"You must be a fool to want to imitate one of them."

She turned around fully to face Gus. Her eyes, icy blue, a shade fitting for her nickname, shot through him with such disdain, it made him feel uneasy.

"Do you understand the weight of the responsibility they have undertaken? Can you appreciate the amount they chose to sacrifice for the good of humanity? Can you see how disresp-"

"They didn't choose."

"You dare interrupt me?"

"I dare," Gus said, taking a step forward. Upon seeing the woman, his fears that had sprung forth as a result of the rumours he heard were destroyed.

Granted, she was huge. As tall as a mountain, shoulders as wide as a valley. Her Thighs, Calves, Biceps, and Triceps bulged against her Black admiral's uniform, threatening to tear it to pieces much like she had torn apart countless enemies.

And, granted, her eyes were full of malice and were directed at him. A malice usually reserved only for the most despicable of the Bloody Dawn. A malice that only grew in intensity with every passing second.

And, granted, she wore a ridiculously large gauntlet over her right hand, a gauntlet which sported three giant claws. A gauntlet which she flexed, intentionally displaying her eagerness to use it.

But, Gus believed he could persuade her.

Perhaps it was a flicker of interest in her eyes, a flicker that made it seem like she was willing to listen.

Perhaps he was falsely lulled into a sense of security by her dark skin, unnaturally smooth to look at and extremely foreign on the body of someone with such a fearsome reputation.

Perhaps it was the small medallion yellow Sky Lizard that rested on her shoulder, comfortably sleeping as though it was the most comfortable thing that had ever been created.

Whatever the reason, Gus stepped forward with conviction.

"The evolved didn't choose, they were forced. We were forced."

"And how would you know this?" she asked, also stepping forward to match him.

"Because I was there. And I also know that the mortality rate of the project was ninety-five percent. Because I know that it's a good thing for us as a species that the bastard who led the project died."

"How dare you insult that man. His invention saved our species!"

"How dare I? My father was a terrible man, only concerned with creating something that would solidify his name in history. He didn't care about humanity. Calling him a hero is an insult to actual heroic people."

"Your... father?" she asked, before bursting into laughter. "Everyone knows that he had no child. Come up with a better lie next time."

"Oh, when I failed to awaken any power from the experiments, he certainly saw it that way as well. Once I failed, he saw me as nothing to him but a reminder of his failure. But he did care for me after my mother died, and he did take me around the world with him.

As much as I hate it, he is my father."

"Let's say you're being truthful," she said seriously, the laughter of a moment before now relegated to a distant memory. "Then, we'll be able to test it with a simple task. What's your Evolved ability?"

"How can I prove my ability?" he said in a tone that suggested he was leading into something. In truth, he was asking for help from the system.

*Suggestion: Summon an item from the store.*

"That's it! The store!"

The store popped into view.

*Weapons.*

*Apparel.*

*Items.*

*Boxes.*

Layered over the standard menu in the background, a message flashed before his eyes.

*Welcome to the Store! Enjoy [1] free Rare Box!*

*Do you accept?*

"Yes."

A small box popped into the palm of his hand, taking everyone who was watching by surprise.

Opening the box, Gus found a small tag inside.

'What's this?' he thought as he took out the tag.

On the one side, the tag was empty. Flipping it over, Gus found some words scrawled onto the tag.

"Huh? Standard?"

*You have unboxed a token for Standard (Common)*

*Would you like to redeem the token?*

"Yes. Redeem."

The tag he held burned away to ash. Suddenly, a golden pole appeared in his hands, replacing the tag that had just burned. Atop the pole sat a black flag with an image of Terra planted in the middle of it.

*Standard (Common)*

*Effects: Boosts stats of followers by [5]*

*Note: Standard must be assigned to a follower for the bonus to come into effect.*

"A plus five for my followers? That's insanely good. And it's only a common?"

"So, your Evolution is what? Summoning things from nowhere?" the Admiral asked him.

"Not quite. I earn points by doing things, points that can be spent levelling up stats, unlocking skills, and purchasing items. Items like this standard, which enhances those who I declare as my followers."

"That's not like any ability I've heard of. And I've heard of a few. I also know that they are dependent on blood type, and no other ability like that exists. So what are you?" she asked him, with a tone of suspicion. "Why is your ability so unique?"

"I... I couldn't answer that, even if I wanted to."

"Okay," she replied. After a long pause, she began talking once more. "I won't kill you for your insolence, not yet. But do not think yourself free of my scrutiny."

'Now what can I do with this?' Gus thought, looking at the standard.

*Would you like to store the item?*

"I can store stuff? Sure," he said aloud, drawing odd looks from the crew.

Suddenly, the standard vanished from view.

*Item has been successfully stored.*

"I expect you to make yourself useful to our mission in this system," she continued, after yet another pause after Gus's statement. "These planets are packed with resources crucial to the war effort. We must secure both the resources and the supply routes, otherwise the Sol system will not survive another assault like that."

"Of course I will," Gus responded respectfully. "Of course we will. It's not as though I became a soldier not to fight."

A small smile spread across the Admiral's face. "I believe that each and every person has a reason for all actions that they do, and that those reasons determine the measure of their character. So, with that said, why do you fight? What drove you to become a soldier in the first place? You, who was a failure amongst successes. Why not just run away from it?"

"I may have hated the man, but he was right about something," Gus began. "Those on the frontier, who bore the brunt of the war, they had no say in the matter. Countless trillions, if not more, died without being given the choice to live.

If I can do something to relieve the suffering of those who would next stand in their position, then I have to choose to do it. No, there is no choice, I simply must. If I can protect them, then I should, no matter the cost to me."

"Okay. I expect you to be very useful," the Admiral said with a smile. "We are to take position above Emerid's capital world, Eucenae, and hold to protect our interests in this system. Our fleet will form a perimeter through the system, hunting down bases that exist here, established by the xenos to prepare for an attack, and giving us a wider field of vision over the entire system."

As she explained the mission, a squad of small, circular scout vessels raced ahead of the Starscourge, heading to take position at the farthest planets of the system.

A large, glass dome sat on top of the circular body, giving the flight crew inside a wide field of vision into space to accompany the information they received from their scanners. The main body, which was about 50 Kilometres in diameter, was fully kitted out with light weaponry, designed to offer a small amount of protection to the ship while not hindering its speed capabilities.

Despite its size, it still looked tiny and insignificant as it flew over the body of the orca, like a seagull flying over a transport ship.

"We have three squads of the bolt scout vessels in our fleet, along with five battleships, seven destroyers, and three cruisers," the Admiral explained to Gus.

"Seven destroyers on a defensive mission?" Gus asked. "That seems a little odd."

Throughout time, the classification of ships had changed. Now, destroyers were ships that sacrificed speed and armour in favour of more firepower. Cruisers were ships that specialised in speed, and were designed to be the first response to any contact from the scout vessels. Battleships were the tanks of the fleet, designed to take the brunt of the fire of the enemy while buying time through thick armour, heavy shielding and smart movement and positioning for the destroyers to cripple the enemy's vessels.

"Maybe," the Admiral replied. "But if you know anything about me, then you know my strategy usually focuses on the complete annihilation of the enemy."

As though timed to completely prove her point, Destroyers advanced past the Orca and unleashed their payload over a cluster of asteroids that had just been passed by a squad of the Bolts.

"These things are monsters, and so we need monsters of our own to defeat them. I am willing to fulfil that role to save these worlds, the resources they hold, and the humans whose lives exist solely on the surrounding rocks. I am willing, and I can only hope that you are too."

She spoke again, this time directing her words towards Frank and Krista.

"Show him to the rooms we have provided for you. I shall call upon you all in the event that we need you."

Following her commands, they led Gus downstairs to the guest rooms just below the command deck.

"Well, that wasn't so bad..." Frank began.

"At least she did not kill you immediately..." Krista added.

"Yeah, it could have been a lot worse," Gus replied absently. "Hey, just a quick question. Why are the two of you here? Why did you join?" Gus asked, still hearing the words the Admiral asked him echoing through his head.

"Family," Frank said. "I want to see my children become adults, in a place free from this chaos."

Krista nodded in agreement. "I am the second oldest of five children, oldest if you only count living, and I want to give my siblings the chance to live free. But I want to do it right. I do not want to be... to be... to be evil."

"Well, I'll do my best to keep you from that," Gus said with a soft smile, as the three of them reached the rooms.

"Everyone's already kinda taken one, so you've got the one right at the end," Frank informed Gus.

Gus thanked him and went to his room. Once inside he immediately collapsed onto the bed and instantly fell asleep, despite him having rested for a day in the infirmary, the fatigue of the days before still weighing on his body.