* Scene Two ─ Shell Wielder

> We didn't defeat them, time did

"When are you returning back to the space station?" The commander asked.

The Belden Base's command center was a fairly eye-catching building. Not just because of its appearance, but also of its height. It was only a little shorter than the towers at the rocket launching station’s sides.

"Jensen?" The commander called out, looking out the window.

"At around... tomorrow at noon," the man standing in the middle of the war room answered.

"Commander..." He said, hesitated a little.

"Jensen, we've talked about this," the commander turned around, his face serious, and sat back down in the chair. "You belong to us, the Airborne Chasers, especially since your service isn't over yet."

"I can sense them."

"Oh, I never doubted that," the commander responded, leaning back. "Even though we've paid quite a lot of price for it, your shell wielding technique did improve significantly, didn't it?"

Jensen frowned slightly.

"I thought I had some... connection with them," he opened up.

“I can sense their 'thoughts', those creatures are thinking of going somewhere," he said certainly. "If I can just find—"

"Enough," the commander then leaned closer to the desk. "Jensen Cavil, I'm not permitting you to enter the Death Ring," he ordered. "You're the only one who survived in that experiment years ago. I'm not allowing you to go anywhere beyond the S.D.A's protection. Losing you will be our biggest loss ever."

"I can handle those monsters."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"You can handle one Star Creature alone, Jensen. I'll admit that's pretty impressive, but new Star Creatures drop in everyday. God knows how many of their kind are there," the commander retorted.

"With all due respect, commander," Jensen thought for a split second before opening up again.

"I think we've already won this battle," he said. "We've rebuilt the world, we've successfully blocked off their invasion."

"By sacrificing how many Sheerians?"

The commander's reply caught Jensen completely off guard.

"You're right, we did save this planet," he continued. “‘Temporarily’ saved it," he deliberately emphasized on the word.

"We've lost so many excellent Chasers, too many..."

"Do you know how many times I've watched those kids that became Chasers leave, and never see them come back."

Jensen remained silent.

"You know what the funniest part of it is?" The commander lifted his brows. "The fact that till now, it is still happening. The Star Creatures have been showing up more frequently, and every single year we still need to send the soldiers out from here, when we know deep in our hearts that some of them won't survive the battle. Do you know how many of the Chasers we've lost?"

Jensen shook his head.

"One," the commander lifted his index finger. "During the past five minutes I've been talking to you, an average of one Chaser loses their life in the battlefield every five minutes," he stated.

"I had three kids, three kids the same age around you right now," he carried on. "That is if they're still alive."

"Commander..."

"Every time I look at their pictures, I remind myself that this battle isn't over." The man sitting in front of the desk said with a low, determined voice.

"We're far from it,” he shook his head. "We're far from this battle being over. It won't end until we've eliminated every single one of them that invaded."

A deafening silence suddenly oppressed the Belden Base’s war room.

Jensen temporarily closed his eyes, then took a deep breath.

“Understood, commander,” he gave a slight nod.

“I don’t know how many of them there are, but at least we’ve got you, Jensen,” the commander said. “It’s also a pity that you’re the only one that we’ve got. So before we discover a more efficient way to kill those monsters, you have to carry the responsibility.”

“I don’t care what they want,” the commander paused mid-sentence. “But I want them gone from this planet.”

Jensen did not know how to react, so he stood silent for a moment. Then he placed his heels together, saluted with a serious look. “As you wish, commander.”

“For the Stars, Jensen.”

“For the Stars, commander,” Jensen responded. He then retrieved his hand, and turned around to leave.