It was a bright and humid summer day on the outskirts of the Ithaca settlement, and no soul on Elysium could have anticipated the disaster about to befall it.
Serviceman Jannik Novak continued his perimeter patrol as the settlement's laborers performed their duties. He slashed with his machete, cutting away the thick jungle brush crawling its way up the defensive plascrete wall circling the small town. "Another enemy of the Terran Sovereignty slain..." Novak grumbled.
"What the hell's eating you?"
Novak turned to his squadmate, Serviceman Grayson Moreau, and let out a low growl. As an Elysium native, Novak was no stranger to the dull colonial life, but even this was pushing the limit. Ithaca was an easy posting, a quiet settlement of less than a thousand that seldom saw anything beyond the occasional wild scalehound that came too close to the perimeter wall. But tedium is one of a soldier's worst enemies. "I'm bored as hell," Novak replied, "and I've been stuck on this rock for far too long."
"Would you give it a rest?" Moreau groaned. "We're three months into our rotation, and you're still complaining. You forget all the bullshit we had to deal with back in Athens?"
"I've had to deal with this crap my whole damn life," Novak grumbled. "Say what you will about the capital, but at least it kept us busy. I'm about to lose my damn mind out here."
Moreau rolled his eyes. "I don't see what your problem is," he said. "We get our three hots and a cot, and all we have to do is walk around all day."
"Whatever."
The two servicemen continued their patrol in relative silence until they reached the central plaza of Ithaca, where they radioed in an all-clear to headquarters. With the patrol finished, they could take a break for a while before starting the whole thing over again. "Moreau, you hungry?" Novak asked.
"Yeah, I could eat," he replied. "We off to see your ladyfriend again?"
Novak grinned and nodded. "You like your food edible, don't you?"
They started toward the center of Ithaca, passing through the tight stacks of prefabricated housing blocks that comprised the town's residential district. As they walked along, Novak glimpsed several flashes of light in the corner of his eye. He glared at Moreau, who was making odd gestures with his hand as he walked. Tiny sparks flashed and danced around his fingers with each motion before fading out of existence.
"What the hell are you doing?" Novak asked.
Moreau grinned sheepishly. "Exercising my mind," he replied. "Psychic abilities won't get stronger if you don't use them."
Novak rolled his eyes. Espers seemed to be popping up left and right these days, especially in the Soldier Caste, where they were actively praised and encouraged to cultivate their gifts. Novak, however, had never been lucky enough to develop them despite it running in the family.
"You're just jealous because I'm better than you at something," Moreau teased.
"Piss off."
"Sorry, man," Moreau chuckled. "I know it's a touchy subject for you."
Novak shook his head. "I've got nothing against espers," he said. "Just tired of living in my old man's shadow."
Moreau nodded knowingly. "Yeah, I get it," he replied as they continued walking through the town's narrow streets. "Hey, what about your girl?"
"What about her?"
"You two gonna get serious?" Moreau asked with a smirk. "You've been dating her since we got here. I mean, you're practically married at this point."
Novak rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. I mean, I like her and all, but I'm not sure about settling down. The old man would probably disown me if I married out of caste anyway. I'm just happy to see where things go for now."
They reached the central plaza, where a handful of markets and other businesses in the settlement had set up shop. Though the buildings had more flair to help draw in customers, they were still made up of the same prefabricated structures that dominated Ithaca's architecture.
The two servicemen continued through town until they reached their favorite eatery, Adler's Deli. The small restaurant was run by a family of Elysium locals who had their hands in most of the colony's food production, which meant that they didn't have to rely on the typical lab-grown fare that was standard issue for Terran servicemen.
As they stepped inside, a bell rang, and they were greeted by Naomi Adler, a tallish young woman with her blonde hair tied back into a messy bun. She beamed with delight at the sight of the two soldiers. "Hey, Jan," she greeted. "Hey, Gray."
"Ms. Adler," Novak smiled back.
"How are your patrols going?" Naomi asked him.
"I'm not authorized to discuss our operations with civilians," Novak replied, doing his best to hold back a sarcastic grin.
"That boring, huh?" Naomi chuckled. She looked over to Moreau. "Gray?"
He shrugged. "It's alright. Can't complain."
Novak glanced over to Moreau and rolled his eyes before returning to Naomi. "How about you? How's your day going?"
"Well, some lab tech was being a dick this morning," she replied as she leaned against the countertop. "He threw a fit because his breakfast sandwich wasn't cooked right. I listened to him go off about how 'the science caste is doing important work for the colony' for about twenty minutes before I could get him to shut up."
"Sounds like a real asshole," Novak said. "You should've told him to fuck off."
She shook her head. "I'm pretty sure they would have you and Gray arrest me for that," she replied with a smirk. "Higher caste, remember? I can't talk back to them like you guys do."
Novak frowned. "Right, sorry."
Naomi waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. Just another day in paradise." She straightened herself and clasped her hands together. "So, what can I get you two?"
"My usual," said Novak.
Moreau contemplated for a while as he looked over the menu before finally deciding on his order. "I think I'll go for the double-decker soyburger," he said. "Extra beef flavoring, please."
Naomi leaned slowly over the counter, lowering her voice so that only the three of them could hear. "You guys wanna try some real meat?" she asked with a mischievous grin.
Novak raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Got our first shipment today," she explained. "From the farms. None of that synthetic lab-grown crap you guys have been eating since you got here."
Moreau's eyes went wide. "Holy shit," he gasped. "You serious?"
Naomi shushed him and put a finger to her lips. "Keep it quiet!" she hissed. "We're supposed to do a proper inventory before we serve it. Mom would tan my hide if she heard about this. But... I think I can sneak some by for you two."
Moreau gave her a mock salute. "Your secret is safe with me, ma'am."
"Same here," said Novak. "Thanks, Naomi. You're the best."
"You know it, love." She smiled and blew Novak a kiss before disappearing into the kitchen to prepare their meals.
Novak and Moreau took their usual seats at one of the tables in the deli's dining area. The two servicemen sat in comfortable silence until an alert popped up in the AR display on their helmet visors. A small window appeared in Novak's field of view, displaying his platoon leader's face caked in a cold sweat. The fear in his eyes was apparent; something was very wrong.
"Novak. Moreau," he finally spoke. "We've got a situation. Once the alarms start sounding, I need you two to help get Ithaca's civilians to shelter. Do what you can to keep them calm."
Novak frowned. "Dad, what the hell's going on?" he asked. "This doesn't feel like another drill."
"Maintain decorum on official channels, Serviceman Novak. This is serious," he replied grimly. "We're under attack. Once you're done with the civilians, transport will bring you to FOB Argos. I'll need you both ready to fight. Understood?"
Moreau nodded nervously. "Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir," Novak echoed.
"Good to hear. Gunnery Chief Novak, out," he said before disappearing from the display.
Within moments, the howl of klaxons blared throughout the settlement, and a worried Naomi came charging from the kitchen with a condiment-smeared knife still in hand. At first, she was annoyed at the prospect of another evacuation drill, but when she saw the look on Novak's face, her expression turned to worry. "Jan?" she asked. "What's going on?"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"An emergency," he told her. "I don't know the full details, but we need everyone in the shelter ASAP. That means you, too."
Naomi nodded nervously. "Okay," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "Lead the way, Jan."
Without another word, the trio went outside and headed for the square, where another group of soldiers stood beside the open hatch leading to Ithaca's underground shelter. The soldiers were ushering confused civilians inside as they arrived, urging them to hurry up and get underground. The crowd moved slowly but orderly; most of them probably assumed this was another drill.
The shelter itself was nothing impressive. As with many colonial projects, it had been built on a shoestring budget and was only helpful in protecting from meteor impacts or other debris falling from orbit. Chances were slim that it would hold up against any military-grade weaponry, but it was still better than nothing.
Novak was anxious as he gestured for Naomi to head inside. "You should go," he told her. "See if you can find your family."
"You're not coming?" she asked worriedly.
He shook his head. "We're needed elsewhere," Novak explained. "Look, I'll um... I'll see you when this is all over, okay?"
The girl offered a faint smile before embracing him. "We'll make a date night out of it," she said. "Something fancy, maybe?"
Novak let out a quiet chuckle. "As fancy as Ithaca will allow," he muttered. "But yeah, anything you want, Naomi."
Naomi sighed. "Whatever is about to happen out there—please just come back in one piece, okay?" she said as she pulled away from him. "No extra holes or bits of metal either."
He nodded without a word, and Naomi gave him their last kiss. She turned away and disappeared into the shelter with the rest of the civilians as Novak watched over them quietly. He would have said so much more had he known he would never see her again.
Once everyone was underground, the soldiers closed the hatch and headed toward the edge of town where their transportation would be waiting. As they walked through Ithaca, Novak couldn't help but notice how empty the streets were now. It was as if the whole settlement had been abandoned overnight; only the cacophony of sirens and flashing emergency lights proved that anyone still lived there.
Soon, Ithaca's warning sirens gave way to the roar of a heli-jet's idling engines as it waited in an open field just outside town. The soldiers boarded the aircraft, which took off almost immediately once they buckled themselves in. Another window popped up in Novak's AR display, this time showing the heli-jet's pilot and gunner.
"Good afternoon, Servicemen," the pilot began. "I'm Lieutenant Richter, and this is Gunnery Chief Bowman. We've been tasked with briefing you on the situation in transit. Relevant data will be sent to your displays as we go."
Two images popped into view: one an array of satellite dishes, another a photo of several ship-sized heat signatures in orbit around Elysium. "This morning at 1000 hours local time, our communications center in Athens detected numerous heat signatures in orbit consistent with naval vessels. Several attempts were made to hail them, but there was no response."
A map of the local area then replaced the previous images. FOB Sparta had a red X over it, as did the Delphi settlement. "At 1042 hours local time, we lost communications with FOB Sparta. At 1113 hours local time, Delphi went dark shortly after sending a distress call. The message indicated that we are being invaded by an unknown extraterrestrial force. All anti-ship batteries have been given standing orders to fire on anything not broadcasting the proper IFF codes."
A red arrow appeared on the map just above FOB Argos. "Argos is one of our more heavily fortified bases of operations, equipped with several batteries of anti-ship railguns. Our forces at FOB Argos have reported engagements with enemy scouts and advancing ground forces. We'll drop your group at the northern perimeter, where you'll link up with Gunnery Chief Novak and the others already on site."
A star map of the Terran Sovereignty's territory was then displayed. A large red arrow pointed at the path between the Midgard System and the colony's location in the Ursa System. "There's a small fleet en route to cover our evacuation, but they won't arrive for at least a day. The anti-ship batteries in Athens and Argos are the only thing protecting us right now, so we need to hold them for as long as possible. The colony's heli-jet wing will make supply drops and provide air support where possible, but you'll be mostly on your own on the ground. The citizens of the Sovereignty depend on you, Servicemen. Good luck down there."
The flight from Ithaca to Argos was usually a short 30-minute jaunt via heli-jet, but after the harrowing briefing, it was the longest 30 minutes of Novak's life. The cabin was silent save for the muffled roar of the heli-jet's engines, and the uncertainty hanging in the air was so thick that one could have cut it with a knife. Just a small group of soldiers, double-checking and triple-checking their gear, unaware of what they were about to get themselves into. This was not a shootout with a gang of armed criminals or a pack of rabid animals; this was war.
They were about five minutes out when Novak heard the distant roar of Argos's anti-ship batteries firing non-stop.
Several green orbs of energy zoomed past the aircraft's exterior as it banked hard to the side. Lieutenant Richter's voice crackled over the intercom. "Hot LZ! Hot LZ!" he shouted. "Prepare for immediate disembarkment!"
The heli-jet rapidly dropped altitude as it approached the FOB, eventually hovering just above the ground before touching down with a thud. The rear hatch flew open with a hiss, and the soldiers quickly joined the chaos of the ongoing battle. Machine gun mounts on the northern perimeter belched lead at unseen enemies in ear-piercing bursts. Infantrymen on the wall fired their weapons from behind cover while a hail of green energy blasts pounded the wall and whizzed overhead.
It took Novak a few moments to gain his bearings, but his father, the Gunnery Chief, was nearby, already bellowing orders at the fresh batch of reinforcements. "Everyone! Northern wall! Move! Move! Move!"
With a quick nod, Novak shouldered his rifle and climbed the steps, ducking behind cover just as a blast of energy buzzed by his head. He took a few short breaths to steady himself, then popped out to get eyes on the attackers. A formation of nine-foot-tall humanoid forms clad in sleek, silvery armor slowly advanced through the jungle. Each carried a bulky, rifle-sized weapon that fired green energy bolts, each shot exploding with concussive force and scorching whatever they struck.
Novak leaned out of cover, aimed center mass, and squeezed the trigger to fire off a burst from his assault rifle. His target recoiled, and sparks flew from its armor as it was hit, but the invader soon recovered and continued its advance. Novak ducked back into cover just as another bolt whizzed past his head. "Shit!" he cursed. "Negative damage, their armor's too heavy!"
The Gunnery Chief's voice boomed over the headset in Novak's helmet. "Pick a target and keep shooting!" he ordered. "Their armor's tough, but it's not unbreakable! Keep firing, and you'll get through!"
Novak popped out of cover and fired off several more bursts at the same target. The alien staggered backward this time, dropping its weapon as it collapsed onto the ground. The other soldiers on the wall followed suit, slowly picking off the invaders one by one, but their numbers seemed endless as they continued marching forward in near-perfect formation.
A hail of molten metal peppered Novak's armor as an energy blast chewed through the section of wall he was hiding behind. He threw himself prone and scrambled to fresh cover as another bolt sizzled through the air above him. A scream suddenly cut through the din of battle as one of his squadmates was struck by enemy fire. The blast had knocked him clean off the wall, and he was now clutching what remained of his right arm as a medic tended to his injuries.
As more of his fellow soldiers were cut down, the stench of burnt flesh and ozone filled Novak's nostrils while his ears began to ring from the ceaseless roar of gunfire. His heart raced as adrenaline coursed through his veins, but he pressed onward and kept firing, determined to survive this hellish ordeal.
Another barrage of energy blasts grabbed Novak's attention as they dissipated harmlessly against some invisible barricade. His father had joined him up on the wall and, with an outstretched hand, was projecting a barrier of kinetic force. The man was an esper—like Moreau—but capable of far more than shooting fireworks out of his fingertips."Get the hell off my planet!" he shouted, making a sweeping gesture with his hand.
The Gunnery Chief's wall of force transformed into an offensive blast that tore through the invaders' formation. Some were launched through the air, while others were thrown to the ground and crushed beneath the sheer force of the attack. As the Gunnery Chief slipped back behind cover to catch his breath, Novak seized the opportunity to fire off several more bursts at the downed aliens, adding a few more tick marks to his kill count.
However, as Novak took a moment to evaluate the battlefield, he spotted another formation of invaders emerging from the jungle. Their armor was even heavier, and each was armed with a shoulder-mounted energy cannon instead of the usual rifle. Before he could open fire on the new threat, a pair of hands pushed him to the ground. "Get down!"
The whole world exploded around him as the heavy cannons tore through the wall and turned it into rubble. When he came to a few moments later, his back was against the ground, and the ringing in his ears drowned out everything around him. The blast had removed a section of his helmet, and most of his armor was cracked and torn. He could feel the sting of fresh lacerations and bruises covering his body, but he was still alive.
Despite his injuries, he did his best to reassess the situation. The section of wall he had been standing on had been reduced to a gaping hold of molten metal and shattered plascrete, and the invaders were still bearing down on them. One machine gun nest was still firing away, but only a handful of his fellow soldiers remained. Novak glanced about, looking for his father's guidance, but his heart sank when he found him.
The Gunnery Chief's body lay motionless on the ground nearby, devoid of any signs of life. Several pieces of steel rebar had pierced his chest, and horrific burns covered most of his exposed skin. He had managed to save his son's life at the cost of his own.
A flurry of energy bolts flew over Novak's head, denying him any time to mourn. Something terrible awakened inside him, and what should have been crushing despair became an unstoppable rage that immediately boiled over. As he grabbed his father's rifle and turned toward the invaders, a primal scream erupted from within.
The invaders' formation continued to advance through the breach in the wall, but the sight of the madman before them gave them a moment of pause. He emptied an entire magazine into one of them, then threw the empty weapon at another. As he reached for his pistol, the invaders opened fire, but each of their shots seemed to explode harmlessly as the air rippled around him.
In the heat of battle, at the apex of desperation, Novak's mind had finally awakened. It was as though he had torn the nozzle off of a firehose and aimed the ensuing deluge at his enemies. Blood gushed from his nose, and the inside of his skull felt like it was on fire, but none of that mattered. There were targets in front of him, and they all had to die.
Novak reached a hand out toward one of them and clenched his fist, causing its armor to crumple inward as though crushed by an invisible vice grip. He then flung the alien through the air with a broad swipe. The creature crashed into another of its comrades, sending both sprawling onto the ground. Several invaders moved in to surround him to open fire, but the barrier surrounding him held fast against their barrage. Borrowing a play from his late father, he weaponized it, screaming as it exploded outward and decimated the invaders' ranks.
As more soldiers poured into the breach to reinforce their position, Novak unleashed his newfound powers on the invaders with reckless abandon. He hurled them through the air, crushed them beneath invisible forces, and tore them limb from limb with telekinetic blasts. The invaders were no match for his relentless fury, and as the Terran defenders began to regroup and reinforce their positions, the invaders were forced to retreat into the jungle.
After a few final potshots from each side, the battle had finally quieted, along with the ringing in Novak's ears, but with his mind now fully opened, the whole world was louder than anything he had ever known. Joy. Fear. Sorrow. Rage. Hope. Despair. It all came pouring in like never before. A legion of voices screamed over one another, every word like a jackhammer driving its way into Novak's skull.
He fell to the ground, screaming as the backlash from his psychic awakening overwhelmed him completely. Blood and tears streamed down his face, and his entire body throbbed in pain. It felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out, but he struggled to keep himself conscious as he crawled toward where his father lay dead. He reached for the man's dog tags, pulled them off his lifeless corpse with trembling hands, and clutched them tightly in his grasp as the world around him faded into darkness.