The year was 924 After Contact (A.C.), nearly a millennium after the historical event which had changed humanity as a whole and was significant enough to start the calendar system anew.

The Galactic Reconnaissance cruiser named Martin Alphen has been engaged in a long term exploration mission for about three months after its departure from port. The main objective of the mission was simple, yet significant for the continued growth of humanity; mapping uncharted regions.

The S.O.P. of the mission was to warp into a random uncharted planetary system and log the traits of all planets found within range before warping away to another uncharted planetary system. If a planet was found to be habitable by humanity, a more thorough exploration would be carried out at the discretion of the mission leader. Such planets were of an extreme rarity, though. On average, humanity would be lucky to find one every ten years or so, despite the numerous exploration missions they have ever engaged throughout the centuries. It was common for exploration missions to end without finding any.

As a cruiser ship mainly built for reconnaissance, the size of Martin Alphen was much smaller than warships dedicated for battle. Its fuselage was around 150m in length and 30m in width, and it housed a total of 50 crew members.

The crew members were in general grouped up into three; First was the field researcher group who were the core members doing tasks related to the main purpose of the mission. Second was the technicians group who operated and maintained all parts of the ship including the people, keeping them functional. Last but not least was the combat group, consisting of trained and armed military personnel. The chance of an exploration mission encountering hostile forces was never zero, so bringing them along as security measures has been the required standards of such missions.

The ship was currently undergoing a hyperspace jump towards a new, randomly picked planetary system. The overall mission plan was to jump four more times including this ongoing one before declaring the mission as finished and returning to port. A jump could take anywhere between a couple hours to two entire weeks depending on how far the next planetary system was, and during this time every crew member outside technicians had pretty much nothing to do.

Naturally, this situation struck a number of the crews with boredom, especially if the estimated duration was longer than a day like the current trip which had the estimated duration of four days. Thankfully, the boring ride would be over in less than an hour.

“And... here!”

Tack!

“...Ah, I lost.”

Two members of the combat group were sitting on one of the beds in the sleeping quarters playing a board game. A few others could be seen sleeping soundly on their respective beds, while the rest had their own activities such as weapon maintenance or self workout. The field researcher group could write reports about their findings so far and also make analysis based on the records, while the work of technicians group was effectively perpetual. Meanwhile, the combat group was the only group who truly had nothing to do for the entire duration of the hyperspace jump, so a sight like this was common.

“Another round?” The winner of the game asked.

The other guy shook his head and looked at his wristwatch. “Nah, the jump will be over soon. We should get ready.”

“Hmm? Oh, you’re right. Better wake up the sleeping ones before they’re seen by mom.”

However, before any of the two could get up, the door of the sleeping quarters opened and a woman dressed in military uniform stepped in and shouted in a firm, disciplined voice.

“Ten-hut!”

This woman was Elana Mayer, the head of the combat group and also the captain in charge of the ship. Upon hearing her shout, all the soldiers, including those previously asleep, immediately jumped from their place and lined up neatly in a file.

“At ease!”

The soldiers went into ‘at ease’ stance as instructed, and then Elana began speaking while in the same stance.

“The ship will exit hyperdrive jump in T-minus 25 minutes. There is neither exception nor special circumstances predicted, so there will be no change to our preparation procedures. Get yourselves ready and get to your stations pronto!”

“Yes, Captain!”

The soldiers gave their answer in unison, and Elana maintained her straight face as she spoke again.

“Any questions before I leave?”

None of the soldiers responded, and after exactly five seconds Elana spoke again.

“Alright then. Dismissed!”

Elana stood in place for a couple seconds as the soldiers in the room dismissed and proceeded to prepare for the imminent exit from hyperdrive. She then turned around and left without saying a word.

Psshh...

The door of the sleeping quarters closed behind Elana, and she walked through the hallway of the ship towards a particular room. Once she was right in front of it, she knocked on the door and waited for a brief moment before it opened like a welcoming sign.

Elana walked into the room, and what she immediately saw was a fairly young, long haired woman slouching on a chair while drinking some cold beverage, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body. Seeing this, Elana let out a little sigh and closed her eyes as she turned around to face away.

The woman was Renne Alphen, the head of the field researcher group, the overall leader of the mission, and also Elana’s master. As in, Elana had been employed to be Renne’s specialized maid and personal bodyguard since years before, and she still dutifully carried out that job while also serving in the military.

“Why are you facing away? We’ve known each other for so long, so chill, Lana!” Renne cheerfully spoke to Elana with a wide grin on her face.

Unwavering, Elana replied. “We will exit hyperdrive soon, Master. Please get prepared.”

“Oh yeah I know! I’ll be ready in a flash, so why don’t you turn around? We’re both girls so it’s fine!”

After letting out a sigh, Elana turned around and looked at Renne in the eyes. It was clear that the latter had just showered recently, but one could only wonder why she had chosen to laze around while only wearing a towel instead of dressing up immediately, despite the fact that she was not at her own private home.

“We’re not at home, Master. Please have a degree of decency. Yes, it’s fine now because I’m the one entering. But what if it was someone else, like... Nathan?”

In response to Elana’s question, Renne just giggled before speaking, still in the cheerful tone of speech.

“Ha! I would like to see that happen! I can imagine the funny face he will make!”

Elana subtly rolled her eyes with her arms folded before walking straight to Renne and grabbing her hand.

“In any case, you should get ready.”

“Aww, you’re no fun!”

Elana then dragged Renne gently to the back part of the room where the wardrobe was located. It didn’t take long for her to get Renne dressed up and ready, since after all it was not the first time this kind of thing happened, and Elana was already used to Renne’s antics.

Later, the spaceship was about to exit hyperdrive jump soon. All personnel were in position, with hype and excitement written over their faces in varying degrees. Entering a new, uncharted planetary system was always something to look forward to, no matter how many times they have done that. That was because nobody could ever predict what they would see, and while the chance was astronomically low everyone had high hopes of encountering intelligent life.

Right now, the pilot of the spaceship along with a number of engineers were closely monitoring all the graphics and numbers displayed on each of their respective stations. They were all experienced on their field and they had thousands of spacefaring hours under their belt, but one could never be too careful.

Elana was one of the few people inside the bridge, since after all she was the captain in charge of this ship. She was sitting on the captain’s seat, while Renne was next to her sitting on the seat reserved for the leader of the mission. Unlike before, Renne’s facial expression was now fully serious and she was fully dressed in her signature coat, showing no sign that less than half an hour before she had been lazing around wearing nothing but a towel.

Behind the windshield of the bridge, one could see the bright waves of varying color spectrum, which was the normal view of a hyperdrive jump. And soon the view would come to an end.

“Countdown to exiting hyperdrive. Five... Four... Three... Two... One...”

Whoosh...

Right after the pilot finished the countdown, the bright waves dissipated and what everyone could see next was the view of sparkling stars along with one brighter light which was the star serving as the center of this planetary system.

“Radar displays normal, we’re clear. Beginning a wide area scan.”

One of the crews spoke as she pressed a number of buttons on her station. Both Elana and Renne waited with restrained anticipation, maintaining their proper, dignified look as leaders. Less than five minutes later, the female crew spoke again without taking her eyes off from her station.

“Preliminary results are in. Number of planets orbiting the star in this planetary system... one.”

A few surprised gasps and dispirited sighs could be heard from other crews in the bridge. On one hand, it was rare for a planetary system to have only one planet orbiting its star so finding such a system was already quite a lucky strike, but on the other hand it also meant the chance of finding a habitable planet, which was already rare to begin with, was astronomically low.

“Number of planets within the star’s circumstellar habitable zone... one.”

The female crew resumed speaking, and another set of gasps could be heard throughout the bridge. The planet being in the circumstellar habitable zone meant that there was a chance it could be a habitable one, depending on its age. Elana and Renne looked at each other, not hiding the fact that both of them were excited in their own way.

“Wide area scan completed. We are awaiting orders, Captain.”

After the female crew spoke once again, Renne gave a slight nod to Elana, who immediately understood the meaning behind it. The latter then looked forward to the crews within the bridge and spoke.

“Approach the planet.”

“Acknowledged.”

The crews immediately got to work upon hearing Elana’s order, and less than two minutes later the pilot began a different countdown.

“Distance calculated. Short range warp engaging in five... four... three... two... one...”

Whoosh...

The spaceship engaged its short range warp drive, which was basically a teleportation with limited range, although despite the word ‘limited’ its range could cover an entire medium-sized planetary system. Upon exiting the warp, the planet in question was within sight to the naked eye.

“Whoa!”

“Seriously!?”

“Am I dreaming!?”

Reactions of surprise were all over the bridge crews, and Elana couldn’t put any blame on them because deep within she was as excited as they were. The planet had visible white cloud formations, blue water, and green land. It was very clearly shown that this planet was habitable by humanity, and there was a fair possibility that it hosted intelligent life. This was basically at least a once-in-a-decade discovery, and any people would be excited for it.

“S-Send out the probe drone!”

Renne gave a command while clearly trying hard to keep herself calm from the overwhelming excitement. One of the main functions of the aforementioned probe drone was to analyze whether the air within the planet’s atmosphere was truly safe for humans to breathe. Despite the clear visual, nobody could tell if the air contained some harmful gas or micro particles, so sending the drone first was always the necessary first step of many before attempting to land on the planet.

“Acknowledged. Beginning the preparation phase of probe drone.”

One male crew spoke in response to the command and began pressing a few buttons on his station. One minute of silence later, he spoke again.

“Probe drone is ready for launch. Please confirm your order.”

“Yes. Launch the probe drone.”

Renne spoke to the male crew with a smile on her face, clearly anticipating the outcome of this discovery.

“Affirmative. Launching the probe drone in five... four... three... two... one.”

Psshh...

The sound of the launching tube could be heard from the bridge, and just moments later the drone was visible through the bridge windshield, leaving the ship towards the planet and disappearing from sight within seconds. All the people in the bridge smiled at the sight with anticipation to the imminent possibilities.

However...

BWOOOM!!!

A deafening sound of explosion echoed within the bridge, accompanied with a sudden jolt which threw everyone off from their seats. Thanks to her quick reflexes, Elana managed to land on her feet and brace Renne along with herself, minimizing harm.

“Is everyone alright!? Give me a sitrep!”

Elana shouted as she tried to keep herself and Renne stable. Some of the crews were down on the floor motionless, probably fainting because of concussion. From the few who were still conscious, one immediately stood up to get into a nearby station and pressed a few buttons there.

“An explosion occurred at the engine room! Main engine offline! Reserve engine offline! Hull integrity is below acceptable minimum!”

“What!? Tch!”

Elana gritted her teeth hearing the quick report. Whatever the cause of the explosion had been, it was clearly implied that the explosion was large enough to destroy the main engine and spread massive damage to the entire ship.

“Can it be repaired quick!?” Elana asked the question, though she was already expecting the worst.

The next thing she heard was exactly that.

“Negative! The ship’s being pulled by the planet’s gravity! At this rate we will crash into the planet in 60 minutes”

Hearing the answer, Elana shouted. “No choice then! Evacuate!”

“No! Why did this happen!? We just found a good planet! Why!?” Renne frustratingly wailed.

“We can come back later! Our lives are more important!” Elana said firmly, pulling Renne by the arm.

The ones who were awake immediately helped those who were not. They all left the bridge and dashed through the hallway, which was tinted red by the warning lights and saturated by the blaring sirens, towards the section where the escape ships were docked. More people joined them on the way, either by themselves or while helping another who had been injured by the impact of the explosion.

Among them, there was a man with athletic body build who was lending his shoulders to two injured people at once. He was Nathan Brevand, the head of security department and also Elana’s right hand man.

“Captain Mayer! I’m glad you seem to be alright!”

“The same goes for you, Nathan. But we have to evacuate! To the escape ships!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Less than two minutes later, they arrived at the spaceship’s internal hangar. Thanks to the swift response of the combat personnel stationed at various spots, all people in the ship were already gathered in the hangar by the time Elana’s group arrived. A number of them were wounded but everybody seemingly survived without critical injuries because all of them still could stand on their two feet.

However, bad news was waiting for them coming from one of the technicians who had just carried out a quick inspection.

“Bad news, Captain! The escape ships have been irreparably damaged by the explosion! Only one is still operational!”

For a brief moment, Elana’s mind went into overdrive hearing the technician’s words. There were a total of 50 people in Martin Alphen and by default an escape ship could only house ten, fifteen if pushing it. Martin Alphen’s internal hangar housed six escape ships, so normally there should be no problem in that matter. But now the situation has changed and a choice must be made.

Having been experienced in tough situations where she had to make tough choices, Elana made her decision within seconds, despite it hurted her within.

“All members of the field researcher group, get into the ship! Nathan and Storm Squad, accompany them!”

“Affirmative, Captain!”

Nathan spoke in response to the command with a salute gesture, along with the four members of Storm Squad. Including Renne, the field researcher team had five members, so the normal capacity of the escape ship had been fully used with this decision. Elana could fit in five more, but she didn’t want to push her luck.

“No! Lana, I need you with me! Please!”

Renne tightly hugged Elana’s right arm as she pleaded. However, Elana made Renne let go with force. She then held Renne by the shoulders and spoke with resolve.

“I’m the captain of this ship, and therefore I go down with the ship. Now go! There’s no time!”

“But-!” Renne said, which Elana immediately intervened by looking straight at Nathan and speaking loud and clear.

“Nathan!”

“Understood, Captain! Come here, Miss Alphen.” Nathan said, pulling Renne away from Elana.

“Noooo!”

Renne flailed her arms around with tears running down her eyes. Elana turned away, not wanting to see Renne’s face any longer, or else she would cry too. But then she spoke once more without looking back at Renne.

“I have not given up on life, Master. I will survive, and I will need you to come back and pick me up.”

Renne’s wail died down upon hearing Elana’s words. A little sobbing still remained, but then she quickly took a breath and spoke in response.

“I will definitely be back, Lana! You better promise me that you’ll be there when I come back for you!”

“...It’s a promise.” Elana replied, still without looking back at Renne.

As this was happening, the members of Storm Squad could be seen hugging several other people, likely an act of giving farewell regards. Elana could notice that they occasionally glanced at her with a smile, but she didn’t question it. There was no need to.

Later, after most of the designated people entered the sole operational escape ship, Nathan who was the last one about to enter spoke loudly to the ones staying in the falling ship.

“Take care of Captain Mayer for me! You hear me!?”

“Yes, sir!” Most, if not all, answered in unison.

Less than two minutes later, the escape ship left Martin Alphen, sent off with a salute from everyone who stayed.

And then there was a deafening silence.

Nobody said any word regarding their imminent fate. Martin Alphen would soon crash into the planet they have just discovered and there was no stopping it. They most definitely were going to die. They all tried to be calm and accepting, but a few couldn’t fully contain their fear, thus noticeably shivering and leaking tears.

“Everyone.”

Elana broke the silence, turning to them and fully showing her face which was full of determination.

“I’m sorry for having put you in this situation. It was a hard decision, but one that I had to make. However, like I said before, I have not given up on life! We will make it through this, and we all will return home someday, no matter how long it will take! Even if fate says otherwise, I want to leave knowing that I have given my all, and thus there is no regret! Are you with me!?”

“Yeeaahh!!”

What immediately answered Elana’s speech was a loud cheer from the crowd which echoed through the internal hangar. Their morale had been reignited, and they felt as if they would find a way to make it out alive from this situation somehow.

“Then let’s get moving! Engineers, we have to soften the fall somehow so find a way to restart any of the engines! Mountain Squad, escort the engineers! Pilot and crews, get back to the bridge and see what you can do! The rest of you, come with me! Move now!”

Right after giving the commands, Elana dashed to the hallway followed by many others. She went straight towards the sleeping quarters of the combat group, and a number of the people behind her could already make a guess on what idea she had. Right after opening the door, Elana spoke to the others.

“Get the mattresses and bring all of them to the seating room! I’ll meet you there later!”

Elana immediately left for the bridge as all other people began ripping the mattresses off from the beds. When she arrived there, she saw that most of the crews who had been there previously were already back, manning their own stations.

“What’s the situation now?”

Elana’s question was then answered by different crews in turn.

“Nothing has changed yet, Captain! We’re accelerating towards the planet. Impact in approximately 40 minutes!”

“I’m trying to re-establish direct communication with the engineering team. Please give me five minutes!”

“Reactor is barely functional! I can divert the power to the thermal shields once we enter the planet’s atmosphere, but we’ll be going in blind without the instruments here! What are your orders, Captain?”

The last one asked for orders, and so Elana gave one after a quick thought.

“Make that the default option if the situation doesn’t change. The instruments are of no use anyway if we all burn to death.”

“Affirmative, Captain!”

“I’m going to check on the others. I’ll be back soon.”

Elana then walked out from the bridge and went straight to the seating room. It was the room where all people not stationed at the bridge would be sitting and buckling up during the launch and landing phase of the spaceship. It was one of the most fortified rooms within the spaceship, and therefore Elana hoped the fortification and the secured seats would help increase their chances of survival.

Once Elana arrived at the door of the seating room which fortunately remained undamaged, she saw that her men had already taken the initiative to spread the mattresses from the sleeping quarters all over the seating room. She knew that doing this would have negligible impact, if at all, but right now she would grasp even the tiniest straws.

“Good. This probably won’t make much difference, but we need to do everything we possibly can.”

“What are your orders now, Captain?”

One female soldier asked a question, which Elana answered immediately.

“We don’t have much time and I’m not always around, so if any of you got any ideas which can increase our chances, don’t seek my approval. Discuss among yourselves and take the initiative. I’m going to check on the engine room. Any of you may come with me but none are obliged to.”

“Affirmative, Captain!”

Elana then left the seating room and dashed straight to the engine room, the place where the explosion which had caused the ongoing disaster had occurred. When she arrived what she immediately saw was the fact that all members of the Mountain Squad and a number of technicians were standing right in front of the first door of two, which seemed to be sealed shut.

“Ah, Captain!”

“What’s happening here?”

One member of the Mountain Squad greeted, and in response Elana immediately asked a question, for which the same person answered.

“The engine room is severely damaged to the point it is no longer airtight. Moreover it’s also burning hot in there. Right now, McKillop and Bravomac are going in with protective suits on them.”

“When you said ‘no longer airtight’, how bad is it?”

“A huge gaping hole, Captain. We’re lucky that the double door seal is still in one piece. Otherwise nobody would be able to enter.”

“I see. Let’s hope for the best.”

Right after Elana spoke those words, she heard one of the other people speaking out loud.

“They’re returning! Prepare to open the door!”

Another person, who was standing nearby, replied. “Alright! Standing by!”

Once the two technicians were inside the small space between the two doors, the inner door was shut tight.

“Opening this outer door in 3... 2... 1...”

Pssshh...

Whoossh!

A gust of wind went past the group as the air within the hallway filled the vacuum of the small space, and right after the gust stopped, two men dressed in full-body protective engineering suits walked out from the door. They were Isaac Bravomac and Billy McKillop, two technicians Elana had chosen by herself for this mission, among other technicians which were here by the organization’s choice instead of hers. Elana had known them for nearly a decade, and she had high confidence in their capabilities. Right now it was virtually impossible to tell who was who since the protective suit covered the whole body and the helmet obscured the face, with the visor shining a light blue color.

Click! Click!

With clicking sounds, the solid metal helmets folded themselves into the suits and now their faces were fully visible to the others. They were quite wet from their own sweat, clearly implying how hot it has been for them inside, in both accounts.

“Ah! Captain Mayer!”

Billy, the slightly shorter and brighter-skinned of the two, noticed Elana and gave a quick salute. Isaac also quickly followed. Elana made a nod to that and asked a question.

“I’m glad that you made it back. How’s the situation?”

Billy and Isaac looked at each other with their feelings of worry clearly visible to everyone else. The latter then looked at Elana straight in the eyes and began speaking.

“In its current state, the main engine needs a necromancer, not technicians like us. The good news is, we have successfully salvaged the reserve engine. But the bad news is... its fuel regulator is shot and there’s no salvaging that. If we start the reserve engine it will only last three minutes at best and then it will go down, taking the reactor with it as well.”

“So that means we have to restart the engine shortly before impact. Not ideal but that will surely increase our chances. Great job, you two.”

Elana smiled while putting her hands at Isaac’s and Billy’s shoulder, while the others around them were subtly applauding. But the two’s facial expression didn’t change for the better at all, seemingly going for the worse instead. Elana noticed, and her face turned back to being dead serious once more.

“There’s more bad news, isn’t it?”

Billy replied to Elana’s question. “The components linking the engine to the bridge control are toast, Captain. I’m so sorry about this...”

It didn’t take any more than two seconds for Elana to understand the grim implication. If the engine couldn’t be started remotely from the bridge, that meant someone had to stay within the engine room to start the engine manually. With the imposed time limit, there was no chance the person doing it would make it to safety before impact.

In short, the one restarting the engine would most likely die.

“None of you could repair that part?”

“It’s broken beyond repair, Captain. I’m sorry...” Isaac said with his head down.

Nobody said a word for the next few seconds, but then Isaac spoke again, breaking the silence.

“I’ll do it, Captain.”

“What? No! I can’t allow that!”

“It has to be done, Captain. Someone has to do it. Let me be the one doing it.” Isaac said with his right hand on his chest.

“Are you aware that you are heading to certain death?”

“Yes, Captain. And that is exactly why I’m the right person to do this.”

Complete determination was written all over Isaac’s face. Elana didn’t want to admit it, but Isaac was right in a purely logical sense. Unlike Billy who had a wife and a son, Isaac didn’t even have a girlfriend yet. Moreover, both of his parents were already gone and he had no other known relatives, therefore there was nobody waiting for him at home.

“Is there really no other way?” Elana asked the question, despite knowing the answer already.

“If there was, Billy and I would have done that already, Captain.”

Elana lowered her head with a lot of things going on inside her mind. She was essentially trapped between a rock and a hard place, and she had to make a choice between allowing Isaac to sacrifice himself so everyone else would have a chance to survive, or not allowing him, and therefore taking her chances without the engine.

“Isaac, if I allowed you, wouldn’t that be the same as killing you with my own hands? Do you believe I would ever be able to bear with that?”

“It has never come to my mind that this wouldn’t be an easy decision, Captain. Neither is a sure shot to be the right one, and I’m fully aware of that. But I believe this is the right thing to do.”

“Tch...!”

Elana clicked her tongue and gritted her teeth. She had been through a number of bad situations in the past, but none of them had been hazardous enough to cause total annihilation like now. Her brain once again went into overdrive thinking about the possible outcomes of her decision, but in the end she couldn’t find any better options.

Therefore, without saying any words, Elana stood upright in full ‘at attention’ stance and gave a firm salute with her eyes straight at Isaac’s. Within less than a second, all other people in the vicinity besides Isaac himself did the same. Isaac was briefly startled, but he soon smiled and responded with the same saluting stance.

“I’ll see you again at the other side, Captain.”

“Yes, I’ll be seeing you...”

Elana let go of her saluting stance, turned around, and walked away from the place. Her pace was faster and her footsteps felt louder than normal. A single drop of tears ran down her cheeks as she kept gritting her teeth. That day, she had made the hardest decision ever in her life. The decision to send one of her men to a certain death so others may live.

Later, Elana was sitting on her seat in the bridge, buckling up as tightly as she could. All possible preparations had been made, and the spaceship would soon enter the atmosphere of the planet, which visually was already occupying the entire windshield. It was also apparent to everyone that they would crash land on the part of the planet which was currently at night time.

“Approaching the atmosphere. Diverting reactor energy to thermal shields in 3... 2... 1...”

Pssshh...

Most of the instruments in the bridge went dark. It was within expectations since the ship’s reactor had been damaged and was now unable to fully support the ship. Therefore now the pilot had to navigate almost purely on visuals behind the windshield.

Soon, all visuals behind the windshield were tinted with the colors of fire, which was a clear sign that the ship was entering the atmosphere. The engine was still not started yet so the ship was essentially in free fall.

“Isaac, you ready?”

Rocky Boreas, the crew sitting near the pilot, spoke through the ship’s internal communication line, and an answer was heard immediately.

“Standing by.”

“...It’s almost time. But before that, I... I want to say thank you for everything.”

“Hey, if I don’t do this I’ll end up the same anyway. No need to make a big deal out of this.”

“It is a big deal, Isaac! You have no idea how much everyone owes you their gratitude!”

“Heh, I guess you’re right. In any case... Godspeed, everyone.”

Elana didn’t say a word hearing the conversation between Isaac and Rocky. She was already overwhelmed by the sacrifice she had decided to make, and hearing what essentially was the person’s last words felt too heavy for her.

“It’s time! Start the engine!”

The pilot shouted, and Rocky immediately followed up.

“You heard that, Isaac!”

Less than five seconds after that, the sound of the reserve engine roaring to life could be heard through the intercom. At this point, Elana could only hope for the best for Isaac.

“Engaging the thrusters.”

The pilot spoke, and everyone immediately could feel the force pushing them down to their seats. The maneuvering thrusters beneath the ship were pushing the ship in an effort to adjust the angle of impact.

After a couple of minutes which felt like forever, the pilot spoke along with the force fading away.

“Engine and reactor are offline. Brace for impact!”

Elana immediately braced herself, covering her head with her arms. At this point, she was already in acceptance that she might not make it, even though she had done everything she could.

CRASH! SLAM! Drrdddd!

The sound of impact and crashes saturated Elana’s hearing, and coupled with the massive shocks all over, she became entirely disoriented and unable to tell whether she felt any pain or not.

Elana didn’t know for how long she had been knocked out, or if she had been merely disoriented without actually losing consciousness. One thing she knew was the fact that a devastated bridge was the first thing coming into her sight the moment she regained her awareness. It was too dark to notice anything beyond that.

“Anybody can hear me? Are you there?”

Elana called out to whoever could hear her as she took her seat belts off and stood up. It was a miracle that she seemed to have survived without notable injuries. She felt some concussion pain somewhere on her head, but all other parts of her body were undamaged. At least she felt so.

Elana raised her right arm a little to take a look at her standard-issue wristwatch. The wristwatch was not merely a device to tell time. It also had a number of features useful for many kinds of situations.

“Activate torch.”

The wristwatch let out a minor beeping sound before sending out a wisp of light which immediately floated above Elana’s head before glowing brighter, illuminating the bridge.

“Confirm self status.”

Elana spoke a different command at the wristwatch, and she immediately heard a robotic voice in her head.

“Minor blood vessel damage on the head detected. Threat level: zero. No other bodily injuries detected.”

Elana slightly nodded hearing the voice of the nanomachines within her body, and then she issued another command.

“Confirm the status of other personnel within the bridge.”

“Nanomachine link successfully established. There are four other nanomachine users within the bridge: Rocky Boreas, Annie Grant, Artemios Vassilis, and Michael Lee. Injuries detected on all four. None are crippling or life-threatening.”

Elana felt relieved hearing the nanom’s answer. She immediately went to Michael Lee’s station which was the closest to her position. The impact of the crash had decoupled his seat from the floor, and so he was down on the ground along with the seat he was still buckled up to.

“Uuhh...”

Elana could hear Michael’s grunting, which was a sign that he was regaining consciousness. The side of his head was stained by his own blood, but there was no more bleeding.

“Michael. Can you hear me?”

“H-Huh? Oh, yes, Captain. Is this the afterlife?”

Michael seemed to be still a little groggy, and Elana didn’t blame him for that. With a straight tone of speech, she spoke to him as she helped him take his seat belts off.

“We survived, Michael. Everyone in the bridge survived. I need you to help the others here while I go check on everyone else. Can you stand up?”

Michael didn’t immediately give an answer. It seemed that he still needed a little time to process everything, but he didn’t take long to reply.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

Elana then immediately left the bridge and dashed through the hallway of the ship. Everything was eerily dark and quiet with only the light wisp floating above her head as the source of illumination. However, soon she noticed lights coming out from the door of the seating room, clearly implying that there were survivors there using their own torch feature. She also heard voices from there, which sounded like a commotion.

“Is everyone alright? What’s the situation here?”

Those were the first words Elana immediately said as she rushed into the seating room. The scene she immediately saw within the room was, to put in one word, horrible. One of the combat group members, Theo Corinth, was the one who responded to Elana’s question.

“A number of seats came off during the crash and fell on others, Captain! It’s not a pretty sight!”

“What!? How many-!?”

Elana’s words were strained. She had the expectation that the fortified seating room may not be able to withstand the crash, but it had never crossed her mind that the seats themselves would become the deadly hazard within the room.

“At least ten of us didn’t make it, Captain. I’m sorry.”

Bam!

“Goddammit!”

Elana hit the nearby wall with her fist. Her teeth were gritted so hard to the point her nanomachines gave her a warning notification of possible self injury. A lot of people have died, and it was all her fault for having them gather in this place to begin with.

“Captain! It wasn’t your fault! Please be at ease!”

“No! It was my fault! I should have thought of another way!”

Before the arguing could continue further, another combat group member, Albert Charlemagne, called out to Elana.

“Mo- Ma’am! Victor’s calling for you!”

Within less than a second, Elana managed to put her guilt and frustration aside and dashed to the spot where Albert was. The moment she got there, what she immediately saw was the horrible sight of Victor Clarke, one of the Mountain Squad members, with one of his legs completely crushed to bloody paste. His suit was stained red all over, and it was clearly written on his face that he was barely conscious. A medic was frantically trying to stop the bleeding.

“Victor!”

“...Captain.”

Elana, without hesitation, held Victor’s bloodstained hands with her own.

“Yes, Victor. I’m here. What do you need?”

Elana looked at Victor straight in the eyes, and he did the same. The latter visibly smiled before speaking in a weak voice.

“...You live, Captain... I’m glad...”

“Yes, yes. I live. So what do you need, Victor?”

“...I just... wanted to know that you live... thank goodness...”

Victor smiled, and then his eyes closed and his head went limp to the side. To Elana, this sight was the absolute last thing she wanted to see, and by reflex she shook Victor’s body frantically.

“No, Victor! Stay with me! Look at me! Don’t die on me!!”

Elana took a glance at the medic who was attending to Victor. Their eyes met, and one second later the medic lowered his head and shook it with his eyes closed in sorrow.

“Victor Clarke is gone, Captain Mayer. My condolences.”

Elana gritted her teeth hearing the words of her own nanomachines. No words would come out from her mouth as tears ran down her face.

After a brief moment of silence, Elana let go of Victor, stood up, and turned to Theo before speaking in a still-strained voice.

“Come with me, Theo.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Elana looked back at the others who were still tending to the injured ones, and then she spoke out.

“As for the others, do what you have to do and then fetch the ones in the bridge if they haven’t joined you already by then.”

“Yes, mo- ma’am!”

Albert was the one responding before Elana and Theo left the seating room. The two then walked through the dark hallway of the ship straight towards the engine room. Because there was no power from the reactor, the double door had to be opened manually.

“Give me a hand.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Elana and Theo opened the first door, and then the second door. Behind the latter, what Elana saw was the sight of a gaping hole at the side of the room, along with the main engine which had been very visibly damaged. The reserve engine at the different side of the room was totally quiet, having drained all the powers the ship’s reactor could provide.

The hole, which was more than large enough for a human to pass through, led directly outside the ship. Elana took a peek through the hole and immediately saw the view of a starry night sky with trees lining up below. It was not difficult to come to an assumption that the ship had crash-landed in the middle of a forest.

Elana raised her hand to put her wristwatch closer to her mouth, and then she spoke.

“...Confirm the status of... Isaac Bravomac.”

There was no immediate response. At this point Elana was already expecting the worst.

“Isaac Bravomac is not found.”

Elana sighed hearing the answer. Being not found meant that the person was outside the search range of the nanomachine link, which normally had the radius of one kilometer. The only conclusion which could be drawn from this was that Isaac had been thrown out from the ship through the hole sometime during the landing. Elana wanted to cling to the hope that he had survived somehow, but even with the protective suit there was virtually no chance of him surviving a fall from great height.

“He will be remembered, Captain.”

Theo spoke to Elana, trying to console her. Elana genuinely appreciated his attempt, but her response was just a slight nod and some words.

“Yes. He will be remembered...”

Half an hour later, an illuminated campsite had been set up not too far from the crashed ship. The bodies of the fallen were lined up inside one of the tents, while a different, larger tent was used as a temporary storeroom for parts which could be salvaged from the ship. There were also other tents for the people to sleep, but right now all of them were empty.

The survivors were now lined up in an open space within the campsite, all standing in ‘at ease’ stance. Before them, Elana was standing in the same stance without saying a word for a minute. She then finally broke the silence by speaking towards all the others.

“Fifty people have embarked on this exploration mission, full of hope to uncover the mysteries of our universe. Finding a habitable planet like this one we’re now standing on is a once-in-a-decade achievement, and it should have been something we celebrate. However, tragedy has befallen us all...”

Elana went silent for a couple seconds with her head lowered, and then she raised it again and resumed her speech.

“Ten of us have escaped from the unforeseen disaster. I lead the remaining forty to brace ourselves, clinging to the hope that maybe we could make it out alive. By a miracle, we did... but not all of us...”

Another period of deafening silence commenced. It only lasted for ten seconds, but for Elana and probably everyone else, it felt like a very long time.

“Fifteen of us didn’t make it, and it was all my fault for not foreseeing that the fixation of the secured seats were not sturdy enough. I take the full responsibility for it.”

Some faint whispers could be heard from the lined up people, probably not agreeing to Elana’s statement of shouldering the responsibility. Regardless of that, Elana continued her speech.

“Now, the remaining twenty five are here standing in the wilderness of this unknown planet. There is still no telling how dangerous the wildlife is or whether there is intelligent life. Nevertheless, we must stay vigilant while we plan our next course of action. And lastly...”

Elana stopped speaking as her eyes glanced to the tent where the bodies of the fallen were put down.

“I promise to the fallen ones, that I will make the most of the life I have been granted to keep. I’ll see to it that this mission shall be accomplished and I will return home to give them the appreciation they deserve.”

Elana looked straight at the crowd before her and asked a question.

“Are you with me?”

“Yes, Captain Mayer!”

The crowd answered in unison, and Elana smiled warmly seeing that. She looked once again at the starry sky, thinking about how long she and her men would be staying on this unknown planet.

The night ended pretty quickly, and the brightness of the planetary system’s star illuminated the land. The day was mostly spent salvaging parts from Martin Alphen in order to keep them from decaying by exposure to the elements. Due to the size of the ship and the lack of personnel, it would take at least five days to complete the task. Five days in accordance with humanity's standards. There was no telling yet whether this planet had the same 24-hour day cycle like humanity.

Elana was currently on short break, so she walked around the campsite observing the activities of her men. What she soon noticed was Billy sitting on a rock fiddling with his tablet device. Being curious, Elana approached him.

“What are you doing there, Billy?”

“Oh, Captain. I heard something from Art and I just had an idea, so I’m trying it out.”

“Hmm? Care to explain?”

“The ship was able to launch a probe drone before the explosion happened, right? That means it should be still roaming around the planet high in the sky as we speak. I’m trying to link this device to the drone, and if it succeeds we will practically have an eye in the sky.”

Elana smiled, being impressed at Billy’s idea. “I sure hope it will work out. But regardless, excellent work.”

“Heh, don’t praise me until it actually works out.”

Beep!

The tablet device let out a single beeping sound, which drew Billy’s attention.

“Oh, speak of the devil!”

Billy’s fingers danced around the tablet device as Elana watched in anticipation. Having a basically omnipresent scout would immensely help in gathering information and various other applications which would heighten their chances.

“And done!”

Right after Bily tapped his finger on his device, a holographic interface was projected, showing various parameters and a generated map. The parameters were not Elana’s field of expertise so her eyes were focused on the map. There was a blinking node on one part of the map which indicated the current position. Judging from the green area around the node, it was clear that the ship had landed in the middle of a great forest.

“Billy, aren’t those...?”

Elana pointed her finger at a different spot of the map. There were other spots with similar visual and varying size, and Elana was pointing to merely one of them.

Billy, with wide eyes and smile, replied. “Yeah, Captain. That’s a settlement, and there’s one large enough to be a city over there. This planet has intelligent life dwelling on it, probably humanity like us.”

“Forget about once-in-a-decade. This discovery is once-in-a-century. If only Isaac was here with you.”

“I can imagine him jumping around in joy.”

It just so happened that Elana had two cans of mild alcohol beverage in her possession, so she gave one to Billy and opened the other.

“Here’s to Isaac.”

“May he watch over us all.”

Clink!

Elana and Billy did a toast with their canned beverage and drank them whole. She knew that both Billy and herself were resistant from being drunk so there would be no ill-effect from drinking just one can in one go.

“I’m going to link this device to your nanom, Captain. Keep this device close enough to you, and you’ll be able to access everything the drone can provide.”

“That would be helpful. Please do.”

Just three minutes later, Elana gained a whole host of features the probe drone provided through her nanomachines. She could access the same holographic interface without having to hold the tablet device, but only she could see it since it was projected directly into her brain in this case.

And thus the day continued. Because there was no available preservation method, a graveyard was dug nearby for the fallen. Right before sunset, a funeral ceremony was held with nothing but silent prayers.

The next morning came, and from this Elana learned that this planet’s day cycle was also 24 hours like humanity. Not exactly the same down to the seconds, but it was convenient regardless because adapting wouldn’t be too difficult.

Elana was sitting inside the storehouse tent checking the list of salvaged parts when suddenly...

Bang! Bang! Brrrt!

A sound of gunfire was heard from a distance, which jolted Elana into dashing out of the tent.

“What’s happening out there!?”

“Theo and the others of Recon Squad went out to scout the forest ten minutes ago! They must have encountered hostiles!”

The immediate answer she heard made Elana grit her teeth. She had accounted for hostile natives, either wildlife or intelligent, but she didn’t really expect to encounter one so soon. Now that it has happened for real, she had to act quickly.

“Non-combatants, take shelter! Blitz Squad and Phantom Squad, come with me to assist! The rest of you, stay here and guard the campsite!”

Elana immediately dashed into the forest with the two aforementioned squads following behind her. As she ran, she grabbed the compact box object which had been hanging on her waist. Within seconds, the box unfolded into an assault laser rifle which was her personal weapon. She also glanced at the map interface she just activated to confirm Theo’s position.

We’re coming for you! Hang in there!

However, before long there was suddenly a flash of blinding light ahead. By reflex, Elana and the squads immediately turned their back and took cover behind the nearest trees, minimizing the stun effect they received.

“Was that a stun grenade? But I don’t think those three are equipped with any!”

Elana heard one of the squad members speaking, and she immediately understood the grim implication of the hostiles having enough technology to equip their combatants with stun grenades. She had to hurry before it became too late.

“Everybody recovered? Let’s hurry up!”

Elana spoke and immediately resumed running towards Theo’s location. But as if there was not enough surprise yet...

Crackle! Crackle! Zapp!

A lightning strike occurred ahead, surprising everyone including Elana herself and stopping them in their tracks.

“Was that a lightning strike? But there’s no rain cloud in the sky!”

Another squad member shouted, and Elana couldn’t help thinking about the possibility that the natives of this planet were able to control some kind of power which science could never explain. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence. Either way, Elana raised one hand and spoke.

“Spread our formation and advance in caution. Don’t fire until I say so.”

As instructed the squad members spread their formation and resumed running towards their destination in slightly slower pace than before, being in full alert.

Soon, the objective was in sight. Elana saw Theo and the other two, and also other people she didn’t know. What she saw was a direct confirmation that this planet had humanity dwelling on it. However, being in full alert she didn’t want to get friendly right out of the bat, and therefore she asked in a loud and clear voice.

“Who are you people and what are you doing!?”

The unknown people noticed her and her squads, but immediately Theo raised his hands and shouted back.

“Wait! They are allies!”

Elana felt relieved hearing Theo’s words. She gestured the squads to put down their weapons, and then she asked Theo a question after he approached her.

“So, what happened?”

“We were attacked by two hostile creatures, and those people helped us.”

As Theo spoke, he glanced to two different spots. Indeed, there were two carcasses of reptile-like creatures, the size of which were large enough to eat a person whole. One was covered in blood and had its tail cut off, while the other was totally charred black.

“Did that one get struck by the recent lightning strike?”

“Yes, Captain. Those people didn’t seem to be surprised, so I want to say that one of them probably has the power to conjure lightning, like magic in fantasy stories.”

“I see. I hope they will remain our allies for long. In any case, I will take it from here. Good work surviving there.”

Elana gave Theo a pat on the shoulder as she began walking towards the unknown people. Theo spoke behind her as she walked.

“Thank you, Captain. By the way, their language is different.”

“Got it.”

Elana then approached the man who was very tall and muscular, bowed a little as a sign of apology, and then gestured her hands at herself.

“Elana Mayer.”

“Elana Mayer. Keith Biggwarde.”

The man gestured his hands at Elana and then at himself as he spoke. Then, the rest of the unknown people did the same form of introduction. From there Elana got to know the names of the others; Sedhoust Grasmord, Kurt Warden, Leon Swift, and Anna Huntsman.

I want to thank them more properly, but with the language barrier... I should invite them to the campsite first. Showing the ruins of Martin Alphen might startle them, but with the current situation at hand and the fact that I’ve made contact with the natives I can’t be picky with my method.

With a few hand gestures which Elana hoped to get her message across, Elana invited the natives to the campsite. They thankfully seemed to understand, and so the squads walked back home with the group of natives walking alongside them.

It might take more than one day for the nanomachines to analyze their language. I hope they will stay with us long enough, since after all, poor communication kills.

The fact was now confirmed to Elana that this planet had humanity dwelling on it, along with hostile creatures roaming in the wilderness. Moreover, this planet’s humanity had access to powers science couldn’t explain. It was fortunate that the first natives she had come into contact with seemed to be friendly so far, but there was no guarantee that her luck would last. She had to prepare for anything, so everyone would survive until help came someday, if ever.