It had been seventeen days since I had found my way into the small shuttle that barely passed as more than a floating heap of scrap metal in space. With each passing day it became more and more obvious how small the craft was, even for a crew of just one. The ship was a very small transport vessel made for moving in between large ships or for detaching and repairing outer damages. The main room of the ship, albeit the only room of the ship, was large enough to hold a cramped single-chaired cockpit with limited controls, a table for tools which doubled as my bed, and a small chute that was my current method of relieving myself as unpleasant as it was. In no way was this ship meant for any serious travel and I was definitely putting the vessel to the test now by taking it so far away for my mission.

As the seventeenth day started to come to an end and I began to undress for bed, I thought again about what would happen if my plan wasn't successful. There was no mystery or unanswered question. I would be punished both physically and mentally. So going back empty handed wasn't an option for me at this point. As a matter of fact, returning from any mission with any result aside from success was never an option. But I wasn't scared. I had learned very early during my training in the academy that controlling my emotions and how much I felt was a key component to keeping a clear mind during missions. So I restrained my emotions to only be felt when I had absolutely no control over them in such places like my dreams and nightmares.

I shoved on a pair of pants and a shirt that smelled past its prime but there was nothing I could do about the state of my clothes. I had already run out of sanitary wipes three days ago and despite my strict orders to carry out my mission I dared to look for a nearby planet or moon to make a pit stop. It was either that or I would slowly run out of my remaining drinking water and risk dying from dehydration. And funny enough death wasn't an excuse for failing a mission.

Tapping away on the hologram keyboards in front of me, I located a planet a two lightyear away that seemed to have life on the surface. I ran diagnostics on the planet from the ship's database before deciding to pick up a nearby tablet to read from while the computer racked through the countless planets and systems in my portable computer's drive that was currently plugged into the rust bucket. Though this ship had the basic functions for running diagnostics and sorting through information it had nowhere near enough drive storage for the mission I was on so I had to provide my own boost. The only asset I had if I were to be captured-precious knowledge from my planet that didn't like sharing their hard earned information.

On my planet of Aurum there were certain skills I was taught from a young age that differed from the natives of the planet. Aliens such as myself were expected to be able to excel in every subject. Failing was never something taken lightly and I often found my classmate numbers dwindling as some were disposed of for failing too many times. There was no room on my planet for disappointment or failure of any kind and the aliens like me who were given a home on Aurum were no exception to this rule.

From as early as I could remember I knew how to read, write, and code faster than any native Aurum. A select few of us aliens, the best of the best, were then selected to learn more skills and trades that would advance us. We were to become their most elite and yet private branch of the military. Phantoms in space.

Thinking of the training that I endured everyday at the academy, I instinctively reached a hand down to my right side and felt one of the many weapons strapped to the outside of my right thigh. My fingers itched to let loose a few bullets but I knew that doing that in this piece of lurd spacecraft was asking for a death sentence. I thirsted for the sting of fighting again despite the bitter memories that my childhood training had given me. Unlike some at the academy, I was not under any impression that Aurum's generals that lead the academies were our saviors. I knew early on that we were being tortured and stripped from all pleasures life had to offer all for the mere glory and stability in return. Their mistake was letting me go on missions from an early age and be allowed to witness how other planets and species treated their warriors. On Aurum you are nothing if not replaceable once you fail.

Yet when you're only given a choice to become a mule for Aurum's elite or to become a killing machine able to defend yourself, you'd often choose as much freedom as you're offered. I wasn't brainwashed into loving my planet or the society that preferred to put us aliens on the front line because their native people were 'valuable assets' compared to us, I was simply doing my best to survive in this alien eat alien galaxy.

I raised my eyes from the textbook I was reading as the computer buzzed with new information. The nearest planet that my ship detected was controlled by the Huskalarians which wasn't an entirely good sign. I had memorized the minute details of each planet and species we had encountered in the surrounding galaxies whether they were friend or foe. Aurum was an elite planet controlled by a constitutional monarchy meaning that our queen decided most of the actions but was guided and limited in power by our elders. Our planet sourced a very valuable metal that was often used in trade with other resourceful planets. We had advanced technology and trade alliances that made our planet a powerful and rich spot in the solar system we inhabited. Our planet had little to do with Huskalarians whose home planet was heavily protected and still pretty much uncharted territory for Aurum. The Huskalarians were bipedal aliens that were advanced in technology and weaponry but brute in their customs and traditions. The Aurum had no use for them. But I could handle brute and would risk landing on their planet for a chance to gather supplies before continuing on my mission.

I checked my systems energy, fuel, and supplies once more before deciding it couldn't be helped. I would just have to tread with caution and manually delete my system before I got too close to the planet's atmosphere. With that thought in mind I locked my ship's navigation system onto the planet before switching to autopilot. I shuffled around the ship as I changed into my black mission suit that hugged my skin like a second layer and had cryptic coloration technology that allowed me to blend in with my surroundings. A belt around my waist held several useful tools and foods in case I was to be stranded somewhere, though it couldn't carry much. Around my calves were upholsters for my pistol blasters. More tools and weapons were hidden in various places on my suit just in case I couldn't make it back to my ship and had to fight my way out. All that I needed to put on was my helmet, concealing my features entirely, which would allow me to breathe while floating in space and avoid getting my brain blown into bits by blastors. My suit was quite literally a life saver in several tricky situations.

An alarm suddenly erupted in the small ship followed by a blinking red light, so I returned to the control panel and felt my stomach drop at the new data piling in. There was a war ship, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, closing in and it was about to grab my ship and pull it into it's cargo bay. No doubt it was the Huskalarians protecting their planet. Well fuck.

I quickly swiped my fingers across the keyboard ignoring the incoming message from the war ship and erasing my personal system from the vessel's computer, yanking out my data chip and placing it in a secure pocket on my belt. I stood up and gave a last glance around the cabin, making sure I didn't leave anything behind. Once I was satisfied after a once over I began to move to the other side of the small ship under the flood of the red flashing light.

Sliding my helmet over my face the ship jerked to the side as it was being pulled in by the warship. I moved to the small escape hatch on the right side of the ship and slipped into the small tube. I closed the hatch above me and pulled the red lever to my side, allowing the cap by my feet to open. I moved quickly and efficiently as I eased out of the small spaceship that I had known as home for seventeen days. After attaching an adaptable grappling hook to the side of my ship I began crawling along the exterior and peering around a wing to gaze upon the large warship in front me. It was definitely a very large ship and the design resembled something of a mountain that came to a sharp point at the top. I wanted to gaze upon the ship longer and wonder about the mechanics and design purposes of this specific ship but I had no time to waste when I was in the middle of being caught in a mission. The ship continued to be pulled towards the open cargo bay of the warship in front of me and I couldn't help but marvel for another second at the advanced technology they had access to.

After assessing the cargo bay as stealthily as I could, I moved back down the side of my ship and carefully climbed between the folds on the underside of the ship before attaching another grappling hook and recoiling the first one. There was a small spot on the belly of the ship where I could hide and would not be spotted, even if someone peered under the ship for stowaways, which was one of the many reasons I chose this shitty ship to travel in for this mission. The ship was pulled into the cargo bay and a moment later a white blinking light flashed through the room as the cargo bay slowly closed. Under the spaceship I was nestled into the space between the folds of the belly of the ship, the lack of gravity still holding me in the air. I placed my elbows and legs on the short notches next to me to keep myself from falling when they turned the artificial gravity on. Though the grappling hooks were great for not floating off into space, they didn't support your full weight very well.

Moments later I heard a few thuds as some things seemed to fall to the ground, along with the thud of the ship. I ground my teeth as one of my elbows slipped but I replaced it quickly as the sound of heavy footsteps filled the room followed by deep voices. I shoved my body against one side of my stowaway compartment by using the force of both my legs and then fiddled with the small panel on my left arm. A moment later I heard the transcribed conversation in my ear as the voices continued to talk and my helmet's computer filtered their words.

"... debris floating through the sky. Especially after what happened over on... where was it again?"

"C-4X Delta."

"Right. Let's just hurry up and scan it so we can get back to the party."

"Alright. Just hold on a minute." I heard the shuttle door opening on the ship and felt a shift when the two aliens boarded the small vessel. Their muffled voices barely came through the ship and anything they said was related to it being abandoned with no reserves.

"Poor soul probably realized they were out of fuel and locked themselves into the airlocke."

"I doubt it. Something about this isn't right. It feels..."

"Look, do you want to examine an empty spaceship further? Or do you want to delve into the pleasure of tonight's feast? Capturing those space slugs was a proper sendoff for us returning home." I tilted my head at the mention of the Hermeefs. They were slug-like bipedal creatures that physically spoke very little but had a very vast sense of knowledge. My current mission was to catch up with the Hermeefs, who slowly moved through space, and carry out my orders. If there was a possibility that these aliens on this warship had run into the Hermeefs and plundered their stolen goods then I needed to check out this ship. It was my mission to retrieve the stolen Aurum goods from the Hermeefs.

"No. You're right," one of the Huskilarians receded. At the sound of their retreating footsteps and the closing of an automatic door I let out a silent sigh. I slowly lowered myself from the spaceship before rolling from the underside and taking a detailed look at my new surroundings. There were a few other ships in the bay but they were temporarily fastened to the ground. Other than the seven or so small ships there were a few crates and odds and ends around the room that didn't seem strapped down. After finding the door which the aliens must have disappeared behind I walked over to it, glancing around for nearby cameras.

I looked through the glass of the door before slipping out into the hall and finding there to be two different turns. I took the one on the left and pulled both of my guns from their holsters just in case I ran into trouble in the very dimly lit ship. I wondered why the lights were so dimmed on their ship and hoped it had less to do with them not needed much light to see well and more to do with it being their bedtime.

I traveled down the metal hallway until I came up to a fork in the path. I chose the furthest one from my right and made my way down the path while keeping an ear out for footsteps.

I had no real route planned out but I kept my turns in my mind to know how to backtrack once I found what I needed. I wanted to find the stolen goods but if I ran into any captive Hermeefs in the process then that would do just as well. Sure enough after a few more turns, some deadends that I had to redirect upon, I found stairs leading down to what looked like holding cells.

I carefully servalenced the room and found a guard stationed at the end of the hall who looked to be doing rounds around the room. There were cells lined up on both sides of the room and by the looks of it they were pretty cramped with none other than the bipedal slugs. I hid behind an erect support beam of the ship until the guard came around again, providing me with the perfect opportunity to swiftly move behind him. Before he could use his brunt force against me, I slipped my body around his until I was on his back where it took three blows to his head to knock him out. Luckily the Huskilarian seemed to still be breathing after he slumped to the ground next to the support beam.

Moving over to the bars on the right side of the dark room I peered in at the sluggish creatures. From traveling for my never ending rounds of missions I saw a lot of creatures and aliens but few compared to Hermeefs. They were bipedal aliens with green skin that was always covered in a thin layer of running mucus, a mucus that would glow when a female Hermeef was ovulating nearby. Their eyes protruded from two stalks in their head that retreated inwards when poked. They had only two toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand though they always wore shoes so you'd never guess the first part about them. And yet while these aliens seemed sluggish and unassuming they were one of the most cunning and distrustful aliens in the galaxy. Hermeefs were cruel and dishonorable, willing to trade their comrades or even their own kin if the price was right. But here in these cells with nothing to equip them in a fight, they were helpless.