I stood still on the deck of the ship, its engines humming enthusiastically as they slowly tugged the vessel through the spacious clouds. The wind whistled between my hair, below the vessel a blanket of nature had arrived. Gone were the mounds and hills of garbage, convoys of transports disappeared, the lone raiders who took potshots at speeding craft now fading into the distance, it seemed almost like the waste slowly dissipated, the further we went, the fewer manufactured objects we saw. The forests were breathtaking, a magnificent mixture of colours, purple, yellow and blue parading the canopy as mysterious creatures scoured the leaf-ridden floor.

It was a jungle of life, untouched by the calamities and autocracies of its neighbouring lands. The winding trees caved together to form an impenetrable fortress against the light, whatever lay below unseen to the daring sun. A few various shards of rough shimmering crystal and rock stuck out of the river of wood, it stretched out as far as the eye could spanning beyond an entire continent. The only essence of civilization was the constant stream of loggers and miners who hovered around the forest edge slowly cutting their way deep into the uncharted bush. I peered across the horizon before a metal hand grasped my shoulder.

“We are approaching the canyons, I think you should train, by now it is almost certain we will face danger once we leave” sparky whispered.

I followed his instructions and leaped downwards, the ship's hull was still invisible from the outside, which made it seem like the two of us were simply floating, two immortals hovering in the sunlight sky. Climbing down the metal grate stairs my boots hit the steel ground with a clang. The past few days had been a blur, a constant battery of tests, repairs and learning. They seemed determined to increase my endurance and stamina, almost certain I would face danger in the near future. I ate a diet of dried rations and mysterious meats, my time consisting of shooting at targets was well spent as I could fire with such an inhuman speed my foes would have less than a few milliseconds to react. Often I would find myself staring out the portholes or reading literature in my spare time, the planet outside fascinating, a whole world of terror, anguish and beauty. As for my comrades I began to understand them better, Ellis enjoyed building and fixing machinery and spent most of his time shooting at targets, however, he would often crack open small notebooks and document the wilds, he also seemed to have a fondness for the unknown often casting glances at deserted areas and investigating the wreckage of half-buried ships to discover what was in store.

Sparky was another case, his mind was sharp and calculating. He himself had many hobbies, spending his free time tending a portable garden, one which he had accumulated over the time we spent travelling. I would often walk by and question him about the array of plants. He took care of a varying amount some known for beauty such as the serenading purple Wistleflower and mysterious exotic Quilmen while others like Darq’s Thorn simply were the kind of plant you were afraid to water because you believed it would take a liking to your blood more than the divine mixture of minerals and h20 you had in your canister. Walking down the hallway to the hovercraft's main control room, I greeted Ellis.

When it came to Shaw she was quite normal, the first two days she spent scurrying around the ship with a toolkit and parts in hand. By her standards (Contrary to Ellis’s belief) the ship was a dungy pit of parts that were being held together by scorch marks and twist ties. She would often spend hours training in combat as well if not tinkering with instruments on a ship-made workbench. I questioned whether or not she was upset about losing her home but apparently, the bar and town were just a small front for the network of safe-houses she had sprawled across the area, she did seem to have remorse about not gathering a series of items..

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning, Sir, should I hit the simulations?”

“I think you have done enough work today John”

The general hesitated but refused, instead the doctor pulled me over,

The rest of the day was spent helping Shaw build and repair a chronicle of techonology. We were halfway through repairing a severed conduit when she began engaging in conversation.

“Wrench?”

“Here you go,” I placed it into her outstretched palm.

“John, did you ever know your family?”

“No, I don't remember anything, my mind, is just a blur”

“I remember mine,”

“What were they like?”

“They were merchant traders of a guild, lived on the Collective homeworld, it was a peaceful life, serene, quiet, lovely, I had three siblings, two brothers and a sister”

“What happened to them?”

“Following my betrayal I don't think I ever saw them again, they probably speak my name in hushed whispers, trying to forget my very existence”

“I'm sure they were proud of what you did”

“I hope so, but I doubt it, when I was on trial, no one showed up, my last glance at them, was taken away”

“When we reach Kestle, the signal outside will not be blocked, it is possible you can reach out to them?”

“I doubt they would want to listen to anything I had to say, I brought disgrace to the family name”

“You never know”

“Hand me that power coupling”

“I grasped the tool she wanted and placed it into her hand.

“Your training is going well? I see the immense skill in your abilities”

“Thank you, I don't think I am as good as you thought, despite my best attempts”

“You will learn, you are forgetting the time it took for me to gain my strength, years of study and hardships of the wastes”

“I'm sorry about your home”

“My home is on the Tobago now, and with the prospect of escape from this prison of a planet, I would leave my house to rot any day”

“I am still sorry”

“Material goods mean nothing to me”

With that we closed up the panel, sealing it with a quick scathing of a torch.

“This planet is very strange”

“Yes, yes it is”

We both gazed out of the foggy port-hole window to see the vest beyond, glancing at the visage of beautiful trees which made up our painful exile.

Halfway through the night, I was fast asleep, the torment of the day fueling a healthy rest. It was a strange protruding noise that echoed through the room that caught my attention. The sound of feet slowly climbing up the side of the ship's hull. I strode out of bed, carefully reaching into the pocket of my jacket to grab a heavy revolver.

Getting half-dressed I strapped the belt which included ammo, two guns and holsters onto my pants. The steel room was cold, almost as if a frosty mist had swept through its sterile air. Placing a hand on the door handle I twisted it for the steel to creak open. The ship was silent, not a sound out of place, only a slight eerie echo of engines filling the solemn halls. Striding forward I knocked on Ellis’s door, the rhythm protruding around me. No response came from the room, I spun around to glare at the clock, it reluctantly read a time of between 3-4 in the morning. Fingering my palm around the revolver I called out into the night, darkness surrounding me.

“Hello! Is anyone awake, I could have sworn I heard something outside” I shouted.

No reply came from my comrades, they were either asleep or had taken heed to the day.

Trudging down the grated floors I reached the vast room where the main controls were detained. Sparky sat in his chair, however, he was in an irregular position, instead of a regular intense glare at the monitor he had his pistol out, his metallic fingers bearing the weapon with resolution. When he saw me approach he placed a finger to his lips signifying for me to be quiet.

He then spoke in a hushed whisper.

“Natives of the planet I believe, either that or marauders”

“Natives?”

“Yes”

We both cast our eyes upon the main door leading to the forward deck, nothing seemed to be wrong, it was serene and peaceful, however, this silence, the speech of death was something to be wary of. I recalled the information on the natives of this invaded world. They were once peaceful people, well respected, loved and cherished.

However, the autocracies committed against them in the name of those in power from distant lands had brought the law of the jungle crashing down their civil system.

Their medical cities were destroyed, gods, culture and religion flung into the fire of superior technology and war. There were not many of them left, only a few vast kingdoms spanning the untouched lands of the soon-to-be charted corners of the world. Marauders would have been preferred for unlike bloodthirsty bandits or ruffians these people were sane, they had a motive to live, a lost homeland to defend and mouths to feed. They did not attack out without purpose or pillage the bodies of the dead without a reason.

However, if I was to be used as some sort of cosmic bargaining chip benefiting the lives of billions if not trillions then fight the honourable we would. Steam rose from my gun, its charge almost overheated as my finger lay firmly wedged on the trigger, a move of anticipation, I knew that whatever came through that door would not be happy.

Sparky edged his way over to the main control panel, latching a claw upon the steering wheel he disengaged autopilot and took manual control of the vessel.

“Do you see anything on the cameras?” he asked.

I peered at the screen to see a mixture of black and white static.

“Nothing, it seems they are not working, although the cloaking device says it is activated”

“To jump from a canopy or small hovercraft onto a moving invisible ship in the dead of night takes precision, skill and an unseen bravery, it is a formidable feat and this means we should not take our attackers lightly,”

“How could they see the craft?” I pondered.

“It is possible to monitor the streamlines and just see the general imprint, often it will pass as wind, they also could have a tracker but those only work in close range and the more we hug the trees the less likely it is to report movement,” Sparky replied.

“Do we wake up Ellis? What's happening with them?” I whispered.

“I believe they are covering the external doors near the back of the hull, that is an assumption of course” he responded.

We then stood tensely, each droplet of sweat falling from my brow ricocheting across the ground with a riblet of sound. I aimed my gunsight at the door, my finger now stricken with pain from keeping it in a prolonged position. It is a strange feeling, waiting at a chokehold for an enemy, one of anticipation, fear and tenacity.

The sounds around you magnify, you hear the rhythm of your own heart and your eyes tunnel around the opening. It is an action that makes you feel alive, and adrenaline rush through your veins. I waited for them to come, realizing the horrors I was about to experience. Suddenly the door flew open with a satisfying hiss, most likely wired from the other side as no damage was seen, (rewiring an invisible control panel was a skill impossible to many).

“Watch out” Sparky roared.

Without a moment's hesitation, we blasted into the corridor, projectiles winging through the air they blazed across the compartment. A bullet whizzed by my ear, only inches away from planting its lead surface into my brain. Utilizing my skills I repeatedly fired at the entrance using a metal desk as cover.

Out of the fog our attackers emerged brandishing homemade and military-grade firearms, their faces and bodies completely covered in makeshift armour over long green hooded cloaks. Charging a chokehold with shields they pushed down the corridor and reflected our attacks, by sniping the feet of my enemies I was able to take down three of them before the riot shielders had broken through our barrage. There seemed to be around fifteen, all in a line streaming inwards.

They fought like demons, highly trained and very skilled running into gunfire with a calm seen only by experienced veterans. Dancing footwork of death we were soon pushed back to hide behind the main consoles, bullets and electricity ricocheted off of the instruments damaging the ship. Sparky and I utilized our defending advantage, both trained with precision aim we easily slew the first wave, once the second had arrived with more shielders we had to adapt the strategy. Our enemies' aim was good enough to suppress us and come close to vital organs, however, it was their strength and flexibility which made them feared. I got up from my position of cover and shot two in the head before spinning my pistol to reload it, you could see in their movements they knew the skill they were facing.

Sparky continued suppressing fire on a group that had flipped over a wooden table and were attempting to blast his head clean off, making a wild sprint he slid down the metal floor and held down the trigger, annihilating all three before they could even react. From our positions of cover, we blind fired across the hall but it was soon too late, we had sewn ten of the attackers but five still remained.

Taking up positions in the vessel they tried to sabotage it, most likely looking for the cloaking mechanism so the ship could be taken out by their own anti-air cannons hidden in the aurora of trees. I spun out of my position and drew a combat knife, plunging the blade deep into one of the enemy's chests. Then using his corpse as an unholy shield I charged their ranks giving Sparky the opportunity to shoot those startled by my advance.

Their armour was tough, durable and skillfully welded together, perhaps a collage of sheet metal salvaged from ships and mended into an iron skin. Their faces and eyes were covered in a viel of goggles and thick cloth making it impossible to see the eyes of those I slew.

We outmatched them in all manners of combat, yet they still fought well, in the end we descended to hand-to-hand combat, the last three foes using sharp pieces of metal and homemade swords to lacerate us. If not for quick thinking and a monolithic knowledge of sword combat I am sure to have died that day.

When the first enemy emerged he tossed back his pistol and pulled out a fine steel blade from a leather sheath, the end electrified to the point of madness, he went into attack position and lunged forward. I then parried his move with a rifle on the ground, the sound of grinding metal clanging through the room. Taking ahold of his inability to block, I jumped on top of a nearby table and drop-kicked him, the unsuspecting foe soon crumbled under my feet.

The next enemy unsheathed a long and crooked scimitar, but I quickly punched him several times in the neck, chest and head, causing him to collapse into the ground within seconds. At last, there was only one left, however, he had managed to reach his goal, although shot five times in the chest to the point where smoke rose from his scorched flesh they had dragged themself a few feet to the cloaking device and placed a disabler on the exterior panel.

His brown cloak had been torn and scratched, his mask split to the point an eye and half of his blood-covered chin saw the light of day. Sparky shot seven times at the dying man but it was soon too late, the electric jot had fried the shields entirely. Blood pooled from the man's wounds collecting among the floor. We then rushed forwards climbing the metal grated stairs.

Weapons in hand we reached the surface however it was too late, the cloak had been deactivated and the steel hull could be clearly seen beneath our feet. The ship still moved forward, hurdling through the air at a miraculous speed however it was a sitting duck, welcome to attacks from all directions in the desolate land.

A native ship floated a few meters behind us, it seems they were surprised such a large boarding party could be defeated. The ship was circular and camouflaged, most likely designed to be able to blend in with the canopy and disappear from its enemies. Its pilot, now able to lock onto the vessel in front, opened fire causing Sparky and me to dive downwards hiding behind the entrance for cover. The ship sputtered and cracked, a direct hit from the craft had tarnished the back steel shattered and melted iron causing a gaping hole to protrude outward.

Our feet now standing on the unstable ground we held onto the handrails for dear life. Ellis and Shaw then emerged from below the deck, having fought off a boarding party of thirty or so themselves, Ellis was slightly wounded, a bullet having pierced his shoulder whereas Shaw had no apparent injuries. Hair flapping in the wind, I waited for my fate, it was too late to take direct control of the craft, with half of the ship's back gone, it would be futile to even attempt evasive maneuvers. We had been led into an ambush, with the cloaking now gone the forest had come alive, native sharpshooters and anti-air cannons pummeled our sides riveting the ship with bullets.

Had we not killed the entire boarding party perhaps they would have been more merciful, only disabled the craft and then swept on to pillage its supplies later marooning us in a nearby field yet this was no longer about material gain, it was vengeance, a blood lust to obliterate the crew that had slain their comrades.

They would stop at nothing until they saw our bodies mangled upon the twisted remains of a smoking heap of metal. I knew what I had to do, grabbing a hold of my pistol I charged it to a full blast, the hilt heating up with the power to the point it scorched and damaged my hand, I could see the mixture of steam and smoke tearing away at my flesh as I took aim.

I did not care about the pain, all I needed to do was get lucky, one shot, one kill, an overcharged blaster could explode but if fired properly the kind I held would unleash a volley of electricity, enough to blow a soldier to ashes, but was it enough to destroy an entire ship? I sprung into action, following memories I did not know I possessed, I whacked another pistol against the wall snapping it into two, then grabbing the selected parts with a delicacy I tore out the cables and fused them onto the pistol currently burning my hand. I did not know what I was making, but it did, whatever creature that lurked in my subconscious took control, I executed it perfectly, fashioning a hand cannon from a simple repeater until the weapon I clutched was one to be reckoned with.

My hand now bleeding, I roared out in agony. Ellis, Shaw and Sparky, watched from their positions of cover, all completely unaware of what to do, Shaw was apparently trying to restart the entire ship allowing the cloak however I knew it was too late, the vessel would hit the ground before we even had the chance to remove the third panel. Emerging from my position of cover I stood bravely against all odds, a small army hovered behind us, walking calmly as bullets and projectiles whizzed by my head, I raised my hand and fired at the craft.

Unleashing a single shot so powerful it caused the pursuing vessel to swerve and reduce speed, I got lucky, my aim impeccable I hit the impossible shot, the one in a million. The enforced bolt of power struck the ship's main turbine and bypassed the guard, the ship simply stopped moving, gliding downward into a collision course with us. It seemed the pilot was not afraid to die to seek revenge.

I was about to close my bloodshot eyes and wait for the fiery mess of metal to consume me. Arms wide and ready to welcome death as an old friend, I turned to see a large blast echo across the sky, it seemed a new convoy of ships had joined our skirmish.

Bearing haunting markings unknown to me, I saw around twelve medium-sized bandit vessels stream across the clouds. Pondering the motive of our saviour I had little time to react. Although we were able to down the craft of our enemy, the initial damage and barrage from the ground forces had annihilated the ship. Its hull was exposed and twisted, damage had been dealt so severe, it would be a miracle if the ship did not explode.

Shifting downward it plummeted towards the ground, the hovering mechanism now deactivated and we would freefall into the depths of the jungle of trees. Sparky grabbed a hold of my arm and ushered me inside for brace position. Feeling the wind fiercely blow in my hair I crossed my fingers and closed my eyes latching my hands firmly onto the wall. All of us stood in the remains of the control room, buckling ourselves into the seats to avoid death. Soon the craft made an impact.

Leaving a trail of carnage in its wake it scarred the forest smashing through trees and dragging the mess of metal along the ground. I was jerked forward for the initial crash, however, once I opened my eyes nothing seemed to be hurt.

The control room despite the punishment it had taken was still functional, sparks flying occasionally from the ship's keyboards. I looked around my friends, everyone seemed alright, I for one had a large scratch on my arm from a piece of wood that had flown through a hole in the glass however all of our injuries were minor. I fumbled with my seatbelt, the crash had disoriented all of us, and the mess of destruction made it hard to concentrate, the lights flickering above my head.

My modified pistol was now thrown somewhere in the wilderness I attempted to cut the seatbelt, if those who helped us were not friendly time was of the essence. Ellis struggled in front of me, he still had his gun however it was neatly tucked into his holster. Ripping a switchblade from his sleeve he attempted to slowly slice away at the synthetic material. Shaw and sparky did the same, however, Sparky was immobile, I cast a glance to see the robot who stood beside me had a protruding shard of steel sticking right through his chest, if he had been a mortal man this would have meant death however my mind already had jumped into a network of options depicting how to fix his internal hardware. I was halfway through sawing the belt with a knife I had been able to grab from the body of a fallen marauder when the sound of boots stomping on the hull echoed across the cabin. Ellis turned and looked at me, his dark skin and gray hair covered in sweat, his eyes pleading one thing, silence.

The sound of two figures slowly stepping down the grated steps could be heard, it seems through the crash the hacked doors had slammed shut blocking them from reaching us. I then frantically sliced at my bonds but it was still too late, the knife I held was blunt and heavy, meant for combat of a different kind. They approached the blast door and then backed away quickly, I could only imagine what was going to happen. Leaning in the other direction I faced the adjacent wall and closed my eyes.

A secondary small explosion ricocheted across the broken cabin blowing the door off of its sliders and into the corner, it was a miracle the event did not splatter them with a mess of shrapnel. Ellis pulled out his pistol and leaned back aiming it at the chokehold.

Two soldiers then entered. They bore patchy green uniforms that showed with age, their helmets and gear however were brand new, yet these were no hoard of bandits or madmen, they were professional soldiers, mercenaries of a past doomed world. Ellis wasted no time blasting three shots into the wall behind the two soldiers' heads, the soldiers were humanoid, but their skin was a slight blue and ears a bit pointy. The soldiers dodged the shots and scurried back up the corridor. It was apparent they had not expected resistance.

“Bandits?” my voice croaked.

“Worse,” Ellis replied.

Suddenly three more soldiers rushed in accompanied by a green-cloaked man. Ellis attempted to fire again but the man uttered a cry before shooting his hand, blowing the gun straight from Ellis’s grasp with an unholy precision.

“I wouldn't try that again if I were you general…” the figure shouted.

“No.. it can't be” Ellis roared.