put my hand over his neck with my knife ready to slit his throat, who are you? the man responded, I have come to give a message, he said. look out!

An arm from behind grabbed me and put a blade on my neck. Don't listen to him! the man with the blade said. you are going to do me a favor he said. you are going to leave this place now or I will have to slit both of your necks. what is your name, I asked. my name is jabra iin and I have been sent here to kill the messenger that is laying right in front of you.

I thought hard on how to get out of the situation, then I saw my knife lying on the ground. I looked at the messenger and he looked at me. I motioned my eyes at the knife and at him. he realized what I meant. the messenger quickly bolted for the knife and tossed it to me. I elbowed Jabra in the stomach and stabbed him in the clavicle. He staggered back and fell with a thud. thanks, I said to the messenger and helped him to his feet.

whats your name? I asked, nabari ouu. Kegair Zep, I said. we shook hands. so, I said, about the message. Oh! yes! The message!

The message is that my boss, Arius, wants you to meet him at the bernarius center at 23:00 hours tomorrow!

 

[animalartist]

The next morning, I packed my regular bag for a mission. A notebook, my weapons, my gear, and my clothes. I went down to the market and bought some food for the trip. I had plenty at the HMS Kitrinos, my ship, but I had a feeling this mission would require more time then I had food for. I packed up all my belongings and hauled them onto my ship.

I slumped into the cockpit, waiting for Arius to show. I waited for a minute. My knee was bouncing, and my nerves felt like they could jump out of my body. I jumped up out of the seat and started to pace the room.

I can’t stand this. I thought. Just as I opened the ramp up, Arius was standing there. He had another man with him. He was Elgokian, like me. He had blue paint on his head tentacles, and yellow paint lining his brow. Although his demeanor seemed welcoming and kind, I knew better than to trust anyone Arius brought on this mission.

I walked down the ramp and turned to Arius.

“Who’s that?” I asked sharply.

“Someone who can help,” Arius replied. “He’ll provide much-needed support, along with someone we’ll meet later.”

I glared at him, my eyes burning with contempt. “A word,” I snapped. “Please.”

Arius took a breath and walked out of earshot of the Elgokian man. I turned my back to the man and whipped my head to Arius. “Did you not even think of telling me that you were bringing others along?” I hissed. “I wasn’t expecting the entire town to know that I might have a lead on my missing parents, or were you planning on telling me that after we left the atmosphere?”

“I thought you expected at least one person else. We are, after all, going to Uccaro. Do you really think that we could even get close to Uccaro without getting vaporized out of existence?”

“Well, I had a plan.” I stuck a finger into his chest. “And you had one too, apparently. Mind telling me next time?”

“We don’t have time for this.” Arius sighed. “We’re supposed to meet someone else.” He walked off, leaving me fuming.

I followed him into my ship and plopped down in the cockpit. Arius and the other man sat down behind me.

“What are the coordinates?” I asked Arius without turning around.

“-73.63, 104.68, -18.04,” He recited.

My fingers danced across the number pad as I entered in the coordinates. I flicked a switch, and the ship rumbled with life. I grabbed the handles and pulled upward. The ship rose. Once I exited the atmosphere, I entered HLT. The scenery around me blurred, and I smiled.

===

Once we arrived at the coordinates, I landed in a public space and locked the ship. I gave a glance to Arius and left the cockpit.

We were on Eblion, were the Kist Ra'om lived. I had been to this planet a few times, picking up supplies or carrying out jobs. We were in a marketplace, with vendors yelling about their products and customers haggling over prices. I walked through the chaos toward Bernarius center. There was a Kist Ra'om woman standing in front of the doors, looking around as if she was expecting someone. I stopped. She wasn't looking for me, was she? Arius walked in front of me and greeted the woman. I let out my breath and continued toward the indigo-skinned woman.

She had head tentacles that faded to a dark purple at the tips. Her yellow and black eyes flitted across the crowd, looking for a threat that wasn't there. Her wide lips were pursed as she spoke with Arius. Her face and tentacles were flecked with dark spots, stippled across her forehead and neck. She was wearing a bronze and black armor suit. From the pattern on the legs and the design of weapon I assumed it was of Szurkie make.

"-briefing? Did that occur to you?" She snapped. "I have other jobs, you know. I can't just accept every deal you offer."

"You'll want to accept this one, Moryarus," Arius said. He pulled out the pictures from before. "We're going to Uccaro. In the slums, there is a big chance that you could find a team and get revenge on the nobles."

The woman, Moryarus seemed interested in this. Arius continued. "Contrary to what the officials believe, there are many skilled warriors in the slums. Though it would be hard, I don't doubt you would be up to the challenge."

Moryarus scowled at Arius. "Fine," She hissed at his face. She sauntered up to me and the other man. I realized I didn't know his name. "Who are these two?"

I smirked at the woman, reminded of myself in her. "I'm Mox. Mox 187." She raised an eyebrow.

"187? Pleasure to meet you in person."

"You as well," I replied. "Moryarus. I've heard of your work. I was especially impressed with your job at the Bareus Space Center."

She gave me a polite smile. "Of course, how could I forget?"

She turned at the man and looked at him expectantly.

"Keiger. Keiger Zep." He said simply. "You probably haven't heard of me, and I haven't heard of you."

She gave him a nod and turned back to Arius. "Let's go then."

 

[AskAboutMyBooks]

Arius better have good guns if he thinks this mission will work. It was bad enough that it was such a short notice, but I was apparently going to be gone for 2 weeks at the least. The Bernarius Space Center was about 20 miles away, so to get there I could just hitch a ride on a stray train.

Sleep was impossible. I kept dreaming about failure and mostly about possibly seeing her. About the one time I couldn't do my job. It was the one reason I barely ever accepted jobs on Uccaro. Every time Arius had a mission for me, I hoped it wasn't on Uccaro. This time, I was in it for the money, and we shouldn't get anywhere close to that small village.

Once morning finally came, I was already packed. I took off early, making sure not to be seen in the dark by the train station security. I ran along the side of a pretty fast train as it was leaving, making sure to grab onto the end, and swing myself up on the edge.

Once I got to the Bernarius Center, I leaned on the side of the doors, outside the space center. I waited for a couple of minutes, arms crossed, looking for anyone looking like they’d sell me out to the cops. After about 20 minutes, I saw Arius wandering through the endless market-places. Once he saw me, I saw two Elgok trailing after him. I nodded curtly at Arius, as he approached. “Hello Elo- er, Moryarus. How are you?”

“Not making extra money, thanks to you.”

“You seem a bit tense, Moryarus. Bad night?” He said, a worried expression clouding his face. Ever since I had gotten into assassination, he had been the most supportive person in my life. He was like a Elgokian brother.

“I’m fine Arius,” I dismissed his expression. “Oh by the way, wouldn't it be nice to maybe give me at least a little more of a briefing? Did that ever occur to you?” I snapped. “I have a job, you know. I can't just accept every offer you give me.”

“You’ll want this one, Moryarus. We’re going to Uccaro. In the slums, there is a big chance that you could find a team and get revenge on the nobles." He said, addressing the group. "Contrary to what the officials believe, there are many skilled warriors in the slums. Though it would be hard, I don't doubt you would be up to the challenge."

“Fine,” I spat at Arius. My face so close to him, I could see every detail of his eyes. I walked up to the other two. “And who are these two?”

The woman smirked. “Mox. Mox 187.” 187? I had heard of her brave and risky missions as a bounty hunter. “187? Pleasure to meet you in person.” I said, sticking my hand out for a handshake. She grasped my hand and shook firmly.

"You as well," She replied. "Moryarus. I've heard of your work. I was especially impressed with your job at the Bareus Space Center."

"Of course, how could I forget?" I replied. I turned to the man and looked at him expectantly.

"Keiger. Keiger Zep." He said simply. "You probably haven't heard of me, and I haven't heard of you." I gave him a small, curt nod and turned back to Arius.

"Let's go then."

 

[pippyengine123]

Nabari ouu flew my ship as we soared through space." where are we going exactly"? I asked. were going to the bernarius space center on the planet Elbion to meet Arius."Why " I asked? Because he has a mission for you." What kind of mission?" I asked. Well, it's rather a dangerous one. You are trying to locate a young elgok women's parents because they went missing somehow. "got it".

1 week later ...

"Were here"! Nabari said loudly, waking me and Kynim up. " pack your things" "ok," I said as I Grabbed a backpack and put in my supplies. I had put in my rifle, pistol, rations, Kynims food, rope, and sleeping supplies. "Are you ready Keiger"? nabari asked, "yes, I am".'Well then, I guess this is where I am leaving you". "What"! , you're not coming with"! "I am afraid not, Arius has told me not to". "why"? I said. "I am an old fellow, I am almost 152 years old". 'You are"? I asked "Yes".' Well, I guess this is goodbye. Goodbye Kegier. Good bye nabari. Keiger watched as nabari ouu walked away. Well, now to go to the bernarius space center. ----

Keiger finally found Arius talking with a stranger in the space center. she looked at me and I said: "keiger, Keiger Zepp, I haven't heard of you, and you probably haven't heard of me". Well, "she said, let's go then.

 

[animalartist]

After an agonizing week of flying with Arius at my ear, telling me where to fly and what the plan is, we made it to the Uccaro system. We had landed on an orbiting asteroid to make a plan on how to get onto the heavily guarded planet.
We were all crowded around a holo-map, suggesting and shooting down plans.
“Let’s just commandeer a cargo ship and fly it to a station.”
“That won’t work, the pilots would alert the surrounding comm stations too quickly. We’d get shot down,”
“What if we spacewalk to this pressure regulator, and then infiltrate from there?”
“The radar would pick us up,”
“So we take out the radar.”
“We can’t do that out here, the security radios are too wide, they would pick up any signal we send out.” I piped in. “We’d need someone on the planet to do that for us.”
“So one of us gets arrested, escapes and turns the radars off.”
“That won’t work, intruders are immediately sent to the highest-security prisons,” Arius glanced at us knowingly. “Or worse.”
“I can try to hack into a communication device near the slums and have them shut it down,” I suggested. “Most of the people in the slums would jump at the chance to get out of there. Though, it is a risk. I could accidentally hack into a guard’s comm.”
Before anyone could say anything, Arius gave an order. “Do it.”
------
My hands flew across the keyboard, activating the holomap and highlighting the pinpoints. I zoomed into the slums and watched the dots move around, my heart racing. “Here goes nothing,” I said. I closed my eyes, lifted a finger, and pointed to a random dot. It was on the outskirts, moving quickly to the local prison. I took a deep breath and selected it. I opened up the comm channel, deactivated the manual fiber, bypassed the field fragmentation. I uploaded a utility inductance and created a phased distortion to hide the comm’s activity.
I looked around at the rest of the team and activated the camera.
The screen in front of me lit up with the image of a girl. She was wearing a tattered brown shirt, and a black hood, covering her blue-green scales. She was staring down at her comm, a bewildered look on her face.
“Quoeh ulo iea?” She whispered, her Uccaran accent sharp.
“Ni muno yuc Mox, umja chyuc yuc ni sloqu. Quo mooja cenochot hlen ieal kuaisuto, umja yum logalm, quo sum tyubo iea cuho kuaisuto. Jour?” I asked.
She stared at us with a fierceness that made me uncomfortable, then replied, “Jour.”
I gave a half-smile, aware of the danger of this plan. I cleared my throat. “Chyuc yuc Elora, uso yuc ryupo no, um uaisuaisyum. Chug'c Keiger, fo'c... moqu. Umja chug'c Arius." She nodded, and I continued. “Ni sloqu jeocm'g ckoup Uallaxian, jeh iea pmequ sembolcugyuemur Elgokian?”
She nodded.
“Ef, umja quoug'c ieal muno?” I asked.
“Azura.” She replied.
I smiled at her, trying to cam her and me down. I turned to the crew. “This is Azura, she can help us get onto Uccaro, as long as we give her safe passage off Uccaro.
“And,” Azura interrupted. “If you help me break my brother out of jail.”
I turned to look at her. “What?”
“My brother is in the local prison for being an accomplice of the rebellion. Promise to break him out, and I’ll help you.”
Everybody was silent. Arius spoke up quickly. “Deal.”
The girl nodded. “I’ll have the radars shut down in 5 minutes, for 20 seconds. If you don’t et in by then, you’ll have to wait until next week for the suspicion to die down. Good luck.”
“Wa-” The comm clicked off. I turned to Arius. “You know you aren’t the leader of this job, right? You don’t get to make executive decisions like that!”
Arius pulled his cuffs down, looked at his watch, then me. “Be ready in 4 minutes.”

 

[AskAboutMyBooks]

As Mox opened the comm, all the blood drained from my face. It was Azura May. I couldn't do anything when her face was enlarged in front of me. My blood stilled and I couldn't breathe. As Mox confirmed we were meeting her, I felt suffocated and close to death.
As the comm switched off, I started hyperventilating. I quickly excused myself and left as I ignored questions getting shot at me from all directions. I finally got to a small, secluded room, and broke down. I thought I had left her in the past. She reminded me so much of Seki. Reminded me of what I couldn’t do.
I started to tear up and forced myself to stop. We would meet her in five minutes or so, and I didn't have time to prepare myself. I knew she wouldn't recognize me, but I was still worried she would somehow see me and at once knew what I had almost done. I was told over and over by my client that she was terrible, but it seemed like all she wanted to do was save her brother. But I couldn't judge until I had met her.
I shook off my shock and steeled myself to face Uccaro. I couldn't wait.
I walked into the cockpit again, and ignored the strange looks everyone was giving me. I took a deep breath and put on my fiercest face.
“So,” I said, “what can I do?”

 

[lonely.squid]

I hadn’t been to work for almost a month. It was almost impossible to even sleep, let alone get up in the morning since Zuth got taken away. I was making breakfast; my rations were getting lower and lower. The government had kept randomly bombing tents, you’d never know when it would happen next. It could even happen right now, to my tent, and I wouldn’t even know about it until the bomb hit.

I opened my oatmeal packet and dumped it in a metal bowl filled with water. I carefully placed it above the fire and set a mental timer. I picked up my book, the pages ratted and torn. I was almost done reading 1232: Benedictioin, I only had a couple pages left. I would’ve finished it last night, but I fell asleep before I could.
My oatmeal was done so I took the bowl off the fire and dumped it in another bowl, grabbed a spoon, and ducked out of my tent. I sat on the grass and ate, while finishing 1232: Benediction. Once I finished my breakfast, and my book, I cleaned up and grabbed my coat. I needed to find another book at George’s.

I zipped up my tent and started down the gravel pathway. Since it was Monday, the hustle and bustle of the village was fierce, even though there aren’t much people left. There are piles of ashes where tents used to stand, but most everybody has gotten used to them. I reached George’s hut and was about to yell for him, when I got a message on my communication device. It buzzed 85943107, a com number I hadn’t seen before. I hit accept and an Elgokian women. She had red skin and seemed to be in a space shuttle. I quickly got behind some brush and whispered, “Who are you?”

She tells me her is Mox and her and her crew need something from Uccaro. I stare at the girl and then reply simply, “Yes.”

She introduces her crew and asks for my name. I am hesitant to reply, but I do. Once I do, a girl in the back tenses up like she’s super uncomfortable. Of course, I don’t blame her, I would be freaked out too; she doesn’t speak Ullakian.

Mox’s crew seems strong and well put together. She introduces me to her them, while a thought pops into my head, and before I could think it through, I interrupted Mox.

“-passage through Uccaro.”

“And, if you help me break my brother out of jail.”

Mox turns to me. “What?”

The words spill out of my mouth. “My brother is in the local prison for being an accomplice of the rebellion. Promise to break him out, and I’ll help you.”

Nobody spoke. Then another Egokian, male this time, with a dark red skin tone and blue tinted tentacles spoke up. “Deal.”

I nodded. “I’ll have the radars shut down in 5 mintues, for 20 seconds. If you don’t get in by then, you’ll have to wait until next week for the suspicion to die down. Good luck.” I clicked off the comm. I needed to get to the radars quick.

---------



I ran back to my tent and put my book back. I grabbed my dagger and placed it in my pouch with my comm. I put on my boots and headed out my tent, carefully avoiding guards. I walked down the pathway for about three or four houses and then, when no guards were in eyesight, dashed in between two and in the brush.

I tried to go as far so no one would see me from their tent. I kneeled on the ground and opened my pouch. I get out the comm and attached the Ransomware and Malware cords. The Malware keyboard activates and I enter: d654jump 8926 radarQuit. I hit the go button and count.

1, 2, 3

I hear some guards’ intercoms go off in the distance. Just muffled voices, but they still sound panicked.

7, 8, 9

They speed walk to the main gate, trying not to look suspicious.

15, 16

Some people notice and get out their tents, watching the guards head to the main gate.

17

Mox and her crew better pull this off. They are all I got to get Zuth back.

18

I don’t know when I’m going to get another opportunity to find Zuth and finally get out of this dump.

19

My finger shakes as it hovers over the end button.

20

I hit the end button, and for some reason expect them to come flying out of the sky. I unplug the cords and shove them, as well as my comm and dagger, back in my bag and then sprint back out of the brush. I make sure no one is watching when I come out and walk back to my tent, trying to look nonchalant; it was easier because most of the guards are at the main control room. I zip open my tent, put my bag in the corner, and collapse on my bed.

That was enough stress for one day.