"This way! Hurry!" I screamed at the top of my lungs in hopes that the whole crew heard me.

But I couldn't stop to find out, I kept on dashing. The echoes of my steps were absorbed by the blaring alarms. The red lights didn't help matters either.

"Captain!" Andy's voice called from some distance behind. "I've signaled the AA-X mothership for support! No one," he puffed. "was on the receiving end!"

He was soon running at my pace, about to overtake me.

If only I didn't eat that mountain of breakfast. I cursed inwards.

"Andy!" I yelled over the alarms. "As long as you've signaled for backup, no matter how far out in the cosmos we are, they'll find us!" For obvious reasons I didn't believe my own words but it was my job as captain to make sure my crew maintained high spirits.

Andy changed the topic, focusing on the life-threatening 'now'. "How long till this ship blows?!"

A very loud explosion went off, drowning the alarms.

I clasped my ears as another one followed. "Do you still want me to answer that?!"

He mouthed something like "what?" But all I could hear was a ringing in my ear. That explosion wasn't from the engine room seeing as the whole ship hadn't been engulfed yet but I was betting the flames would reach the engine room in the next minute. In order words, we had less than sixty seconds to live.

Nonetheless, Andy and I kept sprinting. Whichever genius came up with the idea of not installing windows in a mega disc-shaped spaceship was who I'd haunt in the next life.

"We're not going to make it to the door in time are we?" Andy's voice was muffled, but the sadness in it was crystal clear.

"Only one door in a military-grade battleship, I don't think it was our fault, buddy." I gave him a wavering smile.

"You and Vee would have been great together, you know?"

I sniffed hard. "Yeah, I know."

My feet had started to fail me, and Andy's also.

"If only-" I sniffed back the tears as I fell to my knees. "If only I didn't accept that Ascension. Then she wouldn't be dead. Our first unsupervised mission... and I blew it."

The whistling sound of hoverboard engines reached my ears, followed by Vee's voice. "You grab Andy, I'll grab Marco!"

And suddenly, I was swooped off the ground and plopped down on a speeding neon blue hoverboard. The change in pace was overwhelming, I almost flew off the board but luckily I latched onto its edges for dear life. It was about two meters in area.

I looked up to see Vee in her white jumpsuit, her bright blue hair throwing caution to the wind as she surfed. "You're alive!" I jubilated.

She looked back down at me and rolled her eyes before turning towards Zara who also rode a hoverboard beside her. "Boys are idiots!"

Zara nodded and they both faced forward. Andy, who was clinging onto Zara's board, looked outraged but his comeback was cut short by what sounded like the mother of all explosions which sent a rumble everywhere, and then suddenly the ship began to slope.

The engine room!

"Hang on!" Vee warned before making a nasty drift that sent me halfway off the board and then back on it. My heart must have skipped some beats but I knew the worst was yet to come because now the huge metal door was in view and we were closing the gap by the seconds.

"DOOR!" Andy wrenched the words from my mouth.

Zara blew a patch of sleek black hair away from her eye before hurling a handful of diamond-shaped micro-mites; the trending explosive pocket grenades.

Sparks, smoke, and popping noises followed, and vaguely through the smoke, I could see an opening to the reddish outdoor atmosphere.

That's when the explosions went wild. Simultaneous blasts rang from every corner of the ship until our path was illuminated with the trailing rush of flames.

It chased us to consume us and it came close till I could feel the heat singe my skin.

"Marco, push me off, now!" Vee screamed.

At this point, I frantically obeyed and speared her off the board, sending us both off the edge and into free fall. Looking back up, I sighted the blast as it engulfed the hoverboards and belched out through the exit we just used. Then the explosion consummated with so much light, heat and noise. I shut my eyes tight as I held on to Vee's waist. The force of the blast accelerated our plummet. We might have escaped death by fire but death by force was certainly inevitable.

Suddenly I heard a FWOOP and a strong force dragged me upward, stopping my momentum. I dared peek and discovered Vee had opened a parachute. We were both now drifting slowly onto the rocky grey soil.

I let out a relieved laugh. "You're a genius!"

She nudged me so hard in the ribs that I let go of her to clutch the affected area. Then I rethought my move as gravity called me.

With a yelp, I fell to the dirt. Luckily it wasn't a high distance, but it was a painful crash nonetheless.

"Awww." Dust clouds from my fall swarmed me. I coughed and sat up. A little popping noise escaped my elbow.

"Treason!" I screamed as Vee lightly touched the ground, her parachute deflating as she did so.
"Attempted murder!" I continued.

Andy and Zara touched down close by. Zara seemed okay with Andy holding her by the waist.

"Do that again Captain, and I assure you, I will not just attempt murder." Vee glared down at me.
She then strolled to meet Zara while Andy approached me with a jog. His red curly hair flopped up and down as he did so. "We made it Marco!"

Alas, the explosion above me couldn't be compared to the explosion within me. At least that was what I thought until I looked up at the huge clouds of smoke and considered the rumbling noises that were still mighty from thousands of feet above. Ok maybe the explosion above was a bit greater, still, I didn't think Vee would reject me so... utterly. I was the stuff of dreams back at the training academy and after the Ascension, I thought Vee and I were becoming something.

Why had she turned so cold recently? I pondered.

"You okay Cap?" Andy inquired.

"Never better!" I had to put my field in front of my feelings. It was what was required of me.

Suppressing my previous thoughts, I rose my voice to inquire about the team's condition. "Is everyone okay?!"
Even at the max pitch, I barely heard myself. My ears rang from the explosion.

Everyone did a quick self-examination before confirming they were intact. Everyone except... "Where's Mex?" I looked around.

"Hello, Captain!" His little robot voice called out from above.

Craning my head up, I saw his new miniature body descending with an even more miniature parachute. We watched as he landed in the middle of our rough circle.

Up till then, I still questioned how his new three feet tall body matched the blue camouflage paint job. "Whew, glad you could make it. I was almost scared we lost you. Again."

I looked up at the rest of the crew, their eyes were now trained on me. Zara spoke first. "So what's next?"

Only a few understood the burden of being Captain. I somehow cherished that burden. It was times like these when my ability was tested and I hoped my leadership ability wouldn't fail me like my charm.

"The tips of your spiky white hair are now dyed blue." Mex broke the silence.

I stared back blankly at his glowing pixel eyes which slowly bounced up and down his eye space. I didn't know how to respond.

Finally, I decided to sigh and face the rest of the crew. "Ok guys, one year ago Commander Helix appointed us as Taskforce Alpha to source the galaxy for Heatromite, the rare fuel gem. We were so hyped when he gave us that Ascension that we vowed to go to any lengths to make sure we fulfilled our missions. Now I have only one question for all of you."

My eyes swept around the crew but something about Andy's height discomforted me. Spotting a jagged rocky pedestal, I hopped onto it and looked down on them. "Are you still hyped?!"

They shared a glance and then looked up at me. Vee spoke first. "Morale has a way of fading fast. Especially after barely escaping an assassination attempt."

"You have a point..." I stroked my chin.

Zara looked bummed out. "This was our very first mission beyond the Alliance's domain, beyond surveillance. Maybe we aren't cut out for this job."

"Guys c'mon it's not hopeless yet." I looked around at the despaired faces. "Right Andy?"

He had his arms crossed and a downcast expression. "All our supplies, our weapons... gone."

I slammed a fist on my palm. "We'll find out who fired at our ship. I promise."

They eyed me with doubt.
Vee sighed. "I know you're trying to be optimistic but could you for once try realistic? We're stranded on a strange grey planet which, according to the briefing we got, was supposed to be uninhabited. But the attack proved otherwise and now we have nowhere to go, no food or supplies, and a target on our backs."

"Well, I contacted the AA-X mother ship before the control room was destroyed," Andy muttered. "But it was a live transmission I attempted, not a recorded message. And with nobody on the receiving end, the transmission was incomplete."

Just when I thought I'd lost my leadership skills like I lost my charm, I had a light bulb moment.

"I'm going to give you a breakdown of the two options before us," I said.

They all kept their gaze on me. Perhaps I still had it. "We could either sit here and wait for backup which is likely not coming,"

Andy perked. "I thought you told me-"

"Or... we could scour the planet Sorok and find out who fired at our spaceship and where exactly the Heatromite is located. Which one will it be?"

They glanced at each other again and then back at me. This time Vee spoke first. "What if backup doesn't arrive? Even if we get the Heatromite, how will we get off this planet?"

I crossed my arms, attempting to somehow come up with a good answer. But my focus was disrupted when I spotted a forehead protruding from behind a boulder a few meters away from us. We were being watched.

I drew my laser pistol and pointed it at the forehead, just below the dark blue-gelled hair. "Come out, slowly." I called."You're at gunpoint."

My teammates were puzzled until a tall boy slowly rose from behind the rock. He was muscular and clad in a slim fitted jumpsuit just like us only that the color of his was sky-blue and the badge was different; instead of AA-X inscribed in a black shield, it was a bold golden 'V' inscribed in a golden circle.

"A Vana Soldier?" Andy gasped.

The boy had his dark blue eyes trained on my gun with a cold calculating expression on his face.

I maintained my position. "I must warn you, I go by 'captain bullseye'."

Vee scoffed. "No, you don't." She faced the Vana Soldier. "No, he doesn't. Now, what do you want?" She had her hand ready to pull out her laser pistol.

"Relax Alliance Soldiers, I come in peace."

"Prove it," I said.

He heaved a sigh and sat down on a smoothish rock. "The name's Stiv Sadawaski."

Andy choked back a laugh and Stiv shot him a stern look.

"Alright Stiv, why shouldn't we open fire?" I flexed my fingers around the handle of my laser gun.

"Relax, are you Alliance folks always so low on patience? I'm getting there. So like I said, my name is Stiv and I'm a spy for Vana's Covert Ops division 6."

"Impressive title. Better than ours. Continue." I switched my laser gun to my other hand so the first one could rest.

"I was dispatched here on this planet to search for and retrieve samples of Heatromite. But the Naroid Soldiers here are not very hospitable. So I-"

"Wait did you say, Naroid soldiers?" Andy cringed. "Like the big bad robot wolves?"

"Yes. The Naroid Star Kingdom has since replaced all its foot soldiers with killer robot wolves. I thought the mighty Allied Alliance X would have known that by now." Stiv arched a brow.

I felt a blow to my dignity. Maybe because I was a captain, or because I was a proud soldier of the Alliance. Whatever the reason, I grimaced as I retorted. "The Alliance always knew about the robot replacement operation. If we were still back at the mother ship, I'm definitely sure we'd have gotten the briefing that the Naroid Star-kingdom had accomplished that. But we're also at war with Vana Star-Kingdom, and we're looking for Heatromite. So hand it over."

Stiv looked down at his golden wristband and then up at me. His posture was still relaxed. "Oh there's a ton of Heatromite on this planet alright, but the Naroid soldiers are overwhelming. You'd be foolish to enter their line of sight."

He then looked up at the clouds of smoke that still lingered up in the sky from the explosion. "Looks like something already did."

Zara sighed. "Yes, our spaceship. So it was Naroid soldiers that opened fire on us."

I grinned as I faced her. "Told you guys we'll find out who did it."

"Marco watch out!" I heard Andy scream.

I looked forward to see Stiv pointing at me with a sky-blue rifle. The rifle belched cold smoke from the muzzle. He smirked. "I call it, the cryo-silencer. It freezes instantly while barely making a sound."

We pointed our guns at each other but I was not alone. "You're outnumbered." I boasted.

His eyes took in the scene of the four of us with our laser guns raised. He nodded. "Very well."

He slung his rifle over his back and tapped his wristband. "Relax, it's not a weapon." He said as he interacted with some holographic pop-up screens. "I'm calling for pickup. The Alliance and Vana don't actually have anything against each other, just a petty struggle for a superiority complex. Naroid is the real threat and her soldiers are creeping all over this planet."

I lowered my gun and my teammates followed suit. "I thought you said you came for Heatromite? Why are you returning without it?"

He arched a brow at me. "Did you hear nothing I said? The mine I discovered is heavily guarded and I don't have enough firepower to beat them. So it's mission abort."

We all watched as he swiped and pressed holographic panels. I had come to the realization that he might be our only ticket out of here but I found it hard to bring myself to ask for help. It seemed my team had the same problem; Andy was removing lint from his suit that wasn't there, Vee was twirling her long blue curly hair while Zara was shuffling her foot on a spot.

Stiv looked up at us with a raised eyebrow. "You guys want a ride?"

"Yes please."

"Sounds like a plan."

"If you insist."

"Oh, not a bad idea."

He nodded his head and looked back down at his holograms.
My muscles had stopped tensing but when I recalled the primary mission, they tensed again. I had to find a way to stall our getaway ride until we acquired some Heatromite. And no better way than to convince the getaway driver.

"You know," I announced. "Spies who don't accomplish their missions are more liable to demotion than those that do."

Stiv paused. I knew I had him right where I wanted him so I continued. "I don't suppose this is your first aborted mission, but if the hierarchy systems in Vana and the Alliance are as similar as they say, then believe me when I tell you that the only way up the ladder is mission success."

"Are you trying to bamboozle me?" He sneered.

I kept a blank face as I threw both hands in the air. "Not at all. Just doing you a favor for your help. We wouldn't want you to lose your rank after nobly helping us. But what am I worried about? Your post is undoubtedly secured, isn't it?"

His brows furrowed as he crossed his arms. That was the moment of truth; whether he'd buy it or not. If his rank meant that much to him, he definitely would.

He tapped his golden wristband and all the holograms disappeared. With a sigh, he stood akimbo. "How do you propose we get the Heatromite?"

A grin spread across my face.

I heard Andy's voice whisper "Nicely done Captain."

"Well," I stepped forward. "If you so choose to go on a little scavenger hunt first, what we need to do is create a clear path."

"How so?" Stiv perked. "What doesn't anyone get by 'overcrowded savages in the mine'? I barely stepped foot in it and almost lost my life in my attempt to escape."

"We won't be going for the mines. No, that'll be far too dangerous. But did you happen to see any storage facility during your surveillance? Extraction of resources is not without storage."

Stiv's face lit up. "Yes! I saw a bunker not too far from the mine. It'll most likely be a storage space. But how much heatromite do we plan on taking? One shard each?"

Andy grinned. "As much the storage holds! We're wiping it clean."

Stiv frowned. "How could one think so greedily?"

Vee spoke before Andy could. "Call it greed, but we've got the means." She unveiled a small white hexagon from her utility belt.

Stiv eyed the device with amusement. "A Compressor Container, I'm impressed. Never really seen one in person."

"It's a rare jewel of technology," Vee smirked. "Alliance-made of course. Just press the timer and throw it. Once it winds up, it'll shrink and capture every object in the specified radius."

"Not bad," Stiv smirked and looked into Vee's eyes. "I think my heart's already been shrunk and captured."

I fumed instantly, smoke belching out from the seven orifices of my head.

"You blasted piece of -" I began but Zara cut me off and for good reason.

"You guys are talking like we'll make it out alive. We're going up against Naroid Soldiers, we don't stand a chance with our incinerated weapon stash."

Andy faced her. "Hey, not all our weapons were blown with the ship. We still have our laser pistols, Stiv over there has his cryo-silencer and we've got our ultimate weapon here with us, Mex!"

"Hello." The robot greeted.

Zara was grimacing all the while. "Like I said, we're screwed. And not to talk of the Vana boy who might double-cross us."

"Why are you being so sadist?" Stiv said.

"Why are you so judgemental?" Zara retorted.

"I'm analytical, there's a difference."

"Really? Did you know that there's also a difference without you? A very blissful one."

"Enough!" I barked. "Both of you. Zara, as much as I might hate to admit it, Stiv is on our side. I just know it my guts that he really is. He even offered us a ride."

"Fine, sorry if I judged you," Stiv said. "But how could you think of me so lowly? Alliance or Vana, we're all human and I believe that's what counts and that's why the war between the two star kingdoms is pointless."

Zara's expression lightened a bit but her posture was still edgy. "Then why are you in Vana's Covert Ops?"

Stiv scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? To fight the real enemy, Naroid. Are we done?"

I crossed my arms. "I've got a plan on how we can infiltrate the bunker as long we can work together but it's missing a weapon of mass destruction; something to buy time for a clean getaway."

Stiv unstrapped a device from the side of his utility belt. "Mass destruction? Not really. But buy time? This ought to do the trick."
He raised a bundle of Electromagnetic pulse grenades, like the one I used a year ago to deactivate the last Naroid soldier I came in contact with.
At least a dozen were smolt together in a fashion that didn't affect their wiring.

"The Vana Research team hadn't decided on a name yet, since this is a prototype. But I call it, Blackout."

"You have a knack for giving cool names." Vee smiled at him, much to my irk.

He smiled back. "Should I personally give you one?"

"Enough!" I hollered. Suddenly, all eyes were on me. I cleared my throat. "Because time is of the essence."

Zara's sleek black hair had found its way over one eye again. Seeming okay with it, she put her hands on her hips. "We're stranded in enemy territory, about to march right to our deaths. Time is vanity now."

Andy slipped to her side. "Not with you it isn't."

I clenched my jaw as I watched her blush. I felt like an outcast.

Field before feelings. I reminded myself and then briefed them on the plan. We linked our gun mics to establish a connection before preparing to brave the greyish terrain.

"Taskforce Alpha," I cracked my knuckles. "Fallout."

******************

According to plan, Vee, Mex, and I journeyed together. The both of us were riding Mex's hover-bike form in the direction of the bunker.

We hovered across the open space, peering through the reddish atmosphere to make sure we weren't caught off guard. An eerie howl of the wind was the only sound in earshot apart from Mex's engine rumble.

I found it amusing how Mex's small robot body could extend into a hoverbike spacious enough to seat two people. And though I rode in front, I could see Vee glaring at the back of my head through the side mirror.

What did I do to offend this girl? I pondered.

Mex broke the silence. "We are 'Team Distraction'. Jolly!"

I frowned. "No Mex, not 'jolly'. Getting the attention of enemy troops is not all 'jolly'."

"Why do you care what he thinks?" Vee's voice took an edge.

"What?" I craned my head to look at her. Wisps of her bright blue hair blew across her face as we moved.

Her gaze was pensive."You never cared what I thought."

I was so confused. "What are talking about?"

"Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about? I'm talking about your lover, Kimily."

My eyes flashed wide open. "What? Captain Kimily? She's not my lover, you-"

"Oh yeah? The girl you prefer hanging out with is not your lover?" She had a feigned smile. "The girl you walk up to every day at the Training Academy? Who do you think you're fooling?"

There were no words to explain the pain and shock I felt. Well, maybe except for 'pain' and 'shock'.

Unable to form words myself, Vee continued. "Let me just get this off my chest this once. Up till that Ascension, I really believed you were into me but after we began at the Academy, you just left me by myself, wondering if we ever had any-" she choked back a sob and looked away. Her tone sunk to a whisper. "Forget it. Let's just focus on the mission at hand. To get your precious Heatromite and impress your darling the more."

That did it. "She's not my darling!"

"Incoming!" Mex interrupted. Suddenly the atmosphere had taken a greenish glow and as I looked up, I found out why; an incoming shower of plasma beams like many green drops of rain–or even hail–filled the sky and began to descend upon us.

Now we're finished.

I thought we were goners but I hadn't factored in Mex's superb algorithm and reflexes. He swerved between the beams, narrowly adverting danger. But the closer he moved, the harder it became to dodge until a near-miss beam exploded on a rocky slope and the force sent us crashing into a stretch of leveled rocks that resembled a rough wall.

I grunted on the floor. "At least we have a solid cover."

Mex changed back to his robot form. "By my estimation, this fortunate slope of rocks cannot withstand this level of damage for the next five minutes."

I peeked above the rocks to catch a glimpse of an orange-colored box-shaped metal bunker. Mounted on all the edges were the robotic werewolves armed and trigger-happy with plasma rifles. "If everything goes smoothly, we won't need up to five minutes."

Suddenly a plasma beam from the barrage singed the tips of my snow-white spiky hair. I yelped as I ducked down. Vee giggled.

Mex morphed his forearms into plasma cannons. "I will deal damage to these Naroids."

He leaped onto the wall and started firing. I stared up at him in my crouching position. Did his brain reset in the crash?

No sooner than he jumped up was he blasted down on his back.

"Mex!" Vee screamed but he was irresponsive. Smoke fumed from his body. She faced me with frantic eyes. "This cover won't hold, there's too much firepower. We've got to find another one."

"And risk getting into their line of fire? No way. Let's check up on Team B, I hope we've bought them enough time."

Vee and I both pressed the handles of our laser pistols with our thumbs and a blue light showed, indicating radio had been established.

"Team B come in." We both said in sync. "What's your status?"

Static greeted us before I heard Andy's panicked voice. "We've been compromised–outnum–help!" Static followed.

"Andy!' I screamed and then looked at Vee. She stared back at me with dismay. "Stiv is not responding."

The wall behind us was now rumbling fervently under the barrage of attacks. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I felt hopeless. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I slouched against the wall. "I knew we should have thought the plan through."

"No amount of thinking through could have solved this." Vee snapped at me. "Stiv was right, this is a deathtrap. And you talked us into going!"

"Fret not Captain. Fret not Vee." Mex stood up and clenched his fists. His eyes glowed red as tendrils of electricity began to spiral around him. "I am up for round two."

A smile broke out on my face. "You're alive!"

He began to levitate in his tiny fury. As he rose above the wall, I could see plasma beams get neutralized by his electric field.
"My turn!" He bellowed in his robotic voice and accelerated into enemy territory. I peeked over the wall just in time to see him crash onto the roof of the metal bunker and emit cascading waves of energy, blasting all the hundreds of Naroid Soldiers off their stations.

The light of the burst was so intense, that I squinted hard. When the light dissolved, I could see a field of scattered Naroid bodies.

Mex slowly levitated back to us.

"I have dealt damage to the Naroids." He announced and then suddenly shut down, plopping down in front of us.

Vee and I just stared at him, stunned by the display of power.
"He's definitely out of battery now," I said.

"C'mon," Vee sprang to her feet. "Let's go help the others."

She leaped over the battered wall.

"Right behind you." I snatched Mex up and leaped over the wall.
Vee was already sprinting towards the bunker. I pulled out my laser gun and followed suit.

We rounded up at the back of the huge metal bunker and screeched to a halt at the burst-open backdoor. The scene was ghastly; a few meters inside was a littered pile of sparkling Heatromite shards but closer to the wall, about ten armed werewolf robots circled our friends who lay battered and bruised on the ground. Five more Naroids or so were frozen in ice, no doubt by Stiv in defense but now he lay in front of Zara and Andy looking very injured and hurt.

"Stiv!" Vee cried and unsheathed Blackout–the EMP bomb, hurling it at the monsters who craned their heads at the sound of her voice.

The bomb went off with a crackling sound and a massive blue wave. All the Naroid Soldiers fell stiffly on their backs.

Vee dashed towards Stiv and fell at his side. She frantically examined his wounds as she called his name repeatedly.

I ran towards Zara and Andy who were laying close to each other. I knelt and checked their pulse. They were unconscious but alive.

I looked over my shoulder at Vee and Stiv. Stiv's eyes had fluttered open and his voice was weak. "Vee, you came."

"Stiv!" She cried in relief. "Thank goodness, you're alive."

His hand slowly removed his golden wrist band and he raised it to her. "I want you to take this. It's the key."

She cupped her hands over his. Tears brimming in her eyes. "Hang in there Stiv."

"No, it's too late for me. But at least I went down protecting Andy and Zara. Imagine, a Vana," He smiled with beady eyes. "Protecting Alliance Soldiers. If only the two Star Kingdoms could-" He coughed heartily.

"Stiv, no don't go. Please don't go." Vee brushed the side of his face.

He whispered. "If only they could work together, that's how we'll win the real war." His face suddenly paled and his struggle for air ceased.

Tears streamed down Vee's cheeks as she bit her lip.
I watched in silence, feeling guilty as hell. The compressor container fell out of Andy's utility belt. Bitter as it was, I remembered my motto. Field before feelings.

I picked up the Compressor Container and stood on my feet, stealing a glance at Vee before heading towards the pile of Heatromite. After adjusting the settings on the white hexagon, I threw it onto the pile and with a burst of white light, the pile disappeared. Picking the Compressor container again, I peered into the tiny glass window on the body and confirmed that there were many shiny particles inside it.
Almost like magic. I love Alliance Technology.

Turning around, I saw Vee still sobbing beside Stiv's body. It was the look in her eyes that broke my heart and my code of conduct. Her sadness seemed to call out to me. I felt compelled to try to comfort her.

I walked over and knelt beside her. Her soft sobs were now more audible. "Vee," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

For a few seconds, she didn't change her position. But when she slowly turned towards me, there was a turret of emotions on her face. "This is all your fault. Stiv's gone because of you." She said with a sneer. "I hope this mission was worth it to you."

"Vee, I cannot begin to explain how sorry I am and if I could take his place, I swear I would."

She had a puzzled look. "Why?"

"Because I just want you to be happy." Tears threatened to roll down my cheeks. "And if Stiv was still with us, then you wouldn't be so heartbroken."

She sniffed. "Why do you suddenly care how I feel?"

I reached out to her face and brushed a tear with my finger. "I never stopped."

Everything seemed to stand still as she gazed into my eyes. Suddenly, beeping noises erupted from the fallen Naroid Soldiers.
I jerked my head and looked at the closest one. Its eyes were dimly lit. Are they rebooting?

"Naroid's been busy with upgrades." Vee rose to her feet.
Wiping her face with an elbow, she looked towards the exit. "We have to move."

I sprang to my feet. "My thoughts exactly. I'll carry Mex and Andy, you bring Zara."

I propped unconscious Andy to his feet and slung his left arm over my shoulder while Mex was positioned like an upside-down 'v' over my other shoulder.

Vee propped Zara up too and then faced me. "What about Stiv?"

My countenance fell. He at least deserved a befitting burial but if we didn't get going before the Naroid Soldiers rebooted, the dead would have to bury their dead.

I nodded to pass my message with grief on my face.

Vee nodded back with shaky eyes and we trod toward the exit.

******

We were uphill, about half a mile away from the bunker when fierce howls pierced the air.
I was dripping with perspiration and getting weaker under Andy's weight by the second. We had left behind a trail across the grey soil. Now that they were rebooted, all that was left for them was to pick up the trail and maul us for trespassing.

I made up my mind that if I was going down, I would go down like Stiv, protecting my friends. I turned around to know how far behind Vee was. She was like a stone's throw away but that was still dangerously distant. "Hurry up!" I called.

"Easy for you to say, you're the strong Captain carrying the lightest members of our crew."

I grinned at the compliment.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't let it go to your head, I was just stating a fact."

"I like the improvised title, 'strong captain'."

"I would blast some sense into you with my laser pistol, if–" she huffed. "If my hands weren't supporting our good friend Zara here."

I smiled. "I guess I've got her to thank later."

Vee huffed as she finally reached me. "Big time."

A loud hum of an engine in the reddish sky got our attention.
Looking up, I saw that we were only a few meters away from standing right under a huge streamlined golden spaceship that hovered in the sky.

"It's definitely Vana," I observed. "Must have come to retrieve Stiv."

"Then how in the world can we get it to pick us up without him?"

"Try waving at it," I suggested. "I would have but my hands are full."

Vee eyed me dismissively. "There's no way that can work. You can hail a taxi but not an intergalactic military spacecraft."

Bone-chilling growls emanated from the distance and I turned back to see Naroid soldiers had almost caught up with us. They scurried uphill with thunderous steps, no doubt bloodthirsty for revenge.

Vee started waving her free arm frantically in the air and even making whistling noises.

The spaceship just loomed up there, irresponsive. Perhaps there was a way Stiv would have used to board it. Then the answer hit me. "Vee, Stiv's wristband! Hurry!"

"Right!" She managed to unsheath the golden wristband and operate it while still hanging on to Zara. "I see some sort of invitation to come on board. With an accept or decline option."

I looked between her and the incoming soldiers that were almost too close for comfort. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Accept!"

"I'm trying but the network is lagging!"

The Naroid soldiers were less than ten meters away when they spread out their metallic claws. My hands were unable to reach for my laser pistol and even if they could, a wave of this magnitude was a red flag. The Naroid at the forefront leaped towards me and slashed down with his claws. I shut my eyes before impact. But the impact never came.

Daring to peek, I saw myself in new surroundings. The whole room was bare and white. Beside me was Vee with Zara and a little distance in front of us was a glass panel from roof to floor.

Beyond the panel, I could see a few control equipment and wide holographic screens suspended in the air. A sleek metal door, beside one of the pieces of equipment, slid open. A broad-chested muscular man with gelled blonde hair and a beard walked in. He wore a black jumpsuit with a large inscribed golden 'V' sewn onto the chest.

"A Vana General," I whispered in awe.

"Cálbir!" The man bellowed.

A slim man wearing what looked like VR goggles rushed in through the door. "Oh boy." He sighed as he looked at us. He had black curly hair and was wearing a lab coat over a black shirt and trousers.

"Cálbir," The General frowned at him. "Where's the Vana Soldier you said was requesting pickup? Because all I see here is a bunch of impossible imposters."

The man in the goggles stammered. "G-G-General Hozit, I am just as bewildered as you."

The General strode towards the glass panel with a look of steel.
"I always get answers, so somebody better start talking."

I summoned courage. "It's a long story, Sir."

He stared daggers at me. "We've already flown out of the Naroid Soldiers' reach. I guarantee you, you have my full attention and we have enough time."

"Then may I begin from the start. My name is Captain Marco of the Allied Alliance X, leader of Taskforce Alpha."

He grunted but I continued. "My team was sent to Planet Sorok to search for Heatromite. Our database, however, failed to show us that the planet was inhabited by our formidable foe. We learned that the hard way when our spaceship was blown out of the sky by a death laser but luckily we survived. Then we met a fine soldier of yours, Stiv Sadawaski. He belonged to one of your covert Ops teams and it seemed he too was led to believe Sorok was desolate since he was deployed alone to scour for Heatromite. But we ended up striking a deal to work together and carry out a heist for the rare fuel gem. I and Vee here were to show up through the front of the storage bunker as a diversion, while Stiv and my two other teammates sneaked up the back to get the gem."

"Where is this Stiv you speak about? The other boy is clearly Alliance." The General crossed his huge arms.

I gulped, uncertain how to go about the next part but I continued anyways. "Our calculations, however, were extremely flawed and the error cost us dearly. Our greatest loss was the loss of Stiv."

I paused as the General flexed his jaw. His features were unreadable but given he hadn't smashed his hands through the glass and choked me yet, I believed I was allowed to continue.

"Stiv died trying to protect my two friends; the hallmark of a true hero who believed Vana and AA-X could work together and a favor I appreciated so deeply which I never got to repay. He was the one who requested pick-up and gave us his wristband. On our way out of the bunker, we spotted your spaceship and that's how we ended up here."

Cold silence hung in the air as the General stared into my soul.

He finally broke the silence with his deep voice. "I can tell when I'm being lied to, and you show signs of truth."

I heaved a sigh of relief.

"However," He bellowed. "We shall turn around and dispatch a search party to find the body of Stiv. If he went down in the bunker like you said, that's where we'll look for him. We have camouflage gears and enough EMP weapons onboard for such an expedition. In the meantime," He faced the scientist. "Get these children out of here and escort them to the energy hub."

"Right away, Sir." The scientist interacted with some holograms and suddenly, the glass panel slid open. "But what about the Heatromite?"

The General whipped his head in my direction with a glare and my heart almost leaped out of my mouth.

I fumbled with the Compressor Container as I presented it to him. He picked it from my hands and slowly raised it to his eye level, peering through the little window. "Alliance Technology, not so bad after all."

Any arguments I had died in my throat. He gave me back the hexagon device. "Once I return with my search party, we'll negotiate shares. It was teamwork after all."

He strode out of the room and it was left with just the four of us and the scientist.

He adjusted his goggles and cleared his throat. "My name is Cálbir Grimsworth, lead scientist at Vana's Research institute on the home planet. Though currently, I'm working here onboard the V-Prime7 as an analyst and tele-beam operator."

Vee had a look of exhaustion. "That's all the boring stuff we could have done without."

"Oh." The man scratched his curly hair. "Then um, you could leave your friends here while I summon work bots to take them to the infirmary. Their wounds are minor compared to the level of medical technology we have onboard."

Vee and I exchanged glances. Then I looked at Cálbir. "Um, thanks but we'd like to stay with them as they recover. You know, so they don't freak out when they wake up."

He nodded and almost immediately, white robots with a unicycle wheel for legs came into the room and gestured to carry Zara and Andy. The exchange of weight brought great relief to my body though I was feeling sore in some places already.

"I think a massage is in order," I said.

Vee did a little stretching. "I like the way you think."

We followed the bots down a white corridor and wound up in a wider room. The bots gestured for us to wait at the reception because the recovery unit was off-limit when procedures were being carried out. So they brought us a hot chocolate drink. Where they got it from I didn't know but where it was headed, I definitely knew. I sat down beside Vee and took a long refreshing sip.

She stared at her cup with a faint smile, seeming lost in thought. I just sat back and stole glances at her in between sips.

Suddenly the door burst open and more bots rushed in with Stiv's body into the recovery unit.

Dr. Cálbir came in shortly and attempted to follow them, but Vee grabbed his arm. "Wait! What's going on?"

He looked at us. "Oh, there you are. The General is back with his search party. They not only confirmed Stiv's body but also confirmed that he could still be saved."

"What do you mean? We saw him d-"

"Yes, they found his heart had at some point slowed down on beating but it never really stopped. Now if you'll excuse me,"

"Oh." Vee left his arm and he proceeded into the recovery unit.

She turned towards me and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I felt my body dissolve under the sudden warmth of her embrace. It's a start. I thought when she pulled away.

General Hozit's voice blared over the microphone. "Well done Captain Marco, indeed you and your team are worthy of admiration. I'm in the control room setting coordinates for the AA-X mother ship so you all can return safely. It is the least we can do for your contributive efforts. As for the share of Heatromite, I would ask that you wait with us for Stiv to recover, and then we can begin honorable negotiations. For now, buckle up and get ready for a jump through hyperspace."

I couldn't help grinning. Everything was finally looking up. I could only imagine the look on Commander Helix's face when we tell him how his brother had given us a lift.

"Do you think they have a charging pod for Mex on this ship?" Vee looked at me.

I shrugged. "We'll ask the next person that comes around."

General Hozit's voice was stern this time. "No seriously buckle up, these jumps get really bumpy."

*The end.