The visored mask was cool and heavy in David’s hands as he sat on the edge of his bunk in the dingy metal cube he called his room. Turning it over he could see the slightly worn writing on the side that denoted his name and rank, it read ‘David Harris, InfernoTrooper Class III specialist, serial number 098450223’. He let out a quick sigh as he pulled it on over his short, cropped sand-blond hair. He didn't really need to wear it out of combat as it was not required, but it was perfectly comfortable and the reflective visor made it easier for him to live with the others on the ship.
The ship was an old MCF79 Starcat, the design was over a hundred years old even though the ship itself had only been built 40 years ago. She was called the CMS Sails of Freedom. At 136 meters in length, her thirty-two-person crew had plenty of space to find personal time, which suited him just fine. He shrugged into his heavy flame retardant trench coat and pulled on his dark synth leather boots. They shone like polished obsidian in the dim light of the room.
Standing slowly with a slight grunt, he got up from his chair in his small spartan room, he was lucky to have gotten one to himself, but as a specialist, he had a few privileges. Smiling under the mask, he strapped on his 3011 sidearm and exited his room into the corridor beyond. As one of the only passengers on the ship he had no real duties, but that didn't mean he had no obligations. He still exercised regularly and made sure to get down to the small range room to practice his aim every other day.
Today was different however, today they would be doing a patrol sweep in an outer colony system, there had been an alert triggered the day previous and as the closest union ship to the system, the task of investigating fell to the CMS Sails of Freedom and her crew.
He walked down the corridor slowly, he regularly startled the off duty crew of the ship as they seemed to fear him, or at the very least distrust him. He shook his head slightly at the thought, if any of them would have just taken the time to get to know him they would have realized he wasn't so bad. But they only saw his imposing dark uniform and the insignia on his breast pocket, a flaming skull, its jaw opened wide in a howl of anguish and pain with a crossed pair of spears behind it. He was an InfernoTrooper, and not only that but he was part of the Howling Desolaters company. They had a reputation for being full of psychopathic pyromaniacs, and while David liked to burn things as much as anyone else, he didn't think he fit into that category exclusively.
His brows furrowed under his mask as he thought back to the first time he had truly seen fire, what it was capable of. Sure, fire was used by every species and in many ways, but it was controlled, tamed and made docile. True fire was wild and devouring, like the fire that had killed his father and two younger sisters and left him permanently injured. The heavy smoke damage he had suffered had left him with the gravelly voice of a heavy smoker. It made his age almost impossible to determine without seeing his face, and due to the fact that he always wore his mask in the company of the other crew they likely didn't know he was a younger man, only thirty-two.
As he rounded the corner he came face to face with one of the ship's crew, a muscular looking slaaveth male. The scaled man jumped and made a strangled gurgling noise, his dark pupil's eyes widening in shock or horror before he regained a small measure of his composure and darted around him. The fact that David had been just as surprised by the encounter was likely lost on the man as David was wearing his combat mask. He grumbled quietly to himself and continued walking, now paying a bit more attention to his surroundings.
As the only human on board the ship, he was a bit destitute for company, and none of the others on board seemed to want anything to do with him instead sticking to their own small respective groups. This was once more made painfully apparent as he rounded a corner into the CMS Sails of Freedom’s small galley.
David stopped in the doorway as a hush fell over the room, the previously boisterous atmosphere suddenly choked with heavy silence as if it was a thick cloying smoke. He looked around without moving his head so they would not know where his eyes roamed, after a few seconds of this he walked over to the countertop and grabbed a few items to munch down quickly before he was needed in the operations room.
As David moved from the counter to a small table in the far corner of the room he failed to notice that of all the crew in the room, a single pair of golden eyes followed his every movement.
**********
Leiah hunched slightly, her legs folded on her perch as she crunched though her meal. She grabbed another crisped Grassstrider and opened her beak, her tongue flicking out and pulling the small morsel further into her mouth to her secondary reticulated jaws. She closed her beak as her second jaws crunched the small morsel into digestible pieces. She swallowed and scratched her feathered shoulder with her three fingered grasper as she mulled over the upcoming inspection mission. As she was lost in thought her mind’s danger signal suddenly blared so powerfully that she nearly screeched in alarm.
Looking around she noticed that the room had gone strangely quiet, the other crew in the room all casting worried glances at the entrance of the galley ‘Could it be?’ she thought to herself as she craned her neck to see. Yes, it was, there in the doorway stood a dark imposing figure, at least 182cm tall and dressed in a dark trench coat that obscured most of the beings features. They also wore that same dark mask with its golden reflective visor, she watched as the tall man stood like a statue for a moment, seeming to observe the room and all in it, before they moved to the counter to grab their sustenance.
She watched him intently as he moved from the counter to a corner table where he could sit with his back to the room. She watched as he reached up and removed the mask, she could see part of his features from where she had strategically placed herself. He had that hair stuff that mammals seemed so fond of on his head, his was a sandy color and she could just see the outline of his face as he turned it slightly while he ate. He seemed young, which was a bit of a surprise to her as she had heard the man speak, his voice a deep gravelly burr. She jerked slightly as the man suddenly stopped, he stiffened his shoulders and seemed to glance at her without turning his head, she got the feeling that she was being watched by a predator, all her senses telling her she was in incredible danger.
Leiah shivered slightly and stood, her black feathered mane standing up in apprehension. Almost without thought she quickly moved to the finished area and turned over her cleared dish to the automatic washer before exiting the room at a brisk pace. As she exited the room and her danger senses started to calm, she ruffled her snow while plumage and then smoothed her chest feathers back into a semblance of neatness.
The nerivith had forward facing eyes like that of predators even though they were not, but for whatever reason their gaze didn't seem to send the same danger signals as those of the other predator races. And while the compound eyes of a Vinarfel could be unsettling or the dark pupiless stare of a slaaveth might be off putting, they were a poor comparison to the stare of a human.
Leiah had met several humans in her time as a Union Voidsman, and they all seemed to share the same common features. Two arms and legs, heavy bones not designed for flight, those ridiculous fuzzy heads of theirs, and those dead vacant eyes.
It was whispered in some circles that the eyes were the gateway to the soul, and that the reason human eyes were so frightening, was because they were empty. They showed nothing, no light, no mercy. They were the remorseless eyes of a killer, a soulless hunter intent on harm and destruction. She knew that wasn't entirely true, most of the humans she had met had been decent people, polite if a bit rough around the edges. They all seemed to share a similar quality though, every human she had met seemed to be balanced as if on the edge of a cliff. In combat she knew that a human was similar to the nerivith, strong and deadly fast. But while the nerivith were known for their cold and calm demeanor during combat, humans were the exact opposite. Their tempers raged hot, like the surface of a star. They were everything the nerivith were not, the savage brutality to the neriviths calculating precision.
Leiah was swanith, a race of avian raptors from a Class 2 world, they were largely seen as fragile and more focused on the frivolity of daily life than on the defense of the Union. She knew that wasn't true, but she was different, she was from a swanith colony world. It had almost eighty two percent standard gravity, much higher than the seventy percent of her race's homeworld, the result was that her skeleton structure was stronger and more durable than that of her counterparts, this came at the cost of her ability to fly though.
Fluffing her feathers once more, Leiah made her way down the hall tucking her graspers into her chest harness that displayed her name and rank as well as contained the few tools she needed to do her job.
**********
David watched out of the corner of his eye as the swanith female stood and hurried out of the room. He smirked to himself for a moment before thinking about it a bit harder. He had felt like he was being watched and tried to ignore it, but that same spine tingling sensation continued to grow and grow until he could stand it no more, moving his head as little as possible he glanced around the room using his peripheral vision until he noticed the small white avian staring directly at him. She could not possibly know he had noticed her but she still jerked slightly as if stung and then moments later fled the room.
He hung his head a bit and sighed, just his luck, she would probably start another series of rumors about him and the psychotic human powers he had. He tried to ignore it and pushed the encounter to the back of his mind as he donned his mask and stood, the all too familiar hush falling over the room as he turned in his dish and exited the small room.
He knew he had some time before he was needed in the operations room but saw no reason not to show up early. He grinned unseen to the others that roved the main passage of the ship with him, the other crew moving to the far sides of the passage to avoid him or ducking into adjoining rooms entirely. While part of him reveled in their fear, the larger part of him was a bit saddened by their distrust. Was he not a Union soldier just the same as the rest of them? Had he not dedicated his life to the defense of the union as well, what did it matter that his weapon of choice was? It's not like he was one of the RadTroopers with their horrific irradiating beamers that killed targets in the worst way.
He looked around without moving his head, his eyes roving over his surroundings under the golden reflective visor of his mask. He was the only human aboard and most of the others seemed to be a mix of nerivith and slaaveth, there were a few Vinerfel and even that one swanith as well. He smirked again as he thought about the species he didn't see, the Enigmatic skorp or the oh so intelligent razah'vool. There were others as well but none so self righteous as the razah'vool who said they detested violence but then sponsored huge Union fleets to protect their sanctuary worlds and far-flung research colonies. ‘Fuckin pansy ass scientists’ he thought to himself.
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He had nothing against the scientists, his home world had been partially terraformed using razah'vool techniques after all, its just that they refused to help with the physical defense of the Union. What was the point of them if they did not contribute like the other species?
His line of thought was interrupted as he reached the operations room and stepped inside, the room was mostly empty except for Commander Killoy, the ship's Captain, and one of the senior ensigns who David didn't know.
Commander Killoy glanced up to him as he entered and furrowed his jet black eyebrows. The nerivith man lashed his long sinuous tail once and asked “Class III specialist? What are you doing here? The briefing isn't scheduled for another thirty minutes.”
David smiled widely, although the tall slim nerivith wouldn't see it, and gave a salute while answering “My roster was clear and I saw no reason not to join the briefing early Commander, sir.” He added respectfully in his gravelly voice.
The ensign he had never met before stared at him, the slaaveth woman's pupiless eyes wide with surprise or shock. The Captain just nodded his horned head and gestured to one of the corner seats saying “Fair enough, please take a seat and be silent for the moment. I appreciate your tact.” The man said to him with a small nod.
David gave a nod in return before moving to the seat the man had motioned him towards. He chuckled to himself as he heard the Captain reprimand the ensign quietly for her lapse of attention. Sitting in the molded multispecies chair, he waited silently, his mind alight with thoughts of the mission to come.
They were on the edge of civilized space, pirate territory. The Sapient Congressional Union was vast, the thousands of light years pocketed by rogue warlords and rebellious planetary governors. It was only by the constant vigilance of the Congressional Military that general order was upheld. The constant threats of pirates, traitor deserters, or worse were a drain on the active duty forces of the military and the navy in particular. No military force could be deployed without naval ships and transports and the ships went nowhere without their hardworking and dedicated crews. David had a great deal of respect for the mad spacers and stoic voidsmen that plied the darkness between the stars, always under threat from the universe itself. Ships were not always lost in combat, something as innocent seeming as a piece of raw iron or ice could pose a serious danger to a ship when it was traveling at dozens or even hundreds of kilometers per second. Kinetic impacts at such speeds were not dissimilar to high caliber weapons fire, and the frigate CMS Sails of Freedom was not particularly heavily armoured as it was designed for long range bombardments, not brawling.
The operations room was deep in the heart of the ship, adjacent to the ships bridge, it was a small armoured room about eight meters in width with spaces for about fifteen crew and officers to sit with standing room beyond that if necessary. At the moment, there were presently only the two aforementioned naval personnel and him in the room, but when the briefing began it would likely be filled to capacity by officers and noncommissioned crew.
The center of the room was dominated by a large holo tac-map projector that was used as both a handy reference device and a holographic projector. At the moment it was displaying a series of notes and readings that he couldn't read from his angle, probably why the Captain had instructed him to sit at the end of the row. ‘Smart’ he thought to himself. This Commander Killoy impressed him, as a male of his species the nerivith man was smaller and more slight than his female counterparts, but obviously he had not let this affect him.
As if Commander Killoy had read David’s mind, he stopped in his conversation and walked over towards him. David started to get up to salute but Killoy waved him back down and bade him to be at ease while he asked “Specialist Class III David, you have been assigned to my ship for nearly a full month but this is the first time I have gotten to meet you in person. Your record is impeccable and your test scores show you are both skilled and intelligent, but I wanted to know. What is your goal, what is your purpose?”
David cocked his head slightly, a bit taken aback. He had not expected that from the navy man, it was usually enough for them to know he was a loyal soldier and not expressly psychotic and then that was it. It seemed that would not be enough for the Captain. Clearing his throat he croaked out in his shattered voice “I joined the military to help others. I was a direct transfer from USAR actually, my experience in dangerous environments and specialization in fires actually led the InfernoCorps to reach out to me. I saw no reason not to serve my Union in a more direct way, helping bring order to chaotic realms. In short, I do it for the people sir.” He finished simply.
Killoy nodded raven haired head and said “That's pretty much the feeling I got from looking at your record. How is your mother, if I may ask?”
David tensed a bit and replied “If it's allowable, that's a subject I don't really want to breach, with respect Commander.” He said, referencing the Captain’s rank directly.
Killoy swiped his tufted tail through the air behind him as he raised a hand and said “Fair enough, my apologies then. I guess I was just curious. You are one of the first Inferno units I have had the opportunity to meet face to face. Your company does have a bit of a reputation after all…” He said, trailing off as he showed the first bit of apprehensiveness David had seen from the man.
David gave a guttural chuckle at that and nodded his head as he said “And I swear only half of it is true, but I'm not telling which half.” This caused the attending ensign to back off a bit but the Captain just smiled revealing his blunt fungivorous teeth.
“I'm sure I know what you mean. In any sense, I'm glad you are here, if we have to burn out some brigands then your skills will come in very handy. The briefing will begin in five minutes.” and with that the man turned and glided away in that strange graceful gait that his species constantly exhibited. Their movements impossibly fluid and precise as if they were in total control of every muscle, nothing like the heavy rolling gait of a human or the slight bobbing trot of the slaaveth.
David sat silently as the last few minutes rolled by, the other officers and senior voidsmen filtering into the room in small groups. They didn't seem to notice him in the far corner, or at least they ignored him, which was just fine in his opinion. After the last person scuttled onto the bridge, the Captain stood and moved to the middle of the room in front of them and next to the holo tac-map projector.
Commander Killoy looked around the room with his expressive violet eyes, the light blue of his sclera reflecting the blue glow of the holoprojector next to him. Finally he spoke, his voice that same strange mix of feminine and male tenor “Thank you for joining me for this briefing, here's what we currently know.” He took a step to the side and referenced the holographic projection beside him. It seemed to show a large asteroid, large enough to have its own weak gravity field, though the colony would certainly have artificial gravity projectors.
“As far as we can tell from the last recorded messages before the alert went off, the colony was being approached by a large unmarked ship of indeterminable design. This being the case the traffic controller got nervous and sent out an alert over the hyperweb network before they went silent. The CMS Sails of Freedom was the nearest contactable ship on deployment and so we have been tasked with checking it out.” Commander Killoy stated without so much as a blink of emotion. He was focused and utterly ready for the task at hand.
David couldn't help but be swayed by the tall man’s stoic demeanor. He felt his pace quicken slightly and his adrenaline started to flow ever so slightly as the nerivith continued speaking “Here is the general layout of the station which the colonists refer to as Ultras Menas.” David watched intently as Commander Killoy made reference to the blue glowing holo tac-map beside him. He pointed out each major part as he described the plan.
“As you can see, it's a rather small colony, a mining settlement in fact. It only has two docking points, one is likely being held by whatever unsavory forces have taken the structure. This large asteroid the miners are built into is pockmarked with escape hatches and secondary points of entry and so this whole operation will depend on speed and precision so our enemies don't have time to get around us.” He paused in his briefing and gestured to a large atraxses man. The large white furred alien looking confused and on the verge of blurting a question. “Yes Deck Officer Grump? You have a burning question?”
The large, furred man looked around a bit nervously before asking in a deep voice “Well, we seem to be going in rather hot. How are we so sure the colony is even in trouble? How do we know the ship's intentions were hostile?” The question rang in the silence of the room, slight murmurs answering it as other voidsmen and officers muttered to themselves or neighbors.
David was tempted to speak out of turn and point out that there was a precedent for their actions, especially since the outpost had yet to call back and report an all clear. He was prevented from doing so however as Commander Killoy answered that very question using the same immutable logic.
The tall pink man’s sinuous tail flicked irritably, but other than this minor show of involuntary emotion his face remained impassive as he answered “There are no such thing as stupid questions Deck Officer Grump, but I should remind you that in the event of an alert, the colony or ship that sent it has six hours to send an all clear. As it has been nine hours since the alert and we haven't detected an all clear signal being broadcast from the system, we can reasonably assume that the worst has occurred.” He said with a wave towards the hologram.
David nodded his head, he doubted many of the crew on board the ship had ever seen serious combat. He had. He had been a part of several aggressive counter pirate operations as well as an assault on a warlord stronghold as a raw InfernoTrooper recruit.
He looked back to the briefing, Commander Killoy was talking once more, laying out their attack plan and making small notations on the tac-map for them to take note of. All in all it was a rather comprehensive briefing, all the relevant information was there. A station crew of eighty and a total colony population of almost three hundred souls, if it turned into a rescue operation they would need to call for backup as their ship didn't have the passenger capacity to accommodate the entire population.
As they reached the end of the briefing the Captain turned towards him and said “Specialist Class III David will be leading the secondary assault down the engineering quarter. Him and another pair of security officers will ensure that none of the hostiles are able to flank the main force. Is that clear?” Commander Killoy asked no one in particular, his violet eyes fixed on David’s reflective visor.
David stood suddenly and gave a salute as he grated out “Yes Commander!” His sudden movement and mutilated voice seemed to startle several of the nearby officers, one of the slaaveth even emitting a high pitched gurgle of surprise before hunching in slight embarrassment. David rolled his eyes behind his visor and sat back in his seat, completely unfazed by all outward appearances.
As the briefing officially came to a close he stood along with the others, the officers and senior voidsmen exiting the room in a large group. Davis stuck around behind till he, the Captain, and the slaaveth ensign were the only ones left in the room. He cleared his throat, a horrid choking sound that made Commander Killoy jerk his eyes towards him. “Pardon me Commander, but I was curious as to why I am on backup. As the only combat trained Corpsman on the ship surely I would be better used on the front lines?” he asked the ship's commander pensively.
The Captain just shook his horned head, his thick hair swaying as he said “That's precisely why I want you covering the flank. We don't really know what we are walking into and might need an alternate route or escape pathway in a hurry.” the man explained to him.
David nodded slightly as he listened to the plan, although he still didn't like it he had to admit the plan made a sort of sense. The Commander wasnt stupid, he surely had a plan in motion that would see them to ultimate victory. Now more confident in his place in the matter, David smiled behind his mask and grunted “Yes sir, I understand now. I will be in position, may I ask who my two comrades in arms are going to be?”
The Captain hesitated for a moment before answering “Well, I’m sure you are aware of the certain… aura that you project to those around you…” he started passing a long fingered hand over his small conical horns. “I didn't want to assign you personnel that might have inhibitions against you per say, so I asked for volunteers, I'm sure you understand.” the man added quickly.
David just sighed internally as he slumped slightly, it was always the same, they never even tried to get to know him. He knew he wasn't exactly the most forthcoming either, but still, it would have been nice to not be the boogey man for once. “I understand, and I take no offense, it's only practical of course.” he lied in his most convincing growl.
Commander Killoy seemed relieved by his statement and continued “I actually got two volunteers, Voidsman Greedi and Voidsman Leiah. Voidsman Greedi told me they had prior experience with human specialists and didn't mind and Voidsman Leiah, well, she seemed a bit excited to work with you strangely enough.” the nerivith man mused quietly.
This caused a frown to appear on his face, David wasn't sure he really liked the sound of that, none of the crew on the ship had ever shown him any interest beyond avoiding him, except… He shook his head, there was no way that little bird was going into an active combat zone just to get closer to him. It seemed too outlandish, Voidsman Leiah must be another crew member, not that swanith woman.
Giving the Captain a polite salute, he walked from the room, his questions answered but new troubles brewing in his mind. He thought about how he would deal with certain situations should they arise, playing over the mental images like a practice rink to formulate a plan for every conceivable contingency in advance. He liked to be on top of things like that.