“Faced with the choice of paying with the lives of countless soldiers, or with the destruction of a planet, the G.S. chose to deal with their problem by bombarding Earth's surface with asteroids and nukes.”

***Agena***

***Antioch***

Suppressing a yawn, I gingerly push the control stick forward, allowing one of the pressurized gas-tanks to make a last adjustment to my course. The improved shuttle floats a little further away from the asteroid, but I stay well within in the large rock's shadow.

After my negotiations with G.O.D., I went to work. My drones were tireless, while I only slept for four hours a day. My timeline of seventy-two hours was closely cut, but I don't want to hide in this system for a moment longer than necessary.

If this station is similar to the one I was held in, then they will get supplies every month. I have no idea when their next shipment is due, and I want to be out of the system before it arrives.

When I went to work, I first had to find a rock of sufficient size, which wasn't easy in this empty system. In the end, I found what I needed in the form of a block of ice. It was a miniature moon which was floating around the second planet. To call it a moon is an exaggeration, but it was caught in the planet's gravitational field.

Then I had to accelerate it for long enough to be sure that it hits the right place. I don't want to destroy the station outright, that would be an abrupt ending for my quest.

What I want is to give them a good shake. At the same time, I have to make sure that they don't atomize the asteroid. That's why I had to rig the piece of ice with explosives. I have to make sure that it fragments before it reaches the station. The equipment to do so came from the pirates.

Up until I reach the critical point, I can use the asteroid as additional cover for my new shuttle.

The Nano-Workers and I covered the whole vessel with the pirates' hull-plating. It's doubtful that the camouflaging effects would work too well against the station's sensors, since they are probably a military design. But hey, every bit may help.

Finally, I had to equip myself with armour and clothing, and my Nano-Workers with weapons. Walking around in my birthday suit when I am the only living being on my ship is well and fine, but if this works out that will be no longer the case.

And there was the Hardware Backup. I simply had to make one, since this adventure is more than likely to get me killed.

After taking a look at the timer, I close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm myself. I had plenty of time to come to terms with what I am about to do. The asteroid bombardment will certainly take a few lives. I'll also have to defend the landing platform until the other party arrives. That won't happen without bloodshed.

I don't regret taking those lives, but I regret that it is necessary. If that makes any sense. I would rather fly away into the deep dark and live on my own than to pursue a senseless vendetta against the G.S.; the task seems simply too enormous at this point.

What I can't ignore is that there are others like me still in captivity, just to be used until they become a liability. That's something I can't walk away from.

Several flashes of light illuminate the shuttle, showing me that the charges split the asteroid into several smaller pieces.

I access the shuttle's controls directly with my mind and hold onto the controls. Thanks to that, I am barely able to avoid one of the larger pieces of ice. Still, the hull is peppered by micro asteroids, causing a 'clinking' sound in the otherwise silent shuttle. I smirk, remembering that there are always music and sound effects in movies.

There are flashes of light on the planet's surface, probably firing weapons. Moments later, some of the larger pieces of ice blow apart. It doesn't matter. They are just creating more targets for their overloaded defence system.

Reaching out, I flip the switch for the rockets which I borrowed from one of the pirate ship's launchers. They are the only weapon which I managed to salvage in a short amount of time. Their electronics are protected against radiation and electromagnetic effects, so I just had to get them out of the launcher without blowing myself up.

Fourty-seven rockets start from the launch-pads which I had floating behind the asteroid. They are pre-programmed to search out any defensive installations on the surface.

Someone on the planet's surface must have realized that this isn't an accidental asteroid impact. The flashes intensify, but I am relatively sure that their defence grid of plasma cannons and intercepting rockets is out of its league.

My shuttle is caught by the gravitation of the planet, so I turn the sphere around and ignite the engines to decelerate. The debris quickly overtakes me. All the time, I weave through the larger ice fragments as if I had been doing it for all my life. G.O.D. may not be one of my favourite entities and I certainly don't want to have another meeting with his hot brain-surgery-scalpels, but oh boy... having awesome piloting skills rocks!

I yell as the rockets impact all at once, quickly followed by the first asteroids. Within moments, the area below me is covered in dust and debris from the impacts. Some of the unlucky domes are smashed open like eggs. In an atmosphere, the asteroids would've been slowed down. Since the planet doesn't have one, they hit the surface unhindered.

Raising the output of my engines, I decelerate my descent perfectly, touching the ground without so much as a vibration. The hatch of the shuttle connects to the dome's airlock and opens. My little troop of bots takes the area around the airlock unchallenged.

Everyone who could have counted as a guard surely fled into the dome and underground.

I grab the plasma cannon and leave the shuttle, aiming it at the building in the middle of the dome. The greenery reminds me of my own garden, but I shove the memory aside. My Nano-Workers swarm out, searching the bushes and the area around the building. Though, I am relatively sure that everyone is beneath the surface.

My plan starts going wrong when a Ledleran, an amphibian with grey skin and a long tail leaves the building. It walks on three legs and has four arms, holding a weapon in each of them.

Pressing the trigger of my weapon without hesitation, I hit the guard square in the chest. This time, I am prepared for the recoil and don't lose the thing. Grimacing, I realize that shooting people gets easier with practice.

As the Ledleran falls backwards, more guards of various species spill out of the building. They fan out, trying to avoid my shots while they fire back.

I go down to one knee, knowing perfectly well that a tree or a bush wouldn't be any useful cover against a plasma weapon. These guns accelerate a little projectile to the point that it evaporates into plasma, trailing a line of destruction. The reach isn't great, but the penetration ability is top notch.

Normally, I would never expect to find such a weapon in a closed environment, but these people seem to fear my species so much that they are willing to risk shooting holes into their environmental bubbles.

Several projectiles hit the dome, but since this one has power, they are simply reflected. I simply rely on the fact that I will come back if they get lucky. There is nothing else I can do.

My bots are a good distraction, allowing me to keep shooting for several seemingly endless seconds. The enemies go down one by one, either taken by my bots or by myself. Then, something hot stings into my side and I realize that a shot grazed me.

I aim at the guard who has me in his sights, but before I can fire, he shoots another time. The shot blows a hole into my upper thigh and I topple over.

Taking account of the dire situation, I realize that all but one of the twelve guards who left the building are down. Unfortunately, I also have just a single Nano-Worker remaining. Its plasma gun was shot off.

Refusing to give up, I order it to attack with its tools. The little bot scurries forward, but the guard simply swivels his gun and shoots, nailing the bot's centre twice. He is another Ledleran and certainly won't forgive me for shooting his comrades.

I clench my teeth when the guard returns his aim to me, curling one appendage around the trigger of his weapon.

Before he can shoot, his weapon blasts apart, hit by another plasma bolt. His screams are quickly silenced by the figure who walks out of the building, firing shot after shot into him.

The person is holding a plasma gun in one hand, and a large box in the other. Turning, the newcomer hurls the box back into the entrance and runs away. There is the 'thud' of an explosion, causing the small building to collapse. If the layout is the same as in my facility, then the construction is nothing more than a large room with a staircase which leads down to the actual research station.

Having collapsed the entrance, the person swiftly runs towards me and picks me up in a princess carry. It is a slim humanoid. At first, I thought that it was a human, but the proportions are all strangely wrong.

G.O.D.: Bwhahaha! That's the best! You are the best! A princess carry for the rescuer!

Shut up!

“We have to get out of here! You can fly the shuttle?” the stranger asks.

“Just place me in the cockpit and we are out of here,” I affirm.

I am carried back into the shuttle and placed in the cockpit. As soon as I am able to reach the controls, I close the airlock and start the engines. The force of the launch pulls at my guts. I scream, only now noticing the pain. But I hold it together and accelerate the shuttle out of the planet’s gravitational well.

The quest said that the facility’s defence grid should be down at this point, but I don’t want to take any risks. The shuttle’s speed climbs slowly but steadily as I keep applying thrust, aiming us towards the rendezvous coordinates with the Chimera.

It’s only after we are well out of the immediate reach of the facility’s weapons, that I relax. Now that I don't have to concentrate on flying, I also notice that the strange creature grabbed one of the first-aid kits and is patching me up.

“You should be fine. Luckily, that plasma gun just grazed your guts, nothing vital. Otherwise, you would have to rely on a Hardware Backup. I still can’t believe that I made it out of there! All thanks to you and G.O.D.!” the stranger chirps in a melodious voice. Previously, I didn’t notice it because of the stress, but something about the tone is relaxing.

“Oh, yeah. No problem. My name is Antioch, by the way.” I try to find a way to ask the awkward question which lingered in my mind ever since I saw the alien. “Hopefully, you don’t take this the wrong way, but who and what are you? I thought that I was saving another human.”

The other party looks at me, clearly perplexed. “Hasn’t G.O.D. taught you anything about our people? I am also a human. The reason why I look a little different is that I am a woman, though I admit that I am a little starved! My name is Silith.” She reaches out and takes my hand, shaking it.

I smile, trying my best not to make the moment any more awkward. “P- pleased to meet you. I know next to nothing about our species, though I probably should have assumed that if I am male, then there must also be females.”

Her smile widens. “It’s also my first time to meet a man.”

I nod and try to get my hand back, but she doesn’t let go. Somehow, I am stumped. At first, I wanted company, but now that I have it… What am I supposed to do with a female? Do they need certain treatment? The Vendevellans have all sorts of insane and complicated rules when it comes to interactions between different genders.

The moment is interrupted when all of the shuttle’s sensor alarms go off and the rear windows light up in brilliant, white light. I quickly use my free hand to check the instruments. “What happened!?”

“My trojan-program stopped simulating my presence on the facility. When the security system realized that I escaped, it activated the anti-escape-insurance system,” she explains coolly.

“Anti-escape-insurance system?”

“A piece of anti-matter inside an electromagnetic field. They blew up the planet,” she shrugs. “It was just a small one.”

“Ah.” I nod and smile, no longer trying to get my hand back. Social rule number one for interactions with females, don’t piss them off.

G.O.D.: M-M-M-Monster Kill! 678 Sentients killed! Quest: Find Others! – Success! Reward: You get to choose two additional skills! G.O.D.: New Quest: Find Others! More is always better! G.O.D.: So, now that you have what you wanted, how does it feel?