I stared at the dragon of dark black scales, their purple eyes glancing around the dropship uneasily.
So, this is what a dragon looks like... it's... smaller than I imagined.
I continued to watch the dragon pace around the dropship.
Are they worried about that human? Why would a dragon care about a human?
I glanced at the injured human before looking back again at the dragon; they were still worriedly pacing.
I was expecting a dragon to be fierce, powerful, terrifying, and strong. But this dragon is around my height, and let alone, they don't even look fierce.
They aren't scary at all.
"Irelle," I whispered to my friend next to me as we watched the dragon pace around the dropship and the researchers tend to the ill human with odd ice growths on his arm.
"Yeah?" he asked, still transfixed on the dragon.
"What do you think of the dragon?" I asked him, also keeping an eye on the dragon.
One, to make sure the dragon didn't hurt anyone. And two, because it was my first time seeing a dragon this close before.
"They're... not what I was expecting," Irelle admitted.
"Say, what about you, Wyrm?" I asked the soldier sitting to the right of me.
He turned to look at me, staring silently, deadly.
"What's up with him?" I asked Irelle in a whisper as he turned away to keep watch of the dragon.
"Ah, he's just a bit shy is all!" Irelle joked, poking me.
"Hey, stop that!" I berated him, defending the vulnerable places of my armor with my hands, "That hurts ya know!"
He burst out a fit of laughter before calming down.
"You are sooo easy to annoy," he smirked.
"Yeah, whatever," I told him, riled at his provocation.
Suddenly over the intercom, "ETA 5 minutes before reaching base."
The dragon looked around alarmed at the sudden sound, searching for the source.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Irelle and Wyrm watching them, silent.
She looked irked and uncomfortable, especially more so after the announcement.
"It's just an announcement from the intercom system," I called out to her with my AI translating it to her language, causing her to look towards me.
"The intercom?" she asked, confused while approaching me.
"Hey man, why did you talk to her? She's coming to us!" Irelle asked hastily.
"You scared?" I mocked him, standing up to face the dragon, causing Wyrm and Irelle to do the same.
She looked taken aback by our action but took another step towards us.
"What do you mean by intercom?" she asked once again, tentatively.
"It's a system that allows you to announce things to others from a distance," I tried to explain to her to the best of my ability, since the planet's file stated that their technology level is around the medieval ages.
"Okay," she responded, glancing over her shoulder towards where the injured human was.
"What exactly will happen to Leaf?" she asked worriedly.
"Leaf?" I asked, confused about who that was.
"Oh, I didn't tell you our names yet," she apologized before introducing, "My companion, that human over there on the floor is Leaf," she gestured towards the ill human before introducing herself, "And I'm Serenity."
"Nice to meet you Serenity, I'm Zen," I introduced before answering her question, "Our researchers are doing their best to patch up Leaf, but they aren't trained in healing others and so we're heading back to base to have our medics patch him up with better equipment and material."
"Will they be able to fully cure him of the ice thing?" she asked me intently.
"I'm not sure," I admitted which cast a doubtful look in her eyes before I hurriedly reassured her, "I'm no expert but I'm sure our tech and people can fix him at the base."
"Oh... um, can you describe this 'base' we're going to?" she asked carefully.
I am still getting the sensation that this dragon is more fearful of me than I am of them; the heck?
"It's on an island in the middle of the ocean. We have a shelter where we sleep, and it is completely full of humans," I explained to her which cast a worriedness look across her face, before I quickly mentioned, "But! But they are all nice people, and they um, we have really nice people and if you don't hurt them, they won't hurt you!"
"If there are really that many humans, they won't hurt me?" she inquired, a glint of fear in her eyes alongside that curiosity.
"Yes, I promise that if they try to harm you or your companion, I'll fight for you," I comforted her, promising to help.
"Oh, okay, thank you," she thanked, looking towards Leaf and then back to me, asking, "So, you are human?"
"Oh, yes! We're humans alright. It's just that we were wearing this suit to keep ourselves safe from the outside world," I explained to her which caused more confusion for her.
"The outside world? Like the environment? Why would you need protection from the environment?" she asked.
Damn it, I need to stop talking about our tech since it's only going to confuse her.
"We don't feel safe being directly exposed to the environment," I tried explaining to her.
"Strange humans," she murmured.
She looked back once again at Leaf and decided that she wanted to check on the injured human and walked to him, but a soldier and two researchers ushered her away as carefully as possible to not antagonize her while they monitored and tested him.
She sat down a few meters from the group, worried but also displeased at being ushered away from her companion.
Damn it, I made a promise to the dragon. Well, it's not so bad since they think like a human does. I guess I felt like I was talking to another person.
But it really does feel that she's just scared of everything that's happened so far and is worried for Leaf.
How was it that I could read the emotions coming from her?
"Solaris," I asked my AI, to which he replied, "Yes, sir?"
"Is it just me or does the dragon look worried and annoyed?" I asked him.
"It does appear that the dragon is worried, sad, and annoyed. And perhaps a bit doubtful based on their movements. It is odd though that this dragon has facial muscles resembling that of a humans face leading to similar facial results in emotions," Solaris explained.
So, it's just not me.
"Irelle, you okay now?" I asked him, checking if he was still afraid of her after seeing him check his ICD.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." he grumbled, "I'm not scared of her or anything."
Would the same effect that befell him happen to some of the other members?
I glanced quickly at Wyrm, and he seemed unaffected by her.
"I'm surprised they knew the humans name though," Irelle admitted before explaining, "I thought the human and dragon weren't a group; that they just happened to encounter each other at the same time we had. But I guess I was wrong."
"Same," I told him, "I thought that the human and dragon would harbor some sort of resentment to each other, but that doesn't seem to be the case."
I turned my attention to the other figure that had boarded, sitting in a secluded corner with their dark coverings, a hood casting their face into shadows.
Who are they? And how come Captain Clove let them aboard after they said, "Designation 12K, exploratory mission: Stardew." What exactly is designation 12K, exploratory mission: Stardew?
I opened my ICD and searched the archives of the fleet that were accessible to everyone, and found a file named, "12K Stardew."
I opened the file but all I found was a paragraph talking about how an exploratory mission consisting of a starship vessel entering the first trial test of the wormhole we had entered but had never returned.
"Solaris," I called again, to which he replied, "Yes, sir?"
"What other info is there about 12K Stardew?" I asked him.
After a few moments of silence, I asked, "Solaris?"
"Apologies, sir. The files you are looking for are classified to personnel Level 4 and below," Solaris explained to me.
Strange. Information about it exists, but it is classified. Why though? What could be so important about an exploration mission?
It's not my place to question such things. But I am curious, nonetheless. Then again, the saying goes, "Curiosity killed the cat."
Suddenly, the figure turned to stare intently, like Wyrm had at me, but it had a certain feeling of awe and dread to it.
My body began to feel cold as if this person was calculating me, storing me in a database in their head.
How is the aura of this human causing this to me? I've never felt someone so intimidating, but also comforting in terms of safety to be around?
I felt a shiver down my spine and the figure suddenly stood up, casting a gaze at the dragon.
They walked to me, causing a panic to grow in me.
"Irelle, the strange person is getting closer!" I told him quickly, which he mocked, "Oh what? You scared of a cloaked person now?"
Then I saw him tense up and he mentioned, "Yup, that is one strange human."
I wanted to get up, but it felt like my legs were made of jelly, and so I sat there as they approached.
They stopped half a meter from us, staring at all three of us, Irelle, Wyrm, and I.
"You," he said suddenly, staring at me.
"Wha-?" I started in confusion before reaffirming, "Me?"
"Yes, you," they stated plainly before asking intimidatingly, "Who are you and what are you?"
"Um, I'm a soldier of my unit and I'm currently posted at this planet's base for research purposes?" I told him uncomfortably, trying to gesture for Irelle to help me out here.
"Hey, who do you think you are ordering answers from us like that?" Irelle asked in his best intimidation voice that failed horribly with his voice cracking in the end as the person's head whipped around to stare at him.
After a few moments, the figure took a step back and apologized, "Sorry, that was... eccentric of me. I was just curious."
"Could we perhaps know your name?" I asked him, unsure how this was going to play out.
After what felt like minutes of him calculatingly staring at us but really was just a few seconds, he explained, "I expect in this sharing of identifying information, you will give me yours," before introducing himself, "I am Talon."
I looked at Irelle and with confidence I introduced myself, "I am Zen," and Irelle did the same, "Irelle."
Then he cast a look at Wyrm, who kept quiet when I hastily interrupted, "This is Wyrm, he doesn't talk a lot."
"It is interesting to meet you all," he greeted before refocusing on me, "I want to know why you are different."
"Different, what do you mean different?" I asked, curious and confused at the same time as to what he was talking about.
He was silent for a few moments, letting the silence drag on before admitting, "Apologies for sounding condescending. It's just unusual to see another human talk so freely with a dragon."
"Care to explain?" I asked, still a bit lost.
"On this planet, humans live most of their lives in fear of dragons. But that barrier is slowly breaking down due to a specific series of events and now a new force threatens it," he explained before heading back to his seat, pulling something from behind his cloak.
The barrier breaking down? And a new force threatens it? Why are they being so cryptic about it? Ugh, just let the commander deal with his cryptic messages. I don't have the capacity nor the will to figure out what that means.
So, we have a abnormal human that acts strange, a dragon that is very human-like, and an injured person. This mission became really interesting really fast.
"Irelle," I called to him in a hushed voice, which he replied lightly, "Yeah?"
"What have we gotten ourselves into?" I asked him.
"I don't know," Irelle admitted, watching the human and dragon.
Then I felt the craft decelerate and through the windows on the opposite side of me, I watched as the ocean slowly filled its view and I could see a small sliver of the island.
Then the dropship jolted, its landing gear meeting the ground, signaling our arrival.
The ramp lowered, natural light spilling into the dropship.
Ten soldiers were outside, waiting for us.
They must be here to escort the dragon.
My animated interface continued to track everything around me, notifying me of the movements of the dragon.
Not only can I recognize that she looks tense and uneasy right now, but also my AI is showing the tenseness of her movements right now through the interface.
We are treating her as a threat since we don't know what she is capable of nor what she will do. But it feels like this dragon is like a child; intimidated by this show of force.
Why would a dragon even be afraid of humans? I've always thought that dragons weren't afraid of humans, but this dragon is different from that perception.
Did humans do something to her, or have we misinterpreted dragons?
The soldiers approached her cautiously and she in turn took a step back.
Suddenly, Captain Clove came from the cockpit telling the soldiers, "Stop where you are. Let me escort her to the commander."
The soldiers looked at each other confused before one of them compromised, "We have orders from the commander himself to escort this dragon. But if you're going to escort, we'll follow in a circle around ten meters away."
An annoyed expression fell upon her face before agreeing to this and talked to the dragon and cloaked human.
"You two will come with me," she told them before motioning for them to follow her.
Serenity followed her with Talon alongside her as Leaf was transported to a medical facility that was hastily set up after news of an injured person was communicated to the base.
We were dismissed and so Irelle and I headed to the cliffs to wait out the time as we waited for our new orders.
"Man, I wish we could know what they were talking about," Irelle admitted sullenly, staring out into the ocean.
"Come on, you know that we're just some new recruits, we don't have the identification or expertise to know such classified information," I reasoned with him.
"I know, I know," he grumbled before adding, "I'm just curious, ya know?"
"I am, but we have our place," I told him firmly.
We explored the island some more, checking out how the base's construction was going with the walls already being set up and the roof being built. The titanium and steel frames were being put up to support a roof as well as being strong enough to stop most shocks from natural and artificial means like earthquakes or explosions.
"It's been an hour and they're still discussing with the commander," Irelle mentioned while looking at Serenity, Talon, and the commander. Noticing others also watching the dragon with interest before being berated for not focusing on their task by their superiors even though the superiors themselves were casting curious glances at the dragon and newcomer.
"Irelle," I looked at him seriously, "We are grunts; we don't deal with negotiations between two sides. All we do is shoot and kill those who threaten the protection of our people."
"But what if-," he began when suddenly my ICD pinged.
I opened the notifications message feed and found a new order.
"I just received new orders, you?" Irelle asked me.
"Yup," I confirmed, before asking, "Meet with the commander as soon as possible?"
"Uh huh," he confirmed and looked at me, "I guess we're lucky."
"Luck to be damned is what I say," I told him, wondering about what was going to happen now when we reach the commander.
We headed to where the commander, Serenity, Captain Clove, and Talon were, with the same ten soldiers creating a ten-meter perimeter around us and keeping other personnel a safe distance away in case anything unexpected occurred.
"Yes, sir?" I asked as we arrived at the commander.
He finished talking to Captain Clove about something in a hushed voice before asking us, "Did you have any weird feelings today?"
Any weird feelings?
"If I may, sir," I asked for permission to continue to ask a question, and the commander motioned for me to continue.
"What exactly is this for since I have experienced a lot of new things today and it may be helpful to pinpoint what exactly I am to recall," I explained to him formally.
"Talon," the commander motioned for Talon to take the floor.
"I have a hypothesis that you may have a special power," he began, to which I replied loudly, baffled, "What?!"
"Keep listening, private," the commander told me gruffly.
Talon cleared his throat and began again, "This universe we are in is permeated by an energy, although I cannot conduct research on this energy anymore, I do hypothesize that when specific atoms from other universes interact with this energy of this universe, it may cause a transformation in the organism wielding it."
"A transformation?" Irelle asked, also curious now.
"In short, there is a chance that when you interact with this universe, you may receive a type of power," Talon finished.
"Irelle, this sounds fishy," I whispered to Irelle, distrustful of Talon.
"I mean, yeah, man, magical powers? But we are in a world full of dragons sooooo..." he tried to persuade me, the butt of his sentence ending in a fade.
He does have a point though. Having magical powers isn't entirely an impossibility, but me?
"I'm sorry, I don't believe that I have magical powers," I told them skeptically.
Talon whispered something to the commander, and he nodded his head in approval, although I couldn't hear what it was about.
"Sir, with all due respect, this is rather far-fetched and unreasonable," I explained, "And Talon even admitted there is a chance, a chance, that I may have obtained said power, but I have not felt anything of difference and there is the possibility it had not happened to me."
"That is possible," the commander admitted before dismissing, "Return to the portable shelter. You two will receive further orders in the morning."
Irelle and I headed to the shelter, thoughts of my most recent conversation racing through my mind.
Powers? Really? As if! Some mystical energy permeates the universe and can cause a reaction or something, oOoOo.
"You know-," Irelle began when I cut him off aggressively, "Know what?"
"What if you did have secret, magical powers?" he joked.
"Please, next you're gonna tell me is that I'm special or something," I told him sarcastically.
"Hey man, what if you are?" Irelle prodded.
"Don't even," I told him, unwilling to even consider it.
Laying in my bunk, I peered into the flat, metal bottom of the bunk above me where Irelle resided.
I awoke at dawn, before Irelle had even awakened.
I propped myself up, looking around the dimly lit room that had a lighting system that lightened and darkened on a twenty-four-hour cycle unless it is manually overridden.
I freshened up in the bathrooms, washing myself and cleaning my teeth, before checking my body for any diseases, injuries, infections, and such.
I came back to the bunk and located a clean uniform.
Opening my ICD, I accessed the notification messages feed, to find a new order had arrived.
It read, "Personnel from Unit LP261, Private Zen, Private Wyrm, and Private Irelle are to report to Captain Clove at 0800."
Short and simple, but there is a lot of mystery to it.
I am curious to what this is about? Serenity, dragons, the continent? Or something entirely different that would be really boring and mundane?
I checked the time to see it was 0740.
When Irelle returned to our bunks, I told him, "New orders; report to Captain Clove in twenty minutes."
"I bet it's something to do with the dragon," Irelle told me blatantly while donning his uniform.
"I don't know man. Our luck seems to be too good to be true," I told him before pointing out, "We got to go to the continent twice, and actually talk with a dragon!"
After we found Wyrm ready, and Irelle had finished, we headed out in our armored biohazard suits to report to Captain Clove.
"Solaris," I called from within my helmet.
"Yes, sir?" he replied.
"Mark a path on the interface to Captain Clove," I told him, and a path lit up on the ground ahead of me through the interface, leading to where Captain Clove was to be.
"Transfer the data of the path to Irelle and Wyrm's suits, Solaris," I told him.
With that, we headed on our way, with Irelle making some small talk on the way.
"Say, if you had superpowers, what kind would it be?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.
I looked at him firmly, "Irelle, what makes you think I would even have superpowers?"
"Oh, I don't know," he told me, fading at the end before adding loudly, "Like maybe that the Talon person said that you might powers!"
"Please, you know we aren't THAT lucky," I retorted.
"Well, either way, what superpowers would you want?" Irelle questioned again.
I decided to put some legitimate thought into it and concluded excitedly, "I think I would want some fiery and powerful! So that I can explore any deep, dark caves or fend off the strangest creatures of the dark!"
We reached the location Captain Clove was at and once we were all organized before her, she began, "I'm sure all of you do not know why you are here. And the reason you are here is because at the request of the commander, you have been selected to escort the dragon named, Serenity, for the duration of her residence here at the base during your waking hours, while at night, a different group will escort her while she sleeps."
"You first assignment is to escort her while our researchers conduct tests on her with the limited equipment we currently have at the base and relieve the current soldiers escorting Serenity," she told us before a soldier came jogging, reporting to her.
"Captain, we have confirmation of two groups of dragons entering the five-hundred-kilometer zone around the island, with reported sightings of ships from the satellites and aerial scouts," he reported to her.
She focused once again on us three, dismissing us and sending us on our way to Serenity, before talking with the soldier.
Solaris then lit up a path leading me to where Serenity was being tested.
"What do you think that was about?" I asked Irelle.
"The dragons in the area? Well, probably just some groups of dragons flying to somewhere from somewhere else," Irelle told me bluntly.
"You think it's that simple?" I asked him, doubting his conclusion.
"Well, you know what they say, the simpler solution is often the likeliest," he told me as we arrived to where Serenity and the researchers were.
I don't know Irelle... I just have a bad feeling about it, just like when we were at the cave's entrance.
"You know what?" Irelle began after a few seconds, gaining my attention before adding, "You worry too much."
Maybe... but I still don't feel comfortable about it all.
"I see the escort has arrived to relieve us of our posts," one of the other three soldiers in the group told us.
"Yes, we are here under Captain Clove's orders to relieve you of your posts as escorts," I told him and gave a curt nod before motioning for the other two to come with him.
Then Serenity looked at us, with a face I couldn't quite decipher.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Oh, that's right. All of the soldier's suits are nearly identical so she can't tell us apart.
"I'm Zen, one of the soldiers with you on the dropship," I told her, jogging her memory.
"Ah, you!" she exclaimed joyously, appearing more comfortable than previously.
"Miss Serenity, would you please focus on the test," one of the researchers in their purple biohazard suits told her in a female voice.
Serenity then looked at a piece of paper the researcher was holding, repeating the images on the paper, "Tree, flower, cloud, dragon, and a circle."
The researcher noted that and stowed away the paper, typing something into her ICD before scrolling through something on the external device next to her.
She then told us, "I'm not sure why they keep saying 'miss' before my name, it's strange."
"It's just a formality among some of us humans," I explained to her.
"So, what's with all these weird tests? I don't really understand what they're for," she admitted, looking at us for answers.
"We don't know much since it isn't our field of expertise, but I can guess that it's to learn more about your kind, your species," I explained to her once more to the best of my knowledge.
"You humans are by far the weirdest. I've never seen humans use any of this stuff. Weird sticks, odd clothes, strange things that fly, and then all these weird creatures that move but whenever I talk to them, they don't respond," she told us, explaining her view of it all.
"Let's just say we come from a different world that is not this one," I told her, trying to explain why we were different by where we came from in a way she may understand.
"So, do I get to see Leaf now in the medical thingy, er, facility?" she asked suddenly after a few moments of pause.
"Let me check," I told her, ordering Solaris, "Solaris, give me the schedule of Serenity for the day."
"Of course, sir," he told me at the same time on my interface a window opened for the schedule which showcased for the next thirty minutes would be for tests.
"Another thirty minutes, and then you are allowed to go see Leaf, the injured human," I told her, which she looked worried but accepted it.
Then the researcher told her to hold her left, front arm outstretched so that she could test the blood pressure and muscle strength.
"I kind of thought the tests would be more... ya know, unethical," I told Irelle, to which he responded with a question, "Don't you remember?"
I looked at him, "Remember what?"
"We have regulations on testing that can be conducted on intelligent life forms, from back at the academy," he explained to me.
"I don't recall anything like that," I told him, unsure if he was telling the truth or not.
"Argh, you're hopeless," he flailed his arms in exasperation, causing a couple of the researchers to cast stares at us as if we were a bunch of weirdos.
"Hey man, don't make such a big scene," I criticized him.
"Whatever. But, regarding the testing, we do have regulations on how we test intelligent life forms. Typically having to involve consent and cause minimal pain to the subject," he explained to me.
Did I really not pay attention to that kind of stuff at the academy?
I could've sworn I knew everything I needed, but I don't have the best of memory at times.
We continued to watch Serenity and the researchers test and once it was finished, we headed to the finished medical ward at the base, but equipment was still being hauled in, so it was rather barren.
We escorted Serenity inside and found two soldiers guarding his bed while two researchers analyzed his ice growth with devices.
Serenity then asked them, "Is he getting better?"
The researchers jumped in surprise at her voice, unaware of her arrival and after recollecting themselves, they told her, "Uh, yes, we are testing a few different solutions on the ice growths that are slowly reversing its affects, but we're trying to find a more effective solution to it."
"So that means he's getting better?" she asked, confusion in her eyes.
"Yes! He is getting better, slowly, and we're making sure everything goes accordingly," they reassured her.
Serenity then glanced around the medical ward, taking in its view before asking, "Is he awake?"
"Unfortunately, no, he hasn't awaken ever since he arrived here," they told her.
She looked crestfallen, staring at the ground before leading the way out.
We quickly followed her, keeping up with her pace so we could continue to carry out our duties of escorting her.
"Are you okay?" I asked, worried about her now.
"If you need help with something, we're here," Irelle mentioned.
She sat down, looking at the ground still, quiet for a few seconds.
"I... I just feel guilty and incompetent," she opened, talking about how she felt.
I looked at Irelle and then back at her, asking tentatively, "About what?"
"It's fine, what's the next thing I have to do while I'm here?" she asked, changing the subject.
If anything, keeping those thoughts and feelings pent up only leads to a deep, deep hole of depression and fear. I would know from those I've seen tread that path on Veru.
"Serenity, it would be best to talk about it now, since I know that by keeping those thoughts and feelings piled up will only to continually grow until you pop like a bubble, becoming an empty shell of what you once were before," I told her, wanting to help her.
She let out a sigh before beginning and sitting down, "If I hadn't left the rainforest, I wouldn't have drawn Leaf into this mess and maybe he could have stayed at his city and survived the attack from those white dragons. He could have been with his family, but no, I encouraged him to come with me to the NightWing Kingdom."
She then finished, "Which led to him getting injured, and him falling into this everlasting sleep."
After a moment of silence, she added quietly, "I wanted to get my parents back, and he wanted to get his family back from them, but I wasn't able to protect him."
I stood next to her, comforting, "There are some things that we cannot expect or control, and mistakes do happen. But it's the failures and mistakes that make us who we are, that allow us to learn and improve, to become better than we once were."
She looked at my curiously, as if analyzing me before concluding, "You sound a lot like... Leaf."
Suddenly, Solaris's voice came through, "Sir, the next scheduled testing is to begin in five minutes, please head to the site immediately."
"Ah, sorry, we don't have much time, the next test is in five minutes, so let's go," I told her.
She looked at me oddly before following us to where the next test was to begin.
Hours passed, and by now, it was approaching sundown and the sky was quickly darkening.
I yawned as we watched Serenity finish up a few tests.
"Jeez, who knew the commander would issue a high alert for the base over the sighting of a few dragons near the base," I told Irelle, tiredly.
"Hey, you know how a lot of the higher-ranking personnel above us are paranoid because of the whole Spatial's invasion of the galaxy," Irelle defended them, stretching his arms to keep awake.
"Yeah, well, we haven't seen a damn Spatial anywhere, so I think it's safe to say we're okay. Plus, these are dragons; they're notoriously known for not being advanced," I pointed out.
"But we used to think dragons weren't real, so these dragons could be entirely different," Irelle mentioned while twisting his body and doing a few more stretches.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I grumbled, the exhaustion growing on me.
"You know, you were really philosophical and inspirational with what you said to Serenity before," Irelle told me, nudging my arm.
"Eh, it just felt like the right thing to say at the time," I told him in response, stifling a yawn.
Then that same, cold, dreadful feeling befell me.
What the...
I gazed around the island, warily searching for the source of this odd feeling of dread.
Then I saw a tip of white material poke out of the water for a split second in the ocean, before it disappeared before the waves.
What was that?
"Hey, Irelle," I called to him, to which he looked at me tiredly, "I think something bad is about to happen.
"Like what?" he asked sleepily when suddenly a huge torrent of water erupted from the ocean, white scales flashed in the dimming light, the brilliance of the sun reflecting off their white-washed color.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and I saw researchers jump in surprise and a few soldiers running towards the unknown beast, shouting to others, their weapons raised.
Little droplets of water sprayed across the sky, numerous dragons were rising out of the water now, five to be exact.
Their webbed chest and neck rising above the water as their vicious glare and snarling snout showcased their ferocity and sharpened teeth.
Then time seemed to speed up again and the dragons rushed onto the island, soldiers sprinting at them, shouting at them in Dragon but they roared something back that wasn't translated.
A dragon in white scales complimented with ice blue scales lunged at a nearby soldier, crushing him into the ground and throwing him aside, his body ending at an unnatural angle and his armor disformed.
The soldiers began firing and the researchers, engineers, and pilots fled.
The energy rounds fired at the beasts did nothing except leave scorch marks with the dragons roaring in pain from each shot connecting with their bodies.
Then the commander shouted, asking, "Are they set to high power?"
That was the amount of power that could kill ten humans in a single shot through heat, basically melting a normal human, right through their armor and suit.
One of the soldiers in response told him, "Yes, sir!"
Irelle and I stood frozen, not sure what to do when suddenly one of the dragons began targeting Serenity, bounding towards her.
I snapped out of my frozen state and shook Irelle to reality as well, yelling, "Irelle! One of them is coming towards Serenity, we have to stop them!"
"Huh? What-," he began when he noticed the dragon as well and we rushed towards her, fulfilling our duty of protecting her.
"Serenity, you need to get out of here!" I shouted to her, but she was still frozen at the sight of the dragon lunging at her.
"Open fire!" I called to Irelle, aiming my rifle at the beast.
I pulled the trigger, and the quick burst of thermal energy exited the barrel and made contact with the creature.
But all it did was cause it roar in pain and leave a scorched mark on their scales, and they turned to face me.
"Irelle, why aren't you shooting?!" I called frantically, looking over to him.
"Argh! I can't fire! The stupid gun isn't working!" he told me quickly, fiddling with his rifle.
I fired off another shot, but the creature was close enough now and slashed at me, throwing me to the side and my rifle went flying into the ground a few meters from me.
My body felt like it was on fire, and I saw that the dragon had bashed Irelle to the side, with some of that ice growing on my arm and leg.
I could feel the coldness seep through my very flesh and to my bone; I could hear it crackle like it was shattering.
My heartbeat began to speed up, adrenaline pulsating through my veins, but the ice felt like it was spiking into my arm, and leg. It kept me stuck to the ground.
Through the pain, I tried to reach towards my rifle, but it was impossibly far and out of my reach.
The dragon then focused on me again as I began to move once more, pouncing on me and I felt the crushing weight of the beast above me.
I could feel my body and bones straining under their mass, the crumpling of the metal of my armor pierced my ears, with sharp pains in my body flaring all around.
Their claws landed on my one free arm, keeping me pinned down.
Those cold, serrated talons began to slice through my left arm as my legs and arms were consumed by the ice.
"Help!" I tried to call out weakly, with my life force and hope draining with each passing second.
My vision became blurry and everything in my peripheral vision began to seem like it was moving on its own. The sheer amount of pain in my body turned to numbness as my senses were overloaded with signals.
Then I saw the dragon atop of my ready themselves, probably to ready for another breath of that deadly ice.
So... This is how I go, huh.
I really wanted to go on that one fishing trip with JJ and... and...
I felt my mind slow and go all fuzzy, everything seemed to feel like honey and moved slower.
My mind came to peace, and everything seemed to just be the end, that it was completed...
NO! It doesn't matter if I'm about to die! I have to kill those damned Spatial's one day for what they did to my home world! To what they did to all of us! To what they did to humanity!
I felt a warmth grow within me once again as my blood spilled from the cuts of the dragon's razor talons.
For everything that has happened... For all they've done... I have to kill them before I die to some measly dragon!
The warmth began to grow within me until my body and skin felt boiled and hot. A determination was building up inside me and I yelled as loud as I could and willed with all my power and broke free of the ice, knocking the dragon off of me with a great wall of color.
I stood up as I watched the dragon fall back, roaring and screaming in pain as a fire engulfed them, a torrent of flames covering their entire body that wouldn't extinguish.
My hands were on fire but yet I couldn't feel anything but numbness.
Their wing membrane melted off as they continued to scream in pain, sheer screams and roars of utter pain and suffering as their body was melted.
I watched as they slowly fell still and their body was burnt to a crisp, with nothing left but bones, their scales melting into a puddle and the grass turning black around the area of flames.
Then I felt my vision going dark and felt the soft ground against the back of my head as the vast array of color that was the setting sky filled my vision before going dark completely.
I awoke to a stainless steel, white, plain ceiling.
My body felt sore and in a state of pain, but not to the extent it was intolerable. Yet, there was this strange, yet familiar warmth throughout my body.
Looking around me, I saw a doctor tending to another patient next to me.
I tried sitting up and a nurse rushed up to me, telling me, "Sir, it is best if you rest at this time, else you will not recover properly."
"Hey, er, what exactly happened?" I asked.
"During the battle that you were injured in?" she asked.
"Yeah, that night, what happened then," I asked her again, exhaustedly.
"A group of five dragons ambushed us but we successfully repelled their attack," she informed me kindly.
I laid back down into the comfy bed, its white sheets somewhat easing the stiffness of my body. I rubbed my hands since they had this weird, fuzzy sensation to them that quickly dissipated when I noticed my ICD was gone.
At least we pushed back those beasts.
I think I'll receive orders by the paper message system since I've been incapacitated in the battle leading to the removal of my ICD.
After a while, a person with dark brown hair, blue eyes, and in blue uniform came to me and delivered a paper message as expected.
It read, "You will be examined at 1030 hours and if deemed fit, you are to equip your new armored biohazard suit in the armory of the base and then report to Captain Clove at training grounds B1-TG1."
As the clock ticked by the remaining minutes, the doctor asked me to sit up as he examined my body.
He analyzed my eyes dilating pupils, joint reactions, temperature, grip strength, jaw muscles, and more before deciding I was fit enough and handed me a uniform of navy blue and allowed me to leave the medical ward.
"A higher-than-normal temperature," I heard him mutter under his breath as he was leaving to check on another patient.
After I was ready, I followed the signs around the base towards the armory before, passing other personnel walking in the halls.
I placed my hand in the DNA scanner and after authorizing my DNA signature, it opened the blast reinforced doors and into the armory.
Rows of armored biohazard suits lined the walls and in the middle shelves of small and medium firearms with explosives and heavy arms in the back shelves.
I donned one of the navy-blue biohazard suits and took a T-v1 Energy Rifle that had iron and enhanced sights.
After the suit finished booting up, I heard Solaris's voice over the interface, "Glad to see you well again, sir."
"Good to see you too, Solaris," I told him nonchalantly while checking out the recharge battery attached to the rifle, testing its input and output mechanisms.
"Light up a path to the training grounds, Solaris," I ordered, and he responded with, "Yes, sir."
My interface lit up and showed me a path leading to the training grounds.
I wonder how Irelle's been while I've been out cold.
I exited the structure and into the sandy ground of the island, a lot had changed while I was asleep.
The base had expanded, and a naval facility was nearly complete, with two training grounds set up for the soldiers, and a landing pad was built on the other side of the base.
"Solaris, how long was I asleep?" I asked him, a sharp reality dawning on me.
"You were asleep for four days, sir," he informed me.
Four days...
Damn it, I missed out on four days...
I decided to not dwell on the time that had passed for now and followed the path provided by Solaris and found Captain Clove with my unit, with myself spotting Irelle and Wyrm doing some weapon maintenance.
"Ah, good to see the magic main is awake and well," she told me bluntly.
"Magic... man?" I asked, confused.
She ignored me while yelling at a nearby soldier, "Private! What did I say about slacking on the training!"
"What does she mean by magic man?" I asked Irelle, which he replied, "Dunno man, I got knocked out during that night, but I heard that it was something about you using fire."
Fire?
Captain Clove focused back on me and told me, "We're doing some weapon and armor maintenance tests to make sure everyone had everything in check as well as making sure everyone knew how to conduct the procedure of checking and maintaining the armor and weapons before we begin some target practice."
She then added quickly, "This extra training was implemented due to the recent attack on the base. We have new defensive systems being transported to the base from the fleet as we speak."
I began checking my weapon thoroughly, more so than when I was inspecting it at the armory, with Irelle and Wyrm.
"You, okay?" I asked before quickly adding, "I saw you get knocked aside by the dragon, and it seemed pretty painful".
"Eh, I'm mostly fine, no bones broken and just some stiff joints and minor head injury, but the doctors said I would be fine if I didn't get into any battles and if I exercised for my joints," he told me.
"Sounds pretty bad still," I admitted.
"Well, you know how it is, we're soldiers, this was bound to happen," he told me grimly.
After a few hours of training with my unit, my ICD pinged and I checked the new message, it read, "Unit LP261, Private Zen, report to Commander Kyro now at the lab".
The lab?
"Solaris, can you show me where the lab is located on a map?" I asked him.
"Of course, sir," he told me before showing a map of the island and zooming in on the base as it was, showing the schematics of the base's inside and zooming in further to a room that was rectangular in shape.
"Start a path to it," I told him, and my interface lit up with a path to follow.
I followed the path back into the base once I finished my task of the training session and arrived at the entrance of the base, but Solaris told me that no preliminary decontamination was needed. After locating some boots that were provided by the Department of Military Operations for all soldiers to use at decontamination chambers and leaving my suit to decontaminate and wash in the processes for next time of use. I headed to the lab where three researchers, Talon, and Commander Kyro were waiting for me.
The commander was adorned in his usual matte black uniform with the triangle followed by three lines underneath it insignia, signifying his position in the ranks. With Talon in his dark cloak but this one looked newer and not as tattered as before, with modern boots and gloves to fit the outfit.
"Good to see you Private Zen," the commander formally greeted.
"It is an honor to meet with you again, sir!" I told him vigorously.
He then motioned for Talon to begin, "You have magic, or as I like to call it animus powers."
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked him, dumbfounded.
"It would be better if we showed you," he told me, bringing a monitor on three joints for easy moving, allowing us to watch it easily.
He flicked through a few applications on a nearby terminal before opening a file labelled, "Event 0001".
He opened the file, and it was from a soldier's head camera looking at a side angle of me, although the soldier's head camera was at an odd angle and close to the ground.
They were watching a dragon that was on top of another soldier.
"This is Private Irelle's head camera, he was knocked unconscious from a blow of one of the dragons, but his head was pointed in the optimal direction of the event that is soon to unfold," Talon explained to me.
We watched for a few seconds when the dragon reared their head back, preparing to spew more of their deadly ice breath when suddenly a wall of flames erupted from the soldier, engulfing the dragon in bright, vibrant orange flames that licked their scales and spread all throughout their body.
Talon paused the video after that and went on, "This is you."
"I'm sorry," I began, baffled, "Did you just say that it was me that did that?"
"I believe so," he told me before going on, "Which is why we have you here for testing."
"We would like to take samples of your fire magic as well test its temperature, effects on objects affected by it, and its longevity," he continued on, explaining what was to be tested.
"Hold, you're saying I, like I in MYSELF, did that?" I asked once again, still bewildered by the reality of it all.
"What is there not to understand?" he asked bluntly.
"I don't know? Maybe the fact that sounds like it is completely made up and impossible?" I floundered with what little reasoning there was to all of this. To make sense of it.
I quieted down and looked at the commander and Talon confused.
He let out a sigh, before demonstrating with the monitor, "You see this here?"
The monitor showed what looked to be a model of an atom, with its nucleus and electron cloud. Next to it was a smaller version of the atom but with no electron cloud but something called the mana cloud?
I nodded and he went on, "This here is the energy that would most closely resemble mana from the stories I have read from your civilization. It powers magic of kinds but in this universe, we are in, it works differently than those other stories. By what I mean is that only certain beings have to have specific genes that activate this energy to condense in their bodies that they can use to cast magic, and this magic seems to perform any wish of the user and has an infinite supply, a far cry from the type of mana in your kinds of stories. But I suspect that when this energy, condensed in some form of object comes into contact with foreign matter of other universes will have a reaction of acceptance, neutrality, or rejection in worse case scenarios."
"Okay, this is a lot of info at once. What would have happened if I was rejected by this mana?" I asked, still processing all the things I just heard.
"You could have possibly spontaneously exploded," he told me seriously.
I shifted uneasily, asking weakly, "Was that a joke?"
Then the commander butted in, "Enough with the small talk, get to the part that relates to him."
Talon cleared his throat and began once again, "You interacted with something, probably a dragon-like object that had this energy condensed in it, which caused the reaction. And it appears to have given you fire magic, which would lead me to believe that occurred because you interacted with a dragon-like object with fire breathing magic beforehand."
"Let me get this straight. I have magical fire powers now because I touched an object with this condensed energy that was related to using fire magic?" I asked, just to reaffirm I was getting this right.
"That is correct," he assured me.
"Hah," I said weakly, my stance weakening, "Wow, magical powers."
"We need you to conjure, or summon, this fire magic," he told me.
"How do I do that?" I asked, not knowing how to summon it.
He stood there for a few moments, pondering before concluding, "I would have assumed you would know how to but if you can't, we'll go with Activation B."
"Try focusing first," he told me.
"Alright, might as well try then," I muttered to myself, and the commander gave me a raised eyebrow.
I closed my eyes and searched for that same strange, but familiar warmth I had felt. I put all my willpower into willing it into the form of flames, but when I opened my eyes, there was nothing there at my hands.
"Um, it's not working?" I tried, unsure about all of this still.
I felt like an idiot in front of the commander.
"We'll go with Activation C then," he told to no one in particular before whispering something to the commander to which he agreed to.
"What exactly is Activation C?" I asked slowly, a fear slowly growing in me of what Activation C might entail.
Torture, pain, suffering, just a few topics I could list off the top of my head.
"It won't hurt if this works, otherwise, we'll have to use Activation Z," he told me quickly before nimbly leaping towards me and the flash of knives crossed over my vision, their metal reflecting in the light, and I felt something instinctive happen, and without thought, my body moved into a protective stance, and I clenched my eyes shut.
I cracked my eyes open to see my hands a light.
"Haha!" I expressed in glee, "I really do have magical fire!"
That was when I noticed the pointed daggers pressing against my neck.
"Um?" I questioned, not sure how to respond to this.
He removed his daggers and sheathed them once more under his cloak.
"So, adrenaline is the easiest way to activate the magic it would appear," he concluded.
The commander nodded in approval and asked, "We can weaponize this, yes?"
"Of course, commander, we can, but he needs to be trained first," Talon told him, "As of now, he has no way of controlling its form or choice of when to activate it, but this is a start."
Commander Kyro looked at me before asking, "Who will train him?"
"I will train him since I am the most well versed in this field of science. You and your scientists will receive progress reports on him and my research," Talon informed him, and the commander nodded to this when he checked his ICD.
"I have a meeting in twenty minutes. I will be heading out now and expect results as soon as possible," he told both of us.
"Of course, commander," Talon told him before turning back to me.
"You and I will try to train this newfound power with what little knowledge we have of this mana," he explained.
He and the other researchers readied their equipment, testing the temperature of the fire, and then burning a few items with it.
Then, Talon told me, "We will further train this magic outside, where there should be relatively less possibility of damage from this."
The researchers then cleaned up and Talon extinguished the fire on my hands.
He then motioned for me to follow, his metal boots thumping against the floor as he continued on.
I quickly followed him, where he was waiting for me at the decontamination chamber with a tablet.
"Leave your suit at the decontamination processor," he ordered me, and I took off my suit, leaving it to be cleaned and washed while we were away.
"Is it safe to head outside without a suit?" I asked, since everyone else outside was still wearing their suits when I was last out there.
"Yes, after your people's researchers scanned the microbial life of this planet, they found it to be harmless to themselves for the most part aside from the normal flu, cold, and so on. At this point, they only wear suits for the AI's assistance and safety from external threats," he explained.
"So, should I wear a suit then?" I asked, still feeling uneasy about all of this.
"No, your suit would not be able to withstand the temperature or effects of the fire magic you wield," he told me.
He used the DNA scanner next to the door since he didn't have an ICD equipped and the computer buffered for a few seconds, which was unusual, but let him through afterwards.
I took in the ocean breeze blowing over the island, the scent of salty foam of the ocean filled my nostrils as I stepped out. The crunch of sandy gravel under my feet filled my mind, a memory of home.
"Damn, it's so nice to get out of those stuffy suits," I admitted, taking in all the senses of the outdoors.
"Remember, we aren't here to laze around, but to test your magic," he told me briskly.
I looked to my right, ready to tell Irelle a joke when I realized he wasn't there.
Right... he's busy training with the unit.
"Come," he beckoned as we headed farther out, a few dozen meters away from the base.
We stopped at a clearing where no other personnel were busy in the area, and Talon began, "Now, try to conjure the magic without adrenaline, with your thoughts and willpower."
"Um, I don't really know how," I admitted.
"Did you feel anything unnatural? Like a burning desire, a warmth, a fire of sorts?" he inquired.
I did feel that odd warmth. It was new to me, but somehow it felt comforting.
"Uh yeah, this new warmth in me that I don't really understand," I explained to him.
He then directed, "Focus on that warmth then; control it."
I closed my eyes and began searching for that same warmth, feeling it throughout my body.
I feel stupid doing this. Like one of those characters in those animated shows that Irelle is always watching during our off hours that has to train or something.
But I saw that video, and they said that it was me. Plus, I did conjure that fire in my hand when Talon had a dagger at my throat.
Err, that isn't too great of something to remember.
I focused back on the warmth and felt it coursing through my body, imagining it as a flame inside me.
I opened my eyes to see nothing.
I tried again.
And again.
But nothing appeared.
I grumbled in frustration and Talon suggested, "Think of moving that energy inside you into a singular point at your body, manifesting as the fire."
I tried that, imagining the flame as an energy coursing throughout my body, focusing in at my hand, and only my hand.
"Good," I heard Talon praise, and I opened my eyes in response.
There was a little flame on the back of my hand, the size of a candle flame flickering with a bright yellow heat.
I rotated my hand and the fire moved to remain in an upward position until it was flickering in the palm of my hand.
"Now, increase its size," Talon commanded.
I focused once again on that warmth coursing through my body and imagined it as a system of flames in me, moving to my hand to grow the flame in front of me.
The flame grew in height, licking the air around it, until it was a meter tall.
"Wow," I muttered, watching the fire dance before my eyes, enrapturing my attention.
"Focus, Zen," Talon told me firmly before commanding, "Deactivate and reactivate it twice."
I willed my fire out and it took a few seconds of concentration before it extinguished itself.
I reactivated it before deactivating, twice, just as Talon had told me.
He typed on the tablet he had, before looking at me and stating, "Go get your suit on, report to Captain Clove as soon as you can, and you should receive orders from the commander soon enough so you can get combat experience with this magic."
He is very thorough. And his movements aren't stiff or lazy like that of an untrained or aging personnel.
"Yes, sir," I responded formally, not entirely sure yet what his rank was but I assumed he was on par with the commander.
I headed back into the base and equipped my suit, with Solaris greeting, "Good evening, sir."
"Set a path to Captain Clove," I ordered, and my interface lit up, with my vitals on the edges, with my heartrate, blood pressure, and durability were all adequate.
After arriving at my unit with Captain Clove at the head, I reported to her of my previous tasks and joined Irelle and Wyrm.
"So, what's the news?" he asked as he fired a few shots at a drone target, whipping across the air.
I popped off a few shots, my aim for three out of the five shots going awry.
I'll need to work on my aim some more.
"Apparently, I have magical fire powers," I told him bluntly.
He lowered his rifle and turned to me, and I imagined him with a gaping mouth before asking, "A what now?"
"I have magical fire powers," I repeated.
"Hah!" he laughed in disbelief before looking at me again in realization, "You aren't kidding, are you?"
"Yup, tested it and everything," I told him, firing another two shots at a drone the size of a dog, flying by at speeds faster than what I could run, my shots connecting with it, leading to its fall.
"Show me these magical fire powers," he commanded intensely.
"Woah, hotshot," I began, turning to face him, "The fire would burn through my suit, only my skin is immune to it so I can show you later after training."
"You had better," he muttered under his breath before Captain Clove shouted, "Stop your yapping and get back to shooting!"
After training was completed, Irelle and I headed to our new unit quarters in the completed first segment of the base.
"I gotta say, this new sleeping area is rather snazzy," he pointed out although the only real change was the increased space for movement and single compartment for each bunk that was to store personal belongings to each person staying there.
The color scheme and overall look was nearly a replica of the bunks in the portable shelter that was taken down and transported back to the station.
At our bunks, Irelle then ordered, "Show me these magical fire powers."
"Hey now, it wouldn't hurt to ask," I stated.
"Would you please show me the fire magic?" he asked politely, mocking.
I punched him in the arm, berating, "Don't be like that."
"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his arm before asking, "Would you show the fire magic?"
I flicked my fingers, a flame sparking from the palm of my hand, the size of a candle's flame still.
"Wow," he murmured, transfixed by the glowing light.
I quickly extinguished the flame, not wanting to grab the attention of others as well as it being a fire hazard to the room.
He blinked his eyes again, rubbing them before asking, "So... what are you gonna do with this magic now?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure. It kind of just happened to me and I don't have any other plans with it other than for combat uses," I explained to him.
"Hm, well, I think you would make a lot of credits if you hosted shows where you used your fire magic like those dancers of fire on the planet Azymondias," he suggested, flicking his fingers as well trying to replicate what I did but he didn't conjure any fire.
"I could, but dancing is not really my style," I told him, stifling a yawn.
I looked at my ICD before telling Irelle, "I'm getting some sleep, see ya in the morning."
He resided to his top bunk, and I took mine at the bottom.
As I was laying in my bunk, I raised my hands in front of my face, staring at them intensely.
I turned my hands over, examining them.
There were no scars, burn or scorch marks, nor any other difference in features from before I had the fire magic.
Am I sure this isn't just some huge simulation? Like, how can I of all people have magical powers of fire? I know that we may in an entire universe and all, but surely physics, the laws of the universe, or whatever can't change that much? Right?
I drifted into a slumber, these thoughts bouncing around within my mind.