Myla was still clinging to my hand as a stressed soldier came over. “You two, separate!” he barked, causing the girls to flinch as he pointed to me and Myla. “There’s only room for one more in the lead vehicle. Go!”
Chaos was all around us.
Too few of the carrier’s crew were trying to funnel too many children into the different vehicles. Many, like us, still clinging to their friends as they got forcefully separated. Not that the soldiers listened to their cries and weeping pleas.
The crew was on edge, and I couldn’t blame them. I was, too, and the thundering deluge outside didn’t help. The rain fell in sheets across the turbulent planet, and each flash of lightning seemed to illuminate some new shadow dipping into the sizzling lake or slipping in between the roots of some mangroves.
Most of the kids here, probably many of the adults as well, came from planets where the worst weather they ever saw was a light drizzle. This was a roiling vortex of destruction, and each thunder strike caused Myla’s fingers to clench down on mine and Leyi to whimper.
Whether it was from the deafening cracks! or if her fingers were getting crushed as well, I wasn’t sure, but now, she remained silent even as Myla’s grip had turned to iron around my hand.
“W-we’re staying together!” she huffed to the soldier, even puffing up her chest. The man didn’t care.
Although his shove was never forceful, it still separated us with ease. Myla’s grip was ripped from mine, and the two girls were sent staggering to the side. Another flash of lightning illuminated their scared eyes.
The message was clear enough. No wasn’t an answer.
I could feel my pulse quicken, fate’s heavy footfalls echoing in my ears. I was certain now. The lead vehicle had been the one I took in my previous life.
It was the one that would make it. I had to get the other two aboard. I had to—
I slipped away from the man’s grip as he tried to pull me along. “They’re coming with me,” I said. “We can squeeze together. We can—”
He didn’t listen.
With a click of his tongue, the man just shifted his trajectory around, grabbed hold of Leyi’s arm, and tugged the frail girl along instead. He didn’t need me. He just needed any kid to fill up the vehicle.
Leyi didn’t even realize to resist as she was forcefully pulled along. She probably couldn’t have, just like I hadn’t been able to in my previous life.
“No!”
Myla had fallen to the ground as Leyi was ripped from her grip, yet now, she scrambled to her feet to set after her friend.
She’d barely made it a few steps as she was shoved back by the grown woman who’d been yelling at the kids besides us. “Bring her back!” Myla still cried. “She’s staying with me! I promised to protect her…”
But all we could do was watch as a panicked Leyi turned our way one last time, Happy still clutched in her arms as a final flash of lightning cut through the rain and shadows, showing her owlish eyes in perfect clarity: wide and filled with terror where she was getting helplessly pulled along.
“Nyamien, we need to go after her!” Myla kept yelling, having turned to me to tug at my arm. “We need to…”
But I didn’t move. There was nothing we could do.
My heart beat was pounding in my ears. Leyi would be safe aboard that vehicle. The ones in danger were the two of us. No, not just us…
Turning my head, I saw all the other kids who were weeping and fighting to stay together. Three out of four of them would never see the end of this day.
I needed to save them. I needed to save us all.
I had no clue how.
𐫰 𐫰 𐫰
It was in a haze that I watched our first vehicle set off.
Pattering rain and violent cascades of water paved its way as it barreled through that shallow lake. A distant rumble split the dim world, and I saw it briefly pause atop that nearest mud bank. It was waiting for the rest of us, meant to keep a tight formation as we set off.
Me and Myla were already getting ushered towards a third vehicle alongside some two hundred other kids. Time was running out.
What should I do? What could I do?
Even if I threw a tantrum and refused to move, at best, they’d just leave me behind at this carrier to die on my own.
Should I warn the ones in charge?
I didn’t even know what to tell them. My memories of this time were beyond faded. Only stray images and impressions still lingered within my mind; fear and helplessness that’d been repressed over the years.
I had no clue what was out there. I didn’t know what would happen. Only that it would.
Should I—
“It’ll be fine, Nyamien.” Myla’s weak voice, desperately trying to sound reassuring, filled my ears. She was holding my hand once more. “T-those…those big trucks look really sturdy, don’t they?”
And now I was making even a child worry for me…
I unclenched my jaw, easing my grip around her fingers.
“Yeah, yeah they do…”
All I could do was helplessly get pulled along.
𐫰 𐫰 𐫰
The transport vehicle’s interior was somewhere between cargo space and a replica of the drop pods, just different in scale. There was a total of three levels, separated by ladders and catwalks that ran along the walls, all lined with more of those sturdy harnesses.
Most of them, sized for soldiers.
In its original inception, the BROW/WING Carrier had never been designed with children in mind. These SD-66-Chargers were proof of that.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
They were a remnant of a time when these ships were still used to transport the Stratos Apolytos troops across the galaxy. Sturdy, robust, and meant to keep its cargo safe no matter the harsh conditions.
The harnesses were never made with comfort in mind, less so eleven year olds, but barking orders and bad conditions kept complaints and objections at a minimum.
A few children wailed in pain as they were hurriedly shoved in place, but the moment the belts and straps had locked them in, their cries merely became another part of the background noise, drowned out by the heavy rain pelting outside.
At least the lights worked within the Charger, powered by a heavy engine that I could feel resonating throughout the hull – a constant rumble and thrum, capable of propelling several thousands of tons of metal through hostile environments.
Once inside, it was hard to imagine that anything would be able to harm us through those reinforced walls, but even so, that restless knot remained within the pit of my stomach.
Any attempts I’d made at learning what might be out there, or warn the crew to stay cautious, had fallen to deaf ears.
They’d just pushed me along to get moving, and Myla had been all too eager to drag me along with her. She seemed scared that they’d separate us again. Not that they did.
Together, we reached that third level through a set of narrow ladders, and even as we were roughly locked in place by an impatient senior, I’d yet to figure out how to communicate my fears.
‘We’re going to die! We’re all going to die, and you need to listen to me…!’ No, I would’ve just sounded like another child having a panic attack.
What were our options anyway?
There had to be a reason for the crew’s tense expressions. The BROW/WING was no longer safe. We needed to get moving. I needed to get our caravan safely to our destination, but I’d just been strapped in like some unwanted cargo inside my harness, alongside hundreds of other weeping kids.
No, not cargo – I raised my gaze toward the headrest above me – like a soldier being transported out in the field.
There were no spare weapons in sight, but above the empty holster, I could glimpse the port for a UI.
Back in the day, they’d been standard issue on any military vehicles – there to ensure any soldiers in transport could stay properly connected to the grid. Eventually, they’d get phased out in favor of more sophisticated software, but now, its presence gave me hope.
Although the small light next to the port was glowing red, signaling that it was not in use, it was still a direct access point to the Charger’s defense systems.
I could use it.
“Myla, let me know if anyone is coming over,” I said in a hushed tone, having already slipped out my tablet from its satchel.
“What?” Myla asked from the harness besides me, but no matter how she strained her neck, she wouldn’t be able to see me. I could hear her trying. “What did you say, Nyamien? Hey, what are you doing over there?”
With how the harnesses were built into the wall, only the kids on the opposite wall would be able to see what I was currently doing, and they hardly seemed in any state to care. They were all pale and ghastly, shivering, crying, or something in between.
I’d have time, which I needed. With the BROW/WING’s servers being down, I’d have to establish my connection with the Charger anew.
Time to see how sturdy the Apolytos’ safety measures were pre-rebellion…
As things would have it, not very.
Merely connecting the tablet to the port gave me a feed of our current locations, status, and an empty field meant to contain orders from above. There was also a constantly updating scan that showed me the other three Chargers’ location in relation to our own.
It was an archaic thing, but the analogue framework had at least survived this planet’s atmospheric interferences better than the carrier itself.
Now, my connection allowed me to see the second Charger, coded as A#339, roll out to join the first one out in the rain.
Soon, we would follow behind.
I needed to gain access to the Charger’s deeper systems before then.
Another minute of work – Myla still struggling besides me and the first level’s harnesses all but filled out – and I’d gained access to several camera feeds providing 360 degree vision around the Charger.
Upon flickering images, I could see the restless crew hurrying around the hangar, yelling out orders and clearing way for our departure. It seemed the fourth Charger, A#207, had been filled out at the same time as ours.
Now, any remaining boots on the ground were either heading for the other Chargers or prepared to lock down the carrier after we’d left. None to remain behind.
Although D-7 didn’t mean instant death upon landing on this planet, it didn’t mean you survived long without proper preparations either. The crew seemed more than eager to get away from here.
Meaning, none of them had much attention to spare a kid on the third level of A#294, flipping through his tablet and sinking deeper into their defense systems.
Before long, I would have full access to any cannons or machine guns that lined the Charger’s roof and sides.
Then, I’d be able to do more than just watch if anything happened.
Or so I foolishly thought.
𐫰 𐫰 𐫰
I saw it all.
I saw as we left the carrier behind, splashing through mud and lake-like puddles.
I saw as we churned through the tracks left by the first two vehicles – still visible up ahead, but far away enough that we wouldn’t crash into them if something happened.
I saw the roiling lakes and ponds we passed by.
I saw wild grown mangroves and dense swamps of alien vegetation, and I even glimpsed some of what hid beneath, entire forests submerged beneath the surface; intricate root networks and hidden burrows.
I was connected to every camera and screen, every sonar and scan that drew out our surroundings.
Without them, navigation would’ve been impossible across patches of ground that were only connected by shallow stretches of water or endless depths our sonars couldn’t even map.
More often than not, we erred on the side of caution, driving atop steep mud banks or barreling through trees and foliage with little care for what lay in our path as we avoided the water.
Everything seemed fine, even as irregular heat signals and shadows passed through the alien wilds around us. I thought I was prepared for anything.
But then, dark clouds converged above us, leaving the rain to pelt down upon us with unrelenting force, slamming into the Charger’s sides. And I saw it.
I saw the moment when it came – when the storm’s tempestuous energies gave birth to an amalgamation of swirling mists and liquid shadows. A manifestation of every grim aspect permeating this planet.
Maybe our constant scans had disturbed it, or maybe our mere presence within its watery domain was an insult to its existence.
Now, I saw that sinister silhouette of massive proportions materialize itself out of the perpetual downpour, slamming into the side of A#362 with tendrils that writhed in the turbulent air.
A crack of lightning followed, splitting the vehicle in half to violent fuel fires and billowing smoke. I’d barely heard the thundering explosion which followed as the second Charger barreled straight through its remnants without slowing down.
There was no saving it. And as glowing eyes — the color of electric blue — sparked through the mist, revealing an intelligence that was both ancient and alien as it turned our way, I knew there was no saving us either.
I’d been prepared. I’d had every turret at a ready. Every camera and sensor working overtime, even connecting with the feed of our lead vehicle. But nothing could’ve prepared me for the anger of a Tempestalker.
We were but mortals, and it was the prideful guardian of this planet.
The heavy thud of turret fire filled my ears. I wasn’t even sure if I was the one who’d set them off, not that it mattered. Even as A#207 began firing as well, another flash of lightning, like a hammer of gods, erased it from existence just as swiftly.
The pursuing thunder came like an echoing, haunting wail that reverberated through the storm. It left all of us within the cargo hold of A#294 frozen in place as another ethereal tendril cracked through the air, slamming into the side of our Charger with unyielding force.
My heart jackhammered against my ribcage, eyes wide as I stared at those last flickering images of the camera feed.
Most of the screaming children around me had no clue what was going on as our world was upended, but I saw it as we skid across those muddy tracks we’d been following. I saw the edge of that mud bank we’d been trailing rapidly get closer, and I saw the very moment the entire vehicle tilted over, unable to get a grip before it was already too late.
The noise of my surroundings washed over me like a tidal wave; yells, panicked orders, the rhythmic thud of blasting turrets that tried to locate a force of nature that was already gone.
What’d been above turned into below, and anyone not strapped in, crew members and armed soldiers alike, fell over railings to crash into walls below. Pained cries, screams of terror, but my eyes remained locked to that final image that’d flickered across my tablet.
I saw a path that’d disappeared from under us, and a lake, far below, that was rapidly approaching.
“Myla, hold on tight!” I yelled as the wall we were strapped to turned into the ceiling, causing my stomach to drop out as we helplessly fell for a second time in just a few short hours.
Hacking 13 > 14
Scouting > 2
Marksmanship, Turret Operative > 1
Achievement(s) Unlocked:
Witnessed Planetary Anomaly (1/?)
Connection To Natural Forces (Lightning):
+5%
Stress Levels:
+5%
Confidence:
-5%